The past three decades have witnessed the rapid development of the Chinese housing market , which is considered as a barometer of and an extremely crucial component of the whole Chinese economic system. Although some important findings have been obtained by previous research, many conclusions have been controversial and a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism and behaviour of the Chinese housing system is a worthwhile endeavour. The existing studies about the Chinese housing market are mostly confined to qualitative analysis, lacking the support of a theoretical basis and empirical research. This thesis aims to employ more recent econometrical methodologies, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, to systematically analyse several prevalent issues of the Chinese housing market. More specifically, this thesis is going to explore the main determinants of house prices, the convergence and ripple effects of regional house prices, and the interactive relationship between housing conditions and individual’s subjective well-being. Some empirical findings can be drawn from this thesis: 1) by using the system GMM dynamic panel data models, the results indicate that Chinese house prices are mainly affected by factors related to government policies and speculative demand rather than the urbanization process, which is understandable in a non-fully market-oriented status quo; 2) there is evidence of very limited convergence of regional house prices by employing unit root tests, σ-convergence and β-convergence approaches; however, the alternative methods, such as panel regression models, Engle-Granger/Johansen cointegration tests and Granger Causality tests, imply that house prices can ripple out from some core cities to other cities; 3) the results of the Ordered Probit Models suggest that the housing conditions in urban areas play a significant role in peoples’ subjective well-being in respect of housing satisfaction and overall happiness; additionally, the effects of housing factors impact on different groups of residents in different ways. Due to the limitations of data sources in the early days, this thesis is the first to combine such a wide panel data series, on both the time dimension and geographic dimension, to study the Chinese Housing Market. Also, when analysing the convergence and ripple effects models, this thesis transfers the original link indexes used by previous scholars into modified constant growth indexes, which improves the efficiency of empirical models to a greater extent. In addition, approaches using the system GMM method, σ- and β-convergence analysis, Engle-Granger/Johansen cointegration tests and Granger Causality tests are first introduced into the study of the Chinese housing market, generally achieving good results especially in the determinants of house prices and the ripple effects of regional house prices. Moreover, except for the commonly used method of the Ordered Probit Model for the questionnaire survey research, this thesis produces the predicted value of housing satisfaction by using two-stage estimations, to investigate the effects of housing conditions and housing satisfaction on people’s overall happiness. Meanwhile, the approach of ‘money equivalent effects’ is also a new perspective in detecting the effects of housing conditions on overall happiness.

Public housing programs have been the major tool for providing shelter in Abuja City, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between housing satisfaction and structure types, building features, housing conditions, neighborhood facilities, management, and demographic/socioeconomic characteristics. The main objective was to develop a model for determining factors which affect housing satisfaction in public housing in Nigeria. The sample of 1,089 households was randomly selected from the residents living in 19,863 public housing units in Abuja City. The public housing units were built and are managed by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). All data for the study were collected through self-administered questionnaires, which had been developed, pretested, and revised. The instrument measured the residents’ level of housing satisfaction on a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, multiple regression, and correlation analysis. The majority of the sample was households of more than four persons, headed by males from 31 to 40 years of age. The respondents were well educated, renters, and employees of the federal ministries. The residents expressed dissatisfaction with their overall housing situation; however, a significant positive relationship was found between housing satisfaction and satisfaction with structure types, building features, housing conditions, neighborhood facilities, and housing management. The mean satisfaction score for the room units differed significantly (p ≤ .05) from the means for the other structure types. Residents of the room units were less satisfied than any other residents. Privacy within the house had the strongest effect on satisfaction with building features. Interior construction quality had the greatest influence on satisfaction with housing conditions, while cleanliness of the neighborhood had a strong effect on neighborhood satisfaction. FCDA housing officials’ attitudes affected residents’ satisfaction with management. The model variable that contributed most to the explanation of variation in overall housing satisfaction was management. However, all five of the single-item measures contributed significantly to the prediction of housing satisfaction. Government housing policy should encourage a decent living environment, effective housing management, and construction of high quality structure types which incorporate users’ needs and preferences. / Ph. D.

Decent housing available to the working class in America is in very short supply. Manufactured housing could help to meet this basic need. But community groups and politicians often reject manufactured housing because they fear it will have a negative impact upon property values and the aesthetic character of their community. This thesis examines the reasons behind these fears, how the history of manufactured housing has fed into these fears and what design elements can allay these fears. Three site planning typologies are developed using the factors found in the research, that create a good neighborhood for both the residents and outside observers. The typologies inform three designs that illustrate how manufactured housing developments can be designed to fit compatibly into existing communities. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Home relocation has far-reaching effects on both urban structure and individuals’ quality of life. While a large volume of studies have examined the determinants of home relocation, only limited attention has been paid to the outcomes of home relocation. Even less scholarly effort has been devoted to the impacts of home relocation on the movers in terms of change in their domain and life satisfaction. This study aims to explore this issue by focusing on the two following research questions: (1) has home relocation led to improvement in residential, travel and life satisfaction? (2) what contributes to the change in residential, travel and life satisfaction after move? Using a two-wave survey of residents who moved their homes in Beijing, this dissertation investigates the patterns of change in the movers’ residential, travel and life satisfaction and explores the determinants of change in satisfaction based on a series of multilevel SEM models. The specific variables applied to explain change in satisfaction after move are derived from the existing literature on residential, travel and life satisfaction. The results show a positive and significant increase in the average level of residential, travel and life satisfaction after move, suggesting that home relocation has significant and positive effects on the mover’s quality of life. The change in satisfaction after move is mainly determined by change in residential environment, change in travel conditions, motivations to move and some personal and household socioeconomics. Specifically, residential satisfaction change is mainly explained by housing tenure shift and change in the perceived neighborhood environment including physical design, safety, social composition, etc.. Travel satisfaction change is mainly predicted by change in daily travel patterns and perceived neighborhood environment. The objective indicators of change in neighborhood accessibility and walkability only exert marginal effects on travel satisfaction change. Life satisfaction change is mainly determined by change in perceived neighborhood environment and daily activity patterns, which influence life satisfaction change both directly and indirectly through changes in residential and travel satisfaction. This dissertation not only enriches the literature of residential mobility and the wellbeing studies, but also has important implications for policy-makers to enhance residents’ quality of life. To fully interpret how home relocation influences the movers, more sophisticated surveys covering more life domains and longer time series are still needed in future studies. KEYWORDS: Residential satisfaction, Travel satisfaction, Life satisfaction, Subjective wellbeing, Home relocation, Beijing

<p>Rad prikazuje razvoj modela za korisničko vrednovanje prostornih<br />karakteristika stana. Model se zasniva na rezultatima teorijskog i<br />praktičnog istraživanja. Teorijski deo istraživanja čine rezultati<br />analize postojećih istraživanja na temu kvaliteta stanovanja i<br />kriterijuma na osnovu kojih se on definiše, kao i arhitektonskih<br />smernica za projektovanje zgrada višeporodičnog stanovanja.<br />Praktičnim istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno ispitivanje stavova struke -<br />projektanata zgrada višeporodičnog stanovanja, i samih korisnika<br />analiziranih prostora. Funkcionisanje modela je prikazano kroz<br />primer jednog stana, dok je razvijeni model primenjen pri vrednovanju<br />prostornih karakteristika odabranih stanova izgrađenih u gradu<br />Osijeku u periodu između 1930. i 2015. godine.</p> / <p>The dissertation gives a detailed description of the development of the model<br />of user evaluation of the apartment&#39;s spatial characteristics. The model<br />development was based on the results of theoretical and practical research.<br />The theoretical part includes the analysis of available research on housing<br />quality and criteria for its evaluation as well as architectural guidelines for<br />housing design. The practical research involved examining the attitudes of<br />designers of residential buildings and the buildings&rsquo; tenants. The functioning<br />of the model is shown through the example of the chosen apartment, while<br />the developed model was applied in the evaluation of the spatial<br />characteristics of the apartments built in Osijek from 1930 to 2015.</p>

Limited government supports under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 could cause low-income immigrants to struggle with housing affordability. Thus, this study examined housing challenges of Asian and Pacific Island elders, focusing on government assistance, and demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics. The research framework was based on the theory of housing adjustment (Morris & Winter, 1975, 1978). When investigating housing challenges, housing satisfaction was considered a representative term, as the dependent variable. The sample was Asian and Pacific Island households with a head 65+ who responded to the American Housing Survey (AHS) from 1995 through 2007 (N = 1,039). Asian and Pacific Island elders included those who lived in the U.S. for a long time as well as recent immigrants. Several statistical methods were employed: descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, crosstabs, multiple regression, and simple regression. Overall housing satisfaction level of the sample tended to be high from 1995 to 2007. However, there was no statistically significant impact of the PRWORA of 1996 on housing satisfaction and on the government assistance, and demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics of Asian and Pacific Island elders since 1996. Variables influencing satisfaction levels, and thus housing challenges, included qualifying for Food Stamps, education, family income, Census region, household size, housing quality, structure size, and neighborhood rating. Other significant findings included the impact of government assistance, geographical location and household size by year. An additional value of this study are the profiles of demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics and government assistance of Asian and Pacific Island elders from 1995 to 2007. Data analyses with the secondary datasets can assist housing researchers, educators, nonprofit organizations, or policymakers in their future studies or policies. / Ph. D.