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After the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), the need for disaster case management (DCM) was highlighted through the efforts of the Sendai Bar Association, which investigated the situation of survivors. This paper provides an overview of DCM in Japan since the GEJE, including key findings from investigations and legal consultations conducted by the Sendai Bar Association and the first author, who took part in the surveys with survivors in Ishinomaki City, clarifying the large number of homebound survivors and their needs.

In recent years there has been growing attention to the importance of DCM for supporting life and housing recovery of disaster survivors. Along with the expansion of DCM activities over several decades in Japan, the need for DCM was increasingly recognized after the 2011 GEJE and tsunami, especially for home-based survivors left out of government-provided disaster recovery support programs. As one-on-one advice to support individual recovery needs, the focus of DCM in Japan is legal advice to help survivors effectively navigate support policies.

Since the GEJE, there has been growing support for DCM in Japan, including from practitioners, scholars, and regional and national governments. However, although DCM can be an effective way to support housing recovery, even 12 years after the GEJE, there are still survivors in need of additional support.

Drawing on a detailed case study and action research of the first author, this paper contributes to the still limited international literature on DCM in Japan.

Housing First (HF) is an evidence-based practice effective in reducing homelessness among those who experience chronic homelessness. However, a strong synthesis evaluating the effectiveness of this intervention is lacking for people who use drugs. The purpose of this study is to explore international literature databases to identify the effectiveness of the HF programme among people who use drugs.

A modified framework from Arksey and O’Malley (2005) was used, namely: identifying the research question; developing inclusion and exclusion criteria; identifying relevant studies for study selection; charting the data; and collating, summarising and reporting the results.

Three main themes were identified: substance use related outcomes, housing-related outcomes and social outcomes. There is strong evidence that HF increases housing retention and reduces homelessness among chronically homeless people who use drugs. However, literature relating to substance use and social outcomes for this population report mixed and inconclusive findings.

This scoping review concludes that additional research is required to conclusively determine whether HF is an effective intervention for homeless substance users. Future researchers must use formal assessments of substance use and ensure clear reporting of the HF intervention is accomplished. It is recommended for researchers and policymakers to consider the specific needs of the people who use drugs before implementation of HF for this population.

Differential effectiveness of HF through diagnostic subgroups such as alcohol use and drug use is varied with alcohol use being found to decrease due to the HF programme, but findings relating to other drug use outcomes are varied. As most previous studies used the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) to measure substance use among participants, however, the ASI, a self-reporting measure has unstable criterion validity and can cause under or over reporting of substance use. Structured toxicology or diagnostic assessments of substance use must be used for research instead to assist researchers in making firm conclusions about the reported rates.

The slightly poorer housing outcomes among people who use substances indicate that this group may need more intensive approaches to finding and maintaining housing. Additional services for the group that address comorbid problems and consequences relating to substance use are required. It is suggested that housing should be provided within an integrated model that offers additional support services such as case management as when well matched to clients, case management appears to be an effective intervention among homeless sub-populations, as it reduces substance use, improves quality of life and health outcomes, improves social connectedness and increases housing tenure and satisfaction.

This scoping review concludes that additional research is required to conclusively determine whether HF is an effective intervention for homeless substance users. Future researchers must use formal assessments of substance use and ensure clear reporting of the HF intervention is accomplished. It is recommended for researchers and policymakers to consider the specific needs of the people who use drugs before HF implementation for this population.

Due to significant differences between urban and rural areas in terms of geographical environment, building scale, resident culture, social organization and other aspects, the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction models for both exhibit substantial variation. This study identifies critical strategic issues that must be addressed in housing reconstruction in the context of different social structures of urban–rural “integration” and urban–rural “dualization” to achieve the goal of “building back better” in the future.

By taking the experience of the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake and the Taiwan 9.21 earthquake as a reference, this study provides a thematic analysis and systematic summary of the entire process of post-disaster housing reconstruction.

A successful housing reconstruction process should actively engage disaster-affected populations through participatory institutional design. Providing a diverse housing reconstruction model can coordinate the interests of the government, the market and affected individuals, promoting harmony of residential, productive and ecological functions. However, it can also lead to the division of existing communities.

This research relies on existing literature, government publications, academic studies and news reports, which may carry inherent biases or omissions. Future research can benefit from conducting more extensive and long-term post-reconstruction surveys to assess the sustained impact of recovery efforts while also considering additional data sources to ensure comprehensive and unbiased analyses.

With the support of post-disaster reconstruction policies, diverse changes in land use can lead to urban and rural spatial pattern reform and sustainable regional development, providing a reference for formulating optimal strategies.

This study carries significant societal implications by addressing critical strategic issues in housing reconstruction within varying urban–rural social structures. It highlights the importance of engaging affected populations through participatory design and harmonizing government, market and individual interests. The research introduces strategies for activating rural construction land quotas and creating new funding sources, promoting sustainable regional development. Its findings contribute to post-disaster reconstruction models, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, ultimately leading to more effective and inclusive recovery efforts and benefiting disaster-prone areas worldwide.

This research primarily investigates the market circulation patterns of urban and rural land under different social structures, delves into the strategies for sources of housing reconstruction funding, along with an assessment of their effectiveness.

This study examines the impact of outdoor environments in public rental housing complexes on residents’ psychological restoration, taking into account the interconnectedness of physical and psychological factors in human health. Drawing on Kaplan and Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory and Ulrich’s Supportive Design Theory, the research investigates the factors influencing residents’ psychological restoration within these outdoor spaces.

The Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), which is based on the Attention Restoration Theory and the Zuckerman Inventory of Personal Reactions (ZIPERS) are used to assess residents’ restorative experiences. Field research was conducted to collect data on the outdoor environments, and surveys were administered to the residents. The study analyzes the data using SPSS, including both factor and correlation analyses, to explore the relationship between the restorative effect and emotional factors.

The study verified a significant influence of positive emotions in ZIPERS on PRS’ overall restorative effect, thus supporting the utilization of both PRS and ZIPERS factors together to assess comprehensively the impact of outdoor environments on residents’ psychological restoration.

By employing a multidimensional approach involving residents’ experiences and emotions, this study quantified emotional and psychological data, which were hard to quantify. These results provide a basis for developing more objective restoration environment design guidelines and programs in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the distributional impact of house price increases on consumption in the context of the energy transition.

This study draws from two micro cross-sectional datasets, the English Housing Survey (EHS) and the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCFS) to study the Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC) out of changes in house prices. By employing pseudo-panel regressions, the paper examines the impact of house price changes on consumption among diverse household types.

This paper finds varying consumption responses to house price changes across age and tenure groups. Older homeowners tend to increase consumption when house prices rise. In contrast, middle-aged individuals, often renters or mortgage holders, reduce consumption in response to price increases. The youngest age group also experiences increased consumption but to a lesser degree than the oldest group. Energy-efficient homes are related to lower consumption across all tenure levels. However, when interacted with house prices and age, the estimates are positive, pointing to an unequal accrual of property premiums depending on housing market positions.

The main limitations stem from data constraints. First, using a pseudo-panel approach hinders control for unobservable selection bias. Additionally, while robust under cross-validation and specifications tests, the energy efficiency variable imputation results in a low number of energy-efficient homes. Due to heterogeneous responses to rising house prices, this paper contends that an energy transition model that subsidises homeowners’ renovation is likely to produce a negative impact on consumption among younger and middle-aged households.

This paper contributes to the MPC literature by incorporating energy efficiency as a key variable. It draws from recent data to obtain new estimates. By highlighting shifts in consumption patterns the paper contributes to a well-established body of literature with renewed policy relevance regarding housing retrofit.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of mud brick houses as an alternative to the more widely adopted emergency shelters used in war-torn Syria. It focuses on the mud houses’ sustainability, cost effectiveness, cultural preference, income generation and security.

This study uses a qualitative research approach to a single case study. Interviews were conducted with field experts from the Qatar Red Crescent Society and members of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) community living in mud brick houses.

The findings reveal that the utilisation of mud houses is a good alternative in relief efforts. The houses are sustainable and cost-effective, take into consideration cultural dynamics and provide economic empowerment to IDPs. However, the maintenance of mud brick houses turns out to be the largest flaw, and this problem requires further research.

The paper highlights the inefficiency of current emergency sheltering practices in Syria and reveals that tents are not a preferred mode of shelter. It further sheds light on a unique case study in which mud houses were used by an aid and development organisation, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. This paper contributes to practical discussion and ideation on more appropriate housing for IDPs.

This study aims to explore the gendered nature of housing insecurity by investigating how gender affects women’s experience moving from transitional to market housing. By describing women’s pathways out of supportive or transitional housing support, the authors show how patriarchal forces in housing policies and practices affect women’s efforts to find secure housing. The authors argue that gender-neutral approaches to housing will fail to meet women’s needs.

This study explores the narratives from women accessing support services in Halifax, Canada. The first author conducted deep narrative interviews with women seeking to move from transition to market housing.

This research sheds light on the effects of gendered barriers to safe, suitable and affordable housing; how women’s experiences and expectations are shaped by these barriers; and, how housing-based supports must address the uniquely gendered experiences women face as they access market housing. In addition, this research reveals the importance of gender-responsive services that empower women facing a sexist housing market.

Little research has explored questions related to gender and housing among those seeking to move from transitional to marker housing, and existing research focuses on women’s housing insecurity as it relates to domestic violence. The sample of women included those having housing insecurity for a variety of reasons, including substance use and young motherhood.

In this paper, we explore the impact of land management practices on post-disaster housing, to draw lessons from the case of reconstruction in Türkiye.

We conducted two qualitative case studies of two reconstruction experiences following the 2020 Elazığ and İzmir earthquakes. We analyzed 70 articles, technical reports and press releases and then used a set of policy analysis tools to examine five policy documents in depth. Finally, we wanted to understand how key officers interpreted these policy documents, so we closely analyzed the transcripts of eight semi-structured interviews.

Türkiye’s legal framework comprises five main policies that concentrate power in the central government and are not tailored to post-disaster reconstruction. This framework facilitates the construction of rubber-stamped apartment buildings, which disregard cultural and social contexts and practices. The current reconstruction policy neglects alternative options like cooperative housing, which could better respond to communal needs and expectations. It also often leads to the loss of land rights among affected residents.

We only analyzed decision-making processes in two case studies and based our study on a limited number of interviews. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize our results and apply them to other contexts. Further quantitative and qualitative work is necessary to conceptualize the links between land management and post-disaster housing reconstruction.

Our findings suggest a need for legislative frameworks specifically designed to address land management during post-disaster reconstruction. The concentration of power in central governments is problematic, thus it remains crucial to empower local authorities by reinforcing technical expertise and facilitating administrative autonomy.

This study offers unique insights into how power relations influence land management practices in post-disaster housing reconstruction. Examining the centralization of power and its impact on cultural and social practices identifies common forms of dispossession and points to key areas for policy improvement.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between Airbnb and long-term residential rents, using Santa Monica, California, as a case study. In 2015, Santa Monica adopted the home sharing ordinance (HSO), a stringent regulation aimed at restricting short-term rentals (STR). This research examines the implications of this ordinance on the local housing market.

The synthetic control method (SCM) is applied to a panel data set comprising Airbnb listings and residential rents from multiple cities in Los Angeles County. This approach is used to estimate the causal effects of Santa Monica’s HSO on two outcomes: Airbnb listings and residential rents.

The empirical results show a 60% reduction in Airbnb listings in Santa Monica within two years of implementing the ordinance. Despite this significant decrease, the effect of the regulation on rents was not significant. Suggestive evidence indicates that the ordinance’s ineffectiveness in increasing the number of houses allocated to long-term tenants may have contributed to its negligible impact on rental rates.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first to use the SCM for evaluating the impact of STR regulations. It offers crucial insights to policymakers on regulating platforms like Airbnb. The study reveals a scenario where a marked decrease in Airbnb activity did not lower residential rents, highlighting the need for context-specific evaluations in understanding the housing market’s dynamics. Additionally, these findings are valuable for investors considering the implications of regulatory changes in the STR sector.

The lack of a proper register to store, match and display information on the adapted property has led to a waste of resources and prolonged delays in matching the disabled and elderly people with appropriate properties. This paper presents the development of a Housing Adaptations Register with user-matching functionalities for different mobility categories. The developed system accurately captures and documents adapted home information to facilitate the automated matching of disabled/aged applicants needing an adapted home with suitable property using banding, mobility and suitability index.

A theoretical review was conducted to identify parameters and develop adaptations register construct. A survey questionnaire approach to rate the 111 parameters in the register as either moderate, desirable or essential before system development and application. The system development relied on DSS modelling to support data-driven decision-making based on the decision table method to represent property information for implementing the decision process. The system is validated through a workshop, four brainstorming sessions and three focus group exercises.

Development of a choice-based system that enables the housing officers or the Housing Adaptations Register coordinators to know the level of adaptation to properties and match properties quickly with the applicants based on their mobility status. The merits of the automated system include the development of a register to capture in real-time adapted home information to facilitate the automated matching of disabled/aged applicants. A “choice-based” system that can map and suggest a property that can easily be adapted and upgraded from one mobility band to the other.

The development of a housing adaptation register helps social housing landlords to have a real-time register to match, map and upgrade properties for the most vulnerable people in our society. It saves time and money for the housing associations and the local authorities through stable tenancy for adapted homes. Potentially, it will promote the independence of aged and disabled people and can reduce their dependence on social and healthcare services.

This system provides the local authorities with objective and practical tools that may be used to assess, score, prioritise and select qualified people for appropriate accommodation based on their needs and mobility status. It will provide a record of properties adapted with their features and ensure that matching and eligibility decisions are consistent and uniform.