Walter, R. J., Tillyer, M. S., Ramiller, A., & Acolin, A. (2023). Scaling Down from the Neighborhood in Urban Planning Research and Practice: The Potential Benefits of a Micro-Scale Focus. Journal of Planning Education and Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X231175593
View Publication
Abstract
The neighborhood has been the dominant spatial unit in urban planning since the early 20th century. Criticisms of the neighborhood unit include disagreements about defining boundaries, methodological challenges in capturing neighborhood effects, and negative impacts on communities. With advancements in data management, and public data available at smaller units (street block or property), quantitative analyses are possible at the micro-scale. This commentary draws on crime research and prevention to illustrate the benefits of micro-scale approaches to quantitative analyses in the field of urban planning, arguing that the devolution to smaller scales may be a vehicle for efficient resource allocation.
The Population Health Initiative announced 12 climate change planning grant awardees. Of those 12 teams, 4 include College of Built Environments researchers. Descriptions of their projects are below. Read the CBE News story here. Linking Climate Adaptation and Public Health Outcomes in Yavatmal, Maharashtra Investigators Sameer H. Shah, Environmental and Forest Sciences Celina Balderas Guzmán, Landscape Architecture Pronoy Rai, Portland State University Project abstract This proposal collects primary interview data with landed and landless agriculturalists in Yavatmal district in…
In 2021, the College of Built Environments launched the CBE Inspire Fund to “inspire” CBE research activities that are often underfunded, but for which a relatively small amount of support can be transformative. The Inspire Fund aims to support research where arts and humanities disciplines are centered, and community partners are engaged in substantive ways. Inspire Fund is also meant to support ‘seed’ projects, where a small investment in early research efforts may serve as a powerful lever for future…
Dermisi, S. (2023). Office Development. In R. Peiser & D. Hamilton (Eds.), Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business. Urban Land Institute.
View Publication
Abstract
The office chapter, authored by Dr. Sofia Dermisi -Lyon and Wolff Endowed Professor in Real Estate and Professor of Urban Design & Planning, identifies ways the technological and structural sustainability boundaries are pushed and how the pandemic has shifted the office occupant expectations on health and well-being, while embracing alternative ways of working through flexibility and adaptability. Office case studies highlight creative ways of linking new with historic landmark structures, overcoming various development challenges, and integrating valuable features in a post-covid era. Additionally, the evolution and repositioning of retail due to the rise of e-commerce and its impact on brick-and-mortar stores provides insights on future trends. While consumer behavior trends, which accelerated during the pandemic, created the emergence of new types of industrial facilities.
Arthur Acolin, Associate Professor and Bob Filley Endowed Chair in the Runstad Department of Real Estate, was recently awarded an NIH R21 grant for his project entitled ‘Gentrification, Mobility, and Exposure to Contextual Determinants of Health.’ The project will examine how gentrification affects mobility patterns at the neighborhood levels and changes exposure to contextual determinants of health that have been shown to contribute to social and race/ethnic inequalities in health. The proposed research leverages consumer trace data from Data Axle…
Colburn, G., & Page Aldern, C. (2022). Homelessness is a Housing Problem. University Of California Press.
View Publication.
Oliver, H. Pike, & Stockstill, C. Michael. (2022). Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and the Big Plan. Routledge.
View Publication
Steven C. Bourassa is H. Jon and Judith M. Runstad Endowed Professor and Chair of the Runstad Department of Real Estate in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. Previously, he served as department chair at Florida Atlantic University, the University of Auckland, and the University of Louisville, where he was KHC Real Estate Research Professor. His research focuses on urban housing and land markets and policy, covering a range of topics including housing tenure, residential property valuation, property taxation, housing affordability, low-income housing policy, community land trusts, and public land leasehold. He has published his research in numerous real estate and related journals, such as the Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Real Estate Research, and Journal of Urban Economics, as well as Real Estate Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and Urban Studies. His co-edited book, Leasing Public Land: Policy Debates and International Experiences, was published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Dr. Bourassa is on the editorial boards of eight real estate journals. He is a Fellow of the Weimer School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Land Economics and received the Research Achievement Award from the International Real Estate Society, of which he is a past President. He is currently Treasurer of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. He holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Bourassa, Steven C.; Hoesli, Martin. (2022). Hedonic, Residual, and Matching Methods for Residential Land Valuation. Journal Of Housing Economics, 58.
View Publication
Abstract
• Our first method involves a hedonic model estimated for sales of vacant lots. • Another method depreciates improvements, obtaining land value as a residual. • Our third approach matches the sales of vacant and subsequently developed lots. • This allows us to estimate a hedonic model of land leverage (the ratio of land to total property value) for improved properties. • We conclude that the third approach is the most promising of the three methods. Accurate estimates of land values on a property-by-property basis are an important requirement for the effective implementation of land-based property taxes. We compare hedonic, residual, and matching techniques for mass appraisal of residential land values, using data from Maricopa County, Arizona. The first method involves a hedonic valuation model estimated for transactions of vacant lots. The second approach subtracts the depreciated cost of improvements from the value of improved properties to obtain land value as a residual. The third approach matches the sales of vacant lots with subsequent sales of the same properties once they have been developed. For each pair, we use a land price index to inflate the land price to the time of the improved property transaction and then calculate land leverage (the ratio of land to total property value). A hedonic model is estimated and used to predict land leverage for all improved properties. We conclude that the matching approach is the most promising of the methods considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Journal of Housing Economics is the property of Academic Press Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Keywords
Hedonic Method; Land Leverage; Land Valuation; Matching Approach; Residual Approach
Acolin, Arthur; Reina, Vincent. (2022). Housing Cost Burden and Life Satisfaction. Journal Of Housing & The Built Environment, 37(4), 1789-1815.
View Publication
Abstract
The share of income that households spent on their housing has been increasing over time in a wide range of countries, particularly among lower income households. In theory, the share of income spent on housing can reflect variations in household preferences for housing consumption but for low-income household, high burdens are likely more reflective of constraints and force these households to face tradeoffs between housing and non-housing consumption that negatively affect their overall life satisfaction. This paper uses data from the 2018 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 14 countries. We find that, controlling for household sociodemographic characteristics, households spending more than 30 percent of their income and those spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing report significantly lower levels of life satisfaction. The estimated relationship is largest for this latter heavily cost burdened group. The negative relationship between housing cost burden and reported life satisfaction is found across countries but varies in magnitude, suggesting that stronger welfare systems may mediate the negative impacts of housing cost burdens, although further research is needed to confirm both this relationship and the precise mechanisms driving it.
Keywords
Life Satisfaction; Income; Housing; Poor Communities; Subjective Well-being (psychology); Living Conditions; European Countries; Housing Cost; Subjective Wellbeing; Economic Hardship; Homeownership; Affordability; Determinants; Cost Analysis; Housing Costs; Households; Consumption; Low Income Groups; Expenditures; Welfare; Sociodemographics