Metropolitan Housing Development in Urban Fringe Areas-A Case Study of Three Metropolitan Cities of South Africa: Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane

Purpose:The metropolitan cities of Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane play an important role in the economy of the Gauteng province in South Africa.The region constitutes to 22.4 percent of the total population of South Africa and has a strong presence and contributes in areas of manufacturing sector,financial and business services,retail and wholesale trade,etc.The rapid urban population,increase in the informal settlements and socio-economic opportunities has resulted in considerable urban sprawl in and around the urban fringe areas of these metropolitan cities.The urban fringe areas of these metros often come under the influence of rapid urbanization process and pressures.Coupled with the economical and potential land dynamics and lack of priority of spatial development guidelines,these areas attract rapid and haphazard development from communities and developers.Research Design/Methodology:This research is based on a qualitative approach through a comprehensive literature review that included content analysis of key documents on housing sector such as IDPs(Integrated Development Plans),Municipal Annual Reports,Growth Development Strategies,and among other sectoral documents on housing sector.Some of the key priority issues considered in the housing sector included:eradication of housing backlogs,spatial restructuring of housing,provision of choice in terms of location,tenure and housing typology.Findings:The current paper discusses the approaches of metropolitan housing development processes in three metropolitan cities of South Africa from Gauteng region,namely:Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane.The paper discusses the existing housing sectoral scenario along with the fringe areas in three cities with focus on:formal and informal settlements,housing segregation and the backlogs,current institutional arrangements,role of public private participation,and scope for alternate mechanisms.The paper concludes in discussion on sustainable development options for housing development in urban fringe areas.

Development of Sustainable Urban-Rural Integration:Dongtan Case Study

The environmental impact issues,such as global warming and expansion of the urban zone,seem more serious and have become the biggest defining challenges of the 21st century.Climate change can lead to water shortages,desertification,land degradation,air pollution,rising sea levels,accelerated deforestation,and exacerbated economic pressures.Global urban growth greatly impacts changes in sociability,humanity,and the environment of the Earth.The human presence,especially in cities,seriously affects resource use and waste disposal,and they are consuming natural resources faster than the planet can sustain during urbanization,changing how people live.China,with a population of 1.3 billion,has seen tens of millions of people living in the countryside migrate to cities,especially megacities,since the 1980s.As a result of its decision to industrialize and urbanize to boost the economy,China has become the world’s second-largest consumer of energy.In recent years,China’s government has quickly recognized the lessons of“limits to growth”and has taken action by initiating the construction process in Dongtan,Shanghai,China.They are making efforts to build urban-rural integration communities to promote sustainable development.Based on a literature review focusing on Dongtan,research questions are raised according to the research objective:(1)What are the challenges of sustainable development in urban-rural integration?(2)What practices has Dongtan implemented for sustainable development,or how is sustainable development being applied to Dongtan?(3)What are the social,political,environmental,and economic concerns regarding the sustainable development of Dongtan?The sustainable urban-rural integration concerns the ecological,economic,environmental,and psychological aspects of urban-rural integration design and management.The overall objective is to promote sustainable development in economic,social,ecological,and spatial dimensions.It will be a liveable,complete community that makes economic,environmental,and social sense locally while also contributing to national and global sustainable development.It will serve as a compelling model for how to build sustainable urban-rural integration worldwide.

A new approach towards the sustainability of urban-rural integration:The development strategy for central villages in the Abbasiya District of Iraq using GIS techniques

The development of rural areas usually has a positive impact on the urban-rural integration. This study explores an innovative approach to stimulate rural development by proposing qualified villages as central villages that can provide basic urban services for their residents and residents of neighboring villages. This approach can contribute to overcoming the various problems that rural areas faced at the social, economic, and environmental levels. It seeks to achieve spatial sustainability of rural areas, representing a new approach by integrating urban development methods to revitalize rural villages. The study analyzed 15 villages belonging to Abbasiya District of AL Kufa City in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Based on the GIS techniques and the analysis of urban service indicators(village population, percentage of urban building materials used in villages, distance between village and health centers, distance between village and main roads, nature of economic activity, distance between village and educational institutions, distance between village and drinking water sources, number of communication towers, and distance between village and urban administrative center), this study proposed that Abu Gharb and Albu Ghraib can served as central villages in Abbasiya District in the future. This study establishes a new rural spatial structure to achieve rural sustainable development, improves the development status of rural areas, and provides a theoretical basis for the government and relevant institutions to use urban service indicators, achieving rural sustainable development and formulating relevant development policies in Abbasiya District.

Development Path of Urban-rural Integration

The urban and rural areas are regarded as two major components of the regional economic system. Only through joint balanced development of the two can we achieve overall economic optimization and social welfare maximization. But the great social division of labor has separated urban areas from rural areas,which casts the shadow of city-oriented theory on cooperative relations between urban and rural areas. Mutual separation between urban and rural settlements and independent development trigger off a range of social problems. We must undertake guidance through rational development path of urban-rural integration,to eliminate the phenomenon of urban-rural dual structure,and promote the sustainable development of population,resources and environment in urban and rural areas as soon as possible.

A GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach for Mapping Accessibility Patterns of Housing Development Sites: A Case Study in Canmore, Alberta

This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based multicriteria decision analysis approach for mapping accessibility patterns of housing development sites in Canmore, Alberta. The approach involves integrating two multicriteria decision methods (Analytical Hierarchy Process and Ordered Weighted Aver-aging) in a raster GIS environment, and incorporating the linguistic quantifier concept as a method for ob-taining the order weights. The approach facilitates a wide range of location (decision) strategies to be gener-ated and examined. The aim of the study is to help the housing development authorities in addressing the uncertainty involved in the decision making process, achieving a better understanding of the alternative ac-cessibility patterns. It also assists the authorities in evaluating and prioritizing the potential housing devel-opment sites in terms of accessibility levels.

Chinese Rural labors Transfer under the Coordination of Urban-Rural Development

The strategic significance of Chinese rural labor transfer is expounded.It is conducive to solving the three agricultural problems concerning agriculture,rural areas,and farmers and coordinating the urban and rural development;promoting the rational distribution of human resources and realizing the growth of national economy;restructuring industrial structure and improving Chinese market competitiveness.The problems in the transfer of Chinese rural labors are analyzed,which include the low overall cultural level of rural labors;imperfect organization developmental;weak management mechanism and imperfect supporting measures.The rational paths for Chinese rural labor transfer are pointed out,including break the urban and rural dual structure and realize the free move of rural labors;strengthen the organization construction to provide high-quality socialized service for rural labor transfer;perfect security system to foster favorable social environment for rural labor transfer;establish scientific management mechanism to realize the sustainable rural labor transfer.

On the modes of urban-rural networking development in China

This essay tries to reveal the developmental regularity of urban-rural networking manifested by urbanization. The urban-rural networking is a reality and an inexorable trend of development. As a physical existence, the urban-rural networking reflects a result of the interaction between cities and rural areas; it is a necessary and sufficient condition for sustaining progress of cities and rural areas. As an objective developmental tendency, it reflects an urban-rural regional economic process. The author briefly analyzes two contradictory urban-rural developmental views, and puts forward a concept of the mode of urban-rural networking development. The author also analyzes the mode from the perspectives of economics and philosophy.

The Application of Multiple Evaluating Methods on the Comprehensive Evaluation of Urban-rural Interaction and Conjunctional Development of China

Urban-rural interaction and conjunctionaldevelopment is the effective way of harmonizingurban-rural relationship and promoting urban-ruraldevelopment. However, there are differences in thelevel of urban-rural interaction and conjunctionaldevelopment of China. How to measure and reflectthe difference properly is a decision-makingfoundation for optimizing urban-rural developmentof different regions. The paper employs multiplemethods to evaluate and order the urban-ruralinteraction and conjunctional development of 31provinces (municipalities) in China. Kendall’s Wconsistency coefficient is employed to give a consistenttest for the evaluation result series, and the resultsof multiple methods are aggregated as the finalevaluation value. The results reflect the level ofregional urban-rural interaction and conjunctionaldevelopment in China.

Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Housing Development in Keko Machungwa

In Tanzania 80% of the population live in informal settlements. Most of these settlements are built in areas that are susceptible to extreme weather conditions such as flooding. Such conditions have significantly contributed to the destruction of housing stock and other valuable properties. There is considerable awareness amongst people living in the informal settlements, government representatives and other key stakeholders about the various flood risks affecting informal settlements. Based on this understanding, several attempts to minimize flood risks have been initiated in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, yet these initiatives have largely failed to deliver the desired impacts. This article aims to investigate core reasons for this through a case study of Keko Machungwa Informal settlement in Dar es Salaam City. The study explores the extent to which mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in housing development in informal settlements has been considered and implemented, and recommends measures for improvement. Key methods employed for the research included physical observation, household interviews, mapping, photographing, and in-depth interviews. Overall, the study found that mainstreaming of DRR in housing development was hardly practiced at the household level, as houses were predominantly being built without resistant building materials and supervision of relevant professionals. In order to mainstream DRR in housing development in informal settlements, it is recommended that mainstreaming DRR be embedded in laws and policies, highly vulnerable parts of the settlement be declared protected wetland and that the government direct its efforts towards regulating, controlling and monitoring the housing development sector. That letter can be achieved by emphasizing the use of flood resistant building materials and establishing resilient infrastructures for flood mitigation in every flood prone informal settlement.

Overall Planning of Development of Urban-Rural Areas:A Policy Mechanism for Urban-Rural Coordinated Growth

While analyzing overall planning and coordinated development of urban-rural areas, this paper shows that overall planning for the development of urban-rural areas is a requirement for the best use of productive forces. It means the setting up of a policy mechanism for coordinated growth. Recognizing this, the government should set up a way to lead and manage a unified program to increase service and decrease controlling administration power, while safeguarding and fulfilling the farmers' ownership to the means of production.

Comparative Research on the Reform and Exploration of Balancing Urban-Rural Development

Balancing urban and rural comprehensive reform is the major reform and developmental strategy of China. On the basis of the concept and theory of balancing rural and urban reform, the two national pilot cities Chengdu, Chongqing and several provincial pilot cities including Ningbo, Yangzhou, Shaoxing and Zigong are compared. The experiences and connotation of balancing urban and rural areas are concluded from the following four aspects. Firstly, scientific plan is a prerequisite; secondly, promoting "three collections" is the core; thirdly, developing people's livelihood is the basis; fourthly, organization security is the key.

The Influence of Displacement to the Success of Sustainable Multi-Storey Housing Development for Low-Income Society in Urban Area： Case Study- Multi-Storey Housing in Jakarta

Multi-storey housing for low income society is a concept of redevelopment from many alternatives of housing development for slum in Jakarta. However, redevelopment directly or indirectly leads to displacement of low-income residents. The new residents would be of a higher socio-economic status than the previous occupants. For controlling this phenomenon, a study about the influence of displacement to the successful of sustainable multi-storey housing development for low-income society has been done with descriptive method, observation and literature study. The result of this study give knowledge that displacement always happened when the quality of building and environment is increase, the location of multi-storey housing is near city center and commercial area. Low income society voluntary displaced their units to middle or high income society, because they are not affordable for paying operational and maintenance costs. The government has to make regulations for controlling displacement on multi-storey housing for low-income society and for the successful of sustainable multi-storey housing development in urban area.

Comparison of Development of Housing Construction in Regions of Slovakia and Czech Republic

Cities and municipalities are involved in the economic development of the whole country. One of the priorities of mayors is the usefulness of spatial disproportions of area as well as the structure and development of housing construction. They are natural canters of public and commercial services. The aim of the article is to determine if the geographic location of the region influences the number of new apartments with planning permission and completed apartments with a completion approval by using the methods of mathematical statistics ＂Analysis of variance＂. Meaning of the geographical location of the region as a factor, which influences the construction of apartments as well as regional differences in selected Central European countries, is subject of the conclusions of the paper.

Development of suburb farm landscape in the process of urban-rural overall planning from the perspective of ecological economics:a case study of Chengdu City

With the accelerating development of Chinese urbanization and the widening gap between rural and urban areas,urban-rural overall planning is to be an inevitable choice for economic and social development.However,the specific patterns and methods in urban-rural overall planning are greatly different.From the persperctive of ecological economy,taking the main physical and biological pattern of the farmland as research objects,this paper analyzes the components and characteristics of farm landscape,the relationship between farm landscape exploitation and rural tourism,and the role of farm landscape exploitation in planning urban and rural development.It expatiates on the pattern,method and principle of farm landscape development.Furthermore,based on the actual development case,this paper explores how to make high-grade tourism products with scientific and reasonable farm landscape development method,how to increase peasant income,how to improve urban and rural ecological economic environment,so as to promote urban-rural overall planning.

Construction and harmonious development of urban-rural com-paring fi nancial systems based on comparative advantages theory

There exist diferences between urban-rural financial systems,Generally,the development of unban financial industry has absolute advanages compared with rural financial industry.According to the Matthew Effect,the financial resources will flow into cities for higher benefit ,so rural areas are unable to obtain absolute advantages However,relative advantage theory of the comparative advantage theory of the comparative advantage theory provides an lmportant way to observe res[ectove advamtage of both city and country.Therefore,there are comparative advantages for the development of financial industry in both urban and rural areas.The respective comparative advantages of urban-rural financial systems will supply greater efficiency than that in current dual puttern condition.Closely connected with China＇s financial development and reform and the fact of recreation of urban-rural financial system,this paper tries to explain the comparative advantage of the urban-rural financial systems.The anaalysis of the comparative advantage between urban and rural finance is the clue for the bonndary between urban-rural financial systems.This paper analyzes the current situration of urban-rural financial system.Then it proposes some views and suggestions on how to develop and maintain these two systemw as well as how to promote their coordinative development.

Research on the Development Model of the Adaptive Housing to Flooding/High Tides and Applicability to Some Types of Housing in Nha Be District,Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC)has a high density of rivers and canals,so it is often strongly affected by high tides.The rapid urbanization process of a city with more than 13 million people,along with human activities with rivers such as accretion,river encroachment,sand mining,construction of houses close to the riverbanks,...that stop the flow of rivers and canals,causes high tides to rise quickly and recede slowly,therefore difficult to control.The residential areas of people along the canals in the city are clearly affected by the phenomenon of high tides and it causes many difficulties to people’s lives,especially people living in Nha Be district-a southeast district of HCMC,where the terrain is low-lying,and also the water collection area of the whole city.This is an area that is expected to be flooded more and more heavily due to the increasingly strong impact of high tides.The inevitable consequence of the flooding-high tide phenomenon is that the living and business environment is not guaranteed,people’s life quality does not improve,and a part of the residents have to relocate.So,how to build a housing model that adapts to flooding/high tide in Nha Be District,HCMC against the impacts of high tides?This article is a qualitative study using mixed methods including Document Synthesis&Comparison,Questionnaire,Interview,and Observation methods.The investigation,survey,and assessment on the impact of high tides on housing in Nha Be District,HCMC was carried out in the year 2019-2020.This study aims to find out the experiences in building models of houses that can adapt to flood/high tide and their applicability to some types of houses in Nha Be District,HCMC.These solutions are aimed at improving the quality of life of people living along the canals of Nha Be District,HCMC and effectively contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.

A Comparative Study of Development and Reform of Urban-Rural Integration in Chengdu and Chongqing Based on System Theory

Chengdu and Chongqing,as two core cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle,have always been in the front rank of development and reform of urban-rural integration in China.But due to different basic conditions,ideas and priorities are different in the two cities.This paper establishes an analysis framework based on system theory,conducts a systematic comparison on the development and reform of urban-rural integration in the two cities to achieve a comprehensive comparison study and finds out that:(a) Owing to different basic conditions,Chengdu and Chongqing have adopted different reform ideas and measures.Chengdu places more emphasis on systematic advancement,while Chongqing attaches more importance to key breakthroughs.(b) Chengdu’s high level shows that in the practice of urban-rural integration,independent policies and measures in local areas have limited effects.System efficiency can surpass the sum of local areas’ efficiencies only if a systematic method is adopted to comprehensively promote policies and measures for institutional innovations in various fields.

Minister Hou Jie on China's Housing Construction and Urban Development

At a reception held recently, Mr. Hou Jie, Minister of Construction, spoke about China’s housing construction and urban development. According to Mr. Hou Jie, the Chinese government always pays high attention to housing development, and has adopted many policies to speed up the construction of houses. Especially since 1979 when China introduced the policy of reform and opening, residential housing has developed rapidly and witnessed outstanding achievement. From 1979 to 1996, 13.8 billion square metres of residential

Balance Between Jobs and Housing from Perspectives of Real Estate Development and Management and Urban Planning

Jobs-housing balance is the balance between employment and housing. Its philosophy has a long history and development process in urban planning. The concept of jobs-housing balance generally refers to that the number of employed people is roughly equal to the number of occupants within a certain range. This kind of balance is conducive to reducing the commuting time and the change of transportation mode on the way that the employed people spend at work. The realization of jobs-housing balance not only helps to optimize the structure between residence and employment in the region but also is conducive to improving the work enthusiasm and work efficiency of the employed in the region and reducing the commuting costs of workers in the region. In addition, the relegalization of jobs-housing balance also has a certain impact and effect on alleviating the traffic congestion and improving the environment of the region. In summary, the realization of jobs-housing balance has a multi-faceted impact on the development of a city, and promoting the balance between occupation and housing is conducive to promoting the development of the city. The realization of jobshousing balance involves many areas. In this article, In this article, the development history of jobshousing balance is sorted out from perspectives of real estate development and management and urban planning, and its development enlightenment is discussed.

Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.