Architecture Commons^™

2018 July-December Market Urbanism Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Response To Comments: The Informal Housing Debate Remains Open, Jonathan P. Bell

Jonathan P. Bell

UrbDeZine, November 12, 2014. In this follow up article on informal housing in Los Angeles, I respond to comments and take on critics who devalue housing code enforcement. I argue that unpermitted housing is inherently unsafe, and unsafe housing is not a viable housing option. I call for all sides of the informal housing debate to come together to look for solutions. URL: http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2014/11/12/response-to-comments-the-informal-housing-debate-remains-open/

Calpoly Must To Do More To Put Brakes On Vehicle Traffic, William W. Riggs

William W. Riggs

There are countless examples of university communities in the United States and internationally that have implemented similar policies. While the city of San Luis Obispo is taking aggressive steps to move in that direction as a part of updates to the Land Use and Circulation Elements, these efforts are not being matched by the campus — and this is at a time where the increase in student population necessitates it.

Post-Disaster Housing Recovery: The Promise And Peril Of Social Capital, Anuradha Mukherji

Anuradha Mukherji

Researchers argue that social networks based on shared values, trust, and norms can facilitate collective action, and such social capital increases the ability of communities to recover after a disaster, implying that the presence of social capital ensures collective community action after a disaster and enables recovery. Drawing from comparative case studies of Bhuj and Bachhau, urban centres impacted by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India, this study presents a nuanced view of the role of social capital during post-disaster recovery. It argues that it is important to consider community contexts that are inherent to the amount of social capital …

Socio-Economic Effects Of Demolishing Squatter Settlements And Illegal Structures In Abuja Metropolis, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Ishaku Iy Mallo Phd, Victor G. Obasanya

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and study area is located between latitudes 8o25’ and 9o25’ North of the Equator and longitudes 6o45’ and 7o45’ East of the Greenwich Meridian. The study was carried out in Abuja Phase 1, and it is aimed at highlighting various socioeconomic effects of demolition of illegal structures and informal or squatter settlements on the people within the study area. Data was collected through reconnaissance survey, personal interviews with respondents, and a well laid out questionnaire. The results indicate that the demolition exercise embarked upon by the authorities in the Federal Capital Territory was a response …

Post-Earthquake Housing Recovery In Bachhau, India: The Homeowner, The Renter, And The Squatter, Anuradha Mukherji

Anuradha Mukherji

This paper looks at post-earthquake housing recovery in Bachhau, a town close to the epicenter of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in western India. This research examines the difference in housing recovery outcomes among homeowners, squatters, and renters in Bachhau, in order to understand why single-family homeowners and squatters were able to rebuild and improve their housing conditions whereas low-income renters continued to struggle toward housing recovery. This paper shows that communities in Bachhau did not have the resources or capacities to rebuild themselves and that appropriate public assistance was critical for housing recovery. While public assistance was mainly targeted to …

Negotiating Housing Recovery In Post-Earthquake Urban Kutch, India, Anuradha Mukherji

Anuradha Mukherji

The 2001 Kutch earthquake, in Gujarat state in western India, destroyed 230,000 houses and damaged another 1 million. In Bhuj and Bachhau, urban centers close to the epicenter of the earthquake, single-family houses, squatter settlements, and high-rise apartments were destroyed, and public and private housing reconstruction programs were introduced to help communities rebuild their houses. However, five years after the disaster, in spite of interventions by local and global, public and private entities, many communities in both towns continued to struggle towards housing recovery. This dissertation examines why some communities were able to rebuild and improve their overall housing conditions …

Sprawl, Growth Boundaries And The Rehnquist Court , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article addresses the constitutionality and wisdom of Oregon's urban growth boundary (UGB) program. The article concludes that the program is constitutional under current precedent, and that (contrary to claims made by UGB critics) there is little evidence that the UGB has caused Oregon's runup in housing prices. On the other hand, UGB supporters may have exaggerated the UGB's positive environmental results.

Philadelphia Eligible Metropolitan Area Aids Housing Needs Assessment: 1997-2001, Kimberly Acquaviva, Dennis P. Culhane, Ellen Alpert, David Fair

Dennis P. Culhane

This report describes the results of a survey of people in Philadelphia with HIV/AIDS regarding their current and projected housing needs.