Effects and success factors of sustainable consumption policy instruments: a comparative assessment across Europe

Important knowledge gaps exist regarding the effects of policy instruments for sustainable consumption (SC) and success factors of such instruments. This article compares and summarizes the results of six case studies on the effects and success factors of SC instruments in the need areas of housing and food. While analysing different instrument types from four different European countries, all case studies were guided by the same analytical framework and mixed-methods approach. This synthesis article particularly emphasizes factors fostering the generation of instrument effects (outcomes and impacts) or hampering the creation of such effects, respectively. These factors include instrument goals and design, the accommodation of consumer needs, and the simultaneous addressing of framework conditions, as well as market context, policy interaction, and stakeholder involvement. The findings and conclusions can contribute to a better understanding of the conditions under which policy instruments can steer consumer behaviour towards sustainability.     

Social disruption,mine closure and housing policy: evidence from the Free State Goldfields,South Africa

The creation of mine settlements became a common practice between 1950 and 1980. These mining towns were seen as places of permanent settlement. This permanency, together with the privatisation of mine‐owned houses (mid‐1980s) increased place attachment. Mine decline thus brought with it some form of social disruption. Whereas mining companies in Australia have attempted to minimise the social disruption caused by mine closure by introducing fly‐in‐fly‐out arrangements, the post‐apartheid housing policy in South Africa has focused on asset building in mining areas. We completed 180 interviews with representatives of households. The survey formed part of a panel survey and further included a control group and 15 qualitative interviews. Our results indicate that though members of the mining community have housing units that are larger than those of the control group, incomes are lower in the mining community, real income is in decline, smaller numbers of household members are contributing to income, self‐assessments of wealth are characterised by lower ratings, household assets increase at a slower pace, and there is a stronger preference to continue to reside in the area. All of the above serves to illustrate the consequences of the asset‐based strategies embedded in South African housing policy. The social disruption associated with mine closure further tends to lock households into locations, and thus inhibits mobility.     

Residential satisfaction in students' housing

This paper reports the results of a study of residential satisfaction in students' housing in Nigeria. The study examined how satisfied students were and the factors which predicted residential satisfaction. Specifically, it examined whether the morphological configurations of the halls of residence would predict residential satisfaction. Data were obtained from questionnaires distributed to a sample of 1124 respondents from all the halls of residences in four residential universities in Southwestern Nigeria. The data comprised objective and subjective measures of the physical, social and management attributes of the halls of residence. These were analyzed using frequencies, factor analysis and categorical regression models. More than half (53%) of the respondents were dissatisfied with their residences and the variables which explained satisfaction were the social qualities of the residences, especially, the social densities; the kitchenette, bathroom and storage facilities and some demographic characteristics of the students. The morphological configuration of the halls of residence was also found to be a predictor of satisfaction and the characteristics which appeared most significant were the plan form and the length of the corridor. The regression model explained 65% of the variance in R². An instructive finding was that satisfaction appeared most critical in the bedroom.     

Container vs. dacha: The psychological effects of temporary housing characteristics on earthquake survivors

This research investigated whether the psychological wellbeing of earthquake survivors two years after the traumatic event would vary as a function of type of temporary housing. A comparison of people assigned to containers, converted into mobile homes, vs. wooden dachas vs. a control group, that had not lost their homes in the earthquake, revealed reliable effects of housing type. Compared to those in containers, earthquake victims assigned to dachas were more satisfied with and more attached to their temporary homes and reported greater psychological wellbeing (fewer psychological stress symptoms, less discomfort and a lesser feeling of being dominated by the situation). Also, home attachment and satisfaction with one's home mediated the psychological wellbeing, suggesting that the attitudes towards different types of temporary housing play a causal role in post-traumatic stress reactions. Practical implications for emergency interventions following natural disasters are discussed.     

Rodent Communities in an Exurbanizing Southwestern Landscape (U.S.A.)

Abstract:  Ranches are being converted to exurban housing developments in the southwestern United States, with potentially significant but little-studied impacts on biological diversity. We captured rodents on 48 traplines in grasslands, mesquite savannas, and oak savannas in southeastern Arizona that were grazed by livestock, embedded in exurban housing developments, grazed and embedded in development, or neither grazed nor embedded in development. Independent of habitat or development, rodent species richness, mean rank abundance, and capture rates of all rodents combined were negatively related to presence of livestock grazing or to its effects on vegetative ground cover. Exurban development had no obvious effects on rodent variety or abundance. Results suggest southwestern exurban developments can sustain a rich assemblage of grassland and savanna rodents if housing densities are low and houses are embedded in a matrix of natural vegetation with little grazing.     

绿色住宅内声环境控制

室内噪声主要来源于室外噪声辐射和室内声源。室内噪声会对人的听力、语言交流、睡眠休息、心脏功能、心理、工作效率、儿童发育等多方面产生不良影响。主要分析绿色住宅内部噪声对室内声环境的影响,综述目前绿色住宅建设中存在着的隔声设计隐患,结合“绿色住宅建设技术要求（2001）”,提出改善室内声环境的优化设计方法,从而就如何加强绿色住宅室内噪声污染危害的防治措施提出一些看法。     

Assessing the impact of household participation on satisfaction and safe design in humanitarian shelter projects

Participation has long been considered important for post‐disaster recovery. Establishing what constitutes participation in post‐disaster shelter projects, however, has remained elusive, and the links between different types of participation and shelter programme outcomes are not well understood. Furthermore, recent case studies suggest that misguided participation strategies may be to blame for failures. This study analysed 19 shelter projects implemented in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 to identify the forms of participation employed. Using fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis, it assessed how household participation in the planning, design, and construction phases of shelter reconstruction led to outcomes of household satisfaction and safe shelter design. Participation was operationalised via eight central project tasks, revealing that the involvement of households in the early planning stages of projects and in construction activities were important for satisfaction and design outcomes, whereas engagement during the design phase of projects had little impact on the selected outcomes.     

中国资源型城市房价时空变化与影响因素分析

基于禧泰数据库的全国城市二手房价监测数据,利用描述统计和GIS空间分析方法详细分析了2011—2018年126个中国资源型城市房价时空变化特征,并采用空间杜宾模型进一步揭示了其影响因素。研究结果表明:(1)2011年和2018年中国资源型城市平均房价分别为4105元/m2和5675元/m2,再生型城市、成熟型城市、成长型城市和衰退型城市的平均房价依次递减;(2)2011—2018年中国资源型城市平均房价呈现出波动上升的态势,房价增长率为38.2%,远低于全国城市平均房价增长幅度55.3%,且不同类型资源型城市房价的增长幅度有所差异,以成熟型和再生型城市的房价增幅相对较大;(3)中国资源型城市房价和变化存在显著的空间集聚特征,房价热点区主要集中在东部地区和中部地区城市,房价冷点区主要以东北地区和西部地区城市为主;(4)空间杜宾模型显示,人均GDP、人均住房开发投资、多样化指数、专业化指数和工业废水排放强度是影响中国资源型城市房价空间差异的主要因素。     

Evidence of the impacts of the national housing programme on the accessibility of the low‐income population in Rio de Janeiro

The Brazilian shift from a primarily rural to a more urban society has created major challenges that public policies must address. One of the most relevant challenges is deep social exclusion in urban areas, especially in terms of adequate housing and access to urban opportunities (e.g., jobs, housing, and services). In this context, land use and transport planning play a critical role in the sustainable development agenda. The work presented here analyses the accessibility of low‐income dwellings licenced under the Brazilian housing programme to the low‐income population. To evaluate the accessibility of the programme's target population, a case study was conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where 58,000 homes licensed under the programme were analysed using GIS tools in terms of the present public transport network and the location of the homes. The amount of time it takes to access public transport on foot and the homes’ locations in relation to major urban opportunities were also analysed. Finally, the same analysis was performed for the future transport network, and the results of the two analyses were compared to identify the scope of the legacy generated by investments in preparation for the 2016 network.     

基于目标距离法的工业化住宅环境影响评价

为了客观衡量住宅产业化对建筑业节能减排和降低环境污染的贡献,同时明确住宅工业化建造模式较传统建造模式在环境影响方面的优势及需要改进的环节,选择具有代表性的工业化住宅和传统住宅作为测评对象,从全寿命周期角度,基于目标距离法,根据北京市“十二五”时期各项规划中制定的与住宅建设相关的节能减排和绿色发展目标,建立了基于北京市环境政策的目标距离法评价模型,对比分析了“十二五”时期规划面积的住宅分别采用工业化建造模式和传统建造模式对实现北京市“十二五”环境影响政策目标的作用,得出了工业化住宅较传统住宅在降低资源消耗、生态破坏和健康损害3个方面的优势.