Search results
1 – 10 of 557Eddie C.M. Hui and Raymond Y.C. Tse
Office decentralization has been developing rapidly in Hong Kong since the early 1980s. Office tenants relocated their businesses to the Decentralized District (DD) with the…
Abstract
Office decentralization has been developing rapidly in Hong Kong since the early 1980s. Office tenants relocated their businesses to the Decentralized District (DD) with the benefits of lower rent, higher flexibility of space use and better supporting facilities. This study examines office decentralization in Hong Kong's office market, both the upturn and downturn. It analyzes the vacancy trend of the Grade A office market in Hong Kong: DD versus Central Business District (CBD), based on a Decentralization Index. This study found that the CBD is a more stable office market sector than the non‐CBD. During a market upturn, the Grade A office market in Hong Kong DD has outperformed that in the CBD. However, during a market downturn, the vacancy rate in the DD tends to increase at a greater rate than that in the CBD. The study also found that periods with a sufficiently high index of decentralization generally experienced increases in CBD rent premiums.
Details
Keywords
Charlette Padilla and Mary Ann Eastlick
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory examination of urban retail marketing and management strategies employed in six US cities with reputations for having central…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory examination of urban retail marketing and management strategies employed in six US cities with reputations for having central business districts (CBD) that are either flourishing or developing. It also investigates the roles played by urban retailers in working with CBD revitalization efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
Depth interviews were conducted with economic development managers and urban retailer owners/managers from each CBD. Content analysis, preceded by a comprehensive review of academic and trade literature, was used to identify key concepts. An iterative coding process resulted in identifying broad strategic themes and related strategies.
Findings
Strategies were classified into three urban retailing and five economic revitalization themes. These strategies varied depending on whether cities had flourishing or developing CBDs.
Research limitations/implications
The study provided a systematic and comprehensive examination of strategies that may guide theory development and provide practical information on CBD redevelopment. Potential bias in results should be considered when evaluating results due to the use of qualitative methods and convenience sampling.
Originality/value
Information concerning similarities in the redevelopment efforts of six comparable US cities is provided.
Details
Keywords
Survey′s the impact of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) on officerental structures and locations in Hong Kong. Follows up earlier work byGareth Williams on Mass Rapid Transport…
Abstract
Survey′s the impact of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) on office rental structures and locations in Hong Kong. Follows up earlier work by Gareth Williams on Mass Rapid Transport (MRT). Reports that the results falsify the commonsense theory that improvement in accessibility would reduce the relative primacy of the Central Business Districts (CBD) as an office centre. Concludes that attempts by strategic planners to implant high‐grade offices in off‐CBD locations along the MTR line need serious reconsideration.
Details
Keywords
Ikenna Cosmos Chukwudumogu, Deborah Levy and Harvey Perkins
The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex factors driving the decision of commercial property owners (investors and developers) to stay and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex factors driving the decision of commercial property owners (investors and developers) to stay and rebuild after a major disaster. The study examines what happens in the post-disaster rebuild of a central business district (CBD) from the perspective of commercial property owners in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive approach is adopted to understand what it takes to rebuild in a post-disaster environment through the lens and experiences of property owners. The study has observed the significant physical changes that have occurred in the Christchurch CBD as a result of the earthquakes. For this study, qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews from 20 purposively identified property owners rebuilding the Christchurch CBD. The interview findings were subjected to a thematic analysis used to provide a factual way of characterising the viewpoints of those interviewed.
Findings
The findings have highlighted that the decision-making behaviour of property owners in Christchurch’s CBD post-disaster rebuild has been driven significantly by an emotional attachments to people and place.
Practical implications
The global trend in increasing destruction from natural disasters has raised the need for more efficient and effective post-disaster responses and activities. The paper has developed a knowledge base required to inform public policy and advice all those involved in the rebuilding of cities after a major disaster.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the property literature and debates about the decision-making behaviour of commercial property owners who are engaged in rebuilding after a major natural disaster. The qualitative methodology used presents a novel approach to property research. The findings challenge the underlying premises of much of the mainstream property literature on normative investment behaviour and decision making.
Details
Keywords
Velina Mirincheva, Florian Wiedmann and Ashraf M. Salama
Recent efforts to formulate strategies that will turn Qatar's capital city into a global hub have given rise to a debate about the morphological and functional composition of one…
Abstract
Recent efforts to formulate strategies that will turn Qatar's capital city into a global hub have given rise to a debate about the morphological and functional composition of one of Doha's most prominent areas - West Bay. At the end of the 20th century West Bay, also known as Diplomatic Quarter, was chosen by public initiatives to become the new Central Business District of Doha. Today, the appeal of West Bay as a business hub is contested by other emerging urban centres – such as the highly integrated Al Sadd area, which has attracted a wide range of advanced producer service sectors. It is therefore the objective of this paper to investigate the spatial configuration of Doha's West Bay, which arguably lays the foundations for the socio-economic interdependencies necessary for its vitality and sustenance. In order to quantify its intrinsic urban complexities, Bill Hillier's space syntax methodology is applied, which elucidates, in various scales, global and local grid conditions, and thus can be used for assessments regarding the distribution of land use patterns and infrastructural networks.
Details
Keywords
Paul Andriot, Fabrice Larceneux and Arnaud Simon
In this article, the aim is to document the divergences/convergences between the market perceptions of quality and the financial estimations for office buildings relative to the…
Abstract
Purpose
In this article, the aim is to document the divergences/convergences between the market perceptions of quality and the financial estimations for office buildings relative to the notion of centrality and the distance to the central business district (CBD).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a hierarchical approach that decomposes and estimates the perceived quality of buildings from the stakeholders’ perspectives, we study the geographies of perceived quality measures in the Greater Paris Metropolis and compare them to the financial geography.
Findings
The perceived location quality decreases with distance from the CBD whereas judgments on the built structure and the workplace do not, exhibiting a ring-shaped pattern. The gradient of the components of the perceived quality are heterogeneous, having positive, negative or null values. Appraisers tend only to consider the quality of location in their estimations.
Originality/value
This article raises the issue of fair spatial judgments by appraisers and the financial market. Monocentricity is not the rule in the market perceptions of quality. It suggests that financial estimates are strongly biased, with mental representation of centrality as a judgmental heuristic.
Details
Keywords
Deborah Levy and Gemma Peterson
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the availability of sustainable buildings may affect the decisions made by office occupiers in their building selection process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the availability of sustainable buildings may affect the decisions made by office occupiers in their building selection process.
Design/methodology/approach
The structure of the paper includes a review of both the sustainability literature and traditional location literature which serves to inform the study. A qualitative study comprising 13 in‐depth one‐to‐one interviews with decision makers of a variety of organisations who have chosen to locate in a “sustainable” building within the central business district in Auckland, New Zealand is undertaken.
Findings
The research suggests that selecting a building that is perceived to be sustainable by the market may not be the ultimate driving factor in the office location decision and that more emphasis is placed on micro location factors, attractiveness to staff, marketing and flexibility. The importance of each of these factors tends to be influenced by the size and type of organisation as well as the availability of suitable buildings in the market. The research reinforces the finding that organisations generally seek accommodation that can “add value” to their specific business.
Practical implications
The study provides a deeper understanding on the impact of the emergence of sustainable buildings in the decision‐making process of office tenants and how this may be affected by the size and type of the occupier organisation. These findings will be of practical application to property professionals involved in the development, sale and valuing of sustainable buildings.
Originality/value
This paper provides in‐depth insights into business location decisions from the perspective of a variety of tenants choosing to locate within a CBD.
Details
Keywords
Glyn Everett and Jessica Lamond
The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of green roofs for commercial real estate building owners/occupiers in a UK city and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of green roofs for commercial real estate building owners/occupiers in a UK city and consider how these might affect the chances of their adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
Two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected respondents, 10 with and 25 without green roofs, to compare and contrast differing perspectives. A grounded theory approach was taken to data analysis, allowing themes to emerge directly from the data.
Findings
Low awareness and understanding were observed amongst those without green roofs, which positively affected perceived costs whilst negatively affecting perceived benefits. Green roof owners gave weight to wider societal and ecosystem services benefits, whilst those without focussed much more upon building-level benefits and costs.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the restricted sample size, the findings in themselves are not generalizable; rather, themes are drawn from the research for reflection.
Practical implications
Findings point to steps that might be required of regional and national government to increase green roof uptake. This could involve initiating conversations to raise awareness, shift discourse and perceived norms and best practice; offering incentives, education and training; and presenting high-profile exemplar projects of green roofing to begin to mainstream the technology and get it onto the radar of building owners.
Originality/value
Bringing together social research around cohorts with and without green roofs, the paper throws into sharp relief discussions around costs and benefits and points towards potentially more productive directions for action to encourage consideration and take-up of green roofs by building owners.
Details
Keywords
Neil Dunse, Colin Jones, Jim Brown and William D. Fraser
The objective of this paper is to re‐appraise intra‐urban rent models in the context of a multi‐nodal landscape. Primarily, the study focuses on the early work of Alonso and, more…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to re‐appraise intra‐urban rent models in the context of a multi‐nodal landscape. Primarily, the study focuses on the early work of Alonso and, more recently, Di Pasquale and Wheaton. Although the latter use a more sophisticated approach, both models lead to similar outputs, notably a declining rent gradient from the central business district (CBD). However, throughout the twentieth century there has been a considerable process of urban industrial change. Di Pasquale and Wheaton recognise this and argue that this has led to an almost flat industrial rent gradient.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess the current impact on industrial rents a hedonic rent regression model is applied which enables us to standardise for property characteristics.
Findings
The results support the hypothesis that the rent gradient from the CBD for a large city is still downward‐sloping, albeit very shallow. More interesting is the significance of proximity to motorway junctions. The analysis supports the hypothesis of a multi‐nodal rent surface. Proximity to a motorway junction is the most important locational variable with a much steeper and negative gradient than that to the CBD, albeit over a shorter distance.
Originality/value
These results imply that the draw of the CBD in terms of agglomeration economies and its accessibility to labour for a city the size of Glasgow still remains, but its attractions are much denuded with the development of a national motorway network.
Details
Keywords
Daniel Alejandro Chaparro, Fei J. Ying, Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi and Temitope Egbelakin
This paper aims to identify the impact that commute patterns pose on construction labour productivity (CLP). There is limited research focussed on the impact of workforce…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the impact that commute patterns pose on construction labour productivity (CLP). There is limited research focussed on the impact of workforce transportation on productivity, even fewer in a construction environment. In particular, this study seeks to fill a gap in the understanding of how commute patterns may influence CLP.
Design/methodology/approach
Key factors reported affecting CLP were identified through a comprehensive literature review. Data were collected from 27 interviews and observational evidence at construction sites on Auckland Central Business District (CBD).
Findings
Shortage of skills, communication among workers, shirking behaviour, absenteeism and tardiness were perceived as the most critical labour productivity factors that are influenced by commute patterns. It is considered that stressful commutes may lead to shirking behaviours (absenteeism and calling sick). Meanwhile, ridesharing may encourage communication among workers.
Research limitations/implications
The study was carried out in a central business district, focussing on a geographic area with its particular characteristics. The results, thus, may not be generalised in general urban settings.
Originality/value
The research outcomes can be used as guidelines for companies considering travel plans for their employees, to minimise the negative impact commuting can have on workers, especially in industries with low productivity.
Details