Residential Estate Research Articles

Physical environment, decision-making and land use development in Metropolitan Lagos

In 1914, Lagos was chosen as the capital of Nigeria and from then onward, the demographic and physical expansion of the city has been so dramatic that by 1960, it has grown into a metropolis covering about 70 sq. km with well over 1 million inhabitants. The inhospitable physical environment, and the locational decision by the British colonial authorities to develop Lagos as Nigeria's capital are largely accountable for the rate and nature of land use development. The predominance of swamps imposes large scale land reclamations as a precondition for land use development, while the administrative, industrial, commercial and transport functions devolving on Lagos as the federal capital and primate city attract massive in-migration at a much faster rate than the pace of providing urban social services. The lagos Executive Development Board (LEDB) dominated land use development for many years. In spite of numerous constrainst, the Board succeeded in carrying out extensive swamp reclamations, residential and industrial estate development. The decision to transfer the capital to Abuja will certainly reflect on future land use development in Lagos. Above all, it is a clear evidence that urban planning alone has failed to tackle the problems meaningfully.

Marketing and the estate agent — 1

In the first of two papers, Colin Gilligan examines the nature and implications of the changes currently affecting residential estate agency. In the second, which will appear in the next issue of Property Management, he will explore the various marketing strategies open to firms.

Speed control humps — Further public road trials

Further one year trials of speed control humps have been made on four different urban roads to assess their effects in specific circumstances. The sites were all 30 mile/h restricted and comprised a scheduled bus route through a residential estate, a non-residential road in a conservation area, a seaside esplanade, and an urban road containing a small shopping parade where the traffic included many heavy goods vehicles. Details of the effects of humps on traffic flow and speed, pedestrians, residents' opinions, and road accidents are described. The speed of both cars and lorries was reduced at two of the sites carrying through-traffic. Crossing the road by pedestrians was shown to have been made slightly easier at the esplanade site and, compounding data from all sites, accident casualties were reduced. The majority of residents and drivers were in favour of the humps but rather more discontent was expressed by residents along the bus route. (Author/TRRL)

Sediment supply and transmission via roadside gully pots

Field studies undertaken on the Clifton Grove residential estate, Nottingham, between August 1976 and October 1980, in which the input and release of material to and from roadside gullies and the gully pot liquor quality were monitored, are reported. Factors affecting sediment supply, such as variations in soil moisture deficit, rainfall parameters, runoff volume and catchment characteristics are considered. Sediment retention by gullies and its release in storm flows are assessed in the light of the nature of the sediments found in basal samples from gully pots and in runoff samples obtained downstream in the storm sewer. The effect of sediment input on gully liquor quality and the variation in dissolved oxygen concentration are detailed. The suspended sediment concentration in road surface/gully pot discharges showed no clear tendency to decrease through a storm event and this, coupled with previous findings from storm simulations, strongly suggest that “first flush” effects are a function of the flushing of in-pipe deposits from a previous storm event.

Scenes at the Barbican The City of London's Centre for Arts and Conferences

I. The quarter century from concept to concrete ,0UTER defence to city or castle' is the historic function of barbicans. In the City of London's new Barbican Centre the imagery of a fortress or stronghold,lives on in the use of massive concrete structures, including three seemingly impregnable residential tower blocks soaring some 400 feet above street level. For several years now I have been accompanying groups of students to the Barbican. My purpose was to show the unfolding grand plan for the area: the complete, comprehensive redevelopment of a large portion of the City of London as a part -commercial and wise before its time part residential enclave. Here the post war planners' desire to segregate vehicles and pedestrians is seen in itS most extreme realisation: pedestrians up aloft on windswept 'decks'. By and by there has been more to see than 'Route 11' (the unconnected dualled carriageway along London Wall) flanked by curtain wall office blocks of the 1960s. By 1975 the residential Barbican estate, comprising some 2000 flats of 140 assorted shapes and sizes in 21 less diverse blocks, was complete, and although initially for rent, these pieds-a-terre-au-soleil are now being offered for sale on leases of 125 years. Many have been acquired by public as well as private City institutions and firms. The Barbican's first major public attraction was the Museum of London, opened in December 1976, and by 1978 joint winner of the 'museum of the year' award. The building itself has likewise been feted, and Bryan Appleyard's admiration of Powell and Moya's 'beautiful variations and careful detailing ... late modernism at its cool and satisfying best' (The Times 20 November 1982) is widespread among architectural critics. Now, however, the centre.of attraction and international publicity is the Barbican Centre. Not that centre implies 'at the heart, easily reached' in this context. Indeed, the Museum of London could have served as a warning: it's fine once you get inside. Although crisp Warboys-style blue and white signs point you generally towards the museum, it shuns the adjoining streets. And so it is with the Barbican Centr:e, as I will reveal shortly.

A STUDY OF LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVEOPMENT BY PRIVATE RAILWAY ENTERPRISES—THE CASE OF TAMA DEN'EN TOSHI—

In this study, the author attempts to analyze the development process and characteristics of large-scale residential estates developed by a private railway enterprise, in order to clarify the problems accompanied with such large-scale residential development. For this purpose, the author has investigated Tama Den'en Toshi (lama Country Town) developed by the Tokyo Electric Express Railway, Ltd. (Tokyu, for short), focusing his attention especially to the behavior and policies of the developer. Generally, private railway enterprises have been the main developer of large-scale residential estates in Japan. Particulaly, they have developed many large-scale residential estates in conjunction with the construction of new rail lines. Tama Den'en Toshi is a typical example and has been developed by Tokyu since 1953. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Tokyo, with about 15-35km from the city-center. Tama Den'en Toshi comprises four separate zones of development, the first of which is approximately 15 km from Tokyo, while the farthest is approximately 35 km from Tokyo. The total area is 5, 000 ha and its planned population will comes up to 400, 000. The new line Den'en Toshi Sen, was opened by Tokyu in 1966 and is now serving the community. At present, Tama Den'en Toshi has a population of 300, 000. The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1. Because Tokyu was not able to buy up the whole area along the new line, it pursued a method of land adjustment works in cooperation with local landowners. For example, between 1953 and 1966 Tokyu purchased about 660 ha, but this represented only 13% of the area to be developed and it was therefore necessary to adopt a “cooperative development program.” Thus, Tokyu was able to carry out its large-scale development plan in spite of its own small, dispersed holdings, through negotiation with local landowners. Furthermore, Tokyu succeeded in obtaining many new holdings at the low price in exchange for the cost of land adjustment works. 2. Expecting an increase in railway fare revenue, Tokyu encouraged the development of multistory residential estates by the Japan Housing Corporation, as well as building multistory apartment houses by itself. This shift of development from low-density to high density leads to a shortage of public facilities, especially schools and the degradation of dwelling-environment in some places. 3. Tokyu had first developed remote parts within the development area before it set to work at places close to Tokyo, to get a large profit. This caused the rise of land prices in the nearer places, and led to these sites being sold more slowly. 4. Tokyu did not control the land-use of the local landowners' holdings. It has developed mainly high grade houses and apartment houses, while local landowners have built mainly low--grade houses apartment houses and dormitories. This trend led to mixed land-uses in the residential section. These findings focus attention on the development process and characteristics of a large scale residential estate, which reflects the behavior and policies of the developers.

San Cosme, Spain: Planning and Renewal of a State Housing Area

Abstract The San Cosme Residential Estate was built outside Barcelona, Spain, in the mid-1960s by the state-run Syndical Housing Authority to rehouse over seven thousand people, most of them from cleared shanty towns on the Montjuich hill overlooking the city. Within five years of construction the houses began to deteriorate rapidly and San Cosme has since become notorious as an example of the worst aspects of state housing in Spain. This article examines in detail die planning and construction of San Cosme and the successful campaign of the local residents' association to persuade central state authorities of the need to rebuild die estate. At the same time, the article identifies the major socio-political and planning issues involved in the San Cosme experience that may be of relevance to other state housing projects in both the developed and developing world.

Transport planning in Hungary: A model of multistage-planning of urban public transport

For the planning of ever-intensifying urban transport, the use of up-to-date mathematical tools and the formulation of economic efficiency aspects of decisions between alternatives becomes imperative. This study presents a selection of mathematical and econometric tools for every step of the planning, demonstrating the convenience of stochastic models, in view of the random character of urban public transport. Extended models of network theory, based on graph theory, are applied, the synthesis of partial optima being reached via dynamic programming. Examples are given, related to the planning of a new residential estate.

Sewer and drain swabbing as a means of investigating salmonellosis.

The use of gauze swabs in drains or sewers to clarify the path followed by a salmonella from source to human host has been reviewed in the light of experience gained in Cardiff over 15 years. This period has seen a marked change in attitudes to salmonella epidemiology in that infected food is now regarded as of greater importance than infected food handlers. In these 15 years, butchers, abattoirs and knackers' yards, markets and bakehouses have been monitored. In the bakehouse survey the existence of staff infection was demonstrated by sewage examination. Sewage investigation has also been used to show frequent entry of salmonellas into households in a residential estate. The estate was carefully chosen to exclude salmonellas from industrial sources and shops. The frequent finding of infection in this sewage implies that a commonly consumed heavily infected food item is involved. The wide range of serotypes isolated suggests an animal usually fed on infected animal feed. Poultry and pigs are put forward as animals liable to spread salmonellosis to man.It is hoped that clarification of the salmonella pathway may eventually lead to measures likely to prevent the transmission of infection to man. It is also suggested that swabs placed in abattoir drains serve as an economical method of obtaining warning of a persistent build-up of contamination. The persistence of a serotype in an abattoir is not infrequently followed by human infection.

Salmonellas in sewage. A study in latent human infection

SUMMARYIn a residential estate of 4000 persons, containing neither industry nor retail butchers shops, salmonellas were regularly found in the sewerage system. They were frequently found in the sewage of a portion of the estate housing 1000 persons. The range of serotypes found was wide and some types suggested an exotic origin. No overt salmonella infection in the estate was reported during the period of survey, although local general practitioners had been previously alerted. Overt infection due to serotypes found in the survey were, however, reported in other areas of Glamorgan. Multiple sampling points in the sewerage system and a serological technique for examining samples contaminated with multiple salmonella serotypes were essential for the technical success of the survey.We should like to thank Prof. Scott Thomson for his advice in the preparation of this paper; Dr E. S. Anderson of the Central Enteric Reference Laboratory and Bureau, Colindale, for phage-typing the strains of S. typhimurium and S. paratyphi B; and Dr G. J. G. King of the Public Health Laboratory, Bournemouth, for identifying the serotypes isolated. We should also like to thank Mr T. R. Liddington and Mr J. H. Price for their technical assistance.

The Benevolent Fund: proposed residential estate

The Benevolent Fund: proposed residential estate