Bird community responses to different urban conditions in La Paz,Bolivia

Urbanization alters ecosystems worldwide, but little is known about its effects in the Neotropical region. In the present research we examined the relative influence of different levels of urbanization and of some urban development measures on bird species richness, abundance and composition. We surveyed 104 observation stations at which we collected data on the relative abundance of bird species, and also data on seven environmental variables as measures of urban development and human activity. We registered 57 native bird species. Bird species richness and bird abundance increased with lower urbanization levels. Both variables were positively related to vegetation cover and native vegetation, and negatively to built-up cover, abundance of Rock Pigeon (Columa livia), pedestrian rate and car rate. A canonical correspondence analysis produced a significant model that explained 37% of the total variation in species data. This analysis segregated bird species along two important gradients: urbanization and elevation. The most urbanized areas were dominated by a few synanthropic species tolerant to human disturbance, such as Rufous-Collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) or Chiguanco Thrush (Turdus chiguanco). Areas with lower urbanization levels had more species typically associated with native vegetation, such as Plain-Mantled Tit-Spinetail (Leptasthenura aegitaloides) or D’Orbigny’s Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca oenanthoides), among others. Elevation had a significant influence in structuring bird communities, with some species restricted to higher elevations and some to lower elevations. Although changes in elevation had an important influence, urbanization had a stronger effect on structuring bird communities. This study provides valuable information and an important baseline for future studies.     

Envisioning upland futures: Stakeholder responses to scenarios for Europe's mountain landscapes

In a period of agricultural decline in the uplands of Europe, agriculture is ceasing to provide the primary rationale for the organisation, utilisation and functioning of rural space. Policy reform, market trends and changes to the way citizens and consumers think about the countryside all suggest a need for thinking strategically about the future development of these areas. However, without a broad involvement of stakeholders, land use conflicts, and social and cultural conflicts in general, may increase. Involving stakeholders in upland areas can be facilitated by using scenario technique and by discussing alternative futures in local stakeholder panels. In this paper we present four scenarios of land-use change for the year 2030, and their assessments by stakeholder panels in Scotland, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia and Greece. The aim of the paper is to explore the ways in which stakeholders in these locations advocate and assess these scenarios. We also explore how stakeholders in different countries weight the visual landscape impacts, the livelihood and biodiversity aspects of the scenarios in their assessment, and the reasons for their prioritising. The cross-country analysis shows that stakeholders across the study areas are united in their overall rejection of agricultural liberalisation, advocating a production-oriented, but multifunctional and environmentally-friendly agriculture that maintains landscapes and biodiversity.     

Local responses to central state restructuring of social housing provision in rural areas

This paper examines local impacts of recent central state restructuring of social housing provision in rural areas. Positioning such changes within a context of wider discussions on local government restructuring and regulation theory, attention is focused on some key local responses to social housing restructuring in two areas of rural Wales in the early 1990s. In this section of the paper consideration is given to the increasing residualization of the local social housing sector, changing systems of social housing allocation and management, and the localized mediation of central state restructuring of social housing through different housing agencies.     

The evolution of housing finance in Indonesia: Innovative responses to opportunities

Indonesia has been a late starter in the development of a modern housing-finance system. Its growth has been constrained, among other things, by a housing-delivery system that encourages informal housing that cannot be formally financed, by the repressive effect of a small volume of heavily subsidised loans, and by a financial system which has few sources of long-term finance. Nevertheless, an environment of financial deregulation has recently generated some innovative responses from the country's bankers and policy makers, including development of a secondary mortgage facility, and the marketing of short-term, small, non-mortgage construction loans. This paper describes recent changes in housing finance in Indonesia in their political and economic context, and conjectures that conditions are now sufficiently stable for the market to continue to mature.     

天津市住宅产业化发展现状与对策

一、天津市住宅产业化现状及问题 (一)天津市住宅产业化的现状 为了满足人民群众日益增长的住房需求,提高住宅工程质量和功能质量,使住宅建设成为新的经济增长点,天津市按照国务院办公厅批转的建设部等部门《关于推进住宅产业现代化,提高住宅质量的若干意见》([1999]72号)以及建设部制定的《住宅产业现代化试点工作大纲》([1996]181号)全面启动了住宅产业现代化工作.     

健全保障性住房体系促进天津社会和谐发展

住房是人们的栖息场所,住房问题是最大的民生问题,是全社会关注的焦点,关系到人们的基本生存需求和整个社会的安定。早在1981年4月伦敦召开的“城市住宅问题国际研讨会”上通过的《住宅人权宣言》就将人们的居住权列为基本人权之一。不论发达国家还是发展中国家,都将实施保障性住房建设作为政府调控房地产市场的一项重要政策工具。     

Sustainable urban development? Low-cost housing challenges in South Africa

Low-cost housing provision has been a major focus of government in post-apartheid urban South Africa. While successes can be noted, there is growing concern regarding the social and environmental sustainability of housing programs and the impacts upon both the surrounding environment and human health. Utilizing key informant interviews, survey research, Census data and documentary review, this essay identifies the major impediments to a sustainable low-cost housing provision in urban South Africa. The essay also points to hopeful signs in new policy directions, particularly attention to health issues and informal settlement upgrade programs. However, the major obstacles to a sustainable low-cost housing process, including macro-economic conditions, enduring historical legacies of race and class, the scale and rapidity of urban growth and institutional challenges show little indication of abating.     

Social housing estates and sustainable community development in South Korea

The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics and problems of social housing estates in South Korea, and to explore sustainable community development issues. In order to examine the social housing situation, a survey of the three social housing communities in Seoul was conducted. The survey evidence demonstrates that there is a growing stigma against the poor and social exclusion. This kind of social bias is likely to escalate the construction of social housing estates, which the poor concentrates in. Residents recognized that mixing public and private housing would be an issue and problematic. Public housing was thought to have a negative impact on the neighborhood. It is important to examine why these kinds of social problems arise. Applying the concept of social sustainability to low-income communities in urban Korea requires mobilizing residents and their governments to strengthen all forms of community capital.     

浦东新区住宅市场可持续发展的对策建议

1998年以后,在浦东房地产业中,住宅的发展已超越仓储、厂房及办公楼宇,唱起了主角.浦东平均每年新建住宅近400万平方米,约占全上海的1/5,住宅房产一跃成为浦东房地产业中的主角,奠定了浦东在全市房地产业的龙头地位.几年来,浦东住宅建设实现了从动迁安置型、实用解困型到舒适改善型、现代豪华型的梯度开发.在空间布局上,已经形成了沿江都市型住宅、沿内环线和世纪公园生态型住宅和南北两翼经济型住宅三大板块.新建的住宅面向市场,既有用作安置的实用型中低档住房,也有舒适小康型的中高档小区,还有一定数量的豪华型和超豪华型的公寓、别墅.     

Housing policy in Nigeria: towards enablement of private housing development

One of the continuing challenges posed by unprecedented urbanization in the developing countries is the provision of adequate housing. Over the last three decades, Nigeria, like several developing countries, has emphasised public housing schemes, but with little success. This coincides with global paradigm shift from direct public provision of housing to the enablement of private shelter initiatives and housing production. The paper discusses private housing development features and dynamics and the factors affecting the sector in the country. It argues for the creation of an enabling environment, including support of housing initiatives and investments by householders, small-scale providers, and entrepreneurial private firms. The paper identifies the implications of enabling strategy for housing finance, access to land, residential infrastructure, institutional regulations and building materials and related industry particularly in the light of the need for the private sector to play greater roles in housing. It draws from aspects of empirical study by the authors and some review of housing policy-related issues.     

Towards an effective strategy to cope with housing land scarcity in the Gaza Strip as a sustainable development priority

Consistent with the global trends towards the adoption and implementation of sustainable urban planning strategies, this study discusses the problem of housing land shortage, considering the ever rapidly growing human population. Urban land is one of the most precious resources that need to be consumed and developed wisely. In this context, housing density is a widely used tool to control housing land consumption and ensure acceptable housing environments. With reference to the Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories), the main aim of this study is to highlight the role of increasing housing density in order to face the problem of housing land scarcity. Within this scope, building legislation implemented in Gaza has been reviewed with reference to housing density. A questionnaire and a case study have been analyzed to propose recommendations related to housing planning and design. It has been concluded that rationalising urban land consumption in Gaza can be achieved by a dual strategy approach that increases housing density above the currently specified limit, and reduces the area of the typical Palestinian housing unit. This has to be done without sacrificing the limited open spaces available in the local housing environment. Thus, solutions that strike a balance between dense housing patterns and adequate urban environment, are essentially required here.     

Participatory analytic hierarchy process for resource allocation in agricultural development projects

In the framework of 2030 Agenda sustainable agriculture plays a central role. In the field of international aid the participatory approaches to assessment, research, management and budgeting have been widely studied and applied in the last decades, mostly because international aid initiatives, in all their relevant phases from planning through implementation, monitoring and evaluation, are faced with the problem of identifying initiatives that could be successfully and sustainably implemented. The present paper investigates the use of a modified form of analytic hierarchy process, namely the participatory analytic hierarchy process, as a tool for choice criteria elicitation and resource allocation in the framework of an operational planning for agricultural development projects in the Dioceses of Goma, Nord Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. During our research, we were able to make use of most frequent inconsistencies in pairwise comparison matrixes in order to stimulate the debate, to adjust local preferences and to build consensus across the group. From an operational point of view, the PAHP methodology was also suited for training the project team and for identifying a shared resource allocation pattern, which matches the existing international guidelines for agricultural development in the region.     

Relationships between rural inhabitants and their landscapes in areas of intensive agricultural use: A case study in Quebec (Canada)

An understanding of the relationships between local populations and the landscape is crucial for reintroducing the multifunctional character of landscapes in areas of intensive agricultural use. This study proposes to identify and compare the relationships that local populations, both farmers and non-farmers, maintain with their landscapes in areas of intensive agricultural use based on a detailed case study in Quebec, Canada. It relies on the dialectical conceptual model of individual–landscape interactions and introduces the notion of “community of relationships to the landscape” to compare populations. Following semi-structured interviews, we performed an analysis of the links between the attributes of the valued landscape, the motives for having those values and the practices tied to those values. This led to distinguish between four main types of relationships with the landscape: the hedonistic relationship, the emotional relationship, the utilitarian relationship, and the relationship with the social environment. Then, on the basis of the relative weight of each relationship and the interactions between the multiple relationships that local inhabitants have with the landscape, four communities of relationships to the landscape were identified, most including both farmers and non-farmers. Beyond the apparent uniformity of the landscapes in areas characterized by intensive agriculture, the results highlight the diversity of the local populations and confirm the heuristic significance of the notion of community of relationships to the landscape. Finally, our analysis of the differences with regard to values and visions between the communities suggests that the vitality of these rural areas can only be ensured by recognizing, maintaining and possibly increasing the current diversity of communities.     

The supply of housing: A bid for urban planning and development in Africa

In the past two decades, Africa has been undergoing an unprecedented upsurge in population and experiencing a phenomenal growth in its urban population. One of the critical issues in the urbanisation process in Africa has been the provision of adequate housing in both quantitative and qualitative terms for the increasing urban population. The paper emphasises the importance of housing in economic and social development and discusses the existing housing conditions in many urban centres of Africa. The criteria for assessment of the need for housing in Africa are outlined and measures for facing the housing challenge in the urbanisation process of Africa outlined. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for integrating investment in housing with investment in other sectors of the developing economy of Africa.     

A latent class analysis of resilient development among early adolescents living in public housing

The aim of this study was to identify types of early adolescents living in public housing neighborhoods based on patterns of resilient development. Informed by ecological-transactional theory, we evaluated a broad range of individual, relational, and contextual influences on resilient development among an ethnically diverse sample of 315 early adolescents (M_age = 12; 51% female) living in public housing neighborhoods. Results of a latent class analysis of 11 indicators and 2 outcome variables suggest three empirically derived classes representing overall patterns of favorable and unfavorable behavior. Daily hassles, low neighborhood cohesion, and a relaxed attitude towards substance use corresponded with a higher probability of substance use and delinquency. Significant differences in favorable behavior patterns reflecting resilient development between classes were found in attitudes towards substance use, academic efficacy, and school commitment. Results suggest important implications for preventive interventions for early adolescents living in public housing neighborhoods that are discussed.