Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The study was conducted in the community of Wellbedacht East in eThekwini Municipality. Welbedacht East (WE) is located north-east of Umlazi Township and west of Chatsworth and also expands into the eNgonyameni Traditional Authority. WE is about 23 kilometres from Pinetown, 43 kilometres from Durban, and 15 kilometres from Chatsworth Centre. It is one of the development projects undertaken to spearhead the very ambitious programme of slums clearance, in order to confront the challenge of informal settlements in the eThekwini Municipal area. The study area has been chosen because it is one of the largest slum clearance projects in eThekwini Municipality (Durban) and it is peripherally located. Due to its peripheral location, transport services, and facilities such as schools, a clinic, a police station, churches and shops are either scarce, or non-existent. A systematic sample of 60 households was drawn from a population of residents whose characteristics had been considered to reflect those of the larger population. The project has 5000 sites and 3000 beneficiary households were relocated to this project from the inner city areas. The study is aimed at examining the impact and effects of relocation on beneficiary households in peripherally located low-income housing projects, to determine whether or not transport costs are higher in peripherally situated settlements than in more central locations, and whether residents in peripheral settlements are less able to access the benefits of urban living, including economic opportunities and social networks necessary for survival. It argues that the relocation of informal settlements to peripheral sites promotes an urban sprawl, and thus deviates from the eThekwini Municipality's goal of promoting development as a 'compact city'. The findings in this study are that, firstly, there is clear evidence to suggest that relocations to peripheral areas can cause significant harm to relocated beneficiary households' livelihood strategies, and secondly, that the municipality's failure to coordinate its relocations plan with other spheres of government involved with social service delivery, especially the departments of health and education, resulted in medium-term deprivation of access to social services. The conclusions drawn from the findings are that a holistic and integrated approach to housing development needs to be enforced, whereby the minimum facilities, such as schools, clinics and other social amenities are prioritised if the project is poorly located. The study therefore recommends that low-income housing projects be located closer to the economic nodes, in order to eliminate transport costs and other social difficulties associated with peripheral location. The compact city settlement design epitomised by higher residential densities and the development of multifunctional habitats would, to a greater extent, reduce the need to travel, and improve quality of life and access to urban goods and services. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

A crucial factor to enable low-income families to participate in the gradual development of their homes is to find a link between their building activities and those of the large-scale building sector. Amidst technological development and increasing demand for housing, the large-scale sector, such as government and private groups, resorted to industrialised housing to replace traditional and conventional building materials and methods. Industrialisation, however, resulted not only in expensive and inappropriate dwellings but also eliminated homeowners from the building process and management of their homes. To bring back the homeowners in the building process, the shift was towards the production of small components and partial prefabrication. / Following the same thrust, there have been numerous innovative building systems for housing developed in the Philippines in the last two decades. Private entrepreneurs develop these building systems either promoting locally invented systems or adapting imported versions. Seeing their potentials, government and private groups are trying to employ them in housing. Despite the growing number of the innovative building systems and the interest to use them, their integration in low-income housing is still limited. / Focusing on Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines, the thesis aims to develop a selection model for the effective integration of innovative building systems in low-income housing. The process of integration is not simply using the building systems for mass production of houses but also enabling homeowners to utilise, maintain and sustain them. The proposed model involves sets of selection parameters essential at each stage of the housing delivery based on the homeowners' progressive building process and their criteria for choosing building materials for their homes. To facilitate progressive building and enhance the homeowners' initiative to build, the model also includes design strategies when employing new building systems and suggests the necessary channels to ensure the availability of the building systems, technical assistance and information.

<p>The goal of this study is to understand how residents may benefit from living in a mixed income, HOPE VI development in the South. This analysis focuses on a former housing project and its immediate neighborhood in the aftermath of HOPE VI revitalization. I conducted a case study by utilizing original data collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews, along with administrative records, evaluation data, media accounts, observation, and casual encounters. A unique contribution of this study of a HOPE VI development is that it also addresses the surrounding neighborhood. Furthermore, this case study offers a unique lens for examining contemporary black gentrification in a publicly constructed space. </p><p>A major finding of this study is that complex intra-racial social dynamics among African American community members may stem from HOPE VI intervention. Specifically, there may be limited positive interaction among residents in the development, and between them and residents of the proximate exterior neighborhood. Further, the nature of constrained interaction manufactures divisive processes for claiming space and community identity that may potentially have negative consequences for renters. </p><p>These consequences stem from a reproduction of space and community, which shapes social control, policing, and exclusion contests, among other tensions. Overall, this study brings to bear some unimagined consequences of HOPE VI that potentially neutralize anticipated benefits of mixed income living for the poor, based on real and perceived alterations of class, mobility, and shared identity in and around the development site.</p> / Dissertation

In South Africa, about 15,3% of the households were living in 2011 in formal state-subsidised low-income houses (houses for households with income lower than R 3500 - about $ 350 - per month), whereas 12,1% were living in informal dwellings. The sustainable development of low-income housing is therefore one of the main challenges for developing countries addressing the green Agenda as South Africa, especially considering the quality of life of inhabitants and the complex socioeconomic implications. Furthermore, the energy consumption patterns of low income households have emerged as one of the most important factors influencing the national electricity demand, as marked by the National Housing Code of 2009. The complex social and environmental issues related to the living conditions of low-income communities need to be addressed with an integrated approach to the design of the settlements. Rethinking and greening the low-income housing design principles firstly represent an opportunity to strive social inequity and improve the quality of life of households. The rationale of this study is to investigate how a strategic bottom-up approach and multi-scale low-cost green measures, implemented in the design process of South African low-cost housing, can potentially achieve environmental and social sustainability targets with affordable solutions. The dissertation analysed a representative case study of a low-cost housing development in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The research adopted a bottom-up approach combining participatory methods through a survey and interviews with the local community, and a scenario analysis investigating design alternatives and multiscale green strategies (i.e. alternative building typologies, densification, passive design strategies). The proposed scenario evaluated the potential benefits of the green implementation, through qualitative and quantitative assessments based on sustainability indicators as environmental and energy impacts, social implications, safety and cost effectiveness, supported also by experimental methods using dynamic building energy modelling. The study promoted an integrated and holistic research and design approach to foster the sustainability in low-cost housing development. The outcome of this integrated bottom-up approach defined a framework of good criteria and methods for the design process, which can be intended as a guideline to effectively implement green measures and reach sustainability targets for low-cost settlements. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.

The adoption of modernisation as the national development strategy has put Indonesian cities at the centre of development for boosting economic advancement. Occasionally, as those cities grow through processes of densification and agglomeration, some of the indigenous settlement (kampung) areas are put at risk of disappearing under corporate sector investments. However to some extent there is an indication that the kampung dwellers, the corporate-sector developers and those who are involved in the wider activities of the corporate sector, have an economic and social symbiotic relationship. The aim of this research is to identify the processes of change in a low-income inner city neighbourhood’s community system, in an area that is being encroached upon by modern business activities and other aspect of modernity, to explore shifts between conventionally understood roles of the kampungs, and to speculate on present theory in throwing light on processes of change which might be able to lead to new paths for urban development. The research approach is to work through the relevant literature, and then to move on to a case study approach in an Indonesian city, through which it will be possible to reflect back on the efficacy of prevailing theory. Surabaya was chosen as a representative city and kampung Kaliasin as the observed area.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Year of submission on cover: 1997. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 87-90).

Despite South African citizen’s constitutional right to adequate housing, Government’s housing delivery has been described as a complex, multi-stakeholder, multi-phase problem, exacerbated by political interference and corruption. Housing delivery in South Africa is ideologically and politically designed and executed. However, the government subsidised housing sector remains plagued by: huge and increasing backlogs; corruption; quality concerns, and recipient and stakeholder dissatisfaction. This includes the government subsidised housing construction sector, which faces issues such as: established contractors leaving the sector; late and failed completion; substandard quality; rework; cost overruns; late progress payments; and insolvencies. Moreover, government subsidised housing officials, which forms part of this sector, must contend with abandoned projects and appointing new contractors; shoddy workmanship from sub-standard contractors; remedial work, including demolition and rebuilding; and systemic problems such as staff shortages and under qualified staff. The process of Government’s ideological and political designed and execution may therefore not have considered certain practicalities relative to construction principles and practice. It therefore appears that there may be some relationship between the compatibility of Government’s housing ideological and political designed (policy) and execution and general construction principles and practice. It is clear from the related literature that government subsidised housing construction has mostly been investigated as an exercise observing from the outside in, and not from a construction sector perspective. The main purpose of this study is thus to explore housing policy and practice compatibility as a major obstacle to housing delivery in general and assess whether the current housing policy is sufficiently responsive to the requirements of the government subsidised housing sector by specifically describing and exploring the effects of Government’s housing procurement policies relative to the ability of the construction sector to supply government subsidised housing. More specifically, the study describes and explores corruption, quality; contractors and worker competency, and government capacity as specific consequences of housing policy and practice incompatibility, as well as factors contributing to recipient dissatisfaction and the housing backlog. Finally, based on the finding, a proposed framework for improving the supply of subsidised housing in South Africa has been developed. The methodology for this study adopted a post-positivist philosophy, embracing a quantitative approach using questionnaires, which incorporated mainly five-point Likert type scale, but also multiple-choice questions, as instruments for data collection. Three surveys were conducted, starting with a pilot study and followed by a primary study, during which a total of 2 884 potential participants within the construction sector across South Africa were randomly sampled and solicited to participate, of which 284 responded. The respondents consisted of four groups: general contractors (76); government housing officials (34); built environment professionals (137), and built environment suppliers (37). An electronic questionnaire was sent by email to all potential participants and allowed four weeks to complete the survey. Furthermore, a housing recipient survey was conducted among 100 randomly selected recipients of government subsidised housing in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area, by means of a structured interview using a paper based questionnaire, over a period of two weeks. The primary outcome measures used for this study were the ranked mean scores for mainly descriptive analysis and the Chi-square test, the 𝑡-test, Cohan’s d test, ANOVA and Scheffé test, using Cronbach's alpha as a measure of internal consistency of scale and validity, for inferential analyses and hypotheses testing. Hypothesis testing was founded upon Government’s worldview that its policies will not influence the operations of the construction sector relative to housing construction, and therefore tested respondents’ perspectives with respect to the impact that government policies have in terms of contractor operations and contractor success, as well as its contribution towards the housing backlog, substandard housing, recipient dissatisfaction and corruption. The following results were obtained by means of the hypothesis testing:Government housing procurement policies are inappropriate for application in the government subsidised housing sector. Respondents therefore disagree with the notion that government policy and practices do not impact contractor operations and contractor success, and thus the supply of houses; The application of government housing procurement policies leads to inadequate quality. Respondents therefore disagree with the notion that government preferential procurement policies do not impact quality; Government’s housing procurement policies inappropriately target emerging contractors. Respondents therefore disagree with the notion that Government’s targeting of emerging contractors does not impact housing supply; Government has inadequate capacity to address subsidised housing construction sector requirements in terms of housing projects. Respondents therefore disagree with the notion that Government has the capacity to address subsidised housing construction sector requirements in the supply of housing, and Government subsidised houses do not meet recipients’ expectations. Respondents therefore disagree with the notion that government subsidised houses do meet recipients’ expectations. It thus became apparent that housing supply is mostly inhibited by Government’s housing procurement policy, contributing to various factors, such as quality capability, contractor capability, systemic and administrative capacity, and resulting in recipient dissatisfaction. Using Pearson’s product moment correlation, a framework model was developed to illustrate the process flow, which revealed definitive statistical and practical relationships between these factors, and indeed reflects complex relationships between factors inhibiting supply and resulting in recipient dissatisfaction. To find an appropriate framework model for the purpose of improving housing supply, various sources were consulted. Based on the research question, together with the aims and objectives for this study, as well as the realisation that the problems associated with housing supply relate to the project management of the construction phase, which requires interventions for improving supply, it was decided that a results framework would be the most appropriate for this purpose. The proposed framework is therefore a graphical depiction of how the research process may be used to identify problems in the government subsidised housing sector, questioning how these may be resolved, setting strategies to improve the situation, evolving hypotheses and testing these hypotheses to establish the critical factors to be considered in the process of resolving the problem in the housing sector, by means of implementation and feedback.

A alvenaria estrutural tem sido amplamente empregada na construção civil brasileira, sendo o segmento de empreendimentos habitacionais de baixa renda uma de suas principais aplicações. Neste segmento de mercado, a qualidade das edificações tem sido estudada por diversos autores. Porém, poucos destes estudos reconheceram o caráter multidimensional da qualidade e tampouco explicitaram a perspectiva da qualidade que estava sendo utilizada. Nos empreendimentos habitacionais de baixa renda, as dimensões da qualidade de confiabilidade e conformidade são fundamentais. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal analisar a relação das não-conformidades do processo construtivo de alvenaria estrutural em empreendimentos habitacionais de baixa renda com a confiabilidade do produto. Esta análise foi realizada em oito empreendimentos concluídos e em oito empreendimentos em construção no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, relativos a dois programas promovidos pela CAIXA: o Programa de Arrendamento Residencial e do Programa Imóvel na Planta. Para mensurar a confiabilidade do produto foi proposto um método de análise sistemática por observação direta de manifestações patológicas. A aplicação deste método resultou num coeficiente de defeitos por unidades (CDU), o qual apresentou diferenças significativas entre os empreendimentos estudados. A partir da análise das não-conformidades foi possível identificar as principais oportunidades e barreiras à melhoria da alvenaria estrutural nestes empreendimentos. Estes fatores foram analisados tanto no processo de construção destes empreendimentos como no processo de avaliação da qualidade adotado pela CAIXA. / Structural masonry has been widely used in the Brazilian construction industry. One of the main applications in Brazil has been in the low-income housing project segment. Several authors have studied the quality of construction in this segment. However, most studies do not take into account the multidimensional character of quality, and only a few define the dimension of quality that has been considered. The dimensions of reliability and conformance are fundamental in low-income housing projects. The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the relationship between nonconformances of structural masonry in low-income housing and product reliability. This analysis involved eight housing projects already delivered to the users as well as eight housing projects under construction, all of them located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Those housing projects are part of two programs promoted by the Brazilian Public Savings Bank: The Residential Leasing Program and the Building Plan Program (Programa Imóvel na Planta). In order to measure the reliability of the product, a method of systematic analysis by direct observation of structural masonry failures was used. The application of this method resulted in a measure of defective elements (CDU), which indicated significant differences on the quality between the housing projects that were studied. It was possible to identify opportunities for improvement in structural masonry based on the analysis of non conformances. These factors were analyzed during the construction process as well as during the quality control process conducted by the Public Savings Bank.

Nas últimas décadas, a provisão de habitação de interesse social tem apresentado uma crescente complexidade, envolvendo uma rede intrincada de relações entre os diversos agentes e o Estado, que operam de maneira fragmentada. Neste contexto, existe a necessidade de gerenciar os requisitos dos clientes de forma a processar e disponibilizar as informações adequadas para apoiar a tomada de decisão no processo de desenvolvimento do produto. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é propor uma sistemática para o processamento de requisitos dos clientes de empreendimentos habitacionais de interesse social, a fim de aumentar a satisfação dos usuários dos mesmos. O método de pesquisa foi dividido em três etapas: (a) estruturação dos requisitos; (b) ponderação dos requisitos; e (c) estudo da aplicabilidade do desdobramento da função qualidade (QFD). Primeiramente, buscou-se uma maneira de estruturar os principais fatores que afetaram a satisfação dos usuários de nove empreendimentos habiacionais, a fim de propiciar maior entendimento dos seus principais requisitos. Na segunda etapa, buscou-se analisar e comparar as diferentes percepções desses agentes para entender como esses perceberam os principais requisitos dos usuários, estruturados na etapa anterior. A última etapa buscou utilizar a matriz da qualidade do QFD no processamento de requisitos de cliente no contexto da HIS, com o objetivo de propor adaptações necessárias dessa ferramenta para sua aplicação neste contexto. O desenvolvimento dessa dissertação possibilitou a proposta de uma sistemática para o processamento dos requisitos dos clientes. A análise individual dos principais intervenientes auxiliou no processamento de dados, com o qual formam desenvolvidos dispositivos visuais que auxiliaram na sistematização dessas informações, possibilitando análises diversas. A aplicação da matriz da qualidade do QFD propiciou a oportunidade de um processamento integrado, à medida que os dados dos usuários e dos agentes puderam ser analisados conjuntamente, possibilitando um fechamento das etapas anteriores. / In the last few decades, the provision of social housing has become more complex, involving a network of relationships between several stakeholders and the government, which tend to operate in a fragmented way. In this context, it is necessary to manage client requirements, in order to process and make available suitable information for supporting decision making in the product development process. The main objective of this research work is to devise a protocol for client requirements processing in social housing projects, with the ultimate aim to increase the degree of users´ satisfaction. The research method was divided into three stages: (a) structuring of requirements; (b) weighing requirements; and (c) study of the applicability of quality function deployment (QFD). Initially, a method for structuring the main factors that affect the users´ satisfaction in nine housing projects was devised, in order to improve the understanding about their requirements. In the second stage, the different perceptions of the construction professionals involved in the product development process on the users´ requirements were analysed and compared. In the last stage, the QFD quality matrix was used for processing requirements, with the aim of proposing adaptations of that tool to the context of social housing. The individual analysis of construction professionals supported the processing of data that were used to produce visual devices, making it possible the development of several analises. The application of a QFD matrix created the opportunity for further processing clients’ requirements, since data from the users and from the construction professionals were analysed together, providing an opportunity to integrate data produced in the previous stages.