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.     

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.     

Valuing the benefits of the urban forest: a spatial hedonic approach

This paper measures the benefits of the urban forest by examining its effect on housing prices. A Geographic Information System is used to develop a measure of the urban forest, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, from satellite imagery and to construct other variables from a variety of sources. Spatial hedonic housing price models for the Indianapolis/Marion County area are estimated. The models indicate that greener vegetation around a property has a positive, significant effect on housing price, holding everything else constant. This effect is dominated by measures at the neighborhood level. These findings indicate that property owners value the urban forest, at least in part, by the premium they pay to live in neighborhoods with greener, denser vegetation. These findings also indicate that public action to maintain and enhance the urban forest may be warranted. Planners and urban foresters can use these findings to inform public and policy debates over urban forestry programs and proposals.     

人口收缩背景下资源型城市住宅价格的差异化响应及影响因素

以中国人口收缩现象突出的资源型城市为例,分析了2005年以来案例城市人口和住宅价格的时空演变特征,从住宅价格增幅和增速两个方面比较了人口收缩期内案例城市住宅价格的差异化响应特征,通过灰色关联模型分析了住宅价格差异化响应的影响因素。结果表明：（1）中国资源型城市人口收缩现象呈加剧态势,但人口收缩期内90%的资源型城市住宅价格呈上升态势,仅黑龙江东部、甘肃西北部、山西中部等少数资源型城市住宅价格小幅下降。（2）人口收缩背景下资源型城市住宅价格响应强度差异明显。相比之下,高强度响应等级以人口中期收缩的资源型城市、衰退型与成熟型煤炭资源城市、边境与省际边缘区资源型城市为主。（3）大部分资源型城市的人口收缩和住宅价格响应关联并不紧密,其他影响因素与住宅价格响应的关联相对更为紧密,并随着住宅价格响应强度的不同存在显著差异。     

基于家庭集群模式的高层住宅紧急疏散模型优化

为建立适用于我国高层民用住宅特点的紧急疏散模型,为评价高层住宅建筑安全性、指导人员逃生提供科学依据。通过问卷调查和实际观测,分析家庭疏散对象的心理特征,对传统紧急疏散模型进行优化,提出以家庭为单位的集群紧急疏散模型,并进行仿真。仿真模型以社会力模型为基础,通过分析和计算家庭内部成员与外部人员2种不同的"社会心理力",进而体现集群疏散的宏观特征。仿真结果分析了家庭集群疏散与传统紧急疏散,这2种情况下主要交通参数的差别,论证了家庭集群疏散模型的科学性和合理性。     

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。     

Maximising the net social benefit of the construction of post‐disaster alternative housing projects

The widespread destruction that follows large‐scale natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, challenges the efficacy of traditional temporary housing methods in providing adequate solutions to housing needs. Recognising these housing challenges, the Congress of the United States allocated, in 2006, USD 400 million to the Department of Homeland Security to support Alternative Housing Pilot Programs, which are intended to explore the possibilities of providing permanent and affordable housing to displaced families instead of traditional temporary housing. This paper presents a new methodology and optimisation model to identify the optimal configurations of post‐shelter housing arrangements to maximise the overall net socioeconomic benefit. The model is capable of quantifying and optimising the impacts of substituting temporary housing with alternative housing on the social and economic welfare of displaced families as well as the required additional costs of doing so. An application example is presented to illustrate the use of the model and its capabilities.     

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.     

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.