Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-52). / This paper examines the validity of the option-based investment model as opposed to the neoclassical investment model in the decision-making of commercial real estate development, using aggregate real estate data from Japan. I particularly focus on the effect of uncertainty because it is the central difference between the two models. I specify a structural model in order to incorporate the interactions between supply and demand in the real estate asset market. In order to conduct detailed empirical tests for a long period of time, I set three data series. The Long Series uses quarterly data of 25 years and Short Series 1 and Short Series 2 use monthly data of about 15 years. I find strong evidence that supports the option-based investment model. Especially in the supply equation, total uncertainty has significant effects on the investment decision. A lag structure is found in the effect of total uncertainty. The parameters for other variables also generally favor the option-based model. In the demand equation, too, the results strongly support the option-based investment model. It should be concluded from these results that various kinds of real options must be incorporated in investment and economic models. / by Jiro Yoshida. / S.M.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-66). / It has been suggested in various studies that increasing accessibility to a transportation network would influence local property values and their pattern of change over time. This thesis examines the capitalization into single-family housing prices of the construction investment for Interstate 476 (I-476), which had faced public opposition for more than two decades. While the majority of previous capitalization studies have been limited to the areas adjacent to transportation facilities, this thesis analyzes the effect over time of increased accessibility on a larger part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Repeat sale single-family home price indices for zip codes covering the five counties in the greater Philadelphia area for 18 years are used. I find that the area within 7,500m of 1-476 had higher annual appreciation rates than the entire Philadelphia MSA by 0.3% - 2.6% between 1989 and 1994. The higher appreciation began after all the necessary construction approvals were obtained in 1987 and lasted two years after the opening of the last section of the highway. / by Noriko Komiyama. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62). / Non-performing loans (NPLs) are essentially a product of the irrational allocation of resources. Different from other Asian countries, China's NPL issue resulted primarily from a transitioning economy dominated by the triangular relations of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), state-owned commercial banks (SOBs) and the fiscal system. Even though the total amount of NPLs in 1999 was estimated to be around 30% of the total outstanding loans of SOBs, the NPL problem in China would not lead to an immediate financial crisis as the NPL problem is more a stock problem than a flow one. However, the huge amount of overhanging bad debts has become one of the bottlenecks for China's further reform, particularly, in the banking sector. The establishment of four Asset Management Companies (AMCs) was an innovative approach to provide an instant relief of the bad debt burden of SOBs, to recover distressed assets and to restructure SOEs. Despite facing many challenges, the AMCs have been continuously seeking new NPL workout approaches and made substantial progress. A series of workout approaches have been introduced including debt-equity swap, discounted payoff, loan pool sale and property auction, etc. The process, however, will become increasingly difficult because the high quality assets have been disposed of first and the more troubled ones still remain in the portfolio. Furthermore, if the government cannot make a creditable commitment that the current NPL transfer and debt-equity swap is a once-off policy, new NPLs will be encouraged through soft lending by the SOBs and strategic default by the SOEs. There are also several obstacles ahead to the AMCs including China's immature capital market, the AMCs' internal structural problems as well as China's weak legal enforcement mechanism. Fortunately, the Chinese government has made a great commitment to tackle the NPL issue not only from the surface but also from the fundamental structure, evidenced by the Chinese government's efforts to improve the corporate governance of SOEs and institutional infrastructures. China's accession to the WTO in 2001 will further force the government to seriously reform the banking sector in order to build up the competitive advantage to face the imminent competition from foreign banks. With more international practices introduced and corporate governance improved, China's banking system could be more resilient and healthier in the near future. The AMC scheme would hopefully be a once-off prescription. / by Xiaojun Allan Wu. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2006. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71). / It has been said that "home bias" exists among investors due to informational disadvantage involved in cross-border investment. But, real estate has become a major asset class and cross-border real estate investment has been surging. Behind this phenomenon is heightened awareness among investors of the modem portfolio theory and the benefits of diversification. Japan is not an exception. Since late 1990's, a large amount of capital has flowed into Japanese real estate markets. The markets have also experienced significant transformation. However, in the eyes of foreign investors they are far from transparent due to, among other things, lack of reliable investment indices of commercial real estate. Such indices cannot be generated overnight, and lack of such indices can be a critical issue for global real estate investors. This issue is contributing to under-investment in Japan's real estate from overseas. Facing this problem, researchers and industry practitioners launched a number of investment indices for private real estate in recent years, each of which has strong and weak points. Compared to other indices, the ARES J-REIT Property Index seems potentially the most reliable and promising index for Japanese commercial real estate. / (cont.) The purposes of this paper is to analyze and compare various investment indices for Japanese private real estate; to understand distortions i.e. the "lagging" and "smoothing" effects involved in appraisal-based investment indices to see the "true" pictures of private real estate returns; and then to apply such indices to an international portfolio analysis to see the relative position of Japan's private real estate as a global asset class. Simulations are used to understand the mechanism of appraisal-based investment indices. Introductory sections provide some background on globalization of real estate and issues with Japanese real estate markets. / by Takashi Endo. / S.M.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-90). / Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill, was a transformative piece of legislation signed by President Roosevelt intended to help WWII Veterans transition successfully from soldier to citizen. Often dubbed the magic carpet to the middle class, provisions of the bill granted eligible veterans free college tuition, job training and placement, generous unemployment benefits and a low interest, no money down loan for a home or business. The effects of this bill were widespread; it touched eight out of ten men born in the 1920's. Much is known of impact GI Bill benefits had on white veterans, but less is known of how black veterans, who accounted for one in thirteen WWII Veterans, were able to use them. This paper examines barriers black veterans faced to access and use the housing benefit, and examines the possible intergenerational impacts such barriers had on the wealth and homeownership status of African Americans today. / by Cyd McKenna. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 30). / Communication is a shortcoming of our profession. Go ahead and ask the ordinary person on the street to name a few famous architects. Hmmm- Frank, maybe Le Corbusier, maybe. How can we express our ideas and convey our process? How can we show our design in all its glory so that the client, the funder, the trustee, the guy that pays our bills, understand its purpose, form and function? Clearly we could just write a paper. We could include a couple of models, even a walk through on videotape. We could go to the client and show him all these things and try and convince him to hire us. Then we could hope that he will tell others involved in the funding and the building what we showed him. We could do this. We do, do this. I wanted to discover a novel approach to communicating architecture. I want you to see my approach. This thesis is my new approach to th is age old problem. I believe, as do a small number of other architects and designers, that the new approach lies in the use of today's multimedia technology. Oh a big buzz word "MULTIMEDIA". What a weird word. Multi - meaning many and Media - meaning, well just about anything, pictures, video, text, audio, 3D, 20, you name it. So multimedia means lots of anything! The word tells me everything and yet it tells me nothing. Its ambiguous. You see this is just the point. I cannot tell you. I cannot show you. You need to experience it yourself. This does not mean turning on a tape and playing it from beginning to end. It means much more; it means anything. We are finally free to do anything and everything to convey our ideas as much or as little as we want, and the whole time leaving the viewer, the client, in control. This thesis is embodied in an interactive CD-ROM which is attached to this document or available from the librarians desk. It requires an interaction with the reader. This mode of interaction results from my investigation of how communication between the lay person and the architect should occur. I argue that this affords a richer and more complete understanding of a building and its purposes than do conventional methods. / by Adam Douglas Halem. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72). / by Jeffrey S. Nolan. / M.S.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1989. / Title as it appeared in M.I.T. Graduate List, June 1989: Forecasting economic benefits of the Boston Harbor cleanup. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-98). / by Claudette Melissa Mapp. / M.C.P.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-93). / According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' 2016 Global Trends Report, global human displacement is at a record high and refugee crises are increasingly urban. Research on forced migration has historically focused on the obligations of the nation state, overshadowing the role of cities in urban displacement. Using the conceptual framework of a refugee's 'right to the city,' this thesis seeks to contribute to literature on urban displacement by beginning to developing a spatial definition of refugee integration. A case study of state-provided refugee housing in Hamburg, Germany identifies innovations at the federal and state levels that outline a new model of how urban planning can contribute to refugee housing policy. This research provides an alternative to leading refugee housing models and highlights the importance of linking the historically segmented phases of emergency housing with long-term development and land use planning in cities experiencing rapid urbanization as a result of migration. Practices from this case study, as well as opportunities to refine the approach, provide insight into the development of refugee housing policy in land-constrained urban areas in the future. / by Jessica Sadye Wolff. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-129). / by Kim Stevenson. / M.S.