Simulation of urban affordable housing land-use evolution based on CA-MAS model

In order to simulate the evolution of affordable housing land use a dynamic model that combines cellular automata CA and a multi-agent system MAS is established.This paper aims to utilize the approach of decision factors on site selection of affordable housing through a literature review to construct a hierarchy model of those factors identifying the weight of each factor by an analytic hierarchy process AHP .Based on those weight factors the CA-MAS model is designed. Nanjing city is taken as an example to verify the feasibility of the model.The results show that the CA-MAS model is pragmatic and effective in simulating evolution of affordable housing land use which also promotes the fundamental understanding and perception of the development of affordable housing and urbanization.

External Landscape Design of Affordable Housing in Yuxing Homeland of Shanghai City

Approaches of external landscape design for affordable housing were discussed through analyzing the landscape designs of Yuxing Homeland in Shanghai City. By adopting simple landscape elements, following the design principle of 'natural, simple and comfortable', proceeding from the overall concept, a space for neighbors’ communication with pleasant environment and outstanding functions was created, a harmonious living environment was built, and the optimal landscape benefits were obtained.

Effectual Planning on Affordable Housing—The Case of Nanjing

This research scrutinize how the Chinese system applied to reduces cost effectiveness in order to curves housing affordability for the purpose of land prices for the social housing popularly known as low cost social housing schemes as the government took measures throughout the years, however the paper describes the key characteristics of Chinese urban planning and design system, subsidies to social rented housing producers are being cut and equates this with practice within Chinese spectrum. The paper describes the key characteristics of the national planning, as per the recent trends housing policy on-affordability, this planning system assists overall housing requirements and how it has been adapted. It explains the new arrangements the government has put into place to lower land prices for social housing and argues that this represents provide and expand the supply of good quality housing units;make housing more affordable and readily available;promote economic diversity in residential neighborhood;help households build wealth;and promote balanced metropolitan growth.

Quantifying Embodied Energy Using Green Building Technologies under Affordable Housing Construction

The building construction industry is a major contributor of environmental pollution, with high levels of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which contribute to climate change. Housing is the single largest subsector of the construction industry. It is also a basic need associated with social and economic benefits, and its demand in most emerging economies is substantial. Hence it is a sector with significant potential not to mitigate just the negative impact of climate change on buildings and people, but also to reduce the impact of the construction industry on the natural environment. Green buildings technology has advanced greatly in recent years, but most “high performance” green buildings are capital intensive, often with high-tech applications that are not in easy reach of the mass housing market. In the developing country context, where huge segments of the population lack access to essential services or housing, the green buildings approach to addressing climate change is perceived to be largely unaffordable. For green technology to be adopted in poorer nations and have scalable impact, it will have to be low-cost and affordable. According to a 2010 report, buildings in the commercial, office and hospitality sectors are poised to grow at 8% annually over the next 10 years in India. While the retail sector has been growing rapidly at 8% per annum, the residential sector has seen growth of 5% per annum during this period. It is estimated that over 70 million New Urban Housing Units will be required over the next 20 Years.

The Challenges in Providing Affordable Housing in Nigeria and the Adequate Sustainable Approaches for Addressing Them

Despite multiple schemes implemented by various governments around the country, affordable housing remains elusive to the average Nigerian. Because the situation is comparable to that of other developing nations, it remains a key concern in these countries’ socioeconomic development. Over 52% of Nigeria’s population has been claimed to live in shanties, squatter communities, and informal settlements. This article, therefore, reviews the challenges to the provision of affordable housing in Nigeria and the Sustainable approaches to address them. The article’s findings were based on a thorough examination of the literature. The article’s findings indicated that sustainable approaches for addressing Nigeria’s affordable housing barriers may best be examined through the economic, ecological, social, institutional, and technical factors. The paper urges the present regime, investors, lawmakers, and private developers in Nigeria to implement these approaches for affordable housing provision. The findings from this article will add to the current body of knowledge by providing important information on affordable housing provision and re-directing research interest towards affordable housing in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Green Affordable Social Housing: A Survey-Based Passive Cooling Design, with Focus on Jakande Housing Estate in Lagos, Nigeria

With rising health risks escalating from temperatures in the Global South, the shortage of essential indoor cooling is frequently seen as a dimension of energy poverty and human wellbeing. As a result, this study assessed ventilation and passive cooling in Jakande, Lagos Housing estate to design social housing that integrates proper cross ventilation and cooling. A total of 1215 housing units in the estate were used for the sampling frame. Based on the survey, the authors proposed an analytical housing design equipped with urban greenery that allows for free air movement with minimal thermal discomfort. The design methodology aids continuous cooling within the housing envelope and also improves aesthetics and landscaping within the environment.

Design Drivers for Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Developing Countries

Current demand for housing worldwide has reached unprecedented levels due to factors such as human population growth, natural disasters and conflict. This is felt no more so than in developing countries which have experienced disproportionate levels of demand due to their innate vulnerability. Many current approaches to housing delivery in developing countries continue to utilize inappropriate construction methods and implementation procedures that are often problematic and unsustainable. As such affordability and sustainability are now vital considerations in the international development debate for housing the poor in developing countries in order to meet the long term sustainable development goals and needs of housing inhabitants. This paper utilized an extensive scoping study to examine the various facets impacting on design decision making relative to sustainable and affordable housing delivery in developing country contexts. Aspects of affordability, sustainability, design decision making, appropriate technology use, cultural awareness, as well as current barriers to affordable and sustainable construction in developing countries are examined in detail. Results highlighted the capability of indigenous knowledge, skills and materials as well as selected appropriate technology transfer and cultural awareness by foreign bodies can be utilized in innovative ways in addressing current housing needs in many developing country contexts.

Applications of Housing Affordability Measurement Approaches Used in Planning Affordable Housing: A Systematic Review

Housing affordability measurement is a recurring subject in planning literature. Research evidence suggests that in planning for affordable housing, planners typically apply the normative (ratio and residual income) measures to all variants of affordability stress. Hence, proffering intervention strategies that often fail to address peculiar situations in their towns. This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence in the literature relating to various applications of housing affordability measurement approaches. To ascertain the various application fields/domains, present findings, specify relevant literature gaps, and propose future research themes. The review findings demonstrate that the accurateness of conclusions reached, about the severity of the housing affordability problem is highly dependent on the measurement approach used. The study concludes that the application of appropriate methods to specific situations leads to better planning outcomes.

Impact of the Built Environment on the Mental Health of the Inhabitants in High-Rise Collective Housing in Algeria

For everybody, the house or the accommodation （and its environment） is a secure place, a haven space, which protects people from constraints of the everyday life. Unfortunately, and more or less everywhere in the third world, accommodation is for a great number of people a source of stress caused by daily obligations that people have to deal with. In Algeria, the majority of the high-rise collective housing estates through the country offers all the ingredients of a constrained urban environment for the inhabitants. For the most of the population, the accommodation appears as a vital need rather than a negotiable good. As a matter of fact, in the third world in general and particularly in Algeria, most of people live in communities where there is a shortage of accommodation and in which the social housing and its environment are often below the standards. Constructed on policies and a conception of housing which does not integrate at all the criteria of the sustainable development, millions of fiats have already been built. Millions are going to be built in the future, and will be of high-rise collective type. As underlined in this paper, it seems reasonable to think that such a degraded built environment will be unfavorable to the inhabitants and will have a negative impact on both their mental and physical health. The attempt is to demonstrate that there are evidences according to which the housing conditions, inside and outside the accommodation, contribute to create psychological distress and physiological diseases.

Analysis on Affordable Housing Financial Mechanism in USA

Affordable housing development consists of many stages and financing is one stage which plays a critical role.Providing housing developers easy access to high- quality and low-cost capital is an effective way to encourage them to develop more affordable houses.This paper mainly focuses on affordable housing finance mechanism in USA.The first section is an overview of affordable housing in terms of definition,functions and current regulations for affordable housing.In the second section,there is an introduction of the whole affordable housing financing market.Most of the available financing resources are discussed in this part.Mainstream fund resources are discussed in the third section.The purpose of this paper is to provide housing developers an overview about affordable housing financing market and introduce several mainstream ones in detail.As well,this paper will provide an analysis for Chinese affordable housing developers about what they can learn from the USA and what potential opportunities are in China.

A Case Study of Affordable Housing in a Medium-Sized City in Central China

The main task of this paper is to explore the housing condition and housing policy in the vast but long-neglected middle-sized cities in China. Under the requirement of ＂Construction of 10 Million Units in 2011＂ from the central government, the affordable housing has started its nationwide building. Medium-sized cities are facing different developing periods but applying same housing policy as big cities. The paper examines the economic and social condition of the case city to find out the housing problems. It concludes that houses are affordable in these medium-sized cities, but housing policies are not implemented well. The paper proposed that housing affordability in medium-sized city is not about quantity but about quality. To keep houses affordable in these medium-sized cities, housing market, legislation, urban planning, public participation and intensive developments are all important.

The Benefits of Solar Energy on the Provision of Sustainable Affordable Housing in Nigeria

Solar energy is the most abundant form of energy on Earth. Solar energy brings impactful benefits and products that are expected to make homes more reliable, sustainable, and affordable. Thanks to technological advancements like the solar cell, we can gather this energy and turn it into electricity. The construction industry has an exceptional chance of benefiting from this sustainable energy. Many recognised benefits have been spelled forth in the construction industry, such as providing homes with clean energy with no trace of ozone depleting material emission. There are many people in Nigeria who are not linked to the public electric grid, and the energy sector produces and generates less than 58% of the entire amount of energy required. As stated in the Nigeria’s National Energy General Plan, the Sustainable Energy programme aims to enhance the country’s use of solar electricity. This paper focuses on the role of solar energy in the provision of sustainable affordable housing in Nigeria. It considers the description, method, and utilisation of solar energy with a focus on residential and commercial buildings.

STATION POINTE GREENS-THE JOURNEY TO NET ZERO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

INTRODUCTION Station Pointe Greens,a proposed 219-unit residential and commercial development,promises to be one of the most leading edge Passive House Certified Developments in North America.However,an innovative project such as this requires much time and research,and this project being no exception,it is still in its research and design phase.Its story began in 2008 when the City of Edmonton issued a request for proposals from developers regarding improvement of a brownfield site in Belvedere.This was done as part of the City’s redevelopment initiative for an area which was in dire need of revitalization.The Communitas Group saw a huge opportunity to develop a large-scale multi-family project immediately adjacent to a light rail transit and bus hub.And so the vision of an affordable and sustainable housing project began to take shape.Communitas had already tested the‘green’construction waters on previous projects,most notably Grandin Green,a 15-storey high-rise which was the first Canadian project to qualify for the Federal CBIP grant(25%more energy efficient than required by the Model National Energy Code for Buildings).However,they had never attempted anything as bold and leading edge as Station Pointe Greens.Their goal from the outset was to build one of the greenest multi-family housing cooperative complexes in North America.And like most developers,Communitas wanted to build it with as little‘green’premium as possible.This was,after all,to be affordable housing.

SUSTAINABLE,AFFORDABLE HOUSING-MOVING TOWARDS ZERO ENERGY

INTRODUCTION In 2010,Rural Development,Inc.(RDI)completed construction of Wisdom Way Solar Village(WWSV),a community of 20 homes(ten duplexes)in Greenfield,MA.RDI was committed to very low energy use and sustainable building practices from the outset as they assembled a committed design and construction team.The team worked together closely to optimize site planning,home design and envelope systems,IEQ strategies,sustainable materials,and HVAC and solar systems.Most of the homes were reserved for low-and moderate-income buyers,and most of the buyers were first-time homeowners.RDI coordinated outreach and training for buyers about the homes’design and advanced systems.The homes’design,orientation,and excellent building envelope allowed for very simple HVAC systems-saving RDI$4,000 or more per home when compared to their standard HVAC systems.All of these building systems-combined with active solar electric and thermal systems-resulted in average gas and electric bills of less than$350 per year(14%of the regional average,EIA).The homes also achieved LEED for Homes certification at the Platinum level.The author(an engineer with Steven Winter Associates,SWA)worked with RDI through the design and construction process and conducted evaluations of several building systems before and during occupancy.

THE GREENING OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL FOR GREEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The trend towards affordable, green housing highlights the need for a Green Affordable Housing (GAH) model that produces durable dwellings that are not significantly more expensive to build, cheaper to operate, healthier for their occupants, and more environmentally sound. The model should also reduce the risk of poverty for those with low and moderate incomes, be close to public transportation, and support a neighborhood that is healthy, walkable and connected to the broader community and natural environment. This case study utilized detailed interviews with occupants, town officials, a developer, and a design builder to explore how green building strategies could be applied in real-world communities with the help of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and contributions from other funding bodies. Focusing on the Roanoke and Lee Street housing project in Blacksburg, Virginia (VA), this study demonstrated how green building strategies can be integrated into affordable housing with help from public programs and incentives to provide houses that are more durable, no more expensive to build, cheaper to operate, healthier, more environmentally sound and less risky for their occupants. The new framework includes ways to deal with neighborhood issues such as the deterioration of housing stock and infrastructure to support the creation of a vital and healthy neighborhood with improved public services and community spirit, as well as providing an integrated design process framework that enables stakeholders to work together to achieve the goal of building green and affordable housing.

MULTIFAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT IS HEALTHY,EFFICIENT,COST EFFECTIVE AND LEED PLATINUM

INTRODUCTION A developer who had chronic asthma as a child built the first LEED^(■)(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)Platinum certified apartment complex in Idaho.He has also heard from two residents that their asthma no longer resulted in attacks due to eliminating triggers in the interior environment.Eight years and a dozen multifamily affordable housing projects later,the LEED consultant on these projects has gathered insight on best practices,lessons learned and strate-gies that result in resident,owner and project team satisfaction.Ten projects have achieved LEED Platinum certification(two more are still under construction,but are on track for Platinum),and the HERS(Home Energy Rating System)scores are as low as 48.Feedback has been collected on what works,what doesn’t and what matters most:from low energy bills to living in a healthy home and not having asthma attacks.These projects debunk the assumptions that energy effi-ciency adds too much cost or that green homes are only for the wealthy.

THE ESSENCE OF LOW-ENERGY AFFORDABLE HOUSING DESIGN STRATEGIESLearnt from Scottish and Canadian Homebuilders’Attempt and Experience

Nearly one-third of the Scottish population is struggling to heat their home properly today.There is an urgent need for the delivery of low-energy affordable homes.However,the homebuilding industry has no systematic way to deliver such unconventional homes,although the UK government has set out a bold“green”target that all newly-built homes be carbon neutral by 2016.Accordingly,this paper explores the status quo of today’s affordable homes being built in Scotland;and secondly,it extends the scope to the review of successfully commercialized low-to zero-energy affordable housing developments in Canada.This study emphasizes the significant impact of design choices on the delivery of low-to zero-energy affordable housing,including housing orientations and configurations;construction materials and systems,including renewable energy technologies;and internal planning,with due consideration to the time-related sun positions and the internal space day-lighting and heat gain potentials.In addition,the paper argues that the absence of clear definitions as to housing quality and affordability,and the lack of industry capacity for technical knowledge learning activities,are potential obstacles that limit the spread of sustainable zero-carbon homes in Scotland today.Moreover,the effect of the design charrette approach being practiced in Canada on the homebuilding decision making process was reviewed,with the aim of providing a base for further discussion on the applicability of Canadian low-energy affordable housing design techniques to sustainable zero carbon homes of the future in Scotland.

Living in a Condominium Regime:Neighborhood Conflicts in Low-Income Housing,Tijuana,Baja California-A Secondary Publication

This paper analyzes neighborhood conflicts arising from the condominium property regime,under which social housing promoted by Mexican government institutions and private developers is acquired.This regime has facilitated access to housing for the salaried population,but it is far from contributing to the attainment of the right to housing.The research takes as case studies housing complexes located in the city of Tijuana,Baja California,Mexico.The analysis included a mixed methodology.Firstly,similar case studies were analyzed;secondly,a review of the Condominium Property Regime Law was carried out in order to understand its implications.In view of the pandemic situation,a virtual survey was applied to the inhabitants of these areas,as well as interviews with presidents of neighborhood committees of these complexes.From the above,it was found that this form of ownership generates conflicts,reflected in the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with their housing,disagreements and controversies in their organization and coexistence.The inhabitants have to collectively solve the problems they face,related to the maintenance and use of common areas,insecurity,and cleanliness,among others.In addition,there is a lack of support from local authorities.With this,it is concluded that although the inhabitants have a space that solves their housing problem,it does not manage to be a space that adequately guarantees their right to housing.

A Review on Housing Affordability and Housing Policy Application in Neglected Border Cities in Jordan

The main task of this paper is to examine housing affordability and housing policy application in neglected border cities in Jordan.After the Iraq war in 2003 and Syria civil war in 2011 many border cities accommodated a large number of refugees in its urban context over different periods of time.The lack of affordable housing and increase of unemployment were the main challenges for its vulnerable communities.Border cities are facing different development challenges but applying the same housing policy as metropolises.The paper studies economic attributes and social characteristics of Mafraq city to analyze housing obstacles.It concludes that houses are unaffordable in these border cities and housing policies need modifications.The paper recommended that housing affordability in border cities must include community participation and sufficient financial aid to low income families.In order to maintain houses affordable in border cities,the real estate market,community participation,urban planning and promotion for tourism are all essential.

Utility of a Relatively Affordable In-House HIV-1 Genotyping Assay for Drug Resistance Testing among Non B HIV-1 Infected Drug Naive Patients in Nigeria

Background: The introduction of antiretroviral (ARV) in resource-limited settings has increased life expectancy among non-B HIV-1 infected individuals. We used a validated In-house genotyping assay to characterize non-B HIV-1 and to determine drug resistance mutations among treatment-naive patients. Methods: Plasma samples from 105 HIV-1 infected drug-naive adult patients attending a tertiary hospital Jos, Nigeria were subjected to HIV-1 RNA extraction, reverse transcription amplification, and population-based sequencing of the partial pol gene on the ABI 3130xl genetic analyzer. Subtyping and phylogenetic analyses were performed by REGA Subtyping Tool v2.0 and MEGA v5.0 respectively. Drug resistance profiles were evaluated according to IAS-USA 2013 drug resistance mutations list. Result: One hundred samples (95.2%) were successfully genotyped. The distribution of the non-B HIV-1 subtypes were;CRF02_AG-48%, G-41.0%, CRF06_cpx-6.0%, and A-5.0%. Ten percent of the isolates had at least one major drug resistance mutation in the pol gene. The drug-class specific resistance prevalences were 6.0% for NRTIs;M41L-1.0%, K65KR-1.0%, M184IM-1.0%, M184V-2.0%, and T215ADNT-1%, 8.0% for NNRTIs;K103N-2%, 1.0% for K101E, E138A, G190A, P225HP, Y181I, Y188L, Y181C including protease inhibitors’ Q58E (1.0%). Conclusion: HIV-1 was heterogeneously distributed;CRF02_AG and G predominate and some known major mutations associated with NRTIs and NNRTIs were determined. The In-house assay is suitable for both characterization of non-B HIV-1 subtypes and detection of drug resistance at a significant lower cost than available commercial genotyping assays. This finding underscores the need to consider use of low-cost In-house genotyping assay as an alternative in resource-limited settings with non-B HIV-1 epidemic.