Impact of housing market transformation in Germany on affordable housing: the case of North Rhine-Westphalia In the original publication of the article, the author corrections regarding figures 5, 6 and 7 were inadvertently missed. As all the necessary information is provided in the newly supplied figure 5, figure 6 was removed and Figure 7 has been replaced as figure 6.

Rowland Atkinson and Keith Jacobs: House, home and society

Maarten van Ham, Darja Reuschke, Reinout Kleinhans, Colin Mason and Stephen Syrett (eds.) Entrepreneurial neighbourhoods: towards an understanding of the economies of neighbourhoods and communities

Evaluating drivers of housing vacancy: a longitudinal analysis of large U.S. cities from 1960 to 2010 Abstract Housing vacancies have become a major issue in depopulating, or shrinking, cities. All urban areas, however, are subject to some degree of vacant housing. A small percentage is necessary to allow mobility and sufficient space for growth, and is an indicator of healthy urbanization. Conversely, widespread housing vacancies may indicate structural crisis due to property abandonment. Land area and population changes, shifts in employment, demographic trends, development intensity, and economic conditions are primary drivers of housing vacancies. The degree to which these interrelated factors contribute can fluctuate by city. This paper explores relationships between factors contributing to housing vacancies over time to identify changes in underlying factors. The research examines U.S. cities of over 100,000 population over the period of 1960–2010, conducting multivariate regression analyses in 10-year periods and performing longitudinal panel analyses. The regressions examine changes in urban housing vacancy factors over time while the panel models assess which factors have remained consistent. The panel model results indicate that population change, percent nonwhite populations, unemployment and density are consistent, significant predictors of housing vacancies, The incremental regression models suggest that unemployment and regional location have also been strong indicators of housing vacancies. These results, while somewhat exploratory, provide insight into long-term data that cities should track over time to determine the optimal policy approaches to offset housing vacancies.

Toward building a 3D Web-based spatial decision framework for apartment selection Abstract In the last few decades, there has been a growing interest in effectively incorporating the analytic modeling capabilities of decision support systems and the spatial modeling capabilities of geospatial information systems to solve complex spatial decision-making problems in various fields. Spatial decision support systems assist decision makers in exploring, structuring, and generating solutions for complicated spatial decision problems such as apartment selection. The selection of an apartment is a decision which plays an important role in human life. The good location is the critical factor that affects the value and potential of a real estate. This emphasizes the significance of spatial factors in decision making in real estate business. The spatial accessibility value of each apartment to different service categories can be used while choosing the most suitable apartment. Hence, the study covers not only non-spatial aspects, for example, unit price, house size, and number of rooms, but also spatial aspects, such as spatial accessibility, of the apartment selection. To sum up, this study proposes a spatial decision framework, called EMEKLI, to facilitate the decision-making process for the selection of an apartment in the presence of different priorities and uncertainties among the decision criteria. Furthermore, the recommendations obtained from the decision-making process are shared with the decision makers in the 3D environment through a virtual globe.

Exploring the determinants of residential satisfaction in public rental housing in China: a case study of Chongqing Abstract This research examines residential satisfaction in a large Public Rental Housing (PRH) program in the developing municipality of Chongqing, a city located in western China. Twenty-three critical factors were identified through intensive literature review and incorporated into a large-sample survey of eight residential estates of PRH in Chongqing. The survey data were analysed using factor analysis, one sample T-test, stepwise multiple regression analysis, and ANOVA. The results showed generally, the residents neither expressed satisfaction nor dissatisfaction with their current housing situation in the estates sampled. Five domains of residential satisfaction were identified ranging from dwelling features, dwelling facilities, public facilities, neighbourhood environment to housing policy. Factors in the domain of dwelling features, dwelling facilities and housing policies were found to make positive contribution to the residential satisfaction, while negative contributions were made by the factors in the domains of public facilities and neighbourhood environment. Three key determinants of overall residential satisfaction were identified using multiple regression, namely public facilities, neighbourhood environment and housing policies. In addition, the results revealed that age, education, family income, residence length and housing type have significant impact on residential satisfaction with PRH programs. Consequently, related policy interventions could be introduced to improve the residential satisfaction in public rental housing.

The drivers and implications of mega-mergers: Evidence from English not-for-profit housing organisations Abstract Heightened economic uncertainty, reduced government expenditure and reliance on capital markets have had a profound impact on not-for-profit housing providers across the globe, forcing them to strategically pursue new business models to ensure their long-term survival. Whilst mergers are not new for the English not-for-profit housing sector, a number of mega-mergers have materialised among the largest housing associations, with these newly formed organisations predicted to become amongst the largest volume housing builders in England and largest housing associations in Europe. Drawing on business literature, this paper examines the policy and business drivers, alongside managers’ motivations and strategic choices that have culminated towards this mega-merger activity. These processes are highly significant for contemporary housing policy, with the dominance of large-scale organisations marking a complete reversal from a position where not-for-profit housing providers used to be valued as small-scale, locally based community organisations. Whilst empirically this article focuses on English housing associations, the underlying drivers and strategic behaviours have considerable resonance elsewhere, as not-for-profit housing organisations across the globe face pressures to transform.

Factors influencing university students' accommodation choices: risk perception, safety, and vulnerability Abstract The mitigation of human and societal losses is among the guiding principles of the United Nations’ Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, but their implementation requires actions to address the needs of vulnerable categories. Higher education’s students can be considered in this perspective, due to their tendency to live in modest and inexpensive accommodation, without being necessarily integrated in the local community and its safety networks. Despite student’s mobility and housing patterns have been studied consistently, the implications of their choices and risk perceptions remain a marginal topic in the scientific debate on disaster reduction. In this paper, we investigate which factors influence students’ decision to rent an accommodation, focusing on understanding their risk perception and safety awareness. The research analyses a case study in Central Italy, where we surveyed 338 students of the University of Ancona. Our results highlight that safety is not the paramount factor influencing students’ choice for an accommodation and that not all the students were able to define the risk level of the city they live in. Instead, we show that students considered the rent as the most important factor influencing their choices, followed by the proximity of the accommodation to services. Our conclusions suggest that decision makers should integrate vulnerability reduction strategies on student housing plans to meet the target of proposed by the Sendai Framework, promoting actions at complementary levels on education, training and awareness. Finally, we propose that those elements should be better investigated in future researches.

Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality: five cases in Valdivia, Southern Chile Abstract The transformation of Chilean cities has followed a similar morphological pattern of change as observed in European and North American cities. From individuals to communities, social interactions have been decreasing following the individualistic single-family housing model. Evaluating these changes provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of urban form, especially in intermediate cities in southern Chile in which there is very little evidence of these processes. Assessing neighborhood vitality, as it is triggered by components of urban form, can help contribute recommendations for more sustainable future planning and the improvement of current environments. This study investigates the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality in five neighborhoods in the city of Valdivia, Chile. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to explore the morphological elements that influence human activity, to determine how various spatial elements impact vitality levels. Results show that certain neighborhoods have a greater degree of morphological adaptability to generate a diversity of uses. Further, four conditions are associated to increased human interaction in neighborhoods, including land use mix, block size, plot sizes and adaptability. Finally, our results are used to propose recommendations to guide the urban design of neighborhoods towards a more sustainable path.

Living on the move, dwelling between temporality and permanence in Syria Abstract Although the international displacement of people caused by the Syrian conflict has dominated the media for the past several years, an inside story that is less visible requires more attention: that of internal displacement. More than half of the population of Syria has been forced to flee their houses. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in December 2017 accounted for more than six and a half million, more than a third of the total of population of Syria in 2011 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2012. http://www.internal-displacement.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/). Displaced Syrians have experienced constraints in getting adequate housing for the short- and mid-term inside and outside the country. However, internal displacement, in particular, adds a dimension to the complex notion of mass sheltering. Sheltering policies, or lack thereof, as well as the shelter itself as a design and construction product all express the power of those who govern more than the aspirations of those who inhabit. Affected groups find solutions by themselves, via national or international organisations, or a combination of both. However, such solutions function under the influence of authorities controlling the area in which IDPs are received. Among the alternatives available to displaced communities, this paper reviews two cases of internally displaced families in Syria: a collective centre in government-controlled Damascus (schools) and a planned camp in Afes village in a rebel-held area near Idlib.