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This study examined the associations between household social, economic, and physical environments and the trajectory of functional limitations over time among middle-aged and older adults in China, and how this relationship differs by gender, age, and residence. Linear growth curve models were applied to a sample of 13,564 respondents aged 45 years and older from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011–2018). Living alone, particularly for rural, female, and older respondents, was associated with a faster functional decline when compared to living with a spouse and without children. Improved housing quality was associated with a slower functional decline. Living with young descendants and without adult children for urban residents and a lower expenditure per capita for younger respondents were associated with a faster functional decline. These findings suggest that policies aimed at enhancing living conditions have the potential to improve physical functioning of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human existence and development have always relied on suitable shelter. The dual-directional relationship of human residence has always been a material dealt with to enhance residential living conditions. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced abrupt and dramatic changes to human life protocols that exerted clear pressure on different sectors within the built environment. Housing experienced a great impact due to the need for social distancing and quarantine obligations to support human life. In this study, in order to measure human adaptation and residence alterations following new residential requirements, the quality of interior space investigations to promote a better built environment for occupants was facilitated using the theory of residential dissatisfaction, already adopted in the current study. Residents' responses were extracted regarding their dissatisfaction by applying the Likert scale for measurement and evaluation. This study focused on homogenous housing estates in Erbil City. Apartments were precisely selected with different plans and building layouts for widespread use in the city. They were occupied during the three stages of the study to extend beyond investigating the direct impact of the pandemic on the permanence of alterations and adaptation even after the pandemic. The reasons for changed dissatisfaction levels were investigated to improve the reliability of formulating final conclusions and recommendations. The findings showed increased dissatisfaction during the pandemic in most spaces; apartment layout and space design significantly affected responses and demands. The levels of dissatisfaction after the pandemic changed from stable to a slight decline in dissatisfaction. The effect of limited external spaces in apartments limited the possibility of managing pressure. This case might be less demanding in single-family housing due to the availability of private gardens. The results indicate that five distinct spaces were affected by the pandemic: the living room, family dining area, children's bedroom, laundry room, and storage area. The dissatisfaction with these spaces increased during the pandemic and either remained unchanged or continued to rise afterward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant influence of residential spaces on quality of life and social growth has constantly encouraged a desire for design quality in housing. This study delves into the complicated aspect of well-designed housing, driven by the need for liveable, eco-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing habitats. The study aims to analyze numerous aspects of housing quality using a systematic approach, considering the significance of the design quality of housing. The article discusses relevant research, consistent contributors, and keywords used in the field. To understand the design quality of housing, this study used a PRISMA technique for systematic literature search, VOSviewer for bibliometric analysis, and NVivo for thematic analysis. It highlights the necessity of user-centered, interdisciplinary design as well as suitable frameworks for quality evaluation. The research also emphasizes the significance of adaptable quality frameworks, holistic approaches, and the collaborative relationship between qualitative and quantitative assessment methods. This study also provides a global perspective on housing quality research. The comprehensive study encourages further research and development in the area and contributes to the current discussion on the design quality of housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the housing conditions in European countries, and classifies those countries according to the state of their housing. Its main contribution is the use of a synthetic meter that uses the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to classify housing conditions. The article utilises a wide set of variables that go beyond the scope of housing deprivation and take account of the impact of micro-district on housing quality. This paper fills a research gap in that it describes and compares housing conditions in European countries. Microdata from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) were used for this study. The conducted research shows that housing conditions in the vast majority of European countries are far from ideal. They are also considerably varied, both between and within countries, with respect to the assessment criteria.

Aim: This research attempts to rank the 22 districts of Arak based on quantitative and qualitative housing indicators and to identify the spatial distribution pattern of these indicators at the city level. Material & Method: Subsequently, using Shannon's Entropy for weighting and multi-criteria decision-making methods, including Saw, Moora, and Copras, we evaluated and weighted 31 quantitative and qualitative indices at the regional level of Arak City. The final ranking of these indices was accomplished through the Copland aggregation method. The conclusive map was generated by invoking data in Arc-GIS software. Additionally, the global Moran's model was employed to identify the spatial pattern of quantitative and qualitative housing indicators. Finding: The findings reveal a "random" distribution pattern of quantitative and qualitative housing indicators in Arak City, indicating the influence of multiple factors on this randomness. Deteriorated areas (Regions 15 and 18), informal settlements (Regions 1 and 22), and the city center (Regions 6 and 18) are identified as the primary factors contributing to this random spatial pattern, consequently affecting the absence of quantitative and qualitative housing indicators in certain regions. In contrast, well-planned areas like Regions 3, 5, 18, 20, 10, and 7 exhibit a favorable status regarding the possession of these indicators. Conclusion: The study's outcomes reveal that the primary contributors to spatial inequality in possessing quantitative and qualitative housing indicators across Arak City's regions are deteriorated urban texture, informal settlements, urban decay, high population density, and land scarcity in central areas. Innovation: An innovative and practical dimension of this research involves using expert groups for indicator monitoring and applying the Copland aggregation model in the research process. This study could mitigate the gap in housing research within the domain of Arak.

Objectives We sought to create a computational pipeline for attaching geomarkers, contextual or geographic measures that influence or predict health, to electronic health records at scale, including developing a tool for matching addresses to parcels to assess the impact of housing characteristics on pediatric health. Materials and Methods We created a geomarker pipeline to link residential addresses from hospital admissions at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) between July 2016 and June 2022 to place-based data. Linkage methods included by date of admission, geocoding to census tract, street range geocoding, and probabilistic address matching. We assessed 4 methods for probabilistic address matching. Results We characterized 124 244 hospitalizations experienced by 69 842 children admitted to CCHMC. Of the 55 684 hospitalizations with residential addresses in Hamilton County, Ohio, all were matched to 7 temporal geomarkers, 97% were matched to 79 census tract-level geomarkers and 13 point-level geomarkers, and 75% were matched to 16 parcel-level geomarkers. Parcel-level geomarkers were linked using our exact address matching tool developed using the best-performing linkage method. Discussion Our multimodal geomarker pipeline provides a reproducible framework for attaching place-based data to health data while maintaining data privacy. This framework can be applied to other populations and in other regions. We also created a tool for address matching that democratizes parcel-level data to advance precision population health efforts. Conclusion We created an open framework for multimodal geomarker assessment by harmonizing and linking a set of over 100 geomarkers to hospitalization data, enabling assessment of links between geomarkers and hospital admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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People spend up to 45% of their time in their living space, which has a major impact on their physical and mental health, behaviour, happiness and overall life satisfaction. In these times of rapid change and new, modern demands on living, it is necessary to understand the needs of residents and current design trends in order to incorporate both into the design of new living spaces. The aim of this study is to use the views of residents and architects collected through surveys to rank apartments and identify differences in the definition of what a high-quality apartment would be based on their spatial characteristics. The previously developed Housing Quality Assessment Model was used to assess the 126 most represented apartment layouts in the city of Osijek, Croatia, built since 1930. Apartment layouts were further divided according to the time of their construction, location, and size for comparison purposes. The research shows that residents rated apartments with higher ratings than architects in all categories and that residents and architects gave different ratings on certain characteristics of the apartment, e.g., the existence of additional storage space, the existence of a bathroom window, the size and orientation of living rooms, the type of spatial organisation, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization progress in developing countries is reflected in the urban living conditions of their rural migrants. Housing quality, in particular, is linked to migrants' social integration and development of human capital. In China, where urban housing is highly stratified by urban citizenship via the "hukou" or household registration system, improving housing quality is a top priority for the central government in its pursuit of human-centered urbanization. Despite some social and economic elements affecting migrants' housing quality being documented, few studies have analyzed the determinants of rural migrants' housing quality from the perspective of rural landholdings or possession of use rights of rural lands, which is endowed by the land system of China. Using large micro-data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this study investigates the association between hometown landholdings and rural migrants' housing quality in their host cities. The empirical results suggest that possessing rural landholdings in their hometown is negatively correlated with rural migrants' housing quality in their host cities, wherein rural migrants' hukou transfer intention is found as an intermediary factor. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the relationship across demographic characteristics and regions was investigated. In addition, short-term revenue derived from hometown landholdings is also verified to have a very limited positive effect on migrants' housing quality. Land transfer policies customized for subgroups of rural migrants across sociological attributes and urban stratification are concluded finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once housing is constructed, its sustainability depends on the efficacy of property maintenance. In remote Indigenous communities in Australia, responsive or reactive approaches to property maintenance dominate over planned and preventive attention, leaving housing in various states of disrepair. By documenting an approach that is succeeding in this wider context, this article shows the commonplace situation of poorly maintained social housing is entirely interruptible. It does so by examining an alternative and exceptional approach taken on the remote Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia, where housing benefits from a planned maintenance program combined with an environmental health program. Through detailed empirical analysis of program datasets, interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork, this article describes the expert, systematic, and attentive work required to sustain functional housing in the wider context of undersupply, crowding, and challenging environmental conditions. We argue for the necessity of planned maintenance approaches as an essential component of sustainable housing, both to extend the life of housing assets and to ensure householder health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractParental support increasingly influences young people’s housing outcomes. Using OLS models, this study examines the relative effects of parental and own socioeconomic status and political resources on young homeowners’ housing quality and their temporal dynamics in Beijing, China. We find that the market transition theory has explanatory power for both generations. However, the socioeconomic status of parents outweighs that of young homeowners in influencing their multifaceted housing qualities. These housing qualities are also positively associated with parents’, but negatively with the young homeowners’ political resources. This indicates power persistence theory does not stand for the younger generation, but parental political advantages derived from the socialist system are remanent in shaping contemporary youth’s housing stratification. The more recent the acquisition of homeownership by young adult children, the stronger the positive influence of parental attributes, but the weaker the influence of the younger generation’s own attributes. This demonstrates the intergenerational reproduction of housing stratification and socio-spatial inequality becomes more pronounced as housing affordability declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently increased time spent at home signified the importance of understanding on the link between housing and mental health. This paper examines how housing qualities affect depression and suicide ideation for each age group (i.e. young adults, middle-aged and older adults) and gender. With South Korea population-based panel data, fixed-effect models and a partial least squares structural equation model were used. A functional problem was a major risk factor for depression in women, whereas a structural problem was a key risk factor for men's depression. For older adults, living in basement and vulnerability to natural disaster were detrimental to mental health. Functional problems increased the likelihood of suicide ideation in the middle-aged. The mechanisms of the housing qualities-mental health nexus were varied by age and gender. This paper proposed policy suggestions including a tailored housing policy and provision, a housing rating system for health and a support system for noise control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its subsidy retention fund, the city of Ghent targets homeowners, who live in a dwelling of bad quality and do not have the resources to renovate or move out. Being in this no-choice situation, they are locked-in homeowners. Through this innovative policy instrument, Ghent aims to improve the quality of its housing stock targeting households who may not take up other renovation-encouraging instruments. To reach the households who would otherwise not be able to renovate, important efforts in outreaching and offering technical and social guidance accompany the renovation subsidy. Guidance activities substantially increase the cost of the instrument, but in reaching the households living in bad-quality houses, it has the potential to create major benefits not only technically but also socially as housing quality is related to well-being. Generally, the identification of a causal relationship is difficult as well-being and its mediators are complex matters. This case offered a unique opportunity to collect information from the beneficiaries on a range of well-being domains both before the renovation of their dwelling and after the renovation. Even though the research was restricted to short-term effects, the results suggest that improvements in different domains of well-being can be linked to the improvement of housing quality. These improvements in well-being in Ghent show that (local) government spending in housing renovation of locked-in homeowners can be an instrument to achieve social progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the architectural and urban characteristics of the residential building (type A-4), which was designed during the implementation of the Novo Naselje urban project in Novi Sad in the 1970s. The authors were architects Slavko Županski, Bora Radusinović and Radoje Cvetkov. Based on their project, three semi-open blocks of flats were built in the new urban settlement. This innovative multi-family housing project won the Vojvodina Borba Award for Architecture in 1979. Since the first Vojvodina Borba award in 1975, there have been nominations and awards for the construction of various typologies, confirming the importance of architecture for the community. The award-winning and nominated architecture in Vojvodina is represented by the unique design approach of each author, expressed in the structure and aesthetics of lowland modernism, where the culture of living and the culture of building are equally sublimated, developed in a positive relationship with the environment (urban and natural). In the area of Novo Naselje, the urban plan was intended to enable the improvement of living conditions by building better apartments (in terms of surface area and equipment) and improving the social cohesion of the population through different social groups. The architecture of the A-4 type housing studied is characterised by the development of the concept of the block in relation to the urban environment of the settlement and a study of the housing needs, which resulted in different possibilities for the organisation and use of the dwellings. The authors emphasised their intention to create houses that are lived in both inside and outside, with forms and environmental values that the tenants can identify with and live together. In all these processes, the authors sought a link between the collective housing architecture they were working on and traditional Pannonian houses.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and its consequences have altered people's perceptions of the availability of high-quality housing. Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, has taken many initiatives to address its growing population's housing demands. However, considerable focus has been placed only on housing quantity at the expense of housing quality. This study aims to investigate the interplay of factors affecting the provision of high-quality public housing projects in Nigeria. The objective is to identify the factors that significantly influence project success and failure in the delivery of quality public housing projects. A descriptive survey design with 351 randomly selected households and built environment experts (BEPs) was used. A self-developed structured questionnaire was used to collect data from households, buildings, and professionals over the course of three months. The findings indicate that in several buildings, the indoor air temperature and relative humidity extend acceptable limits (for example, 28 °C and 70% RH), which can have an effect on indoor air quality. Meanwhile, responses from the BEPs revealed that in order to develop high-quality housing, adequate project financing, evaluation of suitable building materials, and project management expertise were required. The study's conclusion emphasises that considering only the number of houses required to accommodate Nigeria's growing urban population is insufficient; rather, other factors such as appropriate design for improved air quality, high-quality and appropriate building materials, adequate project financing, and project management expertise would result in the quality delivery of livable public housing in Nigeria.

Abstract Background This study examines the prevalence of and socio-economic inequalities in depressive symptoms in nine high-income European countries, focusing in particular on the role of housing quality. Methods Using the European Social Survey, a concentration index of depressive symptoms in each country is estimated. The role of housing quality is assessed by examining the risk factors associated with the concentration index, using the Recentred Influence Function method. To contextualise the housing quality results, other predictors of inequalities in depressive symptoms inequalities are also quantified and discussed. Results Our results indicate that inequalities in depressive symptoms are concentrated among poorer respondents both in each country and in total. Austria and Belgium have the lowest inequalities and France has the highest. No geographic pattern is evident. Housing problems are associated with higher inequalities in six of the nine countries in the sample. While no association is evident for indicators of socio-economic status such as years of education and income, financial strain is significant. Conclusions This study is the first to estimate the degree of socio-economic inequality in depressive symptoms across European countries. The association between poor housing and poorer inequalities suggests that housing has a role to play lowering depressive symptoms inequalities.

Human existence and development have always relied on suitable shelter. The dual-directional relationship of human residence has always been a material dealt with to enhance residential living conditions. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced abrupt and dramatic changes to human life protocols that exerted clear pressure on different sectors within the built environment. Housing experienced a great impact due to the need for social distancing and quarantine obligations to support human life. In this study, in order to measure human adaptation and residence alterations following new residential requirements, the quality of interior space investigations to promote a better built environment for occupants was facilitated using the theory of residential dissatisfaction, already adopted in the current study. Residents’ responses were extracted regarding their dissatisfaction by applying the Likert scale for measurement and evaluation. This study focused on homogenous housing estates in Erbil City. Apartments were precisely selected with different plans and building layouts for widespread use in the city. They were occupied during the three stages of the study to extend beyond investigating the direct impact of the pandemic on the permanence of alterations and adaptation even after the pandemic. The reasons for changed dissatisfaction levels were investigated to improve the reliability of formulating final conclusions and recommendations. The findings showed increased dissatisfaction during the pandemic in most spaces; apartment layout and space design significantly affected responses and demands. The levels of dissatisfaction after the pandemic changed from stable to a slight decline in dissatisfaction. The effect of limited external spaces in apartments limited the possibility of managing pressure. This case might be less demanding in single-family housing due to the availability of private gardens. The results indicate that five distinct spaces were affected by the pandemic: the living room, family dining area, children’s bedroom, laundry room, and storage area. The dissatisfaction with these spaces increased during the pandemic and either remained unchanged or continued to rise afterward.

Regulatory references governing design activities have gradually expanded, and national and EU regulations often overlap redundantly. This aspect is particularly evident in environmental obligations, where the Italian requirements about Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM) have been supplemented by the constraints of the Do No Significant Harm principle (DNSH) introduced for all PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) measures. A process of rationalisation and synthesis has been conducted for the regulations to address their interpretational complexity, enabling the differentiation of overlaps and novel elements. The result is a tool to support designers, validating authorities and administrations responsible for measures. It is helpful in guiding design choices, monitoring compliance with different requirements and verifying environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing is an important social determinant of health. Lack of housing or poor-quality housing can negatively affect human health and wellbeing and is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. The study aimed to assess the housing quality of residents living in the Greater Karu Urban Area (GKUA), Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A semi-structured, validated questionnaire was administered to residents of the GKUA aged 18 years and over and residing in 289 households. The majority of the respondents were aged 30 years and over (84.2%), Christians (72.8%), married (57.7%), and had tertiary education (56.6%). This study found that residents of the GKUA live in homes with asbestos ceilings (30.5%), poor/no toilet system (33.5%), no water source within the building (44.1%), poor water quality (68.1%), cracked/damp walls (43%), plumbing defects (30.1%), no drainage system (42.3%), no proper waste disposal means (57.7%), no protection from noise (82.3%), poor air quality (69.1%), insecure electrical wirings (67.6%), pests (65.4%), mold (41.9%), without fire alarm (89.4%), and deplorable physical condition (69.5%). Overall, most of the houses did not meet the World Health Organization's standard of a healthy residential house. The government needs to monitor and enforce healthy home standards in residential houses, especially in areas considered urban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 and its consequences have altered people's perceptions of the availability of high-quality housing. Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, has taken many initiatives to address its growing population's housing demands. However, considerable focus has been placed only on housing quantity at the expense of housing quality. This study aims to investigate the interplay of factors affecting the provision of high-quality public housing projects in Nigeria. The objective is to identify the factors that significantly influence project success and failure in the delivery of quality public housing projects. A descriptive survey design with 351 randomly selected households and built environment experts (BEPs) was used. A self-developed structured questionnaire was used to collect data from households, buildings, and professionals over the course of three months. The findings indicate that in several buildings, the indoor air temperature and relative humidity extend acceptable limits (for example, 28 °C and 70% RH), which can have an effect on indoor air quality. Meanwhile, responses from the BEPs revealed that in order to develop high-quality housing, adequate project financing, evaluation of suitable building materials, and project management expertise were required. The study's conclusion emphasises that considering only the number of houses required to accommodate Nigeria's growing urban population is insufficient; rather, other factors such as appropriate design for improved air quality, high-quality and appropriate building materials, adequate project financing, and project management expertise would result in the quality delivery of livable public housing in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart home technologies provide an opportunity to address the housing design or retrofit-performance gap and to improve the building regulations. It is currently used to manage comfort, security, and resource efficiency but, adoption remains piecemeal, and disparate. This study aims to explore how householder perceptions of housing quality, and the cost–benefit of improvements informs the adoption of smart technologies. Further, it bridges the theory-to-practice gap by proposing the product-as-service domains that can be deployed for the upscaled implementation of smart home performance monitoring. The survey method returned 972 nationally representative responses. Factor analysis was then used to establish the housing quality priorities, and home improvement drivers that combine to inform the adoption of smart home performance monitoring. Findings show that householders will adopt technologies in return for a 'benefit' if reliable smart systems and data-feedback mechanisms are packaged as: (a) commerce services to support utility efficiencies and cost savings, (b) convenience and control services to improve comfort and wellbeing, (c) information and communication services to inform behaviours and decisions, and (d) entertainment services to satisfy hedonic needs. The paper concludes with practical, scalable implementation strategies for smart home performance monitoring. Thus bridging the gap between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the health‐housing relationship in low‐income older adults, and differences by income and receipt of housing assistance. Design: Secondary analysis of longitudinal survey data. Sample: About 10,858 adults aged 62+ who completed at least one wave of the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) (n = 37,333 observations). Measurements: SIPP variables representing demographics and housing quality, affordability, stability, and neighborhood were analyzed. Low‐income and higher‐income participants were differentiated by the household income‐to‐poverty ratio. Results: Low‐income participants were significantly more likely to be in poor health and report problems with housing quality, affordability, and neighborhood safety compared to higher‐income participants (p <.001). Increased household size and problems with housing quality and neighborhood safety were associated with poor health in both groups (p <.05). Low‐income participants who received housing assistance were significantly poorer, less healthy, and food insecure than participants not receiving assistance (p <.001); however, the health‐housing relationship was not different in the two groups. Conclusions: Results provide additional support for housing as a social determinant of older adult health. Though housing assistance programs reached a subset of low‐income older adults, the results suggest a housing assistance shortfall. Implications for public health nurses and researchers are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, whether condominiums or social housing, Parisian buildings are undergoing a series of renovation processes aimed at enhancing their construction quality. This renewal, however, impacts the social life of the buildings, which has consolidated over the years. As a socio-technical process, renovation transforms existing architectural forms based on current housing standards. However, while a building may be composed of materials and populations, it is also the result of history, from its construction to its daily maintenance or degradation. Interpreted as such, this article posits that people with no control over their living environments are more likely to suffer from health problems, due to a lack of knowledge about underlying causes or low health literacy regarding living spaces. Consequently, their inability to adapt raises the question: How does an individual’s ability to control their living space influence their health? As part of the SAPHIR program, this article explores this by seeking to understand residents’ abilities, actions, and feelings concerning the tension between individual satisfaction levels and their impact on physical and mental health. It does so through three case studies of buildings constructed prior to 1973, focusing on their design, morphology, location, legal status, norms, and population types. Conducting individual interviews and collective focus groups allowed us to highlight the links between these elements by creating inhabitant and building typologies from different historical periods and standards.

OBJECTIVES: Persons who are homeless have significant health challenges and barriers accessing care. Secure messaging supports communication between patients and their providers through a web-based portal, but the acceptability of this technology among patients with high prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) is unknown. We examined secure messaging use among veterans with experiences of homelessness (VEHs), and determined factors associated with messaging use. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of responses to a national survey of VEHs, administered by mail from March to October 2018 (response rate = 40.2%). One item assessed secure messaging use and satisfaction. We used multivariable logistic regressions to model secure messaging use, controlling for sociodemographics, medical conditions, housing indicators, and mental health and SUD diagnoses. RESULTS: Of 5072 VEHs, 21% had ever used secure messaging and 87% of the subsample found messaging to be useful. Secure messaging was more commonly used by VEHs who were female, had some college education, those with ≥3 chronic medical conditions, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder (all P

People spend up to 45% of their time in their living space, which has a major impact on their physical and mental health, behaviour, happiness and overall life satisfaction. In these times of rapid change and new, modern demands on living, it is necessary to understand the needs of residents and current design trends in order to incorporate both into the design of new living spaces. The aim of this study is to use the views of residents and architects collected through surveys to rank apartments and identify differences in the definition of what a high-quality apartment would be based on their spatial characteristics. The previously developed Housing Quality Assessment Model was used to assess the 126 most represented apartment layouts in the city of Osijek, Croatia, built since 1930. Apartment layouts were further divided according to the time of their construction, location, and size for comparison purposes. The research shows that residents rated apartments with higher ratings than architects in all categories and that residents and architects gave different ratings on certain characteristics of the apartment, e.g., the existence of additional storage space, the existence of a bathroom window, the size and orientation of living rooms, the type of spatial organisation, etc.

The topic of indicators as measurers of the effectiveness of urban and housing transformations strongly re-emerge because of the performance approach the funding of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is based on. Within the NRRP specific programmes, the issue of performance measurability of interventions was managed with the application of different indicators and application methods. The research group had the opportunity to work on the construction of a system of indicators for a national urban regeneration programme, financed within the NRRP. This paper describes the research aimed at the definition of the indicators for evaluating the design proposals applied to the NRRP financed program called PINQuA (Innovative Programme for Housing Quality). The proposed system of indicators proved useful to promote an objective reading of the interventions and to encourage, in the design proposals application, the response to housing quality criteria aimed, among other issues, at improving the cultural condition of the contexts.

This paper seeks to investigate the role of housing quality on the relationship between maternal education and child malnutrition using the 2018 Cameroonian demographic and health survey. We employed the control function modelling and the non-self-cluster mean/proportion identification strategies to address potential endogeneity and sample selection concerns. Results indicate that: (a) women with less than ten years of schooling are more likely to have malnourished children than their counterparts with more years; (b) a percentage improvement in housing quality reduces the risk of a child being malnourished by about nine percentage points, and enhances the likelihood that mother's education will reduce child malnutrition; and (c) the mediation role of housing quality on the mother's education-child nutrition nexus is significant overall, but heterogeneous when we consider the different agroecological zones. These findings suggest the need for policy interventions on housing quality as a possible channel to enhance the direct effect of maternal education in reducing the probability of child malnutrition, and the potency of this channel would be increased if agroecological and cultural specificities are accounted for.

Rates of asthma-related emergency department visits have been shown to vary significantly by place (i.e. neighborhood) and race/ethnicity. The moderating factors of asthmatic events among Hispanic/Latino-specific populations are known to a much lesser degree. To assess the extent to which housing moderates the effect of poverty on Hispanic/Latino-specific asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits at an ecological level. Using data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) and the 2016–2017 U.S. Census, a cross-sectional ecological analysis at the census tract-level was conducted. Crosswalk files from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were used to associate zip codes to census tracts. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate rate ratios. The effect of poverty on asthma-related ED visits was significantly moderated by the median year of housing structures built. The effect of mid-level poverty (RR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.27, 1.95) and high-level poverty (RR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.22, 1.78) in comparison to low-level poverty, was significantly greater among census tracts with housing built prior to 1965 in comparison to census tract with housing built between 1965 and 2020. Communities with older housing structures tend to be associated with increased Hispanic/Latino ED visits apart from affluent communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public housing has contributed tremendously to addressing housing deficits in many countries. Notwithstanding the shift towards neo-liberalism, public housing is still relevant in the Global South. Ghana's response to the neo-liberal call was to sell-off most of the public housing stock and transfer some of the remainder to local authorities. Despite its contribution to labour mobility and productivity, Ghana's public housing conditions are poor largely due to ineffective management and maintenance. The paper aims to use systems theory to identify the organizational challenges for management that has resulted in poorly maintained public housing. The study interviewed housing experts, local authority staff and tenants; and finds that the organizational structure is poorly defined; irregular financial resource flows impede maintenance, and there is low tenant involvement in housing management. It recommends that housing management activities should be concentrated at the municipal level with defined roles. Mechanisms for tenant participation in management should be introduced to ensure that outcomes meet tenants' expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical environment has a powerful impact on our physical and mental health, especially in our homes. One vehicle for advancing a healthier affordable housing stock is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The aim of this research was to examine the manner and extent to which various housing quality provisions pertaining to health are embedded in the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) of the LIHTC program. From content analysis of the QAP of each of the 50 states and a survey of state housing finance agencies (HFAs), results revealed that: the most frequently required healthy housing provisions address housing quality, whereas the most incentivized ones address proximity to neighborhood services and amenities; few states bundle high-priority provisions relevant to asthma, respiratory health and toxic exposures, which are major health concerns for vulnerable children; the top two motivators for considering healthy housing provisions in the LIHTC process were "championship and initiation by agency staff" and "learning of similar practices in other states"; among other findings. Recommendations are made for HFA practices, and directions for future research are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of large-scale land acquisitions for development projects such as mining, urbanization and dams are widely contested in the literature. Prior research has focused on the difficulties that resettlement poses for the affected families in terms of their capacity to meet the demands of the new community. This study suggests that resettlement (built environment) quality may act as a predictor and influence the residential satisfaction and quality of life of project-affected families. This study investigates how residential satisfaction influences the relationship between the quality of the dwelling, the context of resettlement homes, and the quality of life of mining-affected families in Ghana. A sample of 256 household heads displaced by a large-scale mining project in Ellembelle was used to evaluate the suggested model. The findings indicate that resettlement quality greatly enhances the quality of life of the mining-affected families. The findings also revealed that residential satisfaction was a significant mediator of the quality of dwellings and the context of the resettlement, in addition to being a strong predictor of quality of life. Indirectly, resident characteristics, such as socioeconomic and demographic conditions, influenced how people felt about their homes and quality of life. These results indicate that residential satisfaction and resettlement quality are accurate indicators of the mining-affected families' quality of life. Integrating these features make it possible to quantify the mining-affected families' quality of life for future research and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today more than ever, people are demanding higher-quality housing, and therefore, there is an increasing need for scientifically sound methods of systematic housing assessment that are capable of addressing multiple, conflicting, and irreconcilable aspects in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Existing studies and models often use a relatively small number of indicators and consider housing quality from a single perspective. This paper presents a methodology used to develop a model for assessing the quality of multiple conflicting spatial characteristics of an apartment. Through a literature review and a survey of 12 architects, 24 spatial indicators were identified and then classified into five categories: (i) additional rooms, (ii) room size, (iii) window orientation and ventilation, (iv) circulation, and (v) spatial organization. Finally, the overall rating of the apartment is calculated as the sum of the ratings of all indicator categories, where the share of each category in the overall rating and desirable characteristics of the apartment is determined by the user. The model was tested on the example of two apartments in the city of Osijek, Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing quality is assessed through housing annoyance but it is generally assessed partially. Identifying some sources of annoyance can lead to vulnerability to other disturbances. Bandung city as a city with the largest vertical residential supply in Indonesia is facing a transformative phase towards high-density housing. At the same time, online user reviews has become a way to identify individual's perception of a product/service. By considering ratings in online user reviews as the level of dissatisfaction, researchers have identified the quality of vertical housing by reviewing the relationship between housing annoyance, housing satisfaction attached to annoyance (then called SAA), rating, and the occupancy attitudes. Data was collected from 468 online apartment user reviews on Google Map. The review and rating text data was analysed qualitatively using content analysis. The relationships between the evaluation of housing quality and attitude were analysed by using correspondence analysis. From the analysis, there are three groups of apartment housing quality, namely the aspects of requirements, supplementary, and complementary. The requirement aspect relates to the unavailability of basic residential needs which consists of disturbances that threaten safety and security, physiological annoyance, and poor management. The unavailability of basic needs causes a person not to recommend or even move to a better residential unit/apartment. The supplementary aspect indicates the supporting aspects of good residential quality, which include functional flexibility, aesthetics and good comfort, strategic location, large economic benefits, and good management. The complementary aspect represents good physical management and service. If the supplementary and complementary aspects are fulfilled, users will recommend the apartment to the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing quality is a subject of dispute worldwide, and these disputes are increasing due to the significant differences in the views of producers and consumers on quality standards. To arbitrate disputes, an objective evaluation of housing quality is necessary. In Korea, disputes over housing quality in the post-handover stage result in lawsuits, thus becoming a social issue. This study analyzed the results of lawsuits against housing complexes in Korea. The ratio of defect repair cost to construction cost (DRCCC) was adopted as an indicator, and the quality level of the building was evaluated using a control chart to select failures. The findings showed that there were more cases where the construction cost was small, the housing quality was poor, the deviation was wide, and the quality defect exceeded the limit level of the control chart. To improve housing quality, it is necessary to strengthen quality management, to control the quality within the management limit, and to adjust standards by reflecting the consumer's viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization progress in developing countries is reflected in the urban living conditions of their rural migrants. Housing quality, in particular, is linked to migrants’ social integration and development of human capital. In China, where urban housing is highly stratified by urban citizenship via the “hukou” or household registration system, improving housing quality is a top priority for the central government in its pursuit of human-centered urbanization. Despite some social and economic elements affecting migrants’ housing quality being documented, few studies have analyzed the determinants of rural migrants’ housing quality from the perspective of rural landholdings or possession of use rights of rural lands, which is endowed by the land system of China. Using large micro-data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this study investigates the association between hometown landholdings and rural migrants’ housing quality in their host cities. The empirical results suggest that possessing rural landholdings in their hometown is negatively correlated with rural migrants’ housing quality in their host cities, wherein rural migrants’ hukou transfer intention is found as an intermediary factor. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the relationship across demographic characteristics and regions was investigated. In addition, short-term revenue derived from hometown landholdings is also verified to have a very limited positive effect on migrants’ housing quality. Land transfer policies customized for subgroups of rural migrants across sociological attributes and urban stratification are concluded finally.

Unsafe rental units are disproportionately located in communities of color, resulting in numerous detrimental effects for residents' health and socioeconomic well-being. Yet, scholars disagree regarding the mechanisms driving this phenomenon. Exogenous capitalism theories emphasize socioeconomic factors while setter-colonial racial capitalism theories emphasize the racist policies and practices that incentivize unequal investment and maintenance. We empirically adjudicate between these mechanisms by merging restricted-access versions of the American Housing Survey, the Rental Housing Finance Survey, and the American Community Survey at a Census Restricted Data Center. Our findings demonstrate neighborhood White proportion is a key mechanism shaping the condition of rental units even when controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic status, property features, and renter demographics. We argue these results support settler-colonial racial capitalism theories and discuss the implications of these findings for future research and housing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Like many countries in the OECD, Aotearoa NZ does not comprehensively regulate or enforce the safety of rental housing, despite evidence that the significant scale of home injury can be reduced through cost-effective home modifications. We examine the framing of home injury in media, political, and organisational discourse to identify barriers to creating and enforcing laws for safer rental homes. We find progress in addressing safety via rental housing regulations is stymied, in part, by institutional arrangements that favour the framing of home injury as a product of individual behaviour and culpability rather than environmental risk, and the prioritisation of education and awareness-raising over regulatory and systemic interventions framed politically, as overreaching ‘nanny state’ policies. We propose opportunities to address the incidence of injury and inequities in outcomes and argue that effective regulation and enforcement will address the inherent power inequities in the rental sector between owner and occupier, which can influence the presence of injury hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides insights into the influence of housing quality on occupier mental wellbeing based on a critical review of interdisciplinary literature spanning housing, health and wellbeing, autonomy, and social value. We consider the significance of extant research findings for the mental wellbeing of housing occupants and indicate the relevance for planning. We find evidence of the relationship between housing occupier autonomy for the lived experience of wellness and discuss the need for mental wellbeing valuation to inform social housing provision in the United Kingdom. We introduce an original conceptual framework representing components of the housing environment shaping occupier mental wellbeing and conclude that planning in its coordinative capacity has the capability to connect housing provision with mental wellbeing determinants. To do so, however, will require a radical shift in the present UK politics of social housing provision and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of indicators as measurers of the effectiveness of urban and housing transformations strongly re-emerge because of the performance approach the funding of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is based on. Within the NRRP specific programmes, the issue of performance measurability of interventions was managed with the application of different indicators and application methods. The research group had the opportunity to work on the construction of a system of indicators for a national urban regeneration programme, financed within the NRRP. This paper describes the research aimed at the definition of the indicators for evaluating the design proposals applied to the NRRP financed program called PINQuA (Innovative Programme for Housing Quality). The proposed system of indicators proved useful to promote an objective reading of the interventions and to encourage, in the design proposals application, the response to housing quality criteria aimed, among other issues, at improving the cultural condition of the contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic precondition, when it comes to the spatial comfort of social housing units is to create residential space which will, in addition to health, hygiene and sanitary minimum, also provide optimal conditions for proper psycho-social development of the users. Previous researches showed that the most relevant criteria, regarding the unit’s spatial comfort, are: size, spatial arrangement and adaptability of housing space, but also the existence of private open areas. Upon these criteria the evaluation model for the valorization of the spatial comfort of social housing units will be formed. This model will further be used for the analysis of the buildings constructed for this purpose in the city of Niš, Serbia.