Affordable Mosaic Housing: Rethinking Low-Cost Housing (2009)

Anniz Fazli Ibrahim Bajunida and Mazlin Ghazalib

aFaculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

"Low-Cost Housing" assumes the challenge is to find innovative ways to reduce the cost of building houses making it affordable for every family to own. This paper addresses the problem through a social standpoint by first reviewing this crisis by providing the complexities that leads to concentration of poor families, and then provide a theoretical alternative - the Affordable Mosaic Housing concept, a possible inventive solution. A methodology of testing this concept is then proposed by mirroring closely to the methods and results of University Putra Malaysia’s surveys on the perceptions and acceptance of the new Honeycomb houses and apartments.

In Malaysia the provision of low-cost houses is shared between the public and private sector. In the 80’s the public sector housing is undertaken by Government agencies like the State Economic Development Corporations.The low-cost houses built by the private sector were for sale to the lower income group. The idea was to democratize home ownership.

Current  problems：

Financial budget  &

Residential environment   

Affordable Mosaic Housing

Cluster layout

Courtyard neighbourhood

Efficient use of land

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A Method-based Planning Framework for Informal Settlement Upgrading

John Abbott

Habitat International 26 (2002) 317–3

Resumed by Pindo Tutuko

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Informal settlements house a significant percentage of the population of developing cities, yet there is no common planning framework for upgrading these settlements.  This paper argues for a return to a method-based approach for upgrading and sets out a planning framework.  

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The key issue are vulnerability and  planning for the long-term sustainability of informal settlements.  It uses the experience of a pilot project in Cape Town.

Introduction

Upgrading of the settlements in situ is the most appropriate, it remains far from clear as to what is the most effective way to achieve this. 

The first step is to define what is meant by a method-based approach.

A planning framework that could provide the basis for a more generic, provides a basis for international collaboration, to provide the basis for long-term planning, cohesive and replicable manner.

Approaches

• An incremental approach to physical provision.
• Micro-planning at a community level.
• The creation of an holistic plan.

Defining the objectives of upgrading

• Around an identifiable community.
• It most distinctly from new developments.
• These settlements are characterized by high levels of poverty considered by the World Bank to be the primary objective of upgrading.

The Step

1. The starting point is a recognition that the physical and social conditions.
2. That informal settlements are generally physically marginalized environments.
3. That relates to the absence of opportunities for asset retention and growth.
4. It deals with perceptions of poverty. Of primary importance here is the dominance of economic definitions of poverty.
5. It vulnerability deals with the compromised use of space.

Specific Indicators

• physical risk associated with the site,
• personal risk,
• livelihood,
• ability to withstand shocks,
• ability to withstand negative trends,
• the recognition of intangible assets,
• the social value of tangible assets,
• the social value of communal assets,
• the impact on informal sector activity,
• spatial relationships.

The relationship between the informal settlement and the city

For a settlement to meet both of these goals it has to satisfy two distinct needs. 

1. It has to achieve internal cohesion. 
2. It has to be integrated into the surrounding areas, a process described by the Recife Declaration (UNCHS, 1996) as the integration of the informal city into the formal city.

Starting point for the development of the planning framework

1. To deal with the issues of social exclusion and sustainability (to turn the community outwards, spatially, socially and economically, in order to link it with the surrounding areas)
2. To integrate all the elements of vulnerability into the upgrading process.

Constructing the planning framework

1. A need to confront the physical constraints of the site itself.
2. Remain the needs of residents.
3. Issues arising at the level of the individual family or shack that affected the potential of those residents to participate fully in the decision-making.

Access and movement through the area it was agreed that the existing network of paths and tracks would be used wherever possible.

This network could be formalized. This constitutes the primary movement corridor. All other access routes have been planned as footpaths.

There is no differentiation between the main movement routes, and they are all shown as being the same.

Level 1: integration with the surrounding areas

The internal/external interface itself

Level 2: the spatial integrity of the settlement

This second level operated with a framework of a partnership between the community and the local authority.

The issues of physical risk, communal facilities, social services and movement corridors.

Level 3: addressing localized community needs . The upgrading of New Rest is built upon a policy of minimum relocation. The project is dealing with people in small groups.

In terms of institutional frameworks, the focus at this level shifts to one that is constructed around community decision-making. 

• The role of the local authority changes from being a partner to support the community and allowing the community to take the decisions. 
• And the tools of decision-making at this level are those of participatory planning. 
• This case study has attempted to show the importance of scale, and the way in which it is linked with different types of decision-making. 
• By focusing on level three, where it is most effective, this provides participatory planning with a logical base. It becomes the correct tool at the correct level.
• Sustainability is the central issue. And in this context the central element is the integration of public and private space. Both have to be dealt with together. 
• This contrasts with traditional approaches, which tend to create rigid boundaries.
• The rigid land use designation of urban planners. All of these are inappropriate in informal settlements.

Level 4: the individual family unit. It relates to the individual family or head of household (particularly in the case of single-parent families). The New Rest upgrading has focussed on two major elements, namely decision-making structures and spatial relationships. They rely on an extensive knowledge of the community derived from an in-depth demographic, social and economic survey of each household in the settlement coupled with experiential knowledge contributed by community groups and organizations and by the community development support group. The ability to manage all of this information and track and test the output from this multi-level decision-making process is made possible through the extensive use of a geo-spatial information management system constructed around a GIS interface.

Conclusions

• The upgrading of informal settlements is a process.
• Within this paradigm, the World Bank has identified poverty alleviation as the most pressing issue facing developing cities.
• It is a response to the failure of conventional approaches that emphasized physical development.
• two elements that then emerge as central to the settlement transformation process, namely spatial relationships and institutional/ organizational relationships.
• The first level of scale is that of the internal/external interface itself, which deals with the issue of integration of the settlement into the surrounding areas. 
• The second level of scale deals with the needs of the settlement as a whole, covering those needs that are common to the large majority of residents. 
• The third level of scale deals with small, clearly defined areas within the settlement, where families can be defined in decision-making terms as more homogeneous groups. 
• The fourth level of scale is the individual family unit, and in particular the head of household and partner within that unit. 
• The emphasis is on social and economic integration, but the tools used to provide the framework for achieving this are spatial integration and the formation of cohesive and appropriate institutional/organizational structures.

From an institutional/organizational perspective, this means that four distinct types of structure have to be considered, which can be summarized as follows.

• Stakeholders and consensus decision-making (decision-making across the internal–external interface),
• A partnership between community and government (settlement planning at a macro-level),
• Community-based participatory planning (settlement planning at a local level),
• Community development support (involvement of individuals in the decision-making process).

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397501000509

Evaluation of Energy Supply and Demand in Solar Neighborhood

Evaluation of Energy Supply and Demand in Solar Neighborhood

Caroline Hachem, Andreas Athienitis, Paul Fazio
Accepted 17 February 2012

I. Introduction

—Presents a study of solar electricity generation and energy demand for heating and cooling of housing units’ assemblages (two-storey single family housing units with climatic data of Montreal, Canada served as input for the analysis).

   住宅'群集の加熱および冷却のための太陽光発電とエネルギー需要の調査

—Parameters studied:

• 　 Geometric shapes of individual units [個々のユニットの幾何学的形状]
•   　Density of units in a neighborhood [近所のユニットの密度]
•  　 The site layout [サイトのレイアウト]

—Main objective: the evaluation of alternative patterns of neighborhood to achieve potential net zero energy communities.

   近所の別のパターンの評価は潜在的な正味ゼロエネルギー社会を実現しています。

—Result: a significant increase in total electricity generation (up to 33%) can be achieved by the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems of housing units of certain shape-site configurations, as compared to the reference.

  総発電量（最大33％）の有意な上昇が一定の形状サイト構成の住宅の建物の統合太陽光発電（BIPV）システムによって達成することができる、などの基準と比較されます。

II. Methodology and research approach

—The research is divided in three main parts:

  研究は主に3 つ の 部分に分かれています

  (1): analysis of electricity generation potential by neighborhoods

   地域による発電ポテンシャルの分析

  (2): analysis of energy performance in terms of heating and cooling consumed by units and neighborhoods

   発熱の面でエネルギー性能の分析とは、ユニットや近隣で消費される冷却

  (3): comparison of energy production and energy consumption of individual units and of whole neighborhoods

   エネルギー生産と個々のユニットのエネルギー消費の全体近所の比較

1. Characteristic of housing units

—The two-storied with constant floor area of 60 m2 (one of the most common types of single family homes in Canada)

   2階建て、 60 m2  （カナダの一軒家の最も一般的な形式の1つ）

—Two basic shapes: rectangle and L shape and its variations

  二つの基本的な図形：四角形やL字型  

—Energy loads: [エネルギー負荷]

  ◦ Lighting [照明]

  ◦ Domestic hot water [家庭用温水]

  ◦ Major appliances (refrigeration equipment, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer and cooking appliances) [主要な家電]

  ◦ Minor appliances (a wide range used in kitchen, and entertainment purposes) [マイナー家電]

—Roof design: [屋根の設計]

  Hip roof with tilt and side angles of 450 [450のチルトとサイド角度で寄棟屋根]

  A photovoltaic system is assumed to cover the total area of all south and near-south facing roof surfaces [太陽光発電システムがすべて南と近南向きの屋根面の総面積をカバーするために仮定される]

2. Site layout

3. Density

4. Simulation modeling

—Energy Plus building simulation sotware: employed in the simulations

—SketchUp/OpenStudio: employed to generate geometric data for Energy Plus

—The Conduction Finite Difference algorithm: selected as the heat balance algorithm

—A time step of 10 min

Main characteristics of the models employed by EnergyPlus:

a.Weather data

b.EnergyPlus solar radiation computations

c.Slab on grade modeling

d.BIPV modeling

III. Presentation and analysis of results

1. Electricity generation potential

The main effects are summarized:

                                   Shape

                                   Density

                                   Spacing

                                   Row study

                                   Site layout

                                   Shift of peak electricity generation

        2. Energy consumption for heating and cooling

        The main effects are summarized:

                                   Effect of Shape on energy demand

                                   Density

                                               ◦ Comparisions between units in isolation and in assemblage

                                               ◦ Effect of spacing

                                   Row effect

                                   Site effect

                    3. Evaluation of energy balance

IV. Conclusion

1. Energy generation

BIPV electricity production of roofs: affected primarily by the area of near-south facing roof surfaces, shade and orientation. Active roof area and the total electricity generation on a neighborhood scale are largely affected by the shape of housing units.

アクティブな屋根の面積や町内規模での総発電量は、主に住宅の形状の影響を受けています。

The density effect:

  ◦ Attached units on multiplex configurations has the effect of increasing total active roof   surface in some configurations. On the other hand, it may produce some mutual shading   by some configurations of L.[多重構成で接続されているユニットは、一部の構成では増加合計アクティブ屋根  面の効果があります。その一方で、それ はLの一部の構成でいくつかの相互遮蔽が生成されることがあり  ]

  ◦ The row effect does not have significant effect on electricity generation for a row   distance larger than 5m. [行の効果は、5メートルよりも大きな行距離の発電量に大きな影響を与えません。]

The site layout effect: mainly due to its interaction with the housing shape design. A favorable combination of shapes and layout can result in significant increase of energy production.

形状やレイアウトの有利な組み合わせは、エネルギー生産の大幅な増加をもたらすことができます。

Shift of peak production: can be beneficial for matching grid requirements.  A difference as large as 6h of peak generation of different units can be achieved in a specific site layout.

グリッドの要件に合致するために有益

2. Energy consumption for heating and cooling

Shape effect:

  ◦ Deviation of shape from the rectangle generally involves increase in heating load.

  ◦ The increasing of heating load of non-rectangular shapes is associated with decrease   of   the solar gain in winter.[非矩形形状の暖房負荷の増加は、冬の太陽の利得の減少に関連付けられています。]

  ◦ Cooling load is effected by increase of solar radiation on the rotated wings and by the   large envelope area. [冷房負荷は、回転翼の上に太陽放射の増加により、大封筒エリアによって行われる。]

The density effect: Attaching units in multiplexes reduces heating loads by up to 30% and cooling load by up to 50% compared to the detached configurations of the same site. [多重にユニットを接続すると、同じサイトの一戸建ての構成に比べて最大50％を30％、冷房負荷を最大で加熱負荷を低減します。]

The row effect: the heating load is inversely related to the distance between rows, while the cooling load of both exposed and obstructed rows is significantly lower than for the single row configuration. [露出し、閉塞された行の両方の冷房負荷が単一の行の構成に比べて有意に低いながら加熱負荷は、反比例の行の間の距離に関係しています。]

The site layout effect: Units in curved layouts have generally larger heating and cooling loads than in a straight road configuration. [湾曲したレイアウトでの単位は、一般に大規模な加熱と直線道路の構成に比べて冷房負荷を持っている。]

3. Balance between electricity generation and electricity use

The general comparison between energy consumption and the energy production, show that several unit shapes included in this study are very close to achieve net zero energy status. Manipulation of roof design can help in improving production/consumption ratio.

この研究に含まれるいくつかのユニットの形状は非常にネットゼロエネルギー状態を達成するために接近している。屋根のデザインの操作は、生産/消費比率の改善に役立ちます。

Some of the studied neighborhood configuration near net zero energy communities.

正味ゼロエネルギー社会の近くに勉強し、近所のコンフィギュレーションの一部。

4. Conclusion remarks

The investigation presented in this paper takes into account energy efficiency consideration from the earliest stages of the design process.

本書で提示調査は、設計プロセスの初期段階からアカウントのエネルギー効率を考慮する。

The methodology is applicable to any climate, with some modifications to the basic design assumptions required to address specific climate conditions.

方法論は、特定の気候条件に対処するために必要な基本設計の前提にいくつかの修正を加えて、どんな気候にも適用可能である。