House Price Accessibility in the Belfast Urban Area

1999 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utpal Kumar De ◽  
Vitsosie Vupru

Purpose The purpose of the study is to understand the relative impacts of structural characteristics of house, its locational attributes and neighbourhood characteristics on the choice of house and the rent paid by the individual tenants. The micro level study helps in understanding the issues of urban housing and help in policy formulation. Design/methodology/approach This paper tried to identify the socio-economic, locational and neighbourhood factors that influence tenant households in determining their residential choices in an urban area of North-east India. Also, the extent of impacts of those characteristics on the monthly rent for housing is analysed. The analysis is based on the primary data collected from the sample residents of Dimapur Town in Nagaland. The sample units are selected by cluster sampling technique from all the wards. Regression technique is used under hedonic pricing technique to examine the impacts of various potential factors on the rent. Findings The analysis reveals that family size, income, education of the head of family, water availability, security, convenience to access workplace, road conditions, etc. have significant positive impacts on the monthly rent. However, the impacts of some locational and neighbourhood variables vary across social and economic groups. Research limitations/implications Time series data on the growth of house price are not available, so that the authors could examine the escalation of house price and rising scarcity of houses in the selected town. Practical implications Rental housing accounts for a significant percentage of housing in many urban centres. It is particularly important for the migrants and urban poor for whom it is the only source of accommodation. Location choice depending on capability, availability, requirement and neighbourhood conditions are integral parts of selection of accommodation in a city. Hence the present study has its relevant practical implications. Social implications Housing choice in a hilly urban area like Dimapur assumes a special significance for the presence of heterogeneous ethnic, social and cultural groups with majority of Tribal inhabitants with varied requirements and lifestyle. Originality/value No study on housing choice or pricing of residential accommodation has been done in North-East India. Here along with the socio-economic characteristics of the individuals, structural characteristics of house, neighbourhood and locational characteristics are used simultaneously to find out the impact of various factors on the total prices through hedonic pricing method.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.B. Kalmanova

В статье представлены результаты исследования экологогеохимического состояния снежного покрова как индикатора качества атмосферного воздуха г. Биробиджана. Выявлены основные природные и антропогенные факторы, предопределяющие экологическое состояние городской территории в зимний период (климатические, планировочная структура, стационарные и мобильные источники загрязнения). Определено, что выбросы основных загрязнителей во время отопительного сезона превышает летний в 6,5 раз. Проведены геохимические исследования снежного покрова на 60 экспериментальных площадках, заложенных в различных функциональных зонах города. Выявлено значительное превышение тяжелых металлов над фоновым уровнем: железа до 60, марганца до 50, меди до 40, цинка до 20, никеля до 12, свинца до 10, кобальта до 6 раз. С 2003 по 2018 годы содержание химических элементов в снеге увеличилось в 2 раза за счет мобильных источников загрязнения, ТЭЦ, котельных. Проведена сравнительная характеристика накопления тяжелых металлов в снеге за 2003 и 2018 годы и установлен ранжированный ряд загрязняющих токсичных веществ. Разработана шкала оценки загрязнения депонирующих сред по суммарному показателю концентрации тяжелых металлов, согласно которой в Биробиджане выявлено 5 уровней загрязнения снежного покрова. В целом экологическое состояние урбанизированной территории признано неудовлетворительным (8 площади территории относится к очень высокому, 14 к высокому, 21 к выше среднему, 27 к среднему уровням загрязнения, 30 к относительно чистым районам города). По полученным результатам разработана карта в программе ArcView GIS Экологогеохимическое районирование территории г. Биробиджана по уровню загрязнения снежного покрова с выделением наиболее загрязненных участков (70 от общей площади города является загрязненной). По результатам проведенных исследований предложены конструктивные методы планирования урбанизированной территории с целью улучшения ее экологического состояния: проведение геомониторинга (контроль загрязнения снежного покрова и своевременный его вывоз на специально оборудованные полигоны). Snow cover is taken as an indicator of air quality using Birobidzhan, a middlesize city in the Russian Far East, as a case study. The main natural and manmade determinants influencing the ecological state of the urban area in winter are identified: climate, a planning structure, and the stationary and mobile sources of pollution. During the heating season the emission of major pollutants exceeds the summer level by 6.5 times. The geochemical study of snow cover was performed at 60 experimental sites in different functional urban areas. A significant excess of heavy metals over the regional background level was revealed: iron up to 60 times, manganese up to 50, copper up to 40, zinc up to 20 , nickel up to 12, lead up to 10, cobalt up to 6 times. From 2003 to 2018 the content of chemical elements in snow increased in 2 times due to the mobile sources of pollution, thermal power plants, and boilers. The comparative characteristic of accumulation of heavy metals in snow for 2003 and 2018 is carried out, and the ranked number of polluting toxic substances is established. The scale of pollution assessment in depositing environments was developed using the cumulative indicator of heavy metal concentration. Five levels of snow cover pollution are found in Birobidzhan: low, moderate, above moderate, high and very high. As a whole, the ecological state of the urban area is considered as unsatisfactory (8 of the area with a very high level of pollution, 14 with high, 21 above moderate, 27 a moderate level of pollution, 30 a relatively clean area). According to the results, a map was developed in the ArcView GIS program Ecological and geochemical zoning of Birobidzhan, using the level of the snow cover pollution with the allocation of the most polluted areas (70 of the total area of the city is polluted). According to the results, a constructive method of planning in an urban area is proposed in order to improve its environmental condition: geomonitoring as a control of pollution in snow cover and its prompt removal to specially equipped landfills.


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