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This study attempts to reveal the contemporary tools of spatial design – policy, planning, urban design and architecture – for social mix (SMX) and social mixing (SMXG) by focusing on the recent undertakings in Denmark, the case in point being Copenhagen.

The study applies a combined research methodology consisting of qualitative strategies. By making use of regulatory document reviews and interviews with key respondents, the study puts together the tools for SMX which are, otherwise, disorganised. Dwelling on reviews of municipal local plans, site visits and semi-structured interviews with municipal agents in charge, it provides a comparative urban morphology analysis of three recently developed neighbourhoods on the basis of SMX and SMXG.

This study presents the untitled “toolbox” of Danish authorities to regulate the SMX policies and spatial efforts within a variety of planning/design scales to facilitate SMXG among the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods. The examination of successive cases manifests that SMX strategies have been integrated with those of SMXG, with a gradual upwards inclination, since mixing different tenures, types, sizes and prices have not been successful in guaranteeing social interaction. In doing so, the “in-between” zones have become the primary realm of control with an observable differentiation in the studied cases.

Studies are scant concerning the spatial design efforts regarding social mix and mixing. The present work contributes to filling this gap by examining a cutting-edge practice in a mature milieu and describing it in a thorough and comparative manner.

This study aims to merge the world’s proven ways of housing finance, including musharakah mutanaqisah, housing cooperatives and real estate crowdfunding, to present an alternative housing unaffordability solution based on the Islamic finance principle. It is intended to reduce the burden of funding for both sides (consumers and developers) and create win–win chances for all stakeholders, including intermediaries. By moving away from debt financing and merging the features of crowdfunding and cooperative, it is hopeful that the burden of home ownership will no longer be the case.

This paper presents the opinions of potential Chinese homebuyers (minority Muslims and most non-Muslims) and a few industry experts toward the proposed model via a mixed research method.

According to the findings, the majority of respondents agreed with the proposed paradigm. Just concerned that China’s lack of community culture and trust could pose a major threat to implementation. However, this paper argues that Chinese local governments may perform pilot testing in places where Islamic culture is prevalent. Their unique community culture and fundamental understanding of Shariah law may affect the viability of the proposed model.

The proposed model would increase the applicability of Islamic finance as a way of protecting the social order of communities in the spirit of upholding justice and fairness. A new type of housing loan based on musharakah mutanaqisah may squeeze out the real estate bubble and provide stakeholders with a multidimensional investment channel. In particular, the study identifies the impact of Chinese Islamic financing on government and cultural needs. It presents possible challenges for implementing the proposed model in reality and helps bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Stakeholder engagement in construction projects is an ingredient that contributes to project optimal performance. Many developing countries have a paucity of literature about stakeholders' engagement in construction projects. Therefore, the study investigated South Africa's shareholders' engagement in construction projects and recommended possible measures to mitigate potential limitations.

The researchers collated data from South African experts in stakeholder engagement via a phenomenology type of qualitative research design. They explored the “perceived hindrances” facing stakeholders' engagement in construction projects and proffer measures to mitigate them. The study analysed collected data via thematic analysis and achieved saturation. Three themes emerged from the analysed data.

Findings show that efficient stakeholder engagement will enhance team collaboration and integrated construction project delivery. Results identified the perceived limitations facing stakeholders' engagement in South Africa's construction projects and categorised them into individual perceived hindrances, organisational perceived hindrances and government-related perceived hindrances. Also, findings proffer measures to mitigate perceived hindrances via policies and programmes within the sector.

Besides enhancing policymakers and other stakeholders in South Africa's construction industry to understand the benefits of stakeholder engagement better, the study may stir up the construction sector's stakeholders to embrace enhanced and effective stakeholders' management.

This study contributes to construction project practice that involves stakeholders, as it reveals the underlying causes of perceived hindrances facing stakeholders' engagement in construction projects. Also, it proffers feasible solutions to mitigate these hindrances and enhance stakeholders' engagement within South Africa's construction projects.

Analysis of architectural space is commonly conducted by examining architectural drawings that project spatial information by means of walls and partitions. To capture the lived experience of space, which is richer than what we can see from drawings, a new method is proposed to quantify the cognitive dimension of space and re-present it as an audible format.

Using an urban vernacular house in Seoul as a case study, this research takes a syntactic approach to quantify one's changing perception through their movement from the main gate to the most private reception room. Based on Luigi Moretti's theory of hollow space, a new method is proposed to measure the level of spatial pressure exerted on a navigating body. The numerical data of spatial pressure are then converted to a sound using musical techniques of the chromatic scale and chorale textures.

Building on Moretti's abstract concept, it has been shown that a rule-based quantification of users' spatial perception is possible. In addition, unlike conventional approaches of treating architecture as a static entity, this study showed an alternative approach to represent it as a sequence of sensorial experience that can be readily converted to a sound of music.

This research developed a quantification method to measure the perception of pressure inside buildings by revisiting Luigi Moretti's theory proposed in 1952. It has been also demonstrated that the visual stimuli in space can be translated into an audible experience. This new method is applicable to a wide range of buildings including important historic architecture.

The twenty-first century is noted globally as the urban century because more than half of the world's population lives in cities. This population is projected to increase to 70% by 2050. South Africa is no exception to this phenomenal increase in urban population. More than 60% of South African population lives in urban areas, and this figure is projected to increase to 71.3% and 80% by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Access to human settlement by this teaming population remains a challenge. The problem of access to human settlement is compounded by historical apartheid's spatial geography characterized by racial segregation, fragmentation of urban space and separate development. During the apartheid period, settlement patterns were designed and planned in accordance with racial differentiation. This resulted in fragmented, segregated and dysfunctional residential settlements pattern that forced many people to travel long distances between place of work and home. Since 1994, the various housing policies, programmes and legislations have not been able to find solution to the spatial challenges that South Africa faces. The objective of this book is to investigate and unravel mixed-income housing development planning strategy and how this housing typology with a new framework can bring about spatial integration, inclusive cities, improved access to services and the promotion of social cohesion and economic inclusion. This book utilized the case study research design and employed the Delphi method for the investigation. The findings reveal that proper coordination across all sectors of government and good working relationship between the private and public sectors will increase the sustainability of mixed-income housing development. This study also supports existing theory that mixed-income housing might not be able to bring about the overall social integration, and solve all housing problems but has the unique tendency and potential in the South African case to address spatial imbalances by increasing the affordability of low-cost housing. This book concludes that there is need for both inter-sectoral and intergovernmental collaboration as well as proper coordination/adequate urban planning policies to address the increasing human settlement challenges in South Africa and for effective implementation of mixed-income housing development.

The research aims to explore the wisdom, knowledge and practices in vernacular housing settlements with their sustainability underpinnings as tools for modelling rural affordable housing in tropical regions. The study is based on a weaving settlement in Bargarh district of Odisha, which is globally acclaimed for its Ikkat style of weaving.

A hierarchical framework of sustainability resting on the three pillars of ecological, economical and environmental dimensions is derived from existing theoretical research. This framework of 22 indicators is subsequently assigned to assess the sustainability of the vernacular weavers' settlement through quantitative evaluation. A qualitative assessment through observation and deduction also verifies the result.

Since the vernacular weavers settlement performs very well on the sustainability scorecard, the paper suggests that its best practices can be incorporated while designing affordable housing so that social, cultural and heritage values are retained and a climate conscious, energy-efficient sustainable approach is ensured.

The recommendations from the assessment has many lessons while framing policies for rural affordable housing as it cannot have one size that fits all settlement typology irrespective of the occupational, climatic and social needs.

The sustainable design and planning principles embedded in this vernacular settlement offers a valuable blueprint to re-imagine the affordable housing in rural areas which can be myopic if it does not take into account the occupational needs and life style of craftsmen dwellers.

This paper aims to examine landlords’ health support systems to tenants to control COVID-19 in selected informal settlement rental housing (ISRH) in Ghana, dwelling on landlords’ views.

The paper used the concurrent imbedded mixed-methods approach and grounded the findings in the socio-ecological theory. The authors collected both qualitative and quantitative data from 242 landlords in 13 informal settlements across Ghana using quotas. The authors undertook semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews. The authors conducted content and thematic qualitative data analysis and used simple descriptive statistical data analysis.

The paper discovered that tenants had limited knowledge on the transmission of the pandemic, forcing landlords to regulate their building services usage, ventilation and thermal control, entertainment, common areas and rent advancement for tenants to control the pandemic. Also, tenants found it difficult to comply with the rules on ventilation for fear of criminal attacks, while high social connection and interaction among renters and inadequate enforcement caused the non-adherence by renters to social gathering. Again, landlords had difficulty in contract-tracing visitors suspected to be infected with the virus.

The use of concurrent and imbedded mixed methods to investigate landlords’ viewpoints on their support in health needs of their tenants to regulate COVID-19. The prescriptions from the study provide practical applications to formulate a mix of housing and health policies to formalize the support of landlords to their tenants in ISRH in Ghana.