Vacant Buildings Research Articles

Assessing Resident Perceptions of Physical Disorder on Perceptions of Crime

This paper investigates whether perceptions of neighborhood physical disorder—measured by vacant lots, vacant buildings, and overgrown vegetation—influence perceptions of crime and perceptions of the frequency or magnitude of crime events. We use ordinal logistic regression to analyze individual-level and contextual-level variables derived from a survey of 401 randomly selected residents in seven New Orleans neighborhoods. Findings show that as perceptions of physical disorder increase, so does the likelihood of perceiving violent crime as more of a neighborhood problem than property crime. As residents perceive greater physical disorder, their perception of crime level decreases. Finally, residents who perceive greater physical disorder are more likely to perceive crime levels to be stable to increasing over the previous five years. The category of “physical disorder” is inherently subjective, and future research should distinguish between social disorder and physical disorder in the evaluation of perceptions of crime. Our major contribution is to empirically demonstrate that the influence of physical disorder on crime perceptions depends upon the crime type and temporal scale under investigation.

Examination of effects of indoor fires on building structures and people

The scientific study of the harmful effects of indoor fires on building structures and on the environment is a top issue today. Indoor fires frequently occur all over the world. The goal of our research is to examine the effects of an average room fire on the survival possibility of a trapped person and on the building structure, taking into account features of the Eastern European architecture. First, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed to examine the change of temperature, oxygen, and carbon monoxide concentration in a selected room in a vacant building used for military training. Based on the results, a 1:1 scale fire experiment was carried out with the parameters used in the simulation. The experiment was repeated once with the same settings. It was observed that without the intervention of firefighters, the temperature in the experiment could have rapidly reached 400 °C, as suggested by the simulation, which could have caused structural damage to the building. Furthermore, after 3 min the carbon monoxide concentration reached 400 ppm in both experiments and the simulation, which is a harmful level to people trapped inside the room. Also, in the experiment there was sufficient oxygen at the ground level with what people can survive 3 min.

The transmission characteristics and influence prediction of impulsive vibration caused by a solid metal ball impact in buildings

The impulsive vibration induced by human running and jumping, object falling, striking during decoration, etc., significantly disturbs the learning, work, and life of people through building structure transmission. To study the influence of impulsive vibration in buildings, a vacant frame building was selected as a tested building. The vibration at each floor besides hitting spot would be measured when a solid metal ball falling freely hit the first floor of this building. The vibration response at each floor caused by the excitation above was simulated through a finite element method. The parameters of the simulation model were optimized according to measured results. Furthermore, the influence of building structure, the total amount of stories, and slab dimension on the transmission of vibration from 1 Hz to 80 Hz which can be perceived by human bodies was quantitatively studied. Results showed that the vertical weighted vibration acceleration level at each floor linearly decreased with the increase of the logarithm of the distance between each floor and the hitting spot. A prediction model of vertical weighted vibration acceleration level from 1 Hz to 80 Hz induced by the impulsive vibration in buildings was developed according to simulation results. The corrections relating to the number of story, building structure, slab span, slab length-to-width ratio, and slab thickness were respectively introduced in the model which can predict the vertical weighted vibration acceleration level at each floor above the hitting spot. The results of this study can provide a basis for the prediction and control of impulsive vibration caused by an impact source with great stiffness in buildings.

Spatial Building Typology – Function Follows Form

Buildings today are subject to change. New functions are accommodated in vacant buildings. This is a favorable development from both a sustainability point of view and a cultural-historical perspective. Originally, the volume and form of a building was dictated by its original function: form follows function. We now see that a spatial form is already present. Is it logical to conclude that the new functions adapt to the existing available form and space: function follows form? In order to gain insight into how the existing form and space relate to the possibilities of reuse, research into a spatial building typology is necessary. Existing typological studies of buildings are usually based on functions. An inventory of research that has already been done with regard to spatial characteristics of buildings and the way of translating it into analyzes is part of this research. Also, on the basis of two comparative spatial analyzes of two groups of buildings (Department Stores V&D’s and Police Stations in The Netherlands), a methodology is explored that maps the spatial characteristics of the locations. Eight locations per group of buildings were explored through analyzes on four scale levels: city, block, object and envelope and on the basis of twelve spatial aspects. After analysis per location the characteristics have been compared per aspect. Parallel twenty-four students worked on the redesign assignments during two graduation studios at Delft University of Technology (Heritage & Architecture). Their final designs were related to the existing spatial types of the locations in order to arrive at a redesign typology per building group in order to answer the question: can statements be made about the redesign possibilities of these buildings based on a Spatial Building Typology of buildings? Finally, some recommendations are made for further research.

Identifying energy savings opportunities in vacant commercial buildings using a semi-supervised sensor fusion model

Recent events have forced building managers to examine energy use during vacant periods and revealed miscellaneous electrical loads (MELs) as an opportunity for savings. This paper addresses a key step in unlocking these savings, specifically the reliable identification of when a building is vacant. A Vacancy Inference Engine (VIE), using sensor fusion, was developed to identify vacant periods based on outputs from common sensors, historical building vacancy patterns, and expert knowledge. The VIE calculates the confidence that a building is vacant, allowing building managers to balance the capture of energy savings with the possibility of complaints due to powering down MELs. The VIE has the advantage over logistic regression and other models in that it does not require a full set of ground truth for the training process.The VIE successfully predicted vacancy in an office building using input data streams of instantaneous electricity demand, indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, and the number of active Wi-Fi connections. The VIE’s ability to predict vacancy was compared to that of logistic regression using a metric based on the Complaint Opportunity Rate and found to be nearly identical (0.94 versus 0.95, respectively).

Preservation and Continuation of "Local Ecosystems": The Case of Tokyo's Public Baths

The public bath called sento in Japan has a long history, and it became popular during the Edo Era. There are many sento in urban areas where the population is concentrated, and there are still 500 public baths in Tokyo. A classic sento, designed like a temple imaging heaven, has an architectural presence in the city. These sento not only have a bathing function, but have always played a role as a local community hub, having many possibilities as a safety net for various social problems such as elderly care and childcare, and for social issues such as local disaster resilience. However, in recent years, sento have drastically decreased, due to the spread of in-home baths, the condition of buildings, inheritance problems and so on. In addition sento occupying large pieces of and are prime targets for real-estate developers. The loss of every sento is lamentable, but of even greater concern is the impact on the neighborhood: empty houses without baths are increasingly abandoned, the shops that regular bath customers visited closed, and people stop walking at the street which were illuminated by the light of bathhouse. The area gradually changes and loses its vitality, as sento had supported the "regional ecosystem". On the other hand, young people and medias have shown increased interest in sento . Indeed, the role of a community hub is being reevaluated at a time when the lack of communication has become a major issue. Recently, there are increasing number of cases in which sento are operated as a modern local salon with various functions such as event spaces, and runner stations. At the same time, more and more public baths are converted into shared offices and galleries. There are cases that citizens use local vacant buildings to voluntarily create a community hub instead of a sento. Also, we are trying to convert sento to cultural assets, in order to maintain and revitalize sento, which is a symbol of the local community, and reorganize the local network. In this paper, I would like to consider the future of past heritage in popular culture through examples of sento. How can we visualize and utilize the local ecosystem that extends from a sento to the entire region? In Tokyo, a city with a high metabolism, I will introduce local cultural heritage that should be handed down to the future, using the historical local base like sento as a case study, and present its current status, various trials, and possibilities.

Creative Temporary Use of Vacant Building

Deterioration in urban areas requires revitalization efforts to reuse vacant buildings. This is essential because abandoned buildings are known to have a negative influence on the situation and public activities in their surroundings. To reduce negative impact and prevent further damage to such buildings, a first step that can be taken is to activate these spaces with a variety of temporary functions. Creative activities with their flexible and experimental character are ideal solutions for temporary use of abandoned buildings. Artists are considered capable of inspiring society, including policymakers, in responding to this issue. In addition, abandoned buildings can be seen as ‘spatial experiments’ that can be a good source of creative ideas for the city. This paper discusses an artist’s approach to creating works of art in response to a specific abandoned building. Furthermore, the realization of a temporary creative activity, its background, its initiation, and impact on the stakeholders and the community was studied as a possible model for a re-activation strategy towards abandoned buildings in urban areas involving various parties. The Dian Lentera Budaya exhibition by Tisna Sanjaya was used as a case study. The exhibition took place at Bioskop Dian, a historical building in the city of Bandung that is currently not in use.

Bottom-up Urban Regeneration and Vacant Buildings: A Framework to understand how Empty Properties can be Strategically Embedded in Bottom-up Projects

The bottom-up projects, in the years after the Great Crisis, have been considered as a popular measure to solve urban issues, overcoming the conditions of austerity faced by public actors. However, these initiatives not only seem confined to solve very specific issues but are often linked to a more comprehensive urban regeneration strategy, thus capable of addressing the economic, social and physical aspects of a wider part of the city. This article presents the first findings of wider research, which analyses the link between bottom-up practices and the concept of urban regeneration. In particular, this article focuses on an element that appears to be fundamental for the development of these bottom-up urban regeneration practices: the presence of vacant buildings available for the reuse. This article suggests the possibility to analyse how vacant buildings are embedded in these practices through three steps, called steps for the regeneration through the reuse of vacant buildings (SteRVs), namely Recognition, Appropriation and Design. The validity of the three phases is demonstrated through a multiple case study analysis, that considers two renowned bottom-up urban regeneration cases developed in Europe mainly after 2000: Farm Cultural Park, in Favara (Italy) and NDSM wharf, in Amsterdam.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the energy consumption of university buildings

Exceptional pandemic lockdown measures enabled singular experiments such as analysing the energy consumption of vacant buildings. This paper assesses the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the energy use of academic buildings. For this purpose, weather-adjusted energy use was compared before and during the lockdown, including different levels of lockdown restrictions. Results obtained for the 83 academic buildings of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech (UPC) reveal that the avoided energy consumption amounted to over 4.3 GWh during the post-pandemic year. However, the results indicate that academic buildings were still using approximately 46.9% of their typical energy consumption during strict lockdown. This revelation emphasizes the high environmental burden of buildings, regardless of whether they are occupied.

A private sustainable partner selection model for green public-private partnerships and regional economic development

Many cities are struggling to keep pace with limited budgets and rapid growth. Economic development models involving public-private partnerships (P3s) can help drive economic revitalization. The choice of partners plays a vital role in the success or failure of sustainable P3 initiatives. In this study, we propose a novel integrated sustainable private partner selection framework in P3s. The proposed model is composed of the best-worst method (BWM), the weighted influence non-linear gauge system (WINGS), and the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS). The BWM is used to identify the importance weights of the economic, environmental, social, and technological criteria. The WINGS method uses ideographic causal maps to analyze the intertwined criteria and their causal relations. TOPSIS is used to rank and select the private partners that will bring the “best value” to the partnership. We demonstrate the proposed method's applicability in a P3 initiative for sustainability, gentrification and neighborhood revitalization, and economic development in a northeastern US city. In this initiative, low density, low cost, and biodegradable agricultural waste and mushroom fibers are grown in vacant buildings to be used as a Styrofoam packaging replacement.

SEEING THE AGREEMENT OF THE RESIDENTS IN FILLING EMPTY SPACE IN THE SETTLEMENT

Land availability is increasingly limited, so it is not surprising that land prices are getting more expensive. However, behind the high price of land, there is a lot of empty space, especially in settlements, in the form of vacant land, buildings, ready-to-build land and built-up land that is not utilized or stalled. There are houses in settlements that are purchased only for investment so that they are not used or occupied by the owner, vacant land such as land under a network of sutets, and land in the form of lots ready to build in unsold housing. This condition is of course very unfortunate given the high price of land and the very high needs of the community for land, especially for housing, social space and as a place of business. Therefore, this research is to see how the occupants agree to fill the empty space in the settlement, using qualitative methods. The results showed that most residents agree that empty spaces in settlements should not be left empty for too long, but can be used for useful things while maintaining public interests, not harming others, not disturbing others, positive activities. and keep the environment clean. The use of empty space in settlements, both formal and non-formal by residents of the premises, is as a place to raise fish, place animal cages, plant fruit and vegetable gardens, park vehicles, play areas for children, place temporary leaf trash, sports fields and night markets.

Exterior housing conditions are associated with objective measures of poor sleep among low-income older adults with disabilities

ObjectiveTo examine the association of housing and neighborhood conditions with sleep among disadvantaged older adults. MethodsWe used data from 136 low-income, predominantly Black older adults with disabilities. Predictors were indices of: interior housing conditions (eg, pests, tripping hazards); exterior housing conditions (eg, broken windows); and neighborhood disorder (eg, litter, vacant buildings). Outcomes were actigraphic total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE). ResultsIn models adjusted for age, sex, education, living arrangement, comorbidities, and physical performance, each additional exterior housing problem was associated with 20.9-minutes less TST (95% confidence interval [CI]: −39.2, −2.6), 8.6-minutes more WASO (95% CI: 0.7, 16.5), and 2.3% lower SE (95% CI: −4.2, −0.4). The associations of interior housing conditions and neighborhood disorder with the sleep parameters were of smaller magnitude and not statistically significant. ConclusionsFuture studies should examine the effects of housing repair on sleep health.

Mapping of Re-Assessing Gentrification Process Post-Pandemic COVID-19 in The Old Town Semarang, Indonesia

The revitalization of The Semarang Old Town revived this area as a tourist destination and generated regional economic growth. Several new restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, and other economic activities emerge along with tourism development. Job vacancies were offered and attracted newcomers to work as well as to invest. Consequently, properties that previously had no economic value became a potential asset, increasing land prices and building rental prices significantly. Hence, gentrification becomes an inevitable phenomenon. Local communities previously inhabited vacant buildings for years were displaced because the buildings would be restored and then rented out. However, these situations changed after the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, that many restrictions on community activities, including tourism. Visitors’ numbers decrease drastically, making many businesses in the Old Town suffer losses. It pointed by several coffee shops and restaurants closed, or they did not extend the rents. In contrast, the number of informal sectors which restricted surged in line with many work terminations. Hence, this study aims to re-assess the gentrification process along with the socio-economic changes after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a quantitative method by applying the spatial analysis method, which compares aspects such as physical transformation, space use, land prices, rent prices, land ownership, and population growth before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Observational Study of the Association Between Exposure to Vacant Building Demolitions and Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Under Six in St Louis City.

St Louis City has been demolishing vacant buildings at an increasing rate. Demolition can cause lead dust spread, and childhood lead exposure can have negative effects on cognition, growth, and development. Previous studies show an association between exposure to multiple demolitions and elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs) in children, but St Louis City does not monitor the effects of demolitions on children's blood lead levels. The purpose of this study was to measure the association between exposure to demolitions and EBLLs in children younger than 6 years in St Louis City from 2017 to 2020. We analyzed blood lead testing data for children 0 to 72 months of age (n = 22 192) and proximity to demolitions. Exposure was the presence of demolitions within 400 ft of a child's address in the 33 days before their first lead test. We used logistic regression to test the association between proximity to demolition and EBLLs (≥5 µg/dL). The percentage of children living in proximity to 1 or more demolitions was slightly higher among those with EBLLs (n = 21; 1.3%) than among those without EBLLs (n = 250; 1.2%). However, after adjusting for age, sex, year home was built, season, neighborhood socioeconomic percentile, and neighborhood racial composition, the odds of EBLLs were not significantly different for children exposed to 1 or more demolitions (OR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.5-1.25) compared with exposed to zero demolitions. Although this study found no association between exposure to demolitions and EBLLs, results should be interpreted with caution, given numerous limitations. Given the consequences of childhood lead exposure, it is recommended that St Louis City conduct a similar analysis on demolitions conducted after 2020 using systematically collected demolition dates. Targeted testing or soil and air monitoring could also be informative.

Adaptive Reuse and Sustainability Protocols in Italy: Relationship with Circular Economy

This paper explores the enhancement of adaptive reuse (AR) of buildings through the lens of the sustainability protocols within the context of circular economy (CE) in Italy. Cities and the built environment can play a key role in the transition to a CE, especially considering the documented negative global impact due to resource consumption and waste generation. This is recognised among the principles of circularity defined by the European Commission towards a general strategy for a sustainable built environment, which encourages initiatives of building reuse and land consumption reduction. It has been proven that the AR of vacant buildings can bring environmental, social, and economic benefits towards an urban strategy based on CE principles by generating useful values to support innovative development dynamics. In this perspective, the sustainability protocols can be identified as useful tools to pursue strategies for spreading the culture of sustainable build environment. Considering the huge vacant Italian architectural heritage, this paper aims to analyze how the most widely used sustainability protocols in the Italian context currently address the enhancement of the reuse of buildings, to improve environmental, social, and economic quality in the built environment. We discuss the results highlighting how and which sustainability protocols better intercept these issues, providing grounds for future development.

Retrofitting, repurposing and re-placing: A multi-media exploration of occupation in Cape Town, South Africa

The vast majority of city planning literature on informal occupations has focused on how residents occupy vacant and peripheral land, developing informal structures to address their basic needs. A smaller body of work, but one with much purchase in South Africa, explores the informal occupation of existing formal structures and how residents infuse these emergent places with social and political meaning. Across this work, occupations represent a dominant mode of city-building in the Global South. Contributing to this debate on city-making and occupations, this paper departs from an unusual case of South African occupation. We explore how displaced people have occupied a multi-storey vacant hospital building situated close to Cape Town’s city centre. Using documentary photography and interviews with residents, we argue that this occupation reflects a logic of ‘retrofit city-making’. We show that, through processes of repairing, repurposing, and renovating, dwellers have retrofit an institutional building, previously designed by the state for a very different use, to meet their needs and desires. As cities become more densely built and vacant land more peripheral or scarce, the retrofit of underutilised buildings, particularly through bottom-up actions such as occupation, will become an increasingly important mode of urban development. Not only are the practices of material transformation useful to understand, so too are the ways in which occupations reflect significantly more than simply survivalist strategies, but also care and meaning-making.

Residential Street Block Disorder and Biological Markers of Aging in Older Adults: The National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Residential environments are associated with older adults' health, but underlying physiologic causal mechanisms are not well understood. As adults age, street blocks are likely more relevant to their health than the larger neighborhood environment. This study examined the effects of adverse street block conditions on aging biomarkers among older adults. We included community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 67 and older with 2017 biomarker data from the nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends Study (n = 4357). Street block disorder in 2016 was measured using interviewer report of any trash/glass/litter, graffiti, or vacant buildings on participants' blocks. Propensity score models were used to create balanced groups with regard to multiple 2015 participant characteristics, including demographic, socioeconomic, residence, and early-life characteristics. Linear regressions modeled street block disorder as a predictor of 4 aging biomarkers, hemoglobin A1C, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and cytomegalovirus antibodies, before and after applying propensity score weighting. Adjusting for participant sociodemographic characteristics and applying propensity score weights, living on a block with any disorder was associated with 2% higher mean hemoglobin A1C levels (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.002-0.03), 13% higher C-reactive protein (95% CI: 0.03-0.23), 10% higher interleukin-6 (95% CI: 0.02-0.19), and 19% more cytomegalovirus antibodies (95% CI: 0.09-0.29) compared to living on a block with no disorder. Street block disorder predicted subsequent aging biomarkers after applying a propensity score approach to account for confounding among a national sample of older adults. Targeting street-level residential contexts for intervention may reduce the risk for poor health in older adults.

Urban Regeneration between Cultural Heritage Preservation and Revitalization: Experiences with a Decision Support Tool in Eastern Germany

Concentrated urban development in capital cities is associated with negative effects. Simultaneously, less favourably located cities suffer from population loss and economic decline. Shrinking cities face a loss of urban functions such as public infrastructure, high-quality services and various aspects of urban living; the cultural heritage is also degraded through declining population and vacant buildings. The end result is a lower level of attractiveness and competitiveness along with negative development prospects. At the same time, booming cities and city regions face negative agglomeration externalities such as rising real estate prices and rents, traffic congestion, land use conflicts or poor environmental quality. One such shrunk town is Görlitz in Eastern Germany, where a new decision support tool to foster urban regeneration and heritage preservation has been tested—the Urban Transformation Matrix. This tool aims at revitalising the historic building stock protected by heritage preservation law. The idea is to openly discuss structural alterations to buildings in order to foster revitalisation and high-quality occupancy not only in the case of individual buildings, but also in the wider neighbourhood context, which in turn can promote further revitalisation and revaluation of the entire urban district. The Matrix takes into account both heritage aspects and the proposed post-refurbishment function of a building before launching the approval procedure for the construction work. Based on scientific monitoring, the article reflects the heated discussions around the Urban Transformation Matrix and the test-period of its application, as well as factors of successful implementation.

Feelings of safety during daytime walking: associations with mental health, physical activity and cardiometabolic health in high vacancy, low-income neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan

IntroductionIndividuals living in low-income neighborhoods have disproportionately high rates of obesity, Type-2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic conditions. Perceived safety in one’s neighborhood may influence stress and physical activity, with cascading effects on cardiometabolic health.MethodsIn this study, we examined relationships among feelings of safety while walking during the day and mental health [perceived stress (PSS), depression score], moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA), Body Mass Index (BMI), and hemoglobin A1C (A1C) in low-income, high-vacancy neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan. We recruited 69 adults who wore accelerometers for one week and completed a survey on demographics, mental health, and neighborhood perceptions. Anthropometrics were collected and A1C was measured using A1CNow test strips. We compiled spatial data on vacant buildings and lots across the city. We fitted conventional and multilevel regression models to predict each outcome, using perceived safety during daytime walking as the independent variable of interest and individual or both individual and neighborhood-level covariates (e.g., number of vacant lots). Last, we examined trends in neighborhood features according to perceived safety.ResultsIn this predominantly African American sample (91%), 47% felt unsafe during daytime walking. Feelings of perceived safety significantly predicted PSS (β = − 2.34, p = 0.017), depression scores (β = − 4.22, p = 0.006), and BMI (β = − 2.87, p = 0.01), after full adjustment. For PA, we detected a significant association for sex only. For A1C we detected significant associations with blighted lots near the home. Those feeling unsafe lived in neighborhoods with higher park area and number of blighted lots.ConclusionFuture research is needed to assess a critical pathway through which neighborhood features, including vacant or poor-quality green spaces, may affect obesity—via stress reduction and concomitant effects on cardiometabolic health.

Security and Legal Protection for Building Owner of the Land Belongs to Others Related to Principle of Horizontal Separation

The increasing need for land can lead to conflicts in the land sector;therefore,the Indonesian government has enacted Law Number 5 of 1960 concerning Basic Agrarian Principles,which intends to establish a National Agrarian Law based on Customary Law on land. The Land Law adopted by the Basic Agrarian Law rests on Customary Law whichrecognizes the horizontal scheidingprinciple. The implementation is with the existence of lease rights for buildings. In line with the principle of horizontal separation adhered to by the Basic Agrarian Law, building construction can be carried out either on one's land or on other people's land.The problem discussed in this study is how legal certainty and protection for building owners who stand on land owned by other peopleand what legal remedies the building owner can take to own the building still useother people's land.The research method used is normative juridical;typology used in this research is explanatory research and prescriptive research. The approach used in this research is normative.Based on this research results, Defendant I and Defendant II are not allowed to submit a petition for vacant buildings belonging to Plaintiff is on land owned by Defendant I and Defendant II. The building belonged to Plaintiff, so Defendant I and Defendant II did not have authority over the building. If it is related to the principle of horizontal separation, the request to vacate the establishmentis contrary to the regulationadhered to by agrarian law in Indonesia.Can do another result of the efforts made by building owners to use other people's land through non-litigation, litigation, and abrasive actions.Keywords:Legal Certainty, Legal Protection, Horizontal Separation Principle