bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Change and the Distribution of Design
Authors: Habraken N. John
Published: January 2021

In Januari 1699 Jules Hardouin Mansart, Superintendent of Buildings and “Premier Architecte” to Louis-le-Grand, king of France, put his signature to the design for what we now know as the Place Vendome. (fig.1) His design included a monumental façade wall of exquisite proportions in the neo−classical manner. The square, including the façade wall, was subsequently built by the city of Paris on request of the King. But no buildings were behind the façade. The land behind was for sale. In the next decade noblemen, bankers, tax farmers, and other prominent and wealthy citizens who served the king in various administrative and financial functions built their houses there with their own architects. These buildings kept changing and adapting over time. But the façade as Mansart built it is still what we see today.
Open Building in Health Care Architecture: The Case of the Ino Project in Bern, Switzerland
Authors: Geiser Stefan
Published: January 2021

The west surgery wing of the University Hospital “Insel” in Bern, which was completed in 1971, no longer meets operational requirements. A decision was made in 1995 that it must be completely renovated. The INO renovation project embraces in particular the Intensive care, Emergency and Surgery Centre. The Building Department of the Canton of Bern, which is responsible for overseeing construction work on the Insel hospital, is pursuing an open building method for the INO project to ensure that the “serviced structure” of the building (with main utility infrastructure) will continue to be highly adaptable, and that the components of the building are interchangeable and reusable. Building sections with differing service lives and designated purposes are therefore kept consistently separate in the planning and execution phases. The use of separate (discrete) systems anticipates the long-term life cycle of the building, and thus safeguards its value in terms of future use. Work is divided into discrete system levels: the primary system (building shell) is designed for a service life of 50 to 100 years, the secondary system (fit-out) for 15 to 50 years and the tertiary system (hospital equipment) for 5 to 15 years.

The project is currently in the execution phase and is being developed in three stages. The 1st stage, the primary system, was completed at the end of 2002, the other stages have not yet been implemented. The 1st stage of the INO project is to go into operation by 2006 and the 2nd stage by 2009.
Getting Tsunami Recovery and Early Warning Right
Authors: Wisner Ben , Walker Peter
Published: January 2021

The massive human and economic impact of the Asian tsunami in later 2004 is mirrored in the aftershocks felt among humanitarian organisations, development agencies, and policy makers. This paper raises a number of these troubling, fundamental issues. Firstly, the call for an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system raises fundamental issues about what warning systems can, and cannot, do. Secondly, one is also forced to consider why in the first place so many people live on exposed coasts today, vulnerable not only to tsunamis but tropical storms and rainy season flooding among other hazards. Thirdly, one is challenged to question the very meaning of “recovery”. Such massive damage has been done and so many people and their livelihoods have been dislocated, is it actually possible to imagine a return to the status quo ante? Fourthly, reconstruction of the magnitude now underway in the affected areas raises many difficult questions about accountability, transparency, and the unevenness with which the international community responds to crises. The paper finishes with some recommendations.
Geo-Information Support in Management of Urban Disasters
Authors: Zlatanova Sisi , Oosterom Peter van , Verbree Edward
Published: January 2021

Within the management of urban disasters, geo-information systems (GIS) are used in any of the phases of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery as most of the required data have a spatial component. Examples of GIS-based decision support systems on mitigation are found in simulation models of floods and earthquakes. In the preparation phase all kinds of spatial observations and models can be used to predict which areas will be threatened. To prepare for adequately responding in case of an actual disaster, these systems are capable of developing realistic scenarios that are used within training and virtual reality (VR) systems. During the actual response phase geo-information is used intensively: for getting an impression of the environment, for routing, for obtaining up-to-date information about the actual situation, etc. In the recovery phase, there is often a high public and political interest to judge the situation - comparing the pre- and post-disaster situation - and to set priorities for the rebuilding.

Despite this potential of GIS-based support for urban disaster management, the use of these systems or even the utilisation of geo-information itself is still very limited in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The emergency management is usually done with paper maps that are seldom up-to-date. Useful systems to support decision makers in any of the phases of disaster management are nearly completely lacking. To improve the work of decision makers and rescue teams, different premises have to be archived in relation to: meta-information to provide insight on the availability and usefulness of the geo-information itself, the technical equipment of the rescue teams (i.e. communication devices and field computers), and the up-to-date information from the affected areas (images, observations, reports). This paper suggests a framework for “urban and urgent” disaster management to facilitate the work of police forces, fire departments, ambulances and government coordinators in disaster situations by extending and improving the utilisation of geo-information. Within a pre-disaster situation, geo-information support management further can assist planning for prevention and mitigation.
Integrating Risk Reduction, Urban Planning and Housing: Lessons From El Salvador
Authors: Wamsler Christine
Published: January 2021

Increasingly, attention has been given to the need to mainstream risk reduction in development work in order to reduce the vulnerability of the urban poor. Using El Salvador as a case study, the paper analyses the mainstreaming process in the developmental disciplines of urban planning and housing. The overall aim is to identify how the existing separation between risk reduction, urban planning and housing can be overcome and integration achieved.

Since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and especially after the 2001 earthquakes, not only relief and development organisations, but also social housing organisations have initiated a shift to include risk reduction in their fields of action in order to address the underlying causes of urban vulnerability. The factors that triggered the process were: 1) the negative experiences of organisations with non-integral projects, 2) the organisations' increased emphasis on working with municipal development, 3) political changes at national level, and more importantly, 4) the introduction and promotion of the concept of risk reduction by international and regional aid organisations. However, required additional knowledge and institutional capacities were mainly built up independently and internally by each organisation, and not through the creation of co-operative partnerships, thus duplicating efforts and increasing ineffective competition.

Whilst positive experience has been gained through the implementation of more integral projects, the creation of adequate operational, organisational, institutional and legal frameworks is still in its initial stage. Unfortunately, four years after the 2001 earthquakes, emergency relief funding for post-disaster risk reduction is coming to an end without the allocation of resources for following up and consolidating the initial process. Based on the findings, an integral model is proposed which shows how mainstreaming risk reduction in urban planning and housing could be dealt with in such a way that it becomes more integrated, inclusive and sustainable within a developmental context.
Evaluating and Reducing Earthquake Risks of Squatter Settlements in Istanbul
Authors: Gökmen Gülçin Pulat , Yüksel Yurdanur Dülgeroglu , Erkök Fatma , Alkiser Yasemin , Keskin Berna
Published: January 2021

In Turkey, the process of squatterisation can best be traced to the increase in its urban population from 24 percent in 1950 to 59 percent in 2000. In the periods up to the present, the prevention, improvement and renewal of squatter settlements were not achieved within the existing legal framework and planning structure; and their urban quality has been degraded.

The aim of this article is to discuss the upgrading of squatter settlements through a mitigation process considering the possibility of an earthquake in Istanbul. The target groups of this upgrading study are the squatter dwellers and their settlements.

In getting prepared for the predicted big Istanbul earthquake, the improvement of squatter housing is extremely important for the existing urban housing stock. With this aim, the undesirable consequences of a possible natural disaster in various squatter settlements in Istanbul were scrutinised. Also, earthquake-forecasting reports were analysed in conjunction with squatter maps to extract data for the purpose of upgrading squatter settlements through rehabilitation, reconstruction and reinforcement at the urban and architectural levels with amelioration of damage after an earthquake. In the article, a model is proposed which includes measures to transform squatter zones into healthy areas by means of simple reinforcement and contemporary solutions.

This article is based on a research project requested and sponsored by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality during 2003-2004.
Factors of Design Problem-Solving and Their Contribution to Creativity
Authors: Casakin Hernan
Published: January 2021

Design problems are unique, complex, and ambiguous. They are considered to be non-routine and ill-structured. Since these kinds of problems require the production of innovative solutions, design problem-solving involves creative thinking. Creativity is concerned with the capacity to restructure old ideas to produce novel solutions, and the ability to search for unusual design alternatives that transcend the known and familiar. In the recent years, there were attempts to gain insight in problem-solving activities that demand creativity, such as design. A question addressed in the current empirical research is how design students assess creativity in architectural design while solving housing problems. Redefining the role of housing in the contemporary city was a main concern. Major factors of design problem-solving, and their contribution to creativity are analyzed.

Results revealed that restructuring of housing design problems was the most significant factor of design problem-solving, followed by search of design solutions. Retrieval of prior knowledge from memory was the weakest factor. Furthermore, innovation was the most significant factor characterizing design creativity, followed by utility and aesthetics. Additional findings showed that restructuring of housing problems was the most correlated factor, and the predictor that had a unique contribution to all creativity factors. Search of housing solutions was a predictor that contributed mainly to innovation.
SOCIO-CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY OF FUTURE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: The Case of the New Kuwait University Campus
Authors: Mahgoub Yasser
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates factors influencing the shaping of future learning environments. It focuses on the impact of social and cultural requirements on the sustainability of future learning environment. It argues that while today's learning environments are shaped by yesterday's visions, future learning environments are shaped by toady's' visions that might not be acceptable nor valid for future generations. The case of New Kuwait University City in Shedadiyah is used to illustrate how current social and cultural requirements impact the design of a future university campus and inhibit the production of a sustainable environment. Among several socio-cultural factors, the paper focuses on two significant aspects that have dramatically affected the development of the master plan for the New University City; namely separation of students' sexes and car parking requirements. The first requirement was mandated by a parliament decree to build two separate campuses; one for male students and the other for female students. The implementation of this requirement resulted in the duplication of many educational facilities and immensely increased space and budget requirements. The second requirement reflected dependency on automobiles as primary means of transportation in Kuwait. It resulted in a necessity to allocate large areas of land for vehicular traffic and car parking. These two requirements, as well as other socio-cultural requirements, created a great challenge towards achieving the required level of sustainability. The paper concludes that while recognizing that accommodating clients' social and cultural requirements is necessary for the application of a comprehensive sustainability strategy, these requirements might work against achieving required levels of other aspects of sustainability.
Assessing Laguna District's Spatial Qualities in Gazimagusa, Northern Cyprus
Authors: Fasli Mukaddes , Pakdel Farnaz
Published: January 2021

This study assesses the Laguna District's spatial qualities in Gazimagusa. Gazimagusa is a coastal settlement that possesses long golden beaches. However, almost all sea fronts are closed to the public. There is both a physical and a visual barrier along the sea-shore. The Laguna District is the only area in the city, where the sea-shore is open to the public. Therefore, this district is an important area. In this study, three indicators and eleven determinants are used to assess the spatial qualities of the Laguna District. The indicators are natural and physical aspects as well as existing functions and activities in the district. In this research, the determinants are used in question form for assessing the spatial qualities of the Laguna District. The first part of this paper discusses some theoretical issues related to the significance of sea fronts in respect of coastal settlements and the spatial qualities of the coastal districts. Observation and physical analysis methods are used for assessing the spatial qualities. According to findings, some recommendations are given for improving the spatial qualities of the Laguna District.
Kubik: Open Building Approach For The Construction of an Unique Experimental Facility Aimed to Improve Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Authors: Chica José A. , Apraiz Inés , Elguezabal Peru , Rrips Marc O. , Sánchez Victor , Tellado Borja
Published: January 2021

KUBIK is aimed to the development of new concepts, products and services to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. The main characteristic of KUBIK is the capability to built realistic scenarios to analyse the energy efficiency obtained from the holistic interaction of the constructive solution for the envelope, the intelligent management of the climatisation and lighting systems and the supply from renewable energy sources.

The R&D infrastructure consists of a building able to provide up to 500 m2 distributed in an underground floor, a ground floor and up to two storeys; the main dimensions are 10,00 m. width x 10,00 m. length x 10,00 meter high (plus and underground floor 3,00 m. depth). The supply of energy is based on the combination of conventional and renewable energy (geothermic, solar and wind). In addition, the building is equipped with a monitoring and control system which provides the necessary information for the R&D activities.

KUBIK's main structure provides an experimental, adaptable and reconfigurable infrastructure to create the indoor environments to analyse and to allow the assembly of the constructive solutions for the envelope, floors and partitions which performance must to be assessed under realistic conditions.
Developments Toward A Residential Fit-Out Industry
Authors: Kendall Stephen
Published: January 2021

This paper outlines some of the background of and constraints facing the emergence of a new industry, focused not on buildings as such but on residential fit-out – the integrated kit-of-parts “behind your front door.” Residential application of the distinction between base building (support) and fit-out (infill), although sharing the same principles as the well-established office building and shopping mall sectors, is particularly important because it affects a very large market whose potential is not yet exploited but is arguably nascent.

It is well understood that industrial manufacturing processes – now becoming “product service systems” in the consumer sector – are most effective and dynamic where individual users are directly served, as seen in the automotive and electronics/communications sectors. Construction of base buildings understood as “infrastructures for living” is capable of stimulating the evolution of a fit-out industry that will itself accelerate innovation and distribution of new domestic fit-out services and systems.

In general, the creation of a genuine fit-out industry is not a technical or industrial design problem. Material subsystems and components like partitioning, bathroom and kitchen equipment, as well as “plug-and-play” piping and wiring are available or are being invented and approved in regulatory regimes internationally. While some smart products are still needed, the problem now is essentially a business proposition. By shifting to the provision of benefits rather than simply manufacturing products, companies may find a competitive advantage in a sector of the building industry now poised for an innovation leap. In the US and other developed countries, this is particularly compelling given the sustainability agenda, smart growth and increased demand for consumer-oriented production. In this perspective, the trend toward base building architecture allows the building industry to effectively come to terms with new and creative modes of industrial production.
Editorial
Authors: Wilkinson Nicholas
Published: January 2021

Hugh Pearman, on page 75 of the new September RIBA Journal, (In part 3 CULTURE) Pearman 2013, explains the changes he has brought about in terms of content, design and physical feel. This is to his credit to have been able to do this. The RIBA journal is now a very pleasant read, very sensitively laid out with quality colour images. Now that the editor Hugh Pearman has got this far I think it will be well maintained and carry itself through any difficult times.
Landscape and Sustainability: Three Residential College Buildings in the Tropics
Authors: Jamaludin Adi Ainurzaman , Keumala Nila , Mohd Ariffin Ati Rosemary , Hussein Hazreena
Published: January 2021

Three residential colleges located in a university campus at the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and built in different decades were selected for landscape studies with respect to species and position of the trees, as well as the effects of the current landscapes as a shelter in reducing solar radiation on buildings, as a pre-assessment for the Low Carbon Cities Framework (LCCF) and assessment system. These landscape designs were carefully studied through on-site observation. The name and location of the matured plants were redrawn and visualised with standard normal photographs. The studies revealed that the old residential college landscape is dominated by tropical forest trees which are able to provide a significant shade to the buildings and offered a potential to achieve sustainable development due to a higher rate of carbon sequestration. While, palm and hybrid fruit plants were most extensively cultivated in the landscape of new residential colleges due to low maintenance and being fast growing.
Between Tradition and Modernity: Determining Spatial Systems of Privacy in the Domestic Architecture of Contemporary Iraq
Authors: Al-Thahab Ali , Mushatat Sabah , Abdelmonem Mohammed Gamal
Published: January 2021

The notion of privacy represents a central criterion for both indoor and outdoor social spaces in most traditional Arab settlements. This paper investigates privacy and everyday life as determinants of the physical properties and patterns of the built and urban fabric and will study their impact on traditional settlements and architecture of the home in the contemporary Iraqi city. It illustrates the relationship between socio-cultural aspects of public and private realms using the notion of the social sphere as an investigative tool of the concept of social space in Iraqi houses and local communities (Mahalla). This paper reports that in spite of the impact of other factors in articulating built forms, privacy embodies the primary role under the effects of Islamic rules, principles and culture. The crucial problem is the underestimation of traditional inherited values through opening social spaces to the outside that giving unlimited accesses to the indoor social environment creating many problems with regard to privacy and communal social integration.
Effects of Physical Design Features to Human Comfort on Floating Spaces
Authors: Duman Inanç Işil , Zengel Rengin
Published: January 2021

The main axes of this study, which is differentiated from contemporary architecture studies as the first academic work in the scope of post-occupancy evaluation floating spaces, are based on evaluating the spatial satisfaction and the meeting of these expectations by its users. A post-occupancy evaluation (POE) yielded a dataset of 117 yacht-users for whom demographic information, activities, and length-of-stay were recorded. This paper reports the study conducted on 78 yachts in Turkey, focusing particularly on the physical design features. The questionnaire is based on the observation and applied as post-occupancy evaluation on the examples of yachts from Turkey. It also questions the effect of the sea on the spatial perception and evaluates the user satisfaction of the interiors and exteriors of yacht spaces. Assessment on the physical design of yacht interiors from the perspective of the staff and the owner is the method to understand their expectation, preferences and experiences. In addition, the satisfaction of different user groups and general evaluation of spaces are explained within the graphics that include the data and analysis which are obtained from the interviews. Empirical results indicate that different user categories (owner and staff) that are presented in the scope of the post-occupancy evaluations (POE) have different satisfaction levels. Findings of this study demonstrate that the difference of satisfaction levels between the users caused different space needs and expectations from their spaces. Although floating spaces have unconventional environmental specifications from the terra architecture, high level of satisfaction in yachts shows that the floating spaces should be evaluated with the scope of their spatial characteristics, in consequence of the spatial perception on the sea and the psychological concepts. In conclusion, the management implications of the study are discussed.
Architectural Planning and Design Based on the Protection, Development of Rural Folk Custom Ecotourism
Authors: Deng Xiuqin , Ye Rongrong , Liu Xuming , Han Guangming
Published: January 2021

Rural folk custom ecotourism is one of the most unique tourism projects today, which relies on the unique landscape of the country for architectural planning and tourism. In the article, the architectural planning and design based on the protective development of rural folk custom ecotourism was studied. Based on this, firstly, the characteristics and development background of rural tourism were expatiated, and the theoretical research background of current landscape planning and design was analyzed; then the principles and methods of planning and designing of rural folk custom ecotourism landscape architecture were analyzed, and the functions of architecture and space use were described in detail, so as to meet the need for protective and sustainable development; in addition, through the analysis and planning of specific projects, the concrete methods of architectural planning and design were discussed and the localization of architectural planning and design was achieved.
Combinatorial Network Layout and Optimization of Urban Rail Transit
Authors: yayun Hu
Published: January 2021

Traffic congestion and disorderly development of land will affect the development of cities. How to make efficient use of urban land is a major issue for cities. Based on this, the problems existing in the planning and construction of urban rail transit in our country were analyzed. The method of rail transit network layout, as well as the site size, site selection and spacing optimization methods were analyzed. The combinatorial network layout planning of Metro Line in a city was studied. According to the layout of rail transit stations, a layout optimization model was proposed. Three basic network layouts were used to lay down the subway lines in this city, and the site size, spacing and intersection points were planned. The effective utilization rate of urban land was increased, and people's travel time was saved, so as to provide a new idea for the layout of rail transit
Exploring the Relationship Between Health and Walkability
Authors: Seles Emre , Afacan Yasemin
Published: January 2021

This study aimed to broaden Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by including healthy urban performance attributes of the residential neighbourhoods as an additional predictor for walking behaviour. First, the study reviewed the literature on TPB and walkability in residential environments, and then constructed a TPB model based on walkability to set the hypotheses. The study explored the correlations among walkability attributes and walkability behaviour through a survey conducted with residents in Ankara, Turkey (n= 220). To analyse the data, first confirmatory factor analysis and later, structural equation modelling were used. The findings of the study highlighted two aspects of planning for a walkable neighbourhood: (i) a walkability model based on the three constructs of TPB should not neglect the measured and experienced urban performance; (ii) utilizing pedestrian environment for walking as fully as possible requires a collaborative and an experiential approach as well as a multi-parameter decision-making process.
Resource Maps and the Community Asset Management (CAM) Approach
Authors: Kalra Ripin
Published: January 2021

Currently held views and policies commonly suggest that community participation in the development of physical infrastructure is primarily exercised to encourage local ownership and generate local livelihoods. This article draws on the experience of recent primary education building programmes in India using cost-effective construction technologies to observe that the involvement of users in the delivery, maintenance and management of community assets is above all a pre-condition for the fulfilment of the globally agreed development targets. This conceptual distinction provides an experienced reason for any provider to seek an active partnership with the user community and appreciate their grass-roots realities, assets and resources. The article then provides observations from recent fieldwork in India to argue that a realistic mapping of community resources will help to redefine widely accepted development targets for community assets as well as identifying capacity building measures to streamline the delivery and management of community infrastructure.
Editorial
Authors: Beisi Jia
Published: January 2021

Halfway through the first decade of the 21st century, expectation of the future and historical nostalgia co-exist. This tacit uncertainty is compounded by the painfully explicit fact that, in both architectural practice and education, theory and experimental application are awash in confusion.
A High Density Open Building Studio Project for Hong Kong
Authors: Herr Christiane M. , Howe A. Scott
Published: January 2021

Constrained by requirements of efficiency and economy as well as tight building regulations, Hong Kong's high-density residential architecture is very different from architectural approaches that are typically taught in the architectural studio. This paper reports on a second year architectural studio project taught at The University of Hong Kong that uses the Open Building paradigm to integrate the constraints of a high-density environment, community considerations and building technology in the context of a mixed use programme to be constructed on small individual lots.

Following a series of short introductory exercises, the main studio assignment required groups of students to negotiate the design of individual projects and community areas within a given generic structural frame. Based on their individual design ideas and architectural programme, students developed a structural solution following a kit-of-parts approach. We describe the tasks and rule sets given as the studio framework and discuss students' response to this new type of architectural programme. Based on our experiences, we critically review initial studio settings, final outcomes and observations made during the teaching and learning process with regard to future implementations of similar open building studio projects.
Dispersed Initiatives in Changing Urban Landscapes
Authors: Mitchell Maurice
Published: January 2021

There is a growing desire amongst students of architecture to work, either in the UK or in developing countries, in situations where technical and cultural change is rapid and resources are scarce. At the same time self organizing local communities have become recognized as the most effective client and interlocutor for generating meaningful debate on the transformation of their everyday environment. Diploma Studio 6 at the Department of Architecture and Spatial Design of London Metropolitan University has worked with specifically local, low income and marginalized communities in Kosovo (2000 + 2001) and India: Gujarat (2002), Meerut (2003), Delhi (2004 +2005) and Agra (2006) to generate proposals for meaningful change and improvement. This paper seeks to draw out some of the major themes of debate which have emerged.
Duty of Care: Foregrounding The User in Design Practice
Authors: Dodd Melanie
Published: January 2021

In areas subject to social and economic disadvantage where resources are scarce, the physical environment of the public realm is often identified as a place for investment by governments - a place where infra-structural improvements to the built environment, funded through government, may reap wider social rewards. In addition, specific social policy ambitions in Australia, within both state government and other welfare agencies, focus on social capital building and community strengthening initiatives. Yet the relationship between these crucial areas of government action - social welfare and community development, and the design of the built environment -is often disconnected.

This article describes an experimental pilot study for a prototype community engagement tool aimed at foregrounding the user in design for the public realm. The project, which will devise an innovative methodology for community consultation in areas of neighbourhood renewal and change, operates within the structure of a design studio at RMIT University School of Architecture + Design. The outcome - the Digital Map - is an interactive map website which acts as a mechanism for engaging people in the design of the built environment and the public realm, simultaneously providing a platform for social connected-ness and networking within the community. Embedded links to a repository of one-person film narratives, means that the map is an ongoing device for community participation: a transparent and open-ended alternative to the limitations of consultation through questionnaire, and a mechanism for building sustainable communities.
Editorial
Authors: Bhatt Vikram , Farah Leila Marie
Published: January 2021

The Millennium Development Goals and Agenda 21 objectives have generated international research initiatives in the emerging field of urban agriculture (UA); these efforts in productive growing and food production in the urban domain are gaining pre-eminence. UA was first coined in the 80s by agro-economists who recognized informal gardening practices in southern cities (Ba et all), but it no longer is uniquely associated to the South. UA includes a broad rage of activities: the cultivation of plants, medicinal and aromatic herbs, fruit trees, and the raising of animals, poultry and fish to support the household economy, the site's ecology, as well as social and cultural activities. Thus, UA cuts across multiple disciplines - such as development, urban geography, food security, city planning, landscape architecture, urban design, housing, farming and agronomy - all of which are touched upon by the academic and professional contributors in this special issue of Open House International.
Tenure and Land Markets for Urban Agriculture
Authors: Redwood Mark
Published: January 2021

Cities are shaped by many elements, but undoubtedly one of the most significant factors is the urban land market. Urban farmers, often producing food on land with limited or no security of tenure, are exposed to the risk of being evicted in order for land to be used for more profitable uses such as housing development. In the absence of a system of land titling, advocacy groups, or secure tenure, urban farmers are pushed to the margins. It then becomes difficult to support, manage and/or regulate the sector. More importantly, without legal status, most forms of credit are inaccessible to farmers and they must rely on kinship and illicit sources for credit.

The influence of land tenure on the security of urban farmers to practice their livelihood is significant. Recent IDRC supported projects suggest that banking systems and economists need to develop a methodology to value lands that are informally controlled by farmers or where there are customary legal systems in place. Moreover, evidence suggests that advocacy groups have manage to increase security and access to land for urban farmers.
Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL): Essential Infrastructure and Edible Ornament
Authors: Viljoen Andre , Bohn Katrin
Published: January 2021

This paper defines Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) as a strategy for the coherent integration of urban agriculture into urban space planning. The case is made for considering urban agriculture as an essential element of sustainable infrastructure.

Recent and historic arguments are used to support the qualitative and quantifiable advantages of introducing urban agriculture into contemporary open urban space design.

The body of the paper focuses on design issues related to the placing and perception of CPUL and urban agriculture. It draws on primary research undertaken in Cuba, considering Cuba as a laboratory for design research into urban agriculture.

Design studies by the authors are used to demonstrate the viability and physical manifestation of urban agriculture within a Continuous Productive Urban Landscape. The paper proposes that, while an environmental and design case can be made for the integration of urban agriculture, planners and designers need to explore the public perception of productive landscape if its full potential is to be realized.

The idea that urban agriculture can be read as “ornament” is discussed with reference to the writing of British artist Tom Phillips. Contemporary cultural/artistic practice is referred to as a means for exploring and communicating ideas related to productive urban landscapes.

The paper concludes with new research findings related to the public perception of open urban space based on the Havana CPUL design research project “Finding Parque Lenin”.
Designing for Food and Agriculture: Recent Explorations at Ryerson University
Authors: Komisar June , Nasr Joe , Gorgolewski Mark
Published: January 2021

Strategies to enable alternative urban food systems cannot be developed alone by those involved with the production and distribution aspects of food systems. It is important for architects, landscape designers and planners to be part of the process of conceiving and implementing innovative food-system thinking. Environmentally focused building standards and models for sustainable communities can easily incorporate farmers' markets, greenhouses, edible landscapes, permeable paving, green roofs, community gardens, and permaculture and other food-related strategies that complement energy generation and conservation, green roofs, living walls, and other approaches that have been more commonly part of sustainable built-environment initiatives.

Recently, architecture faculty and students at Ryerson University in Toronto and at a number of other universities have been exploring the intersection of these disciplines and interests. This paper will show how Ryerson tackled agricultural and food issues as design challenges in projects that included first-year community investigations, student-run design competitions, third-year studio projects and complex final-year thesis projects. These projects that dealt with food issues proved to be excellent entry points for addressing a range of design challenges including social inclusion, cultural context, community design and sustainable building practices.
Improvement of Inadequate Housing Via Urban Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Honing Michael
Published: January 2021

Inadequate housing is a crisis that affects all areas of the world. The severity and magnitude of this crisis has been augmented by the exponential growth in the global population. Expounding upon this problem, particularly in the South, is the migration of rural peoples into urban cores, fostering the creation of mega-cities of illegally developed, inadequate housing. These developments lack basic necessities including access to water, proper sanitation, and safe areas to prepare food.

Urban agriculture has presented itself as a key design component in the mission to alleviate the aforementioned crisis. The incorporation of agriculture as a permanent and edible design feature bolsters the design methodology of sustainable urban fabrics by presenting opportunities of cohesion between built and cultural landscapes. Research on one of the largest slum developments, known as Kibera, in Kenya provides a design study in which the addition of edible landscapes contributes to the neighborhood “njia” infrastructure. The term njia refers to the street paths and alleyways that bind the developments. When applied to the model of njia, the potential benefits of the incorporation of urban agriculture into the contextual vocabulary become clear. Designing edible landscapes as a feature of permanence in urban design situations provides the potential to address critical issues concerning development of housing, city planning, and food security.
London Housing and Climate Change: Impact on Comfort and Health - Preliminary Results of a Summer Overheating Study
Authors: Mavrogianni A. , Davies M. , Wilkinson P. , Pathan A.
Published: January 2021

Climate change presents potential increased threats to the comfort and health of urban populations as a result of higher summer temperatures. This paper reviews recent research on the climate change adaptation potential of urban environments and focuses on a major conurbation, London. Recent work relating to the impact of exposure to heat on population health is also noted. Data obtained from a pilot monitoring study carried out in a subset of 36 dwellings (from a total of 110 dwellings in the overall study) across London during the summer of 2009 is then discussed. Preliminary results illustrate the need to quantify the net impacts of individual building characteristics and the location of each dwelling within the London heat island. During a hot period, more than 40% of the monitored bedrooms failed the recommended overheating criteria during the night time. There was some indication of purpose built flats being more prone to overheating. The potential use of such data as the basis of a heat-related health risk epidemiological model for London is discussed. Such a tool would help health policy makers to target the most vulnerable building types and areas.
Socio-Environmental Dimensions of Private Outdoor Spaces in Contemporary Palestinian Housing
Authors: Hussein Muhannad Haj , Barlet Aline , Semidor Catherine
Published: January 2021

Traditionally, in Palestine, outdoor spaces played a crucial role in organizing and improving the living quality of the living units, while this important role in modern housing design is lost by a stark separation between internal and private external spaces (balconies, verandas and yards). This separation is disconnecting private inside and outside spaces whereas in the traditional courtyard houses there was a continuity between the inside and the outside. This paper investigates the socio-environmental criteria and characteristics of private outdoor spaces that could play an improving role in the living quality of future housing design. So, a comparative study between contemporary and traditional outdoor spaces characteristics was carried out in two different cities in two different climatic zones of Palestine. The contemporary housing was evaluated by conducting a survey over 300 dwellings of different housing typologies (detached houses/apartment flats), while the characteristics of traditional design were analyzed from the old historical part of these cities. The results of this paper demonstrate that the private outdoor space is a major contributor to enhance housing sustainability. It presents the distinctive qualities of courtyard concept, which ought to be reintroduced consciously into the design of future housing in order to improve the living quality. The paper also identifies the most important factors that ensure those qualities and forms the basis for further research.
Adaptive Re-Use and Urban Regeneration in Dhaka - A theoretical exploration
Authors: Mahtab-uz-Zaman Quazi M.
Published: January 2021

At a time, when there are world-wide calls for sustainable building design and construction focusing on building adaptation and remodeling rather than demolition and replacement, a local system of remodeling and functional adaptation has been applied in many residential and commercial buildings in Bangladesh. Focusing on case studies in Dhaka city where major urban regeneration takes place, building adaptation is an emerging practice where economy has a critical role to play in convincing client, users, designers and builders to encourage the local method of adaptation process to suit the changing need of the occupants.

A case of adaptation of a residential building has been studied to generate an understanding of the local adaptation process. This process is found in many parts of the inner city built environment, which collectively affects urban regeneration process and reshape the urban form of the city and its edge condition. Findings from the exploratory studies suggest that despite the absence of Habraken's support-infill knowledge, the local practice of adaptation can be institutionalized as a sustainable building development process that is more economic and place-responsive approach than rebuilding.
Diversity in the Public Space of A Traditional City - Zaria, Nigeria
Authors: Garba Shaibu B.
Published: January 2021

Diversity is embedded in the concept of cities and the urban way of life, and is an important issue in the planning and management of urban development. Urban diversity is usually manifested in Public space. This paper examines patterns of diversity in the public space of a traditional city, Zaria, with the goal of identifying general lessons for city design. The paper starts with a review on the application of diversity to public space, and then moves on to introduces Zaria's public space and historically explore patterns to arrive at findings regarding diversity. Material for the paper has been derived from a detailed study of Zaria's public space, in which a variety of methods and techniques was used (Garba, 2007). The paper in concluding notes that diversity is connected with centrality, and identifies three issues that facilitate the quest for urban diversity; place attractiveness, appropriateness of development scale and embedded settings for activities, and regime of access and participation. The paper notes that the study findings reinforce existing knowledge in the literature and points to the need for re-evaluating the system of urban production to better use available knowledge in the quest for urban diversity.
Diversity in Conviviality: Beirut's Temporary Public Spaces
Authors: Mady Christine
Published: January 2021

Amidst the debates on the death or resurgence of public spaces emerges a significant question: how could public spaces that function at different urban scales and cater for diverse collective needs be provided? This article explores the roles and potentials of temporary public spaces in meeting diverse challenges related to the supply and use of urban open spaces. Positioning temporary public spaces within the literature on non-conventional public spaces is conducted with the purpose of identifying those spaces' characteristics. The proposed definition of temporary public spaces is based on their dynamic status of use-rights. Moreover, a conceptual framework based on urban land economics and bid rent theory is used to explain how such spaces transform under the exchange of temporary use-rights to activate vacant urban lots for public activities. This conceptual framework is applied in the case of a grass root approach to the supply of temporary public spaces. The context is Beirut, a city that has lost its public spaces due to wars and is trying to reintroduce them through different supply mechanisms. The examples illustrate how homogeneous urban spaces are identified over time and converted into heterogeneous and lively temporary public spaces. These contribute towards conviviality in a highly fragmented and multi-cultural society and animate everyday urban life.
Analysis of the Accuracy of Individual Heat Metering and Charging
Authors: Siggelsten Simon , Nordquist Birgitta , Olander Stefan
Published: January 2021

Individual metering and charging (IMC) allows energy costs to be apportioned among tenants in multi-apartment buildings based on their own energy use. This can result in reduced energy use due to an increased saving behaviour by tenants, which has caught the attention of the European Parliament. In the EU-directive 2012/27/EU there is a requirement for IMC to be installed by December 31, 2016 in multi-apartment buildings.

Two techniques are mentioned in the directive for IMC: individual consumption meters and individual heat cost allocators. Either of these two techniques can be used as a method to measure the supplied energy to an apartment. Another method, not mentioned in the EU-directive, is temperature metering which means that the heating cost is instead based on measurements of the actual temperatures through sensors in certain locations in the apartment. However, some shortcomings have been identified with the aforementioned methods.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how internal heat production, solar radiation, an apartment’s location within the building and local defects in the building envelope affect the accuracy of IMC. The Energy demands of three apartments in different locations within the building have been simulated in the computer program VIP-Energy. The results of energy calculations prove that the accuracy of IMC is highly questionable in some of the investigated cases. The implication of the study is that it is difficult to measure the actual heat used for an individual apartment, which obstructs accurate and fair apportioning of heating costs among individual tenants.