Affordable Housing (affordable + housing)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Lay understandings of the effects of poverty: a Canadian perspective

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2005
Linda I. Reutter RN PhD
Abstract Although there is a large body of research dedicated to exploring public attributions for poverty, considerably less attention has been directed to public understandings about the effects of poverty. In this paper, we describe lay understandings of the effects of poverty and the factors that potentially influence these perceptions, using data from a telephone survey conducted in 2002 on a random sample (n = 1671) of adults from eight neighbourhoods in two large Canadian cities (Edmonton and Toronto). These data were supplemented with interview data obtained from 153 people living in these same neighbourhoods. Multivariate linear and logistic regressions were used to determine the effects of basic demographic variables, exposure to poverty and attribution for poverty on three dependent variables relating to the effects of poverty: participation in community life, the relationship between poverty and health and challenges facing low-income people. Ninety-one per cent of survey respondents agreed that poverty is linked to health, while 68% agreed that low-income people are less likely to participate in community life. Affordable housing was deemed especially difficult to obtain by 96%, but other resources (obtaining healthy food, giving children a good start in life, and engaging in healthy behaviours) were also viewed as challenging by at least 70% of respondents. The regression models revealed that when controlling for demographics, exposure to poverty explained some of the variance in recognising the effects of poverty. Media exposure positively influenced recognition of the poverty,health link, and attending formal talks was strongly related to understanding challenges of poverty. Attributions for poverty accounted for slightly more of the variance in the dependent variables. Specifically, structural and sociocultural attributions predicted greater recognition of the effects of poverty, in particular the challenges of poverty, while individualistic attributions predicted less recognition. Older and female respondents were more likely to acknowledge the effects of poverty. Income was positively associated with recognition of the poverty,health link, negatively associated with understanding the challenges of low-income people, and unrelated to perceptions of the negative effect of poverty on participation in community life. [source]


Unauthorised development and seismic hazard vulnerability: a study of squatters and engineers in Istanbul, Turkey

DISASTERS, Issue 3 2008
Rebekah A. Green
Many cities in developing nations have experienced an influx of poor migrants in search of work. This population influx has often been accommodated through land squatting, irregular construction and unauthorised housing. For the urban poor, this has resulted in immediate affordable housing; however, this housing frequently has long-term vulnerability to natural hazards. This article examines the ways in which squatters in Istanbul, Turkey, understand the seismic vulnerability of their unauthorised housing. Distrust of professional engineers and contractors has led Istanbul squatters to believe that self-built housing will not only be less costly but also safer than commercially built housing. The impact of residents' risk perceptions on their vulnerability to natural hazards is examined through a comparison of social attitudes regarding safe housing and the quality of unauthorised construction. This comparison highlights how squatters' risk perceptions necessitate innovative means of reducing vulnerability in unauthorised neighbourhoods of developing cities. [source]


Effects of Urban Spatial Structure, Sociodemographics, and Climate on Residential Water Consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2010
Lily House-Peters
House-Peters, Lily, Bethany Pratt, and Heejun Chang, 2010. Effects of Urban Spatial Structure, Sociodemographics, and Climate on Residential Water Consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):461-472. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00415.x Abstract:, In the Portland metropolitan area, suburban growth in cities such as Hillsboro is projected to increase as people seek affordable housing near a burgeoning metropolis. The most significant determinants for increases in water demand are population growth, climate change, and the type of urban development that occurs. This study analyzes the spatial patterns of single family residential (SFR) water consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon, at the census block scale. The following research questions are addressed: (1) What are the significant determinants of SFR water consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon? (2) Is SFR water demand sensitive to drought conditions and interannual climate variation? (3) To what magnitude do particular census blocks react to drought conditions and interannual climate variation? Using ordinary least squares multiple regression and spatial regression methods, we found that base use, representing indoor water use, is dependent on household size and that seasonal use, representing external water use is dependent on both education level and the size of the property's outdoor space. Spatial analysis techniques determined that although the water demand of the study area as a whole is not sensitive to drought conditions, certain individual census blocks do respond with a higher magnitude of water use. The most climate-sensitive census blocks tend to contain newer and larger homes, and have higher property values and more affluent and well-educated residents. [source]


OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF THEIR HEARTS?

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2008
REGULATORY AND REGIONAL IMPACTS ON BANK INVESTMENT IN HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
ABSTRACT:,Banks are considered key actors in affordable housing and community development in the United States. Their involvement in such activities may be due partly to their dependence on economic rents generated from development. In the United States, however, banks are encouraged to support such activities by the federal 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). I examine how different factors explain the CRA-qualified investments by banks. Qualified investments are essentially nondebt financial resources provided as an equity investment or grant with a community development purpose. I find that the identity of the regulator (the United States has four banking regulators) has a major impact on the level of qualified investments. Other things equal, a difference in regulators can cause a bank's qualified investments to more than double. Besides suggesting that some regulators may be enforcing a major portion of CRA regulations more vigorously than others, this also suggests that the CRA plays a major role in bank investment in community development. This has policy implications not just in the United States but also in other countries that might consider replicating the CRA. [source]


Deconcentrating Poverty Through Homebuyer Finance Programs

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2005
Kirk McClure
Merging HMDA, GSE, and Census 2000 data, this analysis assesses the extent to which the government's homebuyer finance programs have accomplished the deconcentration of the poor. The research finds that the expected benefits of various forms of housing assistance have not fully materialized. The efforts to help very low-income homebuyers are helping these households move into economically integrated neighborhoods but the movement toward this economic integration, especially by racial and ethnic minorities, has fallen short of distributing these households in a manner that parallels the availability of affordable housing in the market. [source]


CBOs and affordable housing

NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2008
Robert Mark Silverman
First page of article [source]


Household diversity and migration in mid-life: understanding residential mobility among 45,64 year olds in Melbourne, Australia

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 4 2010
Maryann Wulff
Abstract This paper focuses on the residential mobility of middle-aged persons, not yet retired, an understudied cohort in mobility research. From the 1950s to the 1980s, mobility studies pointed to mid-life as a settled stage in terms of family, work and housing. Recent demographic and social changes, however, have led to these years being typified by a wide gamut of living arrangements that have complicated decisions about, and patterns of, residential mobility. Using the life-course perspective, this paper suggests that the transition to ,empty nester' status will heighten mobility among this group of middle-aged persons relative to their counterparts in other living arrangements. The analysis uses a customised migration matrix from the Australian 2006 Census and identifies segments of 45,64 year olds most likely to have changed address since the previous census in 2001. CHAID statistical method partitioned the 45,64 year old population in Melbourne, Australia, into eight statistically significant segments based on life-course factors and mobility levels. Younger (45,54 years) mid-life empty-nesters changed residence at 1.4 times the mobility rate of all mid-life persons. For couples in this age group, empty nest status conferred a 13 percentage point ,mobility premium' compared with couples that still had children at home. The results contribute to a better understanding of housing consumption among mid-life households and broader debates on access to affordable housing and processes of urban growth. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Government & community building: A study of Michigan local governments online

PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2002
Allison R. K. Brueckner M.I.S.
Today's policymakers are being called upon to embrace a new way of government. A learning economy requires a smart and responsive government,one that works in partnership with all sectors of society to provide services and support systems that are essential to building strong communities. One of the most important features of the Internet is its ability to connect people with information and with one another. For many this means finding affordable housing, local jobs and dependable daycare. Increasingly local government units are trying to use the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, to provide their citizens with valuable information to enhance the community's quality of life and to increase civic participation. To help these government units to improve their use of the World Wide Web, cyber-state.org is undertaking an initiative to assess each of Michigan's local government Web sites, using a national assessment tool called WAES, , and to provide national benchmarks and models. The poster presentation will address the value of e-government, using the Michigan case study, where it's at and where it's going , current trends and future possibilities. The methodology and results will be shared from this year's report, Michigan's local governments onlne status and their usage. [source]


No place called home: the causes and social consequences of the UK housing ,bubble'

THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
John Bone
Abstract This paper examines the key causes and social consequences of the much debated UK ,housing bubble' and its aftermath from a multidimensional sociological approach, as opposed to the economic perspective of many popular discussions. This is a phenomenon that has affected numerous economies in the first decade of the new millennium. The discussion is based on a comprehensive study that includes exhaustive analysis of secondary data, content and debate in the mass media and academia, primary data gathered from the monitoring of weblogs and forums debating housing issues, and case histories of individuals experiencing housing difficulties during this period. This paper is intended to provide a broad overview of the key findings and preliminary analysis of this ongoing study, and is informed by a perspective which considers secure and affordable housing to be an essential foundation of stable and cohesive societies, with its absence contributing to a range of social ills that negatively impact on both individual and collective well being. Overall, it is argued that we must return to viewing decent, affordable housing as an essential social resource, that provides the bedrock of stable individual, family and community life, while recognizing that its increasing treatment as a purely economic asset is a key contributor to our so-called ,broken society'. [source]


Designer Volumetric at IKEA Prices

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 1 2006
Ian Abley
Abstract Volumetric construction is too associated with ,affordable' housing for rent by registered social landlords, or ,microflats' for sale to underpaid ,key workers'. Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower, in Tokyo, of 1972, is well known, but it was never intended as a main residence, and provided an extra room in the city. Architects interested in volumetric construction might well be designing gorgeous macroflats and spacious houses, developing the functionality of such buildings, while aiming to bring down costs through repetition. However, Ian Abley believes their efforts will continue to be frustrated by the need for site-specific planning approvals, and the cost of developable land in restricted supply. [source]