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Sloping topographies in urban areas are often under-utilised due to complex designs and difficult access, resulting in low construction productivity and high cost. Automated construction techniques are usually limited to flat sites or lab spaces. This research combines concepts for automated and prefabricated construction with hillside dwelling design. It proposes a strategy to integrate both aspects and to equally inform design process and design output. The aims are to turn hillside access and construction automation into design generators, improve productivity and use more affordable hillside sites.

Analysis of typologies for hillside housing and automated construction techniques is used to derive principles and parameters to inform a strategy and generative script for setting out, volumetric disposition and access and using the topography as a design-generator. The output from the generative script and tool can then form the basis of a high-density, low-rise dwelling development suited for serial, automation-assisted construction. The strategy is tested on a case study site.

The typological analysis helps devising strategies for integrating construction robotics and design criteria for hillside housing. The generative script illustrates how a strategy is implemented and used in a design tool able to absorb varying input data, including topographies. This generates innovative, site-specific design outcomes, suited for a process that adapts contemporary construction automation techniques and allows for more efficient use of hillside sites.

This research builds on construction automation methods and proposes novel combinations and adaptations for use on hillside sites. It demonstrates how robotics and generative tools can inform early design stages.

The proposed definitional framework can be used to define housing typologies of cities in developing countries. It aims to define housing typologies in the capital city of Albania, Tirana, using the proposed hierarchical framework within the dynamics of four political periods: Ottoman, establishment, socialist and postsocialist.

This study proposes a new definitional approach for the housing typologies through a hierarchical framework that defines the typologies based on their political period and legality statuses departing from the case of Tirana, which is featured by a heterogeneous context. Such context is characterized by uncontrollable urban development, making typology definition problematic. Furthermore, beyond the form, spatial and functional features, it presents their exterior distinctiveness as an innovative element. The methodology used in the study includes archival research, image documentation, spatial, functional and exterior distinctiveness analysis of housing typologies and exploration of housing form features in different political periods.

The study identifies urban formal housing typologies in Tirana detached houses, apartments, mass housing, social housing, gated communities, informal detached houses and housing with in/formal additions.

This definitional approach can be used to define housing typologies for cities featured by heterogeneous urban context.

The inclusion of heritage dwellings in the UK decarbonization policies can contribute to cut operational carbon emissions from the building stock; this needs to be made a priority if net zero carbon targets are to be achieved. However, the energy and carbon savings potential of suitable retrofit interventions on this part of the stock is extremely variable and strictly intertwined with the range of baseline conditions of such dwellings. This study aims to propose a framework for interventions in traditional listed dwellings (TLDs) to improve their energy performance utilizing dynamic energy simulation (DES) of selected case studies (CSs) in the city of Brighton and Hove (South-East England).

To achieve this aim, the study established a baseline scenario which provides a basis for the assessment of energy performance and thermo-hygrometric behaviour pre- and post-interventions and allows for comparison between different CSs under comparable conditions.

Presenting a brief overview of the methodology adopted in this study, the paper describes the approach devised to generate such baseline scenario. The paper then compares the results obtained from simulation of normalized and baseline models with the status-quo energy consumption of the dwellings investigated (based on meter readings).

This analysis finally allows to highlight some key physical determinants of the baseline HEC which, in the following stage of research, proved to have a considerable effect also on the amount of energy and carbon savings achievable post retrofit interventions.

Cities are defined by historical, geographical, sociological, cultural, economic and administrative aspects; each concept exposes different characteristics of cities as social structure and architecture from the others. The differentiating characteristics also form the identity of cities/settlements. While the physical fabric of cities makes it necessary to analyse in a morphological way, the ontological structure which is affective on the formation of this morphological structure and searches background of “existence” is seen as an unknown aspect of space. In fact, morphological and ontological space calls into being and affects each other. In this study, urban fabric changing with the existence of new dwelling types is accepted as a factor affecting the urban change. The ontology of the new one is investigated and the negation brought to the context is handled morphologically and sociologically. Konya is selected as site area; it is focused on Meram region as one of the main districts. Differentiating life conditions and the reasons of that is various in Meram regions like any other area; the existence of new dwelling typologies deteriorates the fabric pattern. This negative situation is investigated in this study not only morphologically but also sociologically because of different user profiles. In last 10-15 years, high rise buildings with security, private buildings with security, studio type dwelling applications started to exterminate the original one. Especially studio dwelling applications and designs disowning the social dimension have the potential of exterminating and changing the morphological and ontological sustainability of the neighbourhoods defined as sub-public area.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the social and functional features of micro-apartment and, based on the findings, to demonstrate the projects of modern micro-apartment designed for one or two people, which are implemented in the experimental design.

Based on the analysis of the study of theoretical scientific works on the research topic and from the standpoint of an interdisciplinary discourse the social and economic prerequisites for the demand for such a dwelling are determined and the categories of citizens for whom a micro-apartment is an advantage are identified. Particular attention is paid to the typological boundaries of the study, the generalization and synthesis of sources which is reflected in identifying the features of the functional zoning of a micro-apartment in connection with the needs of residents and determining modern ways to improve the comfort of living.

At the examples of experimental design of micro-apartment for the city of Almaty we substantiated the expanding the existing typology of residential buildings by adding a new type of urban dwelling – a micro-apartment which occupies a niche between apartment housing for permanent residence and traditional hotels.

The content of the study is devoted to the analysis of a micro-apartment as a new type of modern urban dwelling for a single and small-family population. Urban residents’ interest in economical, affordable small-area dwellings as well as the need to study and design micro format dwellings for the modern urban environment is a topical issue.

This paper aims to study the Zabdah housing project residents’ satisfaction on both dwelling and neighborhood levels. In addition, the determinants of residents’ satisfaction are studied.

A mixed methodology approach was used, merging quantitative and qualitative methods. The questionnaire was developed and filled out through structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used to understand the residents’ satisfaction levels. In addition, the chi-square test of independence was used to determine whether demographics and dwelling type were related to residents’ satisfaction.

It was found that the residents’ satisfaction level with Zabdah housing was moderate on both dwelling and neighborhood levels. On the dwelling level, the tiny dwelling areas were a fundamental problem. On the neighborhood level, good neighborhood services were crucial to the success of this project, while the lack of green spaces negatively affected the quality of life of its residents. In addition, the number of family members and dwelling types were critical determinants of residents’ satisfaction.

The findings can be developed into guidelines to govern the creation of better affordable residential environments. Furthermore, the successful dwelling typologies in this project can be modified to be adopted in the future.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to explore the relationship of demographics and dwelling type with residents’ satisfaction in affordable housing in Jordan.

The purpose of this paper is to present a study assessing residents’ satisfaction with the integration of natural environment in public housing designs in Enugu urban, Nigeria.

The study followed qualitative and quantitative strategies. Personal observations and one-on-one interviews were conducted where necessary. A survey of 898 households residing in two main prevalent residential building typologies, systematically selected based on quota of their existence in seven public housing estates, was conducted, with a questionnaire as the key data collection instrument. A five-point Likert scale was used in measuring residents’ level of satisfaction of three key housing environment sub-components. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Residents expressed dissatisfaction with overall housing estate environment in terms of naturalness in the estate landscaping and availability of green areas, and also with immediate dwelling unit environments in terms open spaces and naturalness in external finishes. Many of the residents, however, claimed to be indifferent about the extent of response of layout designs to natural factors, and street layout concepts to climatic influences. This reveals a high level of apathy of residents to their estates designs.

Collecting relevant data from the government agency that are the providers of the public housing studied was a herculean task, as there was no existing organized data bank. Consequently, the researcher depended more on extensive field work. In addition to the above, getting the questionnaire respondents to agree to participate in the study was another major challenge, as they were not used to participating in such studies before the current study.

Findings from the study imply that residents’ are adaptable to whatever housing environment they are provided with; therefore, therapeutic housing environment, if provided, would enhance healthy living for public housing residents in Nigeria.

This work is a pioneering effort at evaluating public housing environment in the study area in relation to residents’ perception.

When dwellings fail to respond to residents’ needs, housing will suffer from segregation and buildings will possibly be demolished ahead of their time. This paper focuses on the lack of variation in the sizes of dwellings as a factor in residential segregation. It examines this issue in the context of Finnish mass housing built in the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose of the paper is to review how mass housing layouts can be adapted to produce the currently absent flat sizes.

The paper operates at the intersection of human geography, building stock research and adaptability research. First, statistical data are utilized to investigate how dwellings and households of different sizes are distributed over the Finnish housing stock. Second, the building layouts of mass housing are examined in detail. Third, the potential that flats in mass housing have for size modification is reviewed.

There is a disparity of available dwelling sizes between different housing types, and statistics show that the proportion of large households has decreased significantly in blocks of flats over the last decades. The lack of large dwellings in mass housing may contribute as one factor to the segregation of the neighborhoods built in the 1960s and 1970s. The findings show how the variation of apartment sizes can be increased in mass housing.

The housing stock is rarely examined in detail in segregation research, even though it is a major determinant for a city’s social structure. This paper argues that to address segregation sustainably, it is necessary to understand the housing stock better and to view it as an adaptable asset.

Local dwellings of Bangladesh have specific environmental characteristics. These dwellings extensively use locally available materials and construction techniques. Therefore, carbon footprint (CF), as a prominent environmental parameter, is greatly affected by construction materials and techniques. Nonetheless, scientific justification is limited to evaluate CF of these dwellings in Bangladesh according to different local construction materials. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate different rural dwellings’ CF for both construction and operational phases toward the development of low carbon society in Bangladesh.

For evaluating CF, literature review and field studies were conducted to specify and categorize cases. An intensive field monitoring and occupant's survey were performed during summer. A widely recognized compliant database and assessment tool “Ecoinvent v3” was used based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040 and 14044. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to evaluate constructional and operational stages of carbon emission using hybrid methods formed by process-based and economic input–output life cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) approaches.

The study indicates that different building materials significantly impact on dwelling's amount of carbon emission according to construction techniques. Brick dwelling's construction stage carbon emission was nearly 3.86 times higher than timber, whereas, 6.75 times higher than mud dwelling. In terms of operational stage, local brick dwelling emits higher carbon compared to others relating to occupants’ lifestyle and activities.

This study will contribute to helping professionals and policy-makers to interpret and evaluate architectural design and construction processes for improving low-carbon dwellings in Bangladesh.

This study aims to assess housing affordability and estimate demand using a hedonic regression model in the context of Lucknow city, India. This study assesses housing affordability by considering various housing and household-related variables. This study focuses on the impoverished urban population, as they experience the most severe housing scarcity. This study’s primary objective is to understand the demand dynamics within the market comprehensively. An understanding of housing demand can be achieved through an examination of its characteristics and components. Individuals consider the implicit values associated with various components when deciding to purchase or rent a home. The components and characteristics have been obtained from variables relating to housing and households.

A socioeconomic survey was conducted for 450 households from slums in Lucknow city. Two-stage regression models were developed for this research paper. A hedonic price index was prepared for the first model to understand the relationship between housing expenditure and various housing characteristics. The housing characteristics considered for the hedonic model are dwelling unit size, typology, condition, amenities and infrastructure. In the second stage, a regression model is created between household characteristics. The household characteristics considered for the demand estimation model are household size, age, education, social category, income, nonhousing expenditure, migration and overcrowding.

Based on the findings of regression model results, it is evident that the hedonic model is an effective tool for the estimation of housing affordability and housing demand for urban poor. Various housing and household-related variables affect housing expenditure positively or negatively. The two-stage hedonic regression model can define willingness to pay for a particular set of housing with various attributes of a particular household. The results show the significance of dwelling unit size, quality and amenities (R² > 0.9, p < 0.05) for rent/imputed rent. The demand function shows that income has a direct effect, whereas other variables have mixed effects.

This study is case-specific and uses a data set generated from a primary survey. Although household surveys for a large sample size are resource-intensive exercises, they provide an opportunity to exploit microdata for a better understanding of the complex housing situation in slums.

All the stakeholders can use the findings to create an effective housing policy. The variables that are statistically significant and have a positive relationship with housing costs should be deliberated upon to provide the basic standard of living for the urban poor. The formulation of policies should duly include the housing preferences of the economically disadvantaged population residing in slum areas.

This paper uses primary survey data (collected by the authors) to assess housing affordability for the urban poor of Lucknow city. It makes the results of the study credible and useful for further applications.