Flexible, Family-friendly: Developing an alternative high-density, vertical housing option

<p>There are many benefits associated with living in low density, detached housing conditions. However, the increase in housing demands have prompted Auckland’s surge of peripheral land to be developed into homes and the amplified cost of housing. Defined as urban sprawl, many of these housing types are standalone and built on private land, as the preferred type of housing. Studies have demonstrated that Auckland families' housing preference is the standalone dwelling. The objective for this thesis is to gain a better understanding of urban sprawl, higher-density and vertical development conditions, and recognise the various family types and their associated living preferences. The collected data influences what is considered family-friendly housing attributes, which are reviewed in three different scales of urban, building and unit. This is with the aim to propose another housing option that considers and addresses a family’s housing requirements, as an alternative to the standalone housing option. The resulting design proposes flexible, expanding and contracting units as a solution to provide families the freedom to adapt their living spaces to suit their requirements. By providing family friendly, higher-density dwellings as a suitable option, this could off set the Auckland families’ preference of the standalone house, which is currently contributing towards Auckland’s sprawl.</p>

Flexible, Family-friendly: Developing an alternative high-density, vertical housing option

<p>There are many benefits associated with living in low density, detached housing conditions. However, the increase in housing demands have prompted Auckland’s surge of peripheral land to be developed into homes and the amplified cost of housing. Defined as urban sprawl, many of these housing types are standalone and built on private land, as the preferred type of housing. Studies have demonstrated that Auckland families' housing preference is the standalone dwelling. The objective for this thesis is to gain a better understanding of urban sprawl, higher-density and vertical development conditions, and recognise the various family types and their associated living preferences. The collected data influences what is considered family-friendly housing attributes, which are reviewed in three different scales of urban, building and unit. This is with the aim to propose another housing option that considers and addresses a family’s housing requirements, as an alternative to the standalone housing option. The resulting design proposes flexible, expanding and contracting units as a solution to provide families the freedom to adapt their living spaces to suit their requirements. By providing family friendly, higher-density dwellings as a suitable option, this could off set the Auckland families’ preference of the standalone house, which is currently contributing towards Auckland’s sprawl.</p>

AdAPTA Home

<p>The current housing situation in New Zealand has pushed young New Zealander’s out of home ownership. A national shortage of housing stock, high house and land prices, off-shore investors, high student loans and the fact that incomes have not risen as rapidly as house prices has contributed to this situation. Young New Zealander’s are increasingly spending prolonged amounts of time flatting, renting or living with family in order to have the fundamental requirement of a roof over their head and to save money. The intention of this research is to establish a design outcome that provides an affordable and adaptable housing option for young New Zealander’s seeking home ownership. The outcome is informed by various examples of refined and affordable housing, the relationship between user and architecture, and the testing of what is truly necessary for a functional home. The proposed solution is the 10m2 “AdAPTA Home”; a refined and mobile housing model free of excesses and yet functional and adaptable to user needs. The design looks at how much space is truly necessary in our homes for living, and how much can be removed. The design is intended to be used throughout one’s life; beginning as an affordable initial housing option for a young person to achieve full home ownership in a short time frame, before moving through various stages in life where the dwelling can grow and adapt in response to changing needs, various situations and environments.</p>

AdAPTA Home

<p>The current housing situation in New Zealand has pushed young New Zealander’s out of home ownership. A national shortage of housing stock, high house and land prices, off-shore investors, high student loans and the fact that incomes have not risen as rapidly as house prices has contributed to this situation. Young New Zealander’s are increasingly spending prolonged amounts of time flatting, renting or living with family in order to have the fundamental requirement of a roof over their head and to save money. The intention of this research is to establish a design outcome that provides an affordable and adaptable housing option for young New Zealander’s seeking home ownership. The outcome is informed by various examples of refined and affordable housing, the relationship between user and architecture, and the testing of what is truly necessary for a functional home. The proposed solution is the 10m2 “AdAPTA Home”; a refined and mobile housing model free of excesses and yet functional and adaptable to user needs. The design looks at how much space is truly necessary in our homes for living, and how much can be removed. The design is intended to be used throughout one’s life; beginning as an affordable initial housing option for a young person to achieve full home ownership in a short time frame, before moving through various stages in life where the dwelling can grow and adapt in response to changing needs, various situations and environments.</p>

Sustainable Urban Development for Older Australians: Understanding the Formation of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in the Greater Brisbane Region

As most older Australians prefer to age-in-place, providing sustainable and age-friendly communities poses a significant challenge to urban policymakers. The naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) have organically emerged as a collaborative model of care to support older adults to age-in-place, but neither academic research nor government policies recognise this housing option for older Australians. This paper aims to analyse the distributions and temporal patterns of NORCs in the Greater Brisbane Region, Australia, to understand the formation and development of NORCs. The geovisualisation method was employed to identify the distribution changes of NORCs between 2006 and 2016. The Global Moran’s I and Local Moran’s I measures were utilised to analyse the spatial correlation and the clusters of NORCs. The results show that NORCs increased significantly from 2006 to 2016, and their distribution was mainly clustered or co-located along the coastline and Brisbane River areas. The evolvement of NORCs reflected the change of aggregation pattern of older population between 2006 and 2016. Understanding the distribution trend of NORCs informs government policy and decisions in addressing issues of service delivery and community cooperation, and eventually leads to sustainable urban development and successful ageing in place for older Australians.

Relationship between Mental Health and House Sharing: Evidence from Seoul

While the association between general housing and mental health has been well documented, little is known about the mental health outcomes of house sharing. As shared housing has been viewed as an economically and socially viable housing option for young adults, a broader understanding of how shared housing affects the residents’ quality of life, including mental health, is needed. In this context, this study aims to provide empirical evidence about the relationship between mental health and house sharing after controlling for residents’ self-selection. We conducted a survey of 834 young single adults living in shared housing and non-shared housing in Seoul, Korea. Then, to control for residential self-selection, we applied the residential dissonance framework. The main findings of this study were two-fold: first, house-sharers with a positive attitude toward shared housing were more likely to respond that their mental health status improved after they started residing in shared housing; second, if young adults are forced to live in shared housing, this could increase the potential risk of social dysfunction of house-sharers. Based on these findings, we suggest policy measures for shared housing, including pre-occupancy interviews, resident behavior codes, and fostering a livable dwelling environment to ensure a healthier life in shared living arrangements.

Availability of Audiology Services in Assisted Living Communities in Florida

Florida has one of the largest populations of older adults in the U.S., and as a result the state also has a high prevalence of hearing loss. Given the growth of assisted living as a housing option for older adults, the purpose of this study was to determine the availability of audiology services in assisted living communities (ALCs) across Florida. Data on ALC location, characteristics and audiology service availability were collected from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). County socioeconomic data were collected from the U.S. Department of Labor. Logistic regression and chi2 tests were used to examine the relationship between county socioeconomics and whether an ALC provided audiology services. We found that of the 3090 ALCs in Florida, audiology services were present in only 57 (3.2%). ALCs with audiology services were significantly more likely to be located in counties with a higher education level and a higher average income. This suggests a shortage of ALCs with audiology services in counties where residents have fewer resources. The results are concerning, given that individuals with fewer resources are less able to pay for audiology services on their own and evidence showing that poor hearing health late in life impacts individuals’ health and quality of life. Policy implications will be discussed, including the need for more ALCs to provide audiology services in counties with fewer resources. One possible solution is tele-audiology, which would enable a single audiologist to diagnose and prescribe hearing aids to patients in underserved areas.

The Road to Improved Assisted Living Quality: State Efforts and New Metrics

Assisted living (AL), a senior housing option that combines housing, support services, and health care, is recognized as one of the fastest-growing components of the long term care industry. AL is also a relatively expensive service, whether it’s paid for privately or publicly. Also, an increasing proportion of AL residents have diagnoses of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. However, little is known about AL quality, in part due to lack of measures. Quality of AL matters to residents, their families, and policy makers because AL is not only about the experience of receiving specific services, but about a place that many will call home. Concerns have been surfacing regarding the quality of AL, including poor staffing, inadequate teamwork, and poor management, which can negatively impact resident well-being and result in abuse and neglect in some cases. This symposium will feature four presentations that will review efforts from two states that have been actively developing measures to address AL quality: Oregon and Minnesota. We focus on new legislation in both states to address AL quality, the new metrics being adopted, and preliminary results. Individual presentations will describe 1) Oregon’s new quality measures for AL ;2) Oregon’s use of Resident VIEW project, including measures of person-centered care from the perspectives of residents; 3) Minnesota’s development of AL report card, and 4) development and results from MN pilot surveys of resident quality of life and family satisfaction in all licensed ALs in the state. Policy implications for other states and researchers will be discussed.

Creating a Performance Indicator for Temporary Housing

Most research works have focused predominantly on categorizing temporary houses and have neglected to create an assessment tool for selecting the most optimal temporary housing option based on their performances. This research aims to: (1) investigate the relevant vital indicators affecting the post-disaster temporary house construction process; (2) create a performance indicator (PI) table to help in creating more sustainable and resilient temporary houses; (3) examine each of the existing temporary houses based on the factors derived from the PI table; and (4) create a numerical scale from the evaluation table in order to compare options and measure their performance. This research would act as a guide for stakeholders to find the most appropriate option for the region based on the unique characteristics of the event and the available equipment and facilities