Considerable attention has been given to housing issues in the countryside over recent years. The 1980s and early 1990s have witnessed a whole host of academic publications, policy reports and media articles, with the focus predominantly on the issue of housing affordability. In many ways, the enquiry adds to this burgeoning literature on rural housing issues in conventional terms. In other ways, however, it attempts to provide a broader view of the rural housing market, by considering rural housing issues alongside wider processes of socio-economic restructuring within the Welsh countryside, and also by incorporating in the research methodology elements of housing theory developed predominantly outside the rural arena. Consideration is given to some key aspects of housing and socio-economic change within rural Wales generally and in two case study areas in particular. A detailed examination of the local housing market in each study area then follows based on a series of individual surveys and interviews. Attention is given to state intervention within the market and to the changing nature of social rented housing provision and allocation. In addition, the operations and interests of key agents involved in the supply and distribution of private housing are considered. Finally, the consumption of housing within each study area is investigated, based on a survey of 400 households. The linkages between the local housing market and population in- and out-movement, and the incidence and nature of housing need are examined, together with respondents' attitudes to further residential development and housing need within the community.

This research report assesses the affordability of private residential developments in Addis Ababa and delineates factors that contribute to their affordability. Literatures related to concepts of housing affordability; household income levels; housing prices and mortgage financing, etc are reviewed. The research studies examined revealed that the combination of high population and high urban growth rates coupled with a high prevalence of urban poverty have placed massive strain on Ethiopian cites. Accordingly, the critical urban issue is: lack of healthy, affordable housing for all sectors of the urban population. This is especially true in Addis Ababa as it has a share of 23% of the country’s urban population. In Addis Ababa, there is strong housing demand as supply lags behind demand; conditions of existing houses worsen and the population is increasing. To date, the government housing program has only managed to build only about half of the demanded units. It has, therefore, became increasingly imperative that the government should concentrate on reforming and managing the policy and legal framework in such a way as to create an environment for the private sector to provide housing.

This study investigates the potential impacts on soils from development practices associated with new single-family residential home construction in the extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Pflugerville, Texas. My research question is: Are regulations that directly focus on soil conservation advisable within Pflugerville’s ETJ, and what areas of development ought to be primarily targeted by these regulations in order to better ensure the long-term stability of soil health and the minimization of soil loss? The rationale for this question is based on the city’s projected future population growth, the projected future demand for single-family residences, as well as the development and management practices typically associated with new single-family residential development in the ETJ of Pflugerville. I hypothesize that due to Pflugerville’s proximity to Austin and Round Rock, in addition to the relative abundance of available land to the east of the city of Pflugerville, that it is likely to continue experiencing sustained population and residential development growth, particularly in the form of new single-family residences in the ETJ. A population projection was conducted up to the year 2030, which in conjunction with average persons-per-household and single-family home permitting data, estimates potential consumer demand for single-family residences. The imperative to prevent soil loss is conceptually linked to ecosystem service benefits resulting from healthy and intact soils, such as improved water quality and the regulation of peak flow rates during storm events. Single-family residential development is evaluated in terms of conventional on-the-ground construction practices gathered from interviews with developers of single-family homes in the Pflugerville ETJ, as well as planning and regulatory specialists. These analyses are intended to inform regulatory and decision making processes regarding the importance and potential integration of soil preservation and conservation at the individual construction site level. / text

This research report assesses the affordability of private residential developments in Addis Ababa and delineates factors that contribute to their affordability. Literatures related to concepts of housing affordability; household income levels; housing prices and mortgage financing, etc are reviewed. The research studies examined revealed that the combination of high population and high urban growth rates coupled with a high prevalence of urban poverty have placed massive strain on Ethiopian cites. Accordingly, the critical urban issue is: lack of healthy, affordable housing for all sectors of the urban population. This is especially true in Addis Ababa as it has a share of 23% of the country’s urban population. In Addis Ababa, there is strong housing demand as supply lags behind demand; conditions of existing houses worsen and the population is increasing. To date, the government housing program has only managed to build only about half of the demanded units. It has, therefore, became increasingly imperative that the government should concentrate on reforming and managing the policy and legal framework in such a way as to create an environment for the private sector to provide housing.

Population growth and urban sprawl have contributed to the formation of significant urban heat island phenomena in Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the United States. The population growth in Houston was 25.8% between 1990 and 2000 nearly double the national average. The demand for information concerning the effects of urban and suburban development is growing. Houston is currently the only major US city lacking any kind of comprehensive city zoning ordinances. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been used as a surrogate variable to estimate land surface temperatures at higher spatial resolutions, given the fact that a high-resolution remotely sensed NDVI can be created almost effortlessly and remotely sensed thermal data at higher resolutions is much more difficult to obtain. This has allowed researchers to study urban heat island dynamics at a micro-scale. However, this study suggests that a vegetation index alone might not be the best surrogate variable for providing information regarding the independent effects and level of contribution that tree canopy, grass, and low-lying plants have on surface temperatures in residential neighborhoods. This research combines LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) feature height data and high-resolution infrared aerial photos to measure the characteristics of the micro-structure of residential areas (residentialstructure), derives various descriptive vegetation measurement statistics, and correlates the spatial distribution of surface temperature to the type and amount of vegetation cover in residential areas. Regression analysis is used to quantify the independent influence that different residential-structures have on surface temperature. In regard to implementing changes at a neighborhood level, the descriptive statistics derived for residential-structure at a micro-scale may provide useful information to decision-makers and may reveal a guide for future developers concerned with mitigating the negative effects of urban heat island phenomena.

Thesis (M.S.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains v, 62 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 55-57.

The point of the diploma thesis is to define what a development project is, to identify its different phases. The next point of the thesis is to identify the financial and personal management in development projects. The practical part of this thesis has to cover on one specific development project in Slovakia the variant solutions from the point of profit.

A lack of empirical evidence to understand neighborhood and residential development processes within neighborhoods has challenged urban planners’ ability to influence the course of future land development. The main objectives of this study were to examine neighborhood and residential development patterns and investigate dynamic processes in northwest Harris County, Texas, along the U.S. Highway 290 transportation corridor from 1945 to 2006. Researchers have identified different patterns of land development: leapfrog, contagion and infill development. However, because of the fuzziness in neighborhood and residential development patterns, the nominal classifications of development patterns are limited in their potential to characterize development patterns both on neighborhood and parcel levels; their applications for development processes and its impacts are even more limited. This study presents a quantitative approach for measuring development patterns by characterizing neighborhood development patterns as a function of spatial distance and temporal lapse time from the closest existing neighborhood to new neighborhood(s). The analysis in this study was based on disaggregated parcel data provided by the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) real estate and property records. The quantitative measures of neighborhood development patterns and processes within each pattern of neighborhood were derived by aggregating parcel level data into neighborhood level. This study developed the Long-term Trend of Development Model (LTDM) to classify neighborhood and residential development patterns based on spatial distance and temporal lapse time from existing neighborhoods to new neighborhood(s) each year to examine development processes. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between neighborhood patterns and residential development processes. This study found that development patterns can be measured quantitatively with spatial and temporal relationships between prior and new development at the neighborhood level. Empirical evidence supported the hypothesis that leapfrog neighborhood development triggers neighborhood development, contagion follows leapfrog neighborhood quickly, and infill follows contagion after a lapsed time. Residential development patterns in each pattern of neighborhood showed discrete development processes. Age of neighborhood can be used to predict development pressures and growth. In this process, physical and social infrastructure is involved, therefore, development process is best observed on the neighborhood level.

Land development patterns have long been a reflection of not only consumer preferences but of public policy. To the extent that such policy has supported scattered, low-density and automobile-dependent development patterns, it has been found to be deficient. It is not only the private land developers who have created sprawl. Government agencies at all levels have also contributed to the problem in the ways they invest in public infrastructure devoid of a coordinated strategy. Schools, public recreational facilities, and branch libraries often are isolated from one another. Two case studies were used to demonstrate the manner in which planned, congregated public facilities came first and succeeded in providing the impetus to sustainable private sector response loosely following a master plan. The first case study examines the urban neighborhood of City Heights in San Diego, California, where a blighted, crime-ridden neighborhood was redeveloped with the construction of several public assets, all within a small, nine-block area. The result was the participation of the private sector in this neighborhood where ten years prior, there was private sector abandonment. The second case study examines the Town Center project located in Suwanee, Georgia. In this example, a city municipality took the helm as master developer, initiated 'place' in the form of an urban-style park, and thereby created the impetus for the subsequent investment by the private sector.

The American West, once characterized by open spaces, low population densities, and the dominance of primary sector activities, is experiencing high rates of population growth related to amenity migration. Those same natural amenities that attract migration are often degraded by housing growth and associated development; however the extent of impacts and the specific features of the environment that attract amenity migration are poorly understood. This change in land use was investigated by first examining the impacts of exurbanization on three ecosystem indicators (fire hazard, water availability, and distance effects of houses and roads) and secondly by considering the socio-cultural and aesthetic drivers of amenity migration in the Sonoita Plain, Arizona, USA. When the impacts of houses and roads on ecosystem function were considered, 98% of exurban areas were "highly" or "very highly" impacted, compared to 100% for suburban areas and 35% for rural areas. These results were striking because exurban areas have impacts on ecosystem function comparable to those of suburban areas, despite the fact that they support significantly lower population densities. The importance of privacy in the spatial distribution of exurban development was examined through GIS viewshed analysis. Desire for privacy was manifested in the home locations selected by exurbanites, with the large majority of homes located where the inhabitants see few, if any, neighbors. Scenic beauty is a common pull factor for amenity and this study examined three visual quality metrics (naturalness, visual scale and complexity) in relation to the location of exurban houses. Exurban households see significantly more vegetation, more rugged terrain, and a larger viewshed than would be expected if they were randomly distributed. There is evidence that visual complexity throughout the viewshed may be more important than seeing the very highest peaks. These results call into question the use of county-level scales of analysis for the study of landscape preferences, which may miss key landscape aesthetic drivers of preference. Amenity drivers have important implications for the distribution of development and can inform growth strategies designed to minimize negative ecological impacts and protect visual quality of the environment.