Urban Land and Development Management in a Challenged Developing World: An Overview of New Reflections

The urban development and management challenges of the developing world are well documented in the literature. However, the global built environment landscape is undergoing rapid changes. These changes are steeped in three fundamental imperatives, which have serious implications for the developing world. These imperatives are population growth and rising urbanisation; environmental challenges, particularly climate change and the quest to embrace sustainability as a panacea; and advances in technological development. This paper discusses these three imperatives with the view to teasing out their implications for urban development and management in the developing world. Consistent with the literature, the paper establishes that most of the population growth and rising urbanisation are occurring in the developing world, particularly Africa and Asia, and although these phenomena have the tendency to increase economic density and promote both private and public investment in urban development, especially construction/housing and related infrastructure activities, there are and will be several problems with them. These include land tenure insecurity, lack of access to decent affordable housing and the threat of destruction to heritage sites. Furthermore, environmental challenges such as poor waste management, and climate change are and will remain pressing issues requiring the adoption of sustainability credentials because of legislative requirements, moral suasion, and value addition. Despite the potential disruptive nature of technology with respect to some aspects of the built environment, it is recognised that advances in technology are essential to the achievement of optimal urban development and management outcomes in the developing world. The paper, therefore, recommends better understanding of the socio-economic, cultural, and political forces underlying urban growth in the developing world, factoring in technology and sustainability in urban development and management, and collaboration among relevant actors, particularly government and the private sector, for optimal outcomes.

Organic Brick

Clay is one of the earliest known material used in construction, and the most widely used building material on the planet. Our ancestors have performed the tasks of mixing water with dust to make clay, then shaping it into bricks, bricks into buildings, and buildings into cities for more than ten thousand years. In recent years, 3D printing technology has become increasingly popular thanks to its ability to manufacture complex morphologies and to optimize physical and mechanical properties for specific applications. This study investigates customized 3D clay bricks as a new building material (building component) by employing resources that are eco-friendly, locally available, inexpensive, and driven from recycled sources or waste streams. In this experiment, four different fiber types have been investigated with different clay treatment. The specimens were fabricated in the laboratory and tested with unconfined compression loading. The strength and ductility of the clay specimens were then analyzed based on the experiment results. Several experiments have been conducted during the study for understanding the effects of different fibers when mixed with clay in order to identify which type of fibers and which size has the most effective influence on its compression strength. Furthermore, it has been tested also the water absorption of the 3D printed brick. A case study has been developed to show the actual potential of 3D printed clay bricks for a small housing complex. The project is located in a village near to Abuja, Nigeria, at a time of exponential population increase and associated lack of affordable housing. The 3D printed blocks embed a cooling function, thanks to their geometry and the presence of cooling pipes directly in the wall. The result is a highly flexible envelope, designed to be resilient and energy efficient.

Matrix of Affordable Housing Assessment: A Development Process

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a multiracial society with diverse housing and a potential real estate market. This study focused on users’ perceptions of the designs of available and affordable private housing stock in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman, which are the most populated states (emirates) of the UAE. A literature review and case studies of low- to medium-rise residential buildings were used to determine the parameters defining affordable housing design, and a model was developed of 7 design segments (independent variables) with 39 dependent variables. The model consists of a matrix of 39 design variables, in which each variable is set in a survey tool with a Likert scale to evaluate user satisfaction levels with the designs of their respective buildings. Questionnaires were distributed among the inhabitants of several buildings at different locations in the emirates. This study found that 16 anomalous design factors failed to satisfy users. It is likely that the results of this study will provide a blueprint for dialogue between regional building designers and end users to improve the designs of new buildings. The resulting design assessment matrix can be used for the analysis of residential buildings in other parts of the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

Affordable Housing Reimagined

This paper explores contemporary affordable housing in Denmark. The aim is to unfold central ideas in some of the most progressive projects that have recently been designed and built. The paper goes into three areas of architecture, namely the social, the formal and the technological. In each area one aspect is analysed and discussed with a point of departure in a specific project: The social in relation to the neighbourly and The Orient by Dorte Mandrup, the formal in relation to the spacious and Dortheavej housing by BIG, and the technological in relation to the rebuildable and Circle House by Fællestegnestuen. The aim is to contribute to the current discourse on affordable housing from a Danish standpoint and in an architectural perspective.

Sanitary conditions diagnosis in vulnerable communities in the City of Recife and its influence on Covid-19 cases

The Covid-19 pandemic calls into question deficiencies in current public policies and infrastructure of basic services to the population in large urban centers. From health systems, environmental sanitation and social protection, particularly for the low-income population, this opens the debate of the values and priorities at different scales. The research study area are subnormal settlements located in the neighborhoods of Pina and Brasília Teimosa in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. The aim was to assess the sanitary conditions in ZEIS, by conducting semi-structured interviews and assessing secondary data. Among the interviewees, only 56.3% said they had sanitary sewage collection and another 74.4% (n=1041) had access to water supply by Compesa, showing a significant deficit in the provision of basic services. With the pandemic, the necessary production of detailed empirical field data from the perspective of the peripheries faces great scientific challenges. Ensuring access to ideal sanitary conditions is a right for all and is related in an integrated way to multiple SDGs of the 2030 agenda. Demanding safe, adequate and affordable housing, and inclusive and sustainable urbanization, with capacity for planning and management of participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlements.