HOUSING CRISIS IN ALGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

The provision of good quality housing remains a major problem facing policymakers in developing countries, with Algeria being no exception. The Algerian policy focuses on ensuring the provision of housing to low-income households who cannot house themselves adequately. This article presents an overview of the Algerian housing policies focusing on the issues encountered by governments since independence in 1962. This entails presenting the history of Algerian housing policy, including colonial, after independence and new Algeria. This will not be completed without reviewing the different national housing plans and policies introduced by the Algerian government, focusing on the housing achievements and deficits. Using qualitative analysis of secondary data through narrative and inductive approaches, this research argues that a significant change in how these programmes are currently structured is urgent. Thus, there is a need to find a new approach to finance the construction of public and private housing units and reduce dependence on the Public Treasury.

Counterpublic Goods in Interesting Times: Transitional Subjectivities Onstage at Highways Performance Space, 1989–1993

A raging global pandemic handled inadequately and indifferently by the Republican-led US federal government, with Dr. Anthony Fauci in a featured role; an antiracist uprising in response to police brutality; a resurgent political Right fomenting and stoking culture wars; activists’ demands for a diverse and equitable art world; increasing fiscal precarity for small, innovative live art spaces; a looming recession; and an escalating housing crisis fueled by accelerating income inequality: welcome to Los Angeles between 1989 and 1993. In this period, AIDS became the leading cause of death for US men ages 25–44; ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power)/LA called public health infrastructure to account and successfully fought for an AIDS ward at Los Angeles County Hospital. A widely circulated video of Los Angeles Police Department officers viciously beating Black motorist Rodney King, and their subsequent acquittal of criminal charges by a suburban jury, ignited five days of antiracist rebellion. The rising number of unhoused people in Los Angeles was becoming difficult to ignore, though not for the city's, state's, or federal government's lack of trying. “Multiculturalism” became a widely embraced—if sometimes cynically deployed—aesthetic and programming imperative.

Increasing the Prevalence of Offsite Construction in Housing Association Developments: Conceptual and Pragmatic Challenges

Offsite construction is increasingly being presented as a way to increase housing delivery and reduce the housing crisis. Housing Associations play a pivotal role in the delivery of affordable homes and therefore offsite construction could be beneficial in alleviating the crisis. For offsite construction uptake to increase, the conceptual and pragmatic advantages and challenges surrounding offsite housing in relation to evolving social domestic needs to be explored and understood. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the viability of offsite construction as not only a full-service solution to social housing provision, but an integral strategic partner for meeting the range of specialised fabrication needs for these new properties. A literature review is carried out to explore the conceptual and pragmatic advantages and challenges encountered by HAs adopting offsite construction methods. The paper also investigates which the housing tenures are most suited to offsite construction technology. The paper highlighted that whilst individual case studies and example homes offer one mode of justification for Housing Associations to move forward, it is the cumulative effect of cost savings, sustainability, specialised skill sets, labour reduction, structural innovation, and rate of construction that should be weighed and incorporated into this consideration-making process.

Housing Human Needs

<p>An ever-increasing population calls for more housing at higher densities. New Zealand is struggling to keep up with the demand for housing, and consequently, the country is experiencing a housing crisis. In addressing this demand, developer-led projects are becoming more frequent. However, the focus of developer-led construction is often on costs and profits, not its future occupants’ well-being. Many studies have shown that the physical environment, especially the quality of housing, affects the human psyche. New Zealand’s current situation offers the opportunity to alter the way housing is designed to benefit society. This design-led research portfolio informs architects and designers of human psychological needs and the importance of facilitating them through the design of housing. The study develops a framework based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, which assists architects and designers in creating housing at higher densities, more holistically. Finally, the introduction of a specific site allows the framework to be tested and evaluated through an iterative process of architectural design in an appropriate situation; Christchurch, New Zealand.</p>

Housing Human Needs

<p>An ever-increasing population calls for more housing at higher densities. New Zealand is struggling to keep up with the demand for housing, and consequently, the country is experiencing a housing crisis. In addressing this demand, developer-led projects are becoming more frequent. However, the focus of developer-led construction is often on costs and profits, not its future occupants’ well-being. Many studies have shown that the physical environment, especially the quality of housing, affects the human psyche. New Zealand’s current situation offers the opportunity to alter the way housing is designed to benefit society. This design-led research portfolio informs architects and designers of human psychological needs and the importance of facilitating them through the design of housing. The study develops a framework based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, which assists architects and designers in creating housing at higher densities, more holistically. Finally, the introduction of a specific site allows the framework to be tested and evaluated through an iterative process of architectural design in an appropriate situation; Christchurch, New Zealand.</p>

Aesthetics of Home. Continuity and Variation in New Zealand Medium Density Housing

<p>In New Zealand, most people do not find Medium Density housing (MDH) visually appealing. In October 2017, BRANZ carried out a survey on the different attitudes New Zealanders have towards MDH. This study concluded that the visual aesthetics is one of the top issues in shifting the acceptance of MDH within New Zealand. (BRANZ, 2017. p.2) Additionally in an attempt to house many people quickly, there have been growing concerns around the quality of the aesthetic output. (Howden-Chapman, 2015. p.80) This negative attitude towards MDH has fuelled the ever growing housing crisis. This thesis proposes that improved aesthetic qualities can be achieved within a high density multiple housing project. It argues that identifying and analysing the current aesthetic issues connected with existing MDH in New Zealand, will create a starting point for further design-led research. From this critique, this thesis aims to design a viable alternative to the current New Zealand approach to MDH. This design will aim to model varied aesthetic qualities and to identify key strategies for potential application in other projects. Research will occur through an extended series of different design-led research projects. Initially a quick fire design exercise in parallel with initial background research around the field of MDH and aesthetics will form the basis to begin from. Self and peer reflection will follow to inform the iterative research, extracting the key issues emerging from the research. Both research for design (theories and precedents), and researching through a series of iterative design projects occur. These two integrated research methods will be repeated in cycles throughout the year to keep the research current throughout the process and develop its depth.</p>

Where the Heck Do I Put the Barbeque? High-Rise Housing for New Zealanders

<p>There is little doubt New Zealand is in the midst of a housing crisis. A growing population and a construction industry unable to meet demand makes housing supply an ongoing issue. The most sustainable way to meet housing demand is to increase density within existing city limits; however, growth in this way is problematic due to the stigma surrounding high-density housing. High-rise apartment living in particular is seen as undesirable to most New Zealanders. This research investigates how high-rise apartment blocks can be better designed for the New Zealand context – specifically, how the provision of quality outdoor space can better align this typology with New Zealanders’ affinity with the outdoors. Three innovative high-rise typologies are tested on a central Wellington site. Each is designed for a different user group and provides occupants with private outdoor space that facilitates outdoor activities usually inhibited by high-rise apartment living. Accessways are investigated and reimagined as vibrant common spaces that provide occupants with additional outdoor space. The design outcome provides residents with a diverse range of outdoor space. From common, semi-private, and fully private, this research demonstrates a range of outdoor spaces can exist in a high-rise setting. The design outcome shifts the high-rise apartment from an imported international model to a typology adapted to the New Zealand locale.</p>