Project Title

Building in soundscape resilience via flood resilience to create healthier residential environments.

Project Abstract


Noise pollution is the second largest environmental cause of health problems in urban residential developments. Furthermore, a positive soundscape (perceived acoustic environment) approach to urban design is rarely considered. In contrast, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are required within all new residential developments in Scotland and the UK, but their potential for affecting soundscapes has not been fully explored. Yet, depending on the SUDS design, the type of planting, paving, water flow movements, and attractiveness to wildlife will all influence the acoustic environment, in positive sound-enhancing ways. Integration of the urban design/planning issues of sound and water management can create healthier, cognitively restorative, and thus resilient residential environments.
 
Jivantika’s interdisciplinary Ph.D. is funded by the ESRC-SGSSS 1+3 year scholarship. Her research attempts to explore how SuDS can be utilized or improved to reduce noise pollution and how salutogenic (health-promoting) soundscapes can be created by SuDS in urban residential areas. In particular, the project will examine the specific SuDS water and planting design features that produce salutogenic soundscapes.
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Email: jas2004@hw.ac.uk

Supervisors

Dr. van der Jagt, Sander, Prof. Scott Arthur (Institute for Infrastructure and Environment), Dr. Sarah Payne (University of Surrey)

Project title

The True Cost of Owning and Managing Commercial Property in the UK

Project abstract

The project will define and publish a range of aggregated expenditure variables leading to more realistic measures of commercial property investment performance. These variables will include, but not be limited to, the true costs of maintenance and environmental issues. We will seek to open up various areas of research that can build on the initial results. The intention is to make the research relevant and usable to industry practitioners by combining theoretical research techniques with substantial practical experience in how such research is integrated in the investment planning process at portfolio and asset levels. Given the challenges resulting from the scale of refurbishment required to meet environmental/sustainability standards and other issues, we explore how various forms of anticipated expenditure will impact on expected returns over the medium term. This is particularly relevant given the expected level of long-term real interest rates and related squeeze on estimated IRR’s that commercial property faces.

Supervisors

Professor Colin Jones and Professor Neil Dunse

Project title

Lost worlds of welfare: Local homelessness systems in England

Project abstract

In England, the main response to homelessness is generally considered to be the statutory homelessness system. A series of nationally initiated and locally implemented measures have since been added to this system, including the Rough Sleeping Initiatives, the prevention approach and more recently, localisation. The research will adapt the nationally focused welfare-housing regime framework to examine the evolution and divergence of localized and systematic responses to homelessness. The paper hypothesizes that emergence and divergence of local welfare regimes. The hypothesis supposes that local regimes will be centered on the local authority, but will also other local policy actors such as welfare, housing, health, criminal justice and civic society. The hypothesized local welfare regimes will mediate national welfare, housing and homeless policy according to local priorities through the provision and commissioning of services. There services will form a localized system of services that are connected via local policy, culture and practice.

Supervisors

Professor Mark Stephens and Dr Beth Watts

Project title

Exploration of Public Space Vitality in new non-central residential areas. Case studies in Madrid and Edinburgh.

Project abstract

My research explores the role of streets in contemporary residential neighbourhoods. It aims to examine the flourishing of street and neighbourhood vitality in new residential areas, and the role that vitality plays in resident’s everyday life. I understand street vitality as a goal to achieve by urban design through the concentration of diverse people and activities (Jacobs 1961, Montgomery 1998). This definition contrast with contemporary city life in the Western countries, which is increasingly being organized through homogeneous, enclosed and private networks (Sennett 1974, Carmona 2010) in which streets are losing their traditional purpose as social spaces of necessarily passing-through and of casual encounters between everyday activities. In this context, my work explores the case of large urban design residential projects in which certain design preconditions for vitality (such as mixed use provision or compactness) have been considered. I will develop a new definition of urban and public space vitality which will incorporate three different perspectives. Firstly, the point of view of professionals which have been involved in the planning, design and implementation processes; secondly, the point of view of local entrepreneurs; finally, the experience of local residents in their everyday lives.

Supervisors

Dr Caroline Brown and Professor Ryan Woolrych

Project title

Social and Spatial Dimensions of Working Long Hours: Effects on Health Inequalities

Project abstract

Western research has shown that working long hours may have profound health and wellbeing implications. The conventional Danwei organization, and the bureaucratic state-based working hour allocation systems were thought to limit the adverse health and wellbeing effects of working long hours for urban workers in pre-reform China. In the context of the market-oriented reforms in post-reform China, an unintended long working hour consequence for urban workers including migrant workers in cities is the degradation of health and wellbeing conditions. This paper uses data from a large scale 2013 individual survey in Beijing to examine the effect of having a regular working hour life style (8 hours per day, 5 days per week) on self-rated health outcomes in the context of a Chinese mega-city. The survey reported one’s self-rated health, on which we can base our perceived health assessment. The results show that having a regular working hour life style is significantly associated with better health outcomes in post-reform urban China, whereas individuals working more than 5 days per week have a significantly higher risk of poor self-rated health. This effect was more obvious after controlling for neighbourhood built environment characteristics. This association tends to be stronger among private-sector urban workers than among those who are migrant workers and employed in state sectors. Importantly, perceived health implications of those who worked longer than 5 days per week tend to be varied with housing types, access to social infrastructure and commuting patterns Findings of this study clarify the importance of conceptualizing social and spatial dimensions of working long hours into consideration and designing work-life balance policies.

Supervisors

Dr Wenjie Wu and Professor Mark Stephens

Project title

Analyse and Evaluate the Performance of Eco-community Using Ecological Footprint Assessment

Project abstract

Human and environment constitute the main part of ecological community. To achieve sustainability in an ecological community, not only the building itself has to meet the requirement of green building evaluation such as BREEAM, but also the residents’ life has to be sustainable. Using Ecological Footprint Assessment (EFA) to evaluate the eco-community in the aspects of building Life Cycle Assessment will make it comparable to other assessed eco-communities. The result of EF figures make it comparable for different projects in different places. Therefore, the strength and weakness in energy-efficiency for a certain eco-community can be determined by compare to other project with EF result.The study will focus on developing an assessment method to analyse and evaluate the performance of eco-community by referring to other reports about EFA methods, such as BedZED, Findhorn community and Steward Community Woodland.

Supervisors

Dr Fionn MacKillop and Dr Fan Wang

Project title

Exploring the Impact of Smart Cities on Social Inclusion among Older People Living in Urban Environments: A Case Study of Chongqing, China

Project abstract

The concept of Smart City has been a recent policy driver across the developing and developed world. The core of smart city focuses on how technology and data can be integrated into urban infrastructure in order to deliver more efficient lives for residents. However, most cities have revealed that smart city development failed to meet the needs of residents. In particular, concerns on supporting the lives of ageing population are widely absence in the smart city development. This research draws on the experiences of older people living in China, conducted a case study approach to understand the everyday lives of older people living in a smart city which aims to understand how social inclusion among older people can be supported within the smart city agenda. The findings identify the challenges and opportunities for older adults in terms of social inclusion, mobility and public participation. This research reflects on the potential role of technologies in responding to these challenges, limitations and ethical issues in the delivery of smart city.

Supervisors

Professor Ryan Woolrych

Project title

Soundscape, engagement and planning practices within airport expansion projects in the UK

Project abstract

Soundscape management in the built environment is the study of how people respond to the sound of a place which either currently exists, is being imagined, or once it is developed. Soundscape practice advocates that stakeholders become co-specifiers/designers of projects. However, the main challenge to assessing/predicting stakeholders’ responses are subjective human factors, acknowledged to account for at least 33% of variance. Specifically, stakeholders’ subjective ’perceived control’ (PC) has been identified as directly impacting the effectiveness of certain engagement processes. PC affects human wellbeing making it a critical element to be accounted for in sustainable development. This study investigates stakeholders’ perceived control and its impact on engagement in the context of planning processes for airport expansion projects in the UK. This research builds upon existing soundscape, aviation, and noise and health findings to develop a conceptual framework for stakeholder engagement for sustainable and health promoting soundscape design and planning.

Supervisors

Dr Sarah Payne and Dr Caroline Brown

Project title

The Restorative Quality of Residential Housing Typologies with Natural Features at the Building Edge: A Case Study from Edinburgh, Scotland

Project abstract

This research aims to understand how natural characteristics and architectural features at the building edge can provide a connection between interior and exterior spaces and more specifically how these connections could result in restorative experiences and helping residents to have a healthy and restorative living environment through the sensory and physical access. It also, explores how residents feel about their home particularly, the opportunities they have to rest, relax and recover at home and how its design, internal and external features and favourite places at their home can help them to feel relaxed and recover from fatigue or stress, to uplift their spirits when they are in a negative mood and in total to restore their inner balance. This research involves a mixed-method i.e. both quantitative (online survey) and creative qualitative methodologies (arts- based interviews) to explore these issues, resulting in recommendations for designing future residential buildings with access to suitable micro-restorative environments. Data will be collected in two phases from residents in Edinburgh. It combines ideas from architecture, planning, environmental design and environmental phycology disciplines supported by the cross-discipline supervisory team, with implications for the development and retrofitting of residential housing stock, thus providing valuable outcomes for a wide range of academic and industrial stakeholders. Outcomes will extend psychological restoration research and contribute to the designing and planning of sustainable cities.

Supervisors

Dr Sarah Payne and Professor Harry Smith

Project title

Study of policy transfer and implementation in India through the perspective of land use planning

Project abstract

The study aims to assess the extent and nature of policy transfer in land use planning policy in India and China. It will cover policy diffusion, policy transfer, lesson drawings, fast-policy transfer mechanisms along with policy translation and mobility in Chinese and Indian context highlighting implementation of the policy transfer mechanisms and its extent in these countries. India houses about one sixth of global population and has recently been developing very rapidly. In order to have better more informed decisions, cross national experience can have a potentially very powerful impact by knowledge sharing and lesson learnings, resulting in exchange of ideas. The scale and rate at which India is developing is huge and rapid, thus needing rapid solutions to development as well. Minuscule number of studies relating to implementation and impacts of planning policy transfers in developing countries lead to a need to fill research gap.

Supervisors

Dr Christopher McWilliams

Project title

An evaluation of affordable housing policies and strategies in Saudi Arabia, Case study of Jeddah City

Project abstract

Saudi Arabia has grown rapidly in recent years. This urbanization process has gone through massive economic development and population growth in a very short period of time. This has further affected all sectors in Saudi Arabia, especially the housing market as the residential sector specifically has struggled to adapt to the realities of these changes. Consequently, the Saudi 9th 5-Year National Development Plan from 2010-2014, stated that, “The housing sector in the Kingdom faces several issues and challenges, including, adequacy of supply of housing units, rate of home ownership, prevailing price and rent levels for housing units, and availability of finance for housing and residential land”. Therefore, this study will seek to identify the critical drivers that influence the development of affordable housing solutions in Saudi Arabia from both a planning policy and socio-cultural perspective.

Supervisors

Professor Colin Jones and Professor Neil Dunse

Project title

The Role of Microfinance as an Innovative Strategy for Low-income Housing delivery in Developing Countries

Project abstract

The low-income demographics (LIDs) segment in DCs often experience challenges such as unemployment and poverty which result in the shortage and unsatisfactory conditions in their housing. Efforts to overcome them are constrained by factors such as ineffective housing policies and lack of access to finance. To address the above requires innovative financial models such as Housing microfinance (HMF). However, most Microfinance institutions (MFIs) often shy away from such markets. This study seeks to identify and evaluate the motivations behind MFIs intention to enter into the housing market (HM) with HMF to meet the housing needs of LIDs in Ghana. Adopting a mixed method approach, a model of intention is developed using the Push-Pull-Mooring framework to explained MFIs intention to enter into the HM. The study unearthed the social, economic and sustainability dimensions as the motivations behind MFIs entry into the HM. The study would serve as a useful source with new thoughts for stakeholders in developing alternative financing strategies for low-income housing delivery.

Supervisors

Professor Mark Stephens and Professor Colin A. Jones

Project title

Everyday life and Older People’s Well‐being in Local High Streets. A study of Local Town Centres in Edinburgh.

Project abstract

Local High Streets have always been a focus of activity in UK towns and cities. For many older people their public realm offers a chance to be connected to the community and to participate in local civic and social life, providing access to commercial and community services. By taking three local town centres in Edinburgh as multiple case study, my research explores how these locales are supportive for the well-being of older adults. Four main dimensions of well-being emerged from the analysis of the ethnographic data collected: social interaction, autonomy, sense of place and aesthetic enjoyment. The discussion highlights those aspects of policies and regulations that may contribute to improve the design and management of local high streets in order to sustain everyday well-being of older adults ageing in place.

Supervisors

Professor Harry Smith and Professor Ryan Woolrych

Project title

The nexus of displacement and urbanisation: assessing the vulnerability levels of the refugee and urban slum populations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Project abstract

The research examines the resilience strategies of the urban refugee and Tanzanian populations who inhabit the informal settlements of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The asset vulnerability framework acts as the foundation for assessing their vulnerabilities and coping strategies in the context of an informal urban setting.

Supervisors

Dr. Christopher McWilliams and Dr. Michael Gormley

Project title

The Financial Returns for Buying versus Renting: The experience of first time buyers in different regions of the UK, 1975-2011

Project abstract

This research estimates the financial returns from leveraged buying versus renting for the first-time buyers (FTB) as at 2012 over the period from 1975 to 2011 in eleven regions. The empirical analysis uses the net present value (NPV) approach to measure the created wealth per each pound invested in buying (initial outlay). The analysis is based on financial simulations (using a comprehensive financial model) of individuals that buy in every possible year over the period from 1975 to 2011 in eleven regions. It aims to investigate whether the FTBs in Britain have created wealth or not. It also investigates the impact of capital gains on the overall return over time. The research examines the relationship between the returns and the state of the housing market by comparing the returns at booms and busts of the housing cycles. The research finally explores the historical breakeven year for all FTBs over time.

Supervisors

Professor Colin Jones and Professor Neil Dunse

Project title

Housing Policy and Outcomes in Southeastern Europe: Bulgaria and Greece compared

Project abstract

This PhD Research focuses on the systemic structure and functioning analysis of the Southeastern European Housing Regimes. Housing research in the region has been relatively limited as fairly contextual and mainly exhausted on describing or justifying socio-political ‘idiosyncrasies’. Recognizing the uniqueness of Housing as a multi-disciplinary field (Policies, Outcomes etc.), this analysis adopts a theoretical and research combined multi-approach. Through such a perspective, the Southeastern European Housing Systems can be effectively incorporated in broader comparative Housing Studies. To this research end, Bulgaria and Greece have been selected as case studies to be examined in comparison. Coming from historically differentiated socio-political structural backgrounds, the two countries present significant systemic similarities in Housing. More importantly, during the last decade pronounced socio-political and financial challenges have strongly affected Housing in all its aspects and in multiple ways, bring the debate for its future evolution to the forefront.

Supervisors

Professor Mark Stephens and Professor Glen Bramley

Project title

Evolution and Impact of a ‘Green’ Office Submarket

Project abstract

As global concerns about the carbon footprint of cities and buildings persist, commercial offices have become a sector of focus on the global agenda for sustainability. Consequently, many standards have been introduced to ensure sustainability in buildings. However, the solution is not in simply building new offices to a green standard but also in the greening of the existing stock through refurbishment or redevelopment. Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) was established in 1990 as the first environmental scheme in the United Kingdom. While the initial adoption of the label was slow, there has been a significant increase in the number of BREEAM-certified offices in the last decade. This research therefore aims to (1) assess the extent to which (sub)markets for green offices have been established in the UK; (2) evaluate the financial performance of green offices as a potential driver of investment and (3) examine the (greening) impact of green office markets on the non-labelled offices.

Supervisors

Professor Neil Dunse and Professor Colin Jones