452 research outputs found
Sort by
Samenspel in stedelijke vernieuwing: Investeringsbeslissingen van woningcorporaties in stedelijke vernieuwingswijken in samenwerking met andere actoren
Get PDFThe subject of this dissertation concerns the investment decisions made by housing associations in urban renewal neighbourhoods in cooperation with other stakeholders.
Project background and problem statement
A number of radical changes are taking place in the development and renewal of urban neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. First of all, the focus has shifted from large-scale new building on expansion locations to the renewal of existing urban areas. Second, financial resources available for urban renewal have considerably decreased. Apart from the decrease in investment capacity offered by private parties that resulted from the financial and economic crisis, government funding for urban renewal has also been suspended since 2014 and the investment resources of housing associations have diminished. Financial incentives by the (national) government for the renewal of urban neighbourhoods in decline are no longer available. Third, as a result of the revisions made to the Housing Act (Woningwet) of 2015, the role of housing associations and their status has significantly changed. Housing associations have scaled down on their core activity, namely the management and development of housing for low-income groups. Since housing associations are currently restricted in their activities, they are focusing more on the affordable segment and they are more reluctant to focus their new building plans on the redifferentiation of existing neighbourhoods (Gruis, 2018).
Nevertheless, investing in the quality of life and the vivaciousness of a city is still necessary. That is why the questions have arisen of how investment decisions in urban renewal can be made within this new context, and how housing associations and other actors can stimulate one another to invest in urban renewal neighbourhoods.
Research objectives
This PhD research project aims to contribute to developing further knowledge regarding investment decisions by housing associations in urban renewal. The first goal is to provide insight into the investment behaviour of housing associations in urban renewal by focusing on their cooperation with market participants and municipalities. The second goal is to provide insight into the factors which influence the investment decisions made by housing associations.
Relevance
First of all, the scientific relevance and the contribution that this research project will make lies in the link between the private market participants’ approach on the one hand, and the perspective of housing associations, seen as social enterprises, on the other hand. Second, this research project contributes to the application of Ostrom’s IAD framework and the principles regarding issues of ‘common pool resources’ in a complex urban context. Third, in this research project the method of game simulation was applied, which up until now has only been used to a limited extent in Spatial Planning.
The societal relevance of this research project is evident in view of the research programs and current trajectories that are moving towards a future agenda for urban renewal. The attention paid to creating viable neighbourhoods has decreased as a result of the economic crisis, the termination of the government policy, the changes in housing policy and in the system of housing, as well as the social system. The threatening standstill in urban renewal could have huge consequences on the quality of life of the urban neighbourhoods in decline.
Research approach and methods
The core research question is: “In what way do housing associations’ investment decisions in regard to urban renewal emerge through the cooperation with other actors, and which factors play a role?” This core question can be answered by the replies to the following three research questions.
1. How do we define, in this research project, urban renewal and what are the roles of housing associations and other actors in urban renewal?
2. Which factors influence housing associations’ investment decisions that pertain to urban renewal in cooperation with other actors?
3. Which other form of cooperation is there for housing associations and actors to stimulate each other to invest in urban renewal neighbourhoods?
Research Question 1: How do we define, in this research project, urban renewal and what are the roles of housing associations and other actors in urban renewal?
Chapter 2 addresses the context of the housing market, housing associations and urban renewal. The definition of urban renewal employed in this research project is focused on the physical aspects of renewal. The goals of urban renewal are first aimed at housing stock differentiation and the quality of housing improvement, secondly at the quality of home environment, thirdly at safety improvement, fourthly at the emancipation of vulnerable groups, and finally at the supply or combination of facilities.
During the past few decades urban renewal in the Netherlands has gone through major changes. After the Second World War, the neighbourhood policy first altered course from clear-cutting and reconstruction to urban regeneration. After that, the policy developed towards urban renewal, in which the former direct policytargeting of the Government first evolved into financial boosting, and subsequently into knowledge and expertise support. The introduction of the Large Cities Policy (in Dutch: Grotestedenbeleid, GSB) was an important turning point. The 56-neighborhoods-approach placed the focus on a limited number of neighbourhoods and subsequently on 40 power neighbourhoods (in Dutch: krachtwijken). Apart from the public funds allocated from the Investment Budget for Urban Renewal (in Dutch: Investeringsbudget Stedelijke Vernieuwing, IVS), a substantial contribution was also to be made by the housing association sector. In 2015, the governmental policy for urban renewal was brought to a halt and the Minister of ‘Housing and Civil Service’ (in Dutch: Wonen en Rijksdienst) declared the process of urban renewal to be completed. This declaration of mission accomplished also implied a new division of roles between the parties involved. After their privatisation, the housing associations’ steering possibilities related to their investment behaviour had become restricted and the municipality was assigned a facilitating role. However, within this renewal process, the municipality and the housing associations still remain dependent on one another. Market parties are not necessarily involved, partly due to their less pronounced interest in established property (property in renewal neighbourhoods).
On the one hand, strategies for urban renewal are focused on either existing or new real estate, and on the other hand on either current or new residents. The main focus of this research project is on demolition and new construction, which concerns both new target groups and new real estate. It primarily addresses the application and execution of integral development and not organic area development. The emphasis is on the way in which this approach, that has been based upon the combined strategy of demolition and new construction, can be sustained by housing associations in cooperation with other actors.
Research Question 2: Which factors influence housing associations’ investment decisions that pertain to urban renewal in cooperation with other actors?
In Chapter 3, several theoretical perspectives are discussed, which form the basis for selecting Ostrom’s so-called Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework as the theoretical framework for this research project. In this framework, a central place has been assigned to the mutual dependence and interaction between actors. Investment decisions pertaining to urban renewal are viewed as actors’ collective actions, which are influenced by three external variables, namely the physical, the social and the institutional characteristics. Physical characteristics include the current economic, demographical and planning states of affairs. Social characteristics refer to the ‘community’, in other words, to the social and cultural context such as the level of trust, reciprocity and shared opinions. Institutional characteristics include the current rules which create predictability and order in relationships and individual behaviour. In order to understand these influencing factors, an explorative case study has been carried out on the renewal of the neighbourhood ‘Kanaleneiland Centrum’ in Utrecht, as described in Chapter 4. The results and insights obtained from this case study have been transferred to a more general level, and presented according to the IAD framework.
The physical context is regarded as an important and influential factor in which the economic characteristics can have a particularly great and even crucial impact. The regional housing market and the expected value development are decisive for the investments made by the market participants, and they are important for housing associations. The social and cultural context plays an important role in investment behaviour as well. This includes the opinions shared and the commitment shown, the quality of the relationship (trust) and reciprocity, as well as the number of actors, the kinds of actors and their culture. The institutional context is determining as well as the contracting and financing, control, status and legislation (Housing Act, in Dutch: Woningwet), as these are also particularly important.
Research Question 3: Which other form of cooperation is there for housing associations and actors to stimulate each other to invest in urban renewal neighbourhoods?
By using game simulations and interviews, three specific collaborative relationships between housing associations and other actors have been studied, which have consecutively been reported in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. The game simulations are focused on interaction, cooperation and the mutual influence of the actors. First, the cooperation with investors will be addressed, afterwards the cooperation with building companies, and then the interplay with municipalities. For each collaboration relationship five expectations were formulated, which were explored on the basis of in-depth interviews and game simulations. The results have been reported for each collaboration relationship separately.
The interplay between housing associations and investors
Chapter 5 deals with the cooperation between housing associations and institutional investors. The subject of middle-priced rent is central to this analysis. Due to the revisions made to the Housing Act and the implementation of a suitability check (in Dutch: passenheidstoets), affordability was given assigned greater priority. Consequently, the housing associations have focused primarily on the subsidised housing (in Dutch: sociale huurwoning) segment which fell below the limit of housing allowance capping (in Dutch: aftoppingsgrens). The lower middle segment could become a target for investors, but it is doubtful whether they will prioritise this option on a large scale.
The game simulation and the interviews resulted in the following observations.
1. Institutional investors are prepared to invest in the middle segment when they can make cooperation agreements directly with housing associations stating who serves which sector and with which product. This is to ensure that they both avoid getting tangled up in the same business. The price-performance ratio is particularly important. Participants need to be complementary and they need to take a proper perspective on value development. One prerequisite for achieving this is that the participants must be open and transparent and that they trust each other. Due to cultural differences, having cold feet might prove to be a discouraging factor.
2. Agreements regarding the rent category, the time frame for selling, an increase in rent and assigning roles are important for housing associations in their cooperation with investors. However, it appears that whether or not housing associations concentrate on the affordable segment is determined by other factors such as the housing market region, the market position of the housing association and the housing association’s interpretation of the Housing Act.
3. Municipalities can stimulate housing associations and investors to invest in particular rental categories. They can use public law to prescribe this in their planning regulations, and private law to apply specific conditions to the implementation of rental categories. These options, however, are at odds with the land price policy, which is usually focused on generating revenue.
4. By differentiating the land prices per rental category, municipalities can stimulate investments in middle-priced rent. However, differentiation does not appear to be a decisive reason for investors to invest. Agreements which aim at limiting the risks in the lower and middle segment, such as agreements regarding increasing the rent and the time frame for selling, appear to be more important to investors. The lower middle segment is a stable investment product with a low risk profile. However, the risks are increased by the uncertainty regarding government policy, the landlord’s levy and the house evaluation system that is used to determine fair rent (in Dutch: Woningwaarderingsstelsel).
5. The cooperation between housing associations and investors regarding investments in middle-priced rented housing is hampered by the social and cultural context, such as cultural differences, rather than by substantive opinions, although the latter does play a role as well. Delving into each other’s interests and building trust takes time, but it is absolutely essential for good cooperation.
The interplay between housing associations and building companies
Chapter 6 deals primarily with the cooperation between housing associations and building companies, in which the issues of chain cooperation and concept dwellings take central stage. Chapter 6 also addresses the role that the developers might play in this cooperation. The housing associations’ enhanced focus on affordable houses is affecting the demand for building companies. Increasingly, housing associations concentrate on cost reduction and seek affordable solutions in the form of standard draft houses, and a long-term, non-project-based cooperation with co-makers or chain cooperation. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) approach may offer opportunities as well. However, these solutions call for another type of cooperation. Chain cooperation is regarded as a promising alternative to improve cooperation, to reduce wastefulness and to enhance quality. Nonetheless, the building sector is known for wasting money and materials, for a lack of innovation and its practically never-ending construction procedures (Vrijhoef, 2011). Developers could provide added value to this cooperation, not only in terms of substance and funding, but also in terms of organisation and marketing (Gruis et al., 2009).
The game simulation and the interviews resulted in the following observations.
According to the housing associations, the application of a standard draft house for housing associations, which has been developed by building companies, does not produce the housing associations’ desired results such as cost reduction and quality enhancement. In daily practice, standard draft houses are rarely built, since each housing association has its own specific demands and wishes. These variations on the standard are actually quite expensive. Investing in affordable houses could indeed be stimulated by copying a draft house that has already been applied in other locations.
2. In practice, long-term, non-project-based cooperation between housing associations and building companies, who have regular partners and co-makers does not lead to a better price-quality ratio. To include the building companies in deliberations at an early stage might offer benefits in terms of product optimization. This strategy does not primarily contribute to cost reduction, but it may have a slightly dampening impact on price increases. It does provide the building companies with insight into the housing association’s organisation and, in doing so, it can contribute to speeding up investment decisions and to shortening the project’s processing time.
3. The cooperation between housing associations and building companies might create opportunities in the field of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which is when a building company agrees to take on the long-term maintenance at his or her own risk. However, the idea regarding whether or not this opportunity is realistic is unambiguous. From the viewpoint of cost and efficiency, housing associations are, to a certain extent, interested in having the building company take care of maintenance, but in practice they prefer to carry out the maintenance themselves in order to secure customer contact and customer satisfaction.
4. Developers can contribute to finding solutions for affordable housing, if they were to serve as a link between the housing association and building company. In addition, they can add value by providing land positions and/or knowledge and expertise. Because housing associations withdraw from land exploitations and area development, developers can take over the management role, as long as the interests of the housing association are served well. Their knowledge and expertise allow developers to achieve a viable business case. The cultural difference between housing associations and developers deserves attention as this could be a hindrance.
5. By involving the building companies early in the development phase, the quality of the relationship and cooperation between housing associations and building companies can benefit, but it does restrict the organisation’s chances to negotiate, due to the lack of competition. This can be countered by having the conformity requirements with market standards tested by an external cost consultant. Being involved at an early stage in the process signifies an investment in time, money and responsibility for building companies, which must be recouped in the future.
The interplay between housing associations and municipalities
Chapter 7 deals with the cooperation between housing associations and municipalities, in which the focus is placed on performance agreements because these agreements play a more crucial role as a result of the new Housing Act having been implemented. The evaluation of the Housing Act (Commissie van Bochove, 2018) shows that the law has strict national rules and that there are not enough options for customization at the local level. Housing associations refrain from using the freedom that has been offered to them, subsequently causing societal projects to enter dire straits. Suggestions for improvement refer to creating boundaries which are less strict and more general and which offer more possibilities for local agreements between municipalities, housing associations and the tenants’ organisations. The participants cited areas for improvement, not only in the cooperation and division of roles, but also in regard to process, content and knowledge. Investments in urban renewal should be assessed by weighing them in view of such factors as affordability, availability, quality and sustainability. Improvements in the cooperation agreements and performance agreements are assumed to result in more investments and more rapid decision making in urban renewal neighbourhoods.
The game simulation and the interviews resulted in the following observations.
1. Housing associations are inclined to invest in urban renewal if municipalities are willing to make offers in return for their reciprocity. A one-sided wish list, which has been drawn up by the municipality, has an inhibiting effect. If openness and transparency are shown from the start, this will lead to feasible agreements. The most promising incentive seems to be the provision of new building locations. In addition, municipalities can impose planning obstacles and private-law liabilities. Municipalities seem to have little to offer when it comes to making additional investments in the living environment and public space. They prefer to fund issues such as sustainability.
2. Local settlement between housing associations - by shared prioritisation and a division in matters and activities such as new construction, neighbourhood renewal and quality of life — appeals to the participants involved, but it is not considered to be a promising option when it comes to an urban renewal challenge. Parties discuss the option of settlement within the sector, but ‘performing to the best of one’s abilities’ is not mentioned in performance agreements. Preferably, housing associations make joint agreements in which each individual contribution has been specified. Exchanging issues and making trade-offs could take place more often, but in the end each housing association should contribute to all of the different issues.
3. A broader scope of performance agreements within both the physical and the social domain — not only including quantitative agreements (number of houses) but also qualitative agreements (affordability, neighbourhood development, new construction) — does not seem to stimulate investments in urban renewal. It does, however, improve the quality of the discussion on investment in urban renewal, which in turn leads to better cooperation, and helps housing associations to decide whether or not to invest. Nevertheless, if the scope is too broad, it makes matters more complex and this hinders participants from making concrete agreements. Sustainability seems to have become the leading principle in a hou
Town Planning Towards City Development - A Report to the Durbar of Indore: Patrick Geddes
No full textPatrick Geddes is one of the most important figures in planning history, variously presented as an inspiration to regional planning, environmental planning and sustainability, grass-roots planning, citizen democracy, historic preservation, neighbourhood upgrading, university—community partnership, lifelong learning, and co-operative housing. Though well-known and often praised by planning historians, his scholarship extended across a much broader range of disciplines, with extensive publication on biology and on civics, and significant contributions to sociology, economics, geography, education, and the arts and humanities.
With the exception of his plan of Dunfermline, published in 1904, his plans are very hard to find. Most of his plans were prepared in India between 1915 and 1923, but beyond brief extracts from four of them included by Jaqueline Tyrwhitt in the book Patrick Geddes in India, they are very difficult to obtain. Some are lost altogether and the remainder are available in a handful of libraries, often held in Archives.
Of all the plans prepared after Dunfermline, the most extensive is for the city of Indore, originally published in two volumes that combine a comprehensive scheme for the urban development of the city with a detailed plan for the proposed University of Central India
Landscape Strategies in Architecture
Get PDFThe central question and purpose of the thesis is to understand how landscape as a design concept is changing our understanding of architecture. It explores the ways in which landscape is relevant for design strategies in architecture.
Buildings that have been designed like landscapes have become a topic in contemporary architecture and in the recent literature about it. The apparent distinction between architecture and landscape is questioned in exemplary theoretical works and building designs with increasing interest in landscape as a phenomenon of contemporary architecture.
To understand this phenomenon this thesis first explores the term of landscape and its design. The introduction focuses on the exploration of the idea of landscape and how it is applicable in architectural design. Strategies of landscape design as they are discussed in contemporary landscape architecture are defined and illustrated with specific examples. This view is contrasted with the idea of nature in architecture.
Architecture's concepts of nature reveal some crucial problems that lead to the polarity of 'wild' nature and 'human' architecture. With a critique of these common architectural theories and within the methodological differentiation the thesis reveals the necessity of research through analysis of landscape spatial composition in architecture.
The core of this thesis is three case studies of architectural designs that approach a building like a landscape. A selection of analytical techniques is applied to key cases in three central chapters. The main analytical model for landscape architectural composition that Steenbergen and Reh (2003) developed for the European Gardens of the Renaissance, Baroque and Enlightenment is applied as a drawing analysis of the formal composition of three selected contemporary architectural projects in a period from 1992 to 2015. Each of the three building designs is studied with the same four-layer method of design analysis. In conjunction with this comparative analysis, a project specific method that reveals unique aspects of each design has been developed.
The first case is OMA's unbuilt Jussieu design for two university libraries in Paris. In 1992 Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his collaborators at OMA proposed the Jussieu project at a turning point of the discipline, where new forms of architecture with landscape design strategies were being explored. Though this project has not been realised, this thesis makes it possible to describe the building in a guided walk-through. This visualisation of the design as it could have looked if built is also the specific analytical method chosen for this example.
The second case, the Rolex Learning Centre at EPF Lausanne, has been clearly declared 'landscape' as architecture by its designers. This competition winning design from 2004 and opened in 2010 is the largest scale international building of Japanese Architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA). The specific analytical method used for this case is a visual space analysis of the project using 3D-isovists.
The third case is the City of Culture of Galicia in Santiago de Compostela by American architect Peter Eisenman. This project was initially designed in 1999 in a process of layering - in principle, similar to the layer model analysis of this thesis. However, the four tenets of the thesis layer model - ground form, spatial form, metaphorical form and programmatic form - will alter the reading of this project. This execution of the giant public project of "City of Culture" was interrupted half-way in 2015, with great political difficulties fo Galicia. The specific analytical method used for this case is an experiment that uses the ruins of unbuilt architecture as the base for a landscape architectural design. This design of a temporary garden mimics the design principles of architect Peter Eisenman. This experiment shows that landscape strategies developed for the design of a building can be applied in reverse for designed landscapes.
In conclusion, this thesis will compare the three case studies of architectural designs with each other. While some design instruments, strategies and methods are specific, others are commonly applied in several or all of the projects.
In a broader scope, the analysis is transposed into the greater societal and theoretical realm to explore whether landscape design strategies change architecture. For the discipline of architecture in general, the thesis explores how far landscape could lead the profession further as a new concept to build a sustainable human environment. Evoking potential applications and the reach of landscape in architecture in the perspective of future development, the thesis ultimately discusses unexplored potentials for landscape design strategies in the architectural discipline
Lusaka: The New Capital of Northern Rhodesia
Get PDFThis short account of the planning of Lusaka as the new capital of Northern Rhodesia, written for its offi cial opening in 1935 as part of jubilee celebrations for King George V, was printed in a limited edition specifi cally for that event, and is now very scarce and diffi cult to obtain, but deserves to be made more widely available for scholars of planning and urban history, and especially all interested in African urban development.
The planning of Lusaka was a prestige project for British indirect rule administration in Africa during the 1930s, in the recovery from the Great Depression, and was claimed as an example of British garden city and town planning expertise being applied overseas to its imperial territorial acquisitions. Particular features of Lusaka’s planning were the attention to public buildings, echoing on a smaller scale the grand imperial designs of Baker and Lutyens in South Africa and India, the importance attached to landscaping and tree planting, and the priority given to the new airport refl ecting the great expansion of air networks during the 1930s.
The historical context also includes Lusaka’s place on the projected ‘Cape to Cairo’ railway, and its importance as a colonial project at a time of rapid development by American and South African capitalism of copper mining in the Copperbelt. Town planning was seen in the Colonial Offi ce as an important tool of colonial management, and successive colonial governors in Northern Rhodesia were associated with planning initiatives. Lusaka capital city was seen as a demonstration project which infl uenced negotiations over planning the new Copperbelt mining townships.
Lusaka’s colonial origins are of increasing interest to present-day planners in Zambia, concerned with problems of rapid urbanisation and the recent recovery of the copper mining industry; it is also of wider interest for both its place in the history of town planning and garden city concepts beyond Europe and as a planned new capital in the Third World
Robocar and Urban Space Evolution: City changes in the age of autonomous cars
Get PDFHow can we create more human-centered, resilient, and sustainable cities in the tech age? Can we make use of technology and the opportunities presented rather than resisting its fast-paced evolution? What are the biggest and most likely spatial changes that autonomous vehicles will bring in cities? How can this change in mobility contribute to a better urban environment? To what extent do the spatial opportunities created by automated mobility respond to current urban issues and what is the role of urban design and spatial planning in this debate?
Autonomous cars–Robocars–will dramatically change urban environments and the practice of urbanism, potentially making cities less dependent on and less dominated by cars. Driverless and mainly guided by digital infrastructure, Robocars can open up new opportunities for urban development. If guided by sustainable development goals, the automation of mobility can lead to urban evolution–a shared paradigm shift in mobility and urban design. However, if Robocars are introduced as profit-driven products rather than tools to improve cities, they can cause sprawl, undermine public transport and reduce active mobility, ultimately affecting people’s health and wellbeing. Consequently, it is necessary to explore how the Robocars’ technological capabilities can provide solutions to pressing urban issues, such as growth, climate change, environmental quality, social inequality and the energy transition.
On September 13, 2018, the Section of Urban Design at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, organised a public debate with international and Dutch experts to discuss the spatial changes that autonomous cars may bring about in cities. Subsequently, this publication gathers illustrated contributions by the key speakers at the symposium, which present ideas and further reflection points on Robocars’ relation to the urban environment. The three thematic sessions of the symposium were video recorded and are available online at robocarevolution.com.
The symposium and the publication aim to raise awareness about the importance of the topic for the field of urban design and other disciplines dealing with various aspects of urban sustainability. To date, the topic of autonomous cars has mainly been addressed by car industries, technology companies and transportation planning groups. The current discourse is predominantly driven by business and marketing goals, potentially leading to cities shaped around technology.
In this context, the symposium and the publication are a step forward to engaging various experts in a debate around Robocars and urban design. They propose a complementary approach to the current tech discourse on automated mobility by emphasising the importance of an urban design and spatial planning perspective, thus exploring Robocars as a spatial project. Automated vehicles can bring a mobility revolution: traffic systems and infrastructure can be reinvented, public and private transport modes can blend, and the logic of mobility in cities can be reformed, as time spent in the car will no longer be lost. Such changes create spatial opportunities and can help cities respond better to sustainable development goals; for instance, the space made available if Robocars could park themselves can be redesigned and, instead of parked cars, streets can accommodate more green space and larger sidewalks, revaluing streets as public spaces.
The goal of the Robocar and Urban Space Evolution symposium and publication is to start a more inclusive debate about Robocars and their impact on the urban environment and to explore the potential of this new technology beyond market-oriented goals. The experts involved came from multiple disciplines, including spatial planning, urban design, architecture, ecology, psychology, environmental engineering and transportation planning. They discussed why and how we need to engage with the topic, given that mobility automation will dramatically shape the urban environment in different contexts and societies in the coming decades.
The publication includes contributions by Rients Dijkstra and Anca Ioana Ionescu, Dominic Stead, Víctor Muí±oz Sanz, David Hamers, Salvador Rueda, Nico Larco, Emilia Bruck and Mathias Mitteregger
Traffic in Towns - A Study of the Long Term Problems of Traffic in Urban Areas: Colin Buchanan
No full textTraffic in Towns, also known as the Buchanan report, is regarded as one of the most influential planning documents of the twentieth century. The report reflected mounting concern about the impact on Britain’s towns and cities of rapid growth in the ownership and use of motor vehicles. Its purpose was to evaluate policy options for reducing the threat of traffic congestion to urban circulation and quality of life.
Two main conclusions were drawn from the report: firstly, the need for large-scale reconstruction to make Britain’s cities fit for the ‘motor age’, including split-level megastructures and urban motorways; and secondly, the simultaneous need to preserve parts of the city, especially ‘environmental areas’ or areas with limited motor access.
In Britain, successive governments drew back from implementing the full recommendations of the Study Group, despite initial cross-party support. The prohibitive cost of city-centre redevelopment and motorway construction meant a ‘comprehensive’ solution to the problem of urban traffic on Buchanan lines was never attempted. However, local authorities in a variety of British cities, such as Glasgow, Leicester and Leeds took up aspects of the report. Internationally, too, the report had a major impact in countries such as Sweden, Italy and Australia.
In the longer term, the influence of the report may be best judged by the incremental changes it set in train such as pedestrianization of city centres, traffic calming and other measures linked to Buchanan’s concept of ‘environmental areas’. In focusing attention on the effects of mass motorization on the urban environment Traffic in Towns set the terms of debate for a generation, pre-figuring recent discussion about the car and urban sustainability
Home Occupant Archetypes: Profiling home occupants’ comfortand energy-related behaviours with mixed methods
Get PDFThis research is aimed at better understanding how occupants use energy in their homes from a comfort-driven perspective, in order to propose customized environmental characteristics that could improve the occupants’ comfort while reducing energy consumption. To propose such bespoke environmental features and feedback, occupant archetypes were produced based on the intentions and motivations behind comfort behaviours. Building upon the aim of this thesis, the following main research question was proposed:
How can energy behaviours be studied from a comfort-driven perspective in order to facilitate the development of environmental features that support more efficient occupant behaviours and that provide the comfort needs of the person?
A mixed-methods human-centered design approach was developed for which four steps were required to answer the main research question, reflecting also the four parts of this dissertation.
1. An extensive and multidisciplinary literature review investigated behavioural theories and comfort theories to find out what the drivers behind behaviours are and to understand comfort from a holistic and integrative lens, including social and psychological comfort. Additionally, an overview of energy use in residential buildings was presented, along with the links between energy consumption and occupant behaviours, thus explaining the problems of performance gaps and the rebound effect. The review eventually proposes that energy consumption, behaviours, and comfort are elements of an interacting system, as many behavioural expressions exercised at home are comfort-driven and several of these comfortdriven behaviours result in energy use. This part was the platform on which a questionnaire was developed based on constructs that motivate behaviour: locus of control, attitudes towards energy, environmental needs, and emotions towards home, in addition to other variables such as health status, demographics, and energy consuming habitual actions. Thus, the questionnaire is a tool that consolidates in a single instrument a self-reported assessment of energy consumption patterns and comfort behaviours. The resulting questionnaire was composed of previously validated instruments that were adapted to the context to assess the corresponding constructs and was composed of 65 variables.
2. The newly developed questionnaire was pilot tested with a population consisting of master students of the faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of the TU Delft. The pilot was launched to make corrections and adjust the questionnaire and to validate the effectiveness of the analysis method to cluster respondents. The TwoStep cluster analysis was chosen as it is a method normally used in the segmentation of health behaviours and was originally developed to group customers in marketing. More recently, it has been used in studies assessing different types of behaviours, especially in the healthcare field. The pilot ensured that the segmentation method was appropriate for the types of variables involved. The cluster analysis produced a model of six clusters, which was successfully validated according to a process that ensures that the groups are both stable and reliable.
Subsequently, the questionnaire was administered to the full sample of 761 respondents —mainly composed of students and employees- and was analysed accordingly with the method. The final model was also validated. The final model resulted in five distinct home occupant clusters, which differed on their comfort needs, attitudes towards energy, environmental control beliefs, and emotions towards their home environment. These clusters were the basis of the forthcoming archetypes.
3. In order to better develop the archetypes, occupant-related qualitative data and environment-related quantitative data was needed. A field study was designed to interview occupiers in their homes and to gather building data. To gather building data, a comprehensive checklist inventoried building characteristics related to energy expenditure, such as type of glazing, type of ventilation, type of appliances, etc. Additionally, the indoor environmental parameters (relative humidity, carbon dioxide, and temperature) were monitored, and finally, actual energy consumption readings were taken for a month during the summer period. Parallelly, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted, which are techniques used to gather qualitative behavioural data from the home occupants. Questions related to their energy consuming habits and practices were asked, as well as about their environmental needs for comfort and energy attitudes. Interviews were analysed with a text mining technique: sentiment analysis, which allows assessing the sentiments associated with the topics discussed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to complete the previously found statistical clusters, in order to develop the five final archetypes that are the following: Archetype 1: Restrained Conventionals; Archetype 2: Incautious realists; Archetype 3: Positive savers; Archetype 4: Sensitive wasters; Archetype 5: Vulnerable pessimists.
4. Self-reported data and interviews allow collecting explicit knowledge: a type of knowledge that is readily available and is related to facts and memories. When verbally expressed, these facts and memories tend to be processed through biases and conscious filters. As a result, to produce more accurate and complete archetypes, another type of knowledge is also needed: tacit knowledge. This is a type of knowledge is related to feelings, intuitions, and emotions, which tends to be difficult to express with verbalizations. To collect it, focus group sessions were designed to assess the home occupants’ tacit knowledge in terms of what it means to use energy in their homes and what the ideal home experience is. This was collected with the generation of collages that the participants produced with visual and tactile materials, after which they described the process and meanings of their creations. The data was analysed with the use of affinity diagrams that allows to group large amounts of qualitative data into manageable categories and to see the relations between the categories. The results showed two categories: building and occupant, with five sub-categories in total: behavioural aspects, psychological aspects, energy aspects, financial aspects, and home aspects. Each of these subcategories was composed of codes extracted from the collages produced and from the verbal explanations given by the participants. Finally, the data was related back to each of the archetypes, in order to produce final fully-fledged archetypes. The results show that each archetype has different needs, expectations, and experiences as to how they appraise energy and how they desire comfort in their own houses. Consequently, this gives insights into the fact that each of the archetypes is different, they each need differing environmental features to satisfy their comfort needs, to achieve that comfort, and to perceive the impact of their comfort behaviours on the energy outputs of their household.
The differing characteristics that each archetype exhibited were translated into preliminary customized design parameters or bespoke environmental features for each of them. They are summed up as follows: the Restrained Conventional needs large windows for a view and a connection to the outside. Because they value personal space and social interaction at home, yet have low environmental control, the plan of the home needs to give a transition from private to social. They are conservative in the energy use and concerned about their finances: energy feedback can be given to them relating their practices to monetary consequences.
The Incautious Realist places importance on having the right size and layout for particular purposes: therefore, they need modularity that they can manually control, due to their high external control. They also value safety and privacy, so the interactions with façade elements need to ensure them that their environment is safe and private. They have a high concern about finances, yet they have a high expenditure. To boost their consumption and their need for control, their home can be equipped with a control station from which they can control appliances, and see their consumption as a financial reflection.
The Positive Saver places value on the cleanliness and orderliness of the place, thus they need surfaces and spaces that are easy to clean and reach. They are the biggest savers of all the archetypes and this seems to be due to their environmental concerns. To reduce even further their consumption, feedback can be given to them by translating their comfort actions —oven use, etc. - into environmental consequences.
The Sensitive Waster needs softness and tactile sensations in their house. They also place importance on having high freedom of their practices in their house. They are the largest energy waster, and they do not worry about their finances, however, they do value the environment and the future. A smart feature can be designed for them to save more energy by equating their practices to ecological consequences to have a more conservative energy use.
The Vulnerable Pessimist places emphasis on the aesthetics of the house, the technologies, and the gadgets. They also value a sense of community and connectedness to their neighbourhood. As result, they need homes that allow for these interactions, in small complexes or pavilions. They do not worry about financial aspects, however their expenditure is middle-range: to improve it; they can receive feedback from the consumption of their community as an awareness tool.
The findings of this study can help to improve energy predictions, by making more accurate models with different types of occupants. Furthermore, for the existing housing stock, corporations can use the archetypes to tailor the indoor environmental features and interfaces to the future occupant; or, similarly, different occupants can be better allocated to better matching existing dwellings. As for the design of the future stock, architects and contractors can make use of the archetypes by having a more inclusive design process, by answering real needs of the future occupant and improving the decision making of architects. For policies and energy efficiency programs, knowing that there are different types of occupants can allow to bridge gaps between occupant and provider, by encouraging a participatory or inclusive research and design phase, for the design of devices, feedbacks, and interfaces tailored to the specific archetype
Stations as Nodes: exploring the role of stations in future metropolitan areas from a French and Dutch perspective
Get PDFAt the main point of intersection between the railway and the city, stations are key elements in the organization of the intermodal transport as well as catalysts of urban developments in metropolises, medium and small cities. The focus of this publication is to explore the enrichment of a renewed approach of railway stations as intermodal nodes, therefore acting as breeding grounds for both urban and social developments.
This book has been initiated and built upon several activities currently running at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), Delft University of Technology (DIMI, Delft Deltas Infrastructure Mobility Initiative and Department of Architecture of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment) and University of Paris-Est (l’í‰cole d’Urbanisme de Paris). These activities have been framed within the context of two rapidly developing metropolitan areas: Randstad in the Netherlands and Mí©tropole du Grand Paris in the Ile de France. This volume forms the basis for a research on the ‘role of stations in future metropolitan areas’ with the ambition to link the two countries, learning from their different cities and distinct geographical context through comparable mobility challenges on the levels of the inner city, suburban and peripheral areas.
In line with these considerations, in 2018 AMS Institute, TU Delft/ DIMI and the Dutch Embassy in Paris with Atelier Ní©erlandais organized a successful workshop: ‘Stations of the Future’, in collaboration with La Fabrique de la Cití©. Together with Dutch and French planning entities, involving mass transit operators and railway companies, this workshop focused on several case studies in both metropolitan areas to understand the role of station hubs as intermodal nodes. During this joint French-Dutch event that took place in Paris, we spoke on topics like Station as intermodal node, Station as destination and Station as data center, including a debate on the relation between public space and architecture, densification and programming of station areas, pedestrian flows management and the integration of data.
Following the Paris workshop, the summer school ‘Integrated Mobility Challenges in Future Metropolitan Areas’ was organised by AMS Institute and Delft University of Technology/DIMI with the collaboration of the ARENA architectural research network, University of Paris-Est and the City of Amsterdam. This 8-day workshop extended the debate among international young professionals, academics and master students by looking at an important rail-metro node in the metropolitan area of the city Amsterdam: Sloterdijk Station — a crucial hub in a bigger urban area for mobility and exchange, and for urban growth. The main question was: which approaches and scenarios can be tested and applied to these intermodal nodes, particularly when dealing with lack of space and growing number of users? The results were four very different plans to improve the Sloterdijk Station area and to make the station a ‘future proof’ intermodal hub.
In this publication, invited experts from practice and knowledge institutes in France and the Netherlands share their common experience and draw on specific aspects and problems of conception, management and development of stations. A brief overview of the results of the two initiatives ‘Stations of the Future’ and the summer school ‘Integrated Mobility Challenges in Future Metropolitan Areas’ is here illustrated, accompanied by photo reportages of both events and by a curated reportage of the Amsterdam Sloterdijk station area
Atlas: Makerspaces in Public Libraries in The Netherlands
Get PDFPublic libraries want to contribute to an inclusive and innovative society and aim to enable their patrons to acquire the necessary 21st century skills. Dutch public libraries are therefore gradually adding more and more activities to their curriculum, teaching these different types of skills, such as ‘invention literacy’. They also often provide a ‘performative space’ (i.e. a makerspace) for their patrons. This means library spaces are no longer dominated by books, but rather reflect the current development in libraries’ core business, moving from collections to connections in order to serve their local communities. The KB, the National Library of The Netherlands, participated in the KIEM1 project Performative Spaces in Dutch Public Libraries. Stepping Stones of Inclusive Innovation, researching the development of performative spaces in libraries. This project, a collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology, fits the KBs strategic interests in providing an innovative and socially aware library system.
Important research questions included how public libraries create these so-called performative spaces for inventing and creating, what modifications are needed in terms of interior design and safety, and in terms of programmatic and spatial organization? As well as how do makerspaces connect to particular maker communities? The project results provided insight into spatial and design aspects of performative spaces, which helps public libraries, and ultimately its patrons, to benefit from this new development. This book, the Atlas, presents the results of the research projects with illustrations of the different types of makerspaces as well as providing state-of-the-art information about performative spaces, focusing on the spatial characteristics. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with experts from Delft University of Technology and we hope and expect the KIEM project has sown the seeds for a sustainable collaboration on the subject of performative spaces in present and future library research. We see the Atlas as a joint starting point for a shared agenda on the performative library space of the future for librarians, designers, patrons and other stakeholders
Atlas: Makerspaces in Public Libraries in The Netherlands
Get PDFPublic libraries want to contribute to an inclusive and innovative society and aim to enable their patrons to acquire the necessary 21st century skills. Dutch public libraries are therefore gradually adding more and more activities to their curriculum, teaching these different types of skills, such as ‘invention literacy’. They also often provide a ‘performative space’ (i.e. a makerspace) for their patrons. This means library spaces are no longer dominated by books, but rather reflect the current development in libraries’ core business, moving from collections to connections in order to serve their local communities. The KB, the National Library of The Netherlands, participated in the KIEM1 project Performative Spaces in Dutch Public Libraries. Stepping Stones of Inclusive Innovation, researching the development of performative spaces in libraries. This project, a collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology, fits the KBs strategic interests in providing an innovative and socially aware library system.
Important research questions included how public libraries create these so-called performative spaces for inventing and creating, what modifications are needed in terms of interior design and safety, and in terms of programmatic and spatial organization? As well as how do makerspaces connect to particular maker communities? The project results provided insight into spatial and design aspects of performative spaces, which helps public libraries, and ultimately its patrons, to benefit from this new development. This book, the Atlas, presents the results of the research projects with illustrations of the different types of makerspaces as well as providing state-of-the-art information about performative spaces, focusing on the spatial characteristics. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with experts from Delft University of Technology and we hope and expect the KIEM project has sown the seeds for a sustainable collaboration on the subject of performative spaces in present and future library research. We see the Atlas as a joint starting point for a shared agenda on the performative library space of the future for librarians, designers, patrons and other stakeholders