scholarly journals Recognising the barriers to securing affordable housing through the land use planning system in Sub-Saharan Africa: A perspective from Ghana

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2640-2659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix SK Agyemang ◽  
Nicky Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Global South ◽  
Real Estate Market ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Daunting Task

Housing low-income households is a daunting task for policy makers across the Global South, and especially for those in Africa where past attempts to deliver State-funded affordable housing projects yielded minimal results. Presenting Ghana as a case study, the purpose of this article is to consider the rationale for and barriers to securing affordable housing through the planning system, situated within an African context. The key factors that would inhibit effective policy implementation include, on the one hand, a lack of central government commitment, weak enforcement of planning regulations and low capacity of local planning authorities, and, on the other hand, the dominance of customary land ownership and the informal nature of housing delivery. That notwithstanding, undertaking a mapping exercise of large-scale formal residential developments built across Greater Accra in recent years, the article suggests that there is an opportunity cost in not attempting to extract some form of economic rent from the private sector. By having an already established nationalised development rights system alongside a rising formal real estate market, there is in effect scope for introducing planning obligations in the longer term. Whilst by necessity, it takes time to fully establish and enforce this form of land value capture legislation; nonetheless, if the principles can be established, transferable lessons exist across Africa and the Global South.

scholarly journals Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Pork Industry Policy: A PMC Index Model Approach

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Youzhu Li ◽  
Rui He ◽  
Jinsi Liu ◽  
Chongguang Li ◽  
Jason Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Operation Mode ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Price Control ◽  
Price Regulation ◽  
Index Model

To ease the fluctuation of hog prices and maintain the hog market’s stability, the central government of China has issued a series of hog price control policies. This paper, supplemented by co-word analysis and LDA thematic modeling, constructed 9 first-level indicators and 36 s-level indicators and used a PMC index model to conduct quantitative research on the selected 74 policies and regulations of China’s pig price regulation policies from July 2007 to April 2020. The research concludes that the research tool system of China’s hog price control is formed. The overall design of the hog price control policy is relatively reasonable, but there are still the following problems: the subject of China’s pig price control policy is singular, so it is difficult to form a resultant force; the policy pays attention to the price regulation in the short term, but ignores the long-term industrial structure adjustment; it emphasizes market supervision, but insufficient support for slaughtering and processing; it focuses on production and management to improve the development quality and efficiency of the pig industry, but does not take social equity into account. Finally, some policy suggestions are put forward: multi-department division of labor and close cooperation; adjusting the industrial structure of hog and carrying out appropriate large-scale breeding; establishing the operation mode of slaughtering and processing in the producing area to reduce the circulation cost of the pig industry; ensuring the consumption of pork by low-income groups and giving consideration to social efficiency and equity.

Building Reconstruction After Large-Scale Disasters A Case Study of Ishinomaki City After the Great East Japan Earthquake

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (sp) ◽  
pp. 780-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michio Ubaura ◽  
◽  
Junpei Nieda ◽  
Masashi Miyakawa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Compact City ◽  
Building Reconstruction

In large-scale disasters and the subsequent recovery process, land usage and urban spatial forms change. It is therefore important to use this process as an opportunity to create a more sustainable spatial structure. This study considers the urban spatial transformations that took place after the Great East Japan Earthquake, their causes, and accompanying issues by investigating building construction in the recovery process. The authors discovered that individual rebuilding is primarily concentrated in vacant lots within the city’s existing urbanized areas. This is likely due to the spatial impact of the urban planning and agricultural land use planning system, the area division of urbanization promotion areas, and the urbanization restricted areas, all of which were in place prior to the disaster and which have guided development. On the other hand, there are areas severely damaged by tsunami in which there has been little reconstruction of housing that was completely destroyed. The authors concluded that building reconstruction in Ishinomaki City resulted in both the formation of a high-density compact city and also very low-density urban areas.

scholarly journals Developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed infants in a low-income South African context

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1734-41
Author(s):  
Carmen Cornelia de Beer ◽  
Esedra Krüger ◽  
Jeannie Van der Linde ◽  
Renata Eccles ◽  
Marien Alet Graham
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales ◽  
Hiv Exposed Infants ◽  
Hiv Exposed

Background: Effective HIV transmission prevention strategies have led to a growing population of vulnerable HIV- and antiretroviral-exposed infants in sub-Saharan Africa, however uncertainty exists regarding their development. Objective: To determine the developmental outcomes of HIV-exposed (HE) infants in a low-income South African con- text, when compared to HIV-unexposed (HU) counterparts. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional, group comparison study, the development of 41 HE and 40 HU infants (mean age=8.4 months, SD=2.1 months) from a low-income context was assessed. Caregivers were interviewed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) to evaluate infants’ development. Results: Most HE participants had age-appropriate overall development (90.2%;n=37). Some HE participants, however, presented with delays in domains of communication (9.8%;n=4), daily living skills (2.4%;n=1), socialisation (19.5%;n=8), and motor development (7.3%;n=3). HU participants also demonstrated some domain-specific delays, thus delays were present in both groups. No statistically significant between-group differences regarding development were found. Conclusion: Findings were reassuring and suggested that HE and HU participants had similar development. Developmen- tal differences may, however, only emerge with age, therefore large-scale longitudinal research is recommended. It is suggest- ed that the entire sample was vulnerable, highlighting the importance of developmental surveillance in low-income contexts, irrespective of HIV and antiretroviral exposure status. Keywords: Developmental outcomes; HIV-exposed infants; low-income context.

scholarly journals Delivering infectious disease interventions to women and children in conflict settings: a systematic review

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. e001967
Author(s):  
Sarah Meteke ◽  
Marianne Stefopulos ◽  
Daina Als ◽  
Michelle F Gaffey ◽  
Mahdis Kamali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Malaria Treatment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Intervention Coverage ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Intervention Delivery ◽  
Increased Risk

BackgroundConflict has played a role in the large-scale deterioration of health systems in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and increased risk of infections and outbreaks. This systematic review aimed to synthesise the literature on mechanisms of delivery for a range of infectious disease-related interventions provided to conflict-affected women, children and adolescents.MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsychINFO databases for literature published in English from January 1990 to March 2018. Eligible publications reported on conflict-affected neonates, children, adolescents or women in LMICs who received an infectious disease intervention. We extracted and synthesised information on delivery characteristics, including delivery site and personnel involved, as well as barriers and facilitators, and we tabulated reported intervention coverage and effectiveness data.ResultsA majority of the 194 eligible publications reported on intervention delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. Vaccines for measles and polio were the most commonly reported interventions, followed by malaria treatment. Over two-thirds of reported interventions were delivered in camp settings for displaced families. The use of clinics as a delivery site was reported across all intervention types, but outreach and community-based delivery were also reported for many interventions. Key barriers to service delivery included restricted access to target populations; conversely, adopting social mobilisation strategies and collaborating with community figures were reported as facilitating intervention delivery. Few publications reported on intervention coverage, mostly reporting variable coverage for vaccines, and fewer reported on intervention effectiveness, mostly for malaria treatment regimens.ConclusionsDespite an increased focus on health outcomes in humanitarian crises, our review highlights important gaps in the literature on intervention delivery among specific subpopulations and geographies. This indicates a need for more rigorous research and reporting on effective strategies for delivering infectious disease interventions in different conflict contexts.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019125221.

scholarly journals Public Space, Tourism and Mobility. Projects, Impacts and Tensions in Lisbon’s Urban Regeneration Dynamics

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-56
Author(s):  
João Rafael Santos
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Urban Regeneration ◽  
Real Estate Market ◽  
The Impact

In the wake of severe economic slowdown during the 2008-2015 crisis, and despite continued constraints on public investment in large scale infrastructure, Lisbon is emerging as one of the most attractive destinations in Europe. Tourism has been driving major spatial, functional and social changes, initially in the city’s historical districts, and nowadays exerts impact across a much larger urban and regional area. Tourism, together with new drivers of the real-estate market, is promoting the renovation of formerly vacant or rundown built stock, taking advantage of a rather fragile socio-economic milieu and changing the face of residential, commercial and public space landscapes. Recently upgraded transportation nodes and extensive improvements on public space have also played a meaningful role in this process. Central government and municipality rationale have underpinned its role in providing accessibility, “attractivity”, and “heritage valorisation”, aiming to attract young residents after decades of resident population decline. In contrast to considerable public investment in public space and infrastructure, very limited funding or policy has been targeted at maintaining an affordable housing and real-estate market: thus leaving much of the public investment return to the private sector. Criticism of gentrification and “touristification”, rising housing prices, and pressure on infrastructure is growing accordingly. The paper provides insight into aspects of this process, with a focus on the relational aspects of mobility upgrade, public space renewal and inner-city urban regeneration. Several urban projects are mapped and broadly characterised in their spatial and functional relationship with tourism. An interpretative framework that combines them with the forms of territorialisation and the main conflicts and tensions is offered as a contribution to the ongoing discussion. Conclusions point to the complex and powerful role that public space and mobility infrastructure play in the impact of territorialising tourism: as supports for better qualified, multi-scalar and shared urban spaces and as drivers of a more balanced, diverse and socially-inclusive urban tourism development.

Housing affordability sets us apart: The effect of rising housing prices on relocation behaviour

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802094348
Author(s):  
Tim Winke
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Real Estate Market ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Housing Cost ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Life course events such as new offspring or job loss affect a household’s demand for housing. At the same time, dynamics in the real estate market constrain where households find affordable housing. In a quasi-experimental design, this study examines the effect of increasing local housing prices on the relocation behaviour of low- and medium-income households. Difference-in-difference panel regressions using propensity score matching show that with rising local rental prices, low-income households are more likely to remain in their current housing and sustain higher levels of housing cost burden. If they move, they relocate further out of the city centre and to neighbourhoods with high unemployment rates. Rising housing markets facilitate socio-spatial segregation as middle-income households remain in economically better-off neighbourhoods. The findings highlight the additional costs of increasing housing prices in terms of the misallocation of housing and the spatial concentration of vulnerable households at the outskirts of cities.

scholarly journals Regulatory planning and affordable housing in Kigali City: policies, challenges and prospects

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Nkubito ◽  
Andrew Baiden-Amissah
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Zoning Regulations ◽  
Housing Costs

The availability of sufficient housing for all is often stated as a priority for enhancing the social needs of a society. Studies from elsewhere have suggested a correlation between zoning strictness and inflating housing costs, which also leads to the exclusion of social classes in cities. However, in Africa, these linkages have not been adequately assessed. With zoning being at the heart of the current planning system in Rwanda, this research aims at examining the linkages between zoning planning and housing affordability, in an emerging urban setting like Kigali City. The study employed a combination of systematic review of articles, policy documents, discourse, and cost analysis to assess the effects of the strictness of master plan and zoning requirements on housing costs, and the ease of access to housing particularly for low-income households. This paper finds a significant gap in affordable housing supply, a moderate impact of zoning regulations on housing production costs, and a clear policy determination to address the housing problem despite implementation constraints. This study thus suggests for a relaxation in zoning regulations for certain income thresholds, re-defining of affordability to match the local context, and the generation of housing affordability indexes to inform government’s urban housing strategies.Keywords: Regulatory Planning, Affordable Housing, Urban Poor Households, Kigali City

scholarly journals Between enabling and provider approach: Key shifts in the national housing policy in India and Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 856-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urmi Sengupta ◽  
Brendan Murtagh ◽  
Camila D’Ottaviano ◽  
Suzana Pasternak
Keyword(s):  
Housing Policy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global South ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

With the world becoming increasingly urban, housing poverty in the global south has made the metaphor ‘planet of slums’ a global reality. This paper revisits the dichotomy of enabler vs. provider debate in housing policy that preoccupied housing scholars in the last few decades. Drawing on the government intervention in Brazil and India, it is argued that the transformative and adaptive capacity of enabling strategy has now come of an age. Among other things, the paper makes a close reading of the historical and geographical (re)constitution of the process of housing delivery in these countries and argues that they have adopted enabling strategies along with closely intertwined strategies of crisis management and show a clear predisposition towards earlier provider approach of state administered, large-scale housing programmes to support the low-income households. Thus, as one policy approach follows another, the discursive space for the government policy doctrine acquires a layered structure, which contains elements of both provider and enabling approaches. Whilst these developments, still evolutionary, challenges remain in the form of conceptual contradictions that continue to obscure our approach towards low-income housing policies in the global South. Arguably on this basis, considerably more, attention should be given to providing housing to the poor in the global South.

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