Graham Squires

Motivations for energy efficiency refurbishment in owner‐occupied housing

Purpose – The existing housing stock needs substantial adaptation to meet national and international carbon reduction targets. The largest proportion of housing is owner‐occupied, and will require improvement works which go beyond those measures provided through the Green Deal and similar programmes. Therefore, the motivation of owner‐occupiers to perform more substantial energy efficiency refurbishments is essential to facilitate greater action. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – A synthesis of the extant literature from a range of disciplines reveals the role of motivation and the factors influencing motivation and pro‐environmental action in the context of the home. Based on this synthesis of the literature, a new motivation model for energy efficiency refurbishment in the owner‐occupied housing stock is then described.Findings – The study has found that multiple factors affect motivation to refurbish in the owner‐occupied housing stock. Key motivations for energy eff...

The death and life of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) : Redevelopment lessons in affordable housing and implementation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw out interesting nuances and lessons when using a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) model in San Francisco given the abandonment of Californias redevelopment agencies (RDAs) created via TIF funds. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on secondary literature review, desk-based study and primary interviews with professional interviewees that have been heavily involved in TIF projects in San Francisco over the last decade. Findings – The abolition of the RDAs in California may be inadvertently cutting-off the principal supply of funds for redevelopment that includes much needed affordable housing. Originality/value – Reflective lesson learning for the management of land and property development in the USA and UK. Particularly with respect to funding mechanisms and agencies that can implement and develop affordable housing.

Financing infrastructure development : time to unshackle the bonds?

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to consider the merits of using projects bonds to finance infrastructure investment projects and considers the pricing of such bonds and the level of risk premium demanded by the market. Design/methodology/approach - – The research used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods with desk-based study and interviews. Interviews were held with policy makers, local authority staff, planners, developers, investors, fund managers and academics. Infrastructure bond data were obtained from the Bloomberg database on all project bonds issued in four Asian countries – Malaysia, China, Taiwan and India – over the period 2003-2014. Findings - – The analysis indicates investor appetite for project bonds and suggests that a risk premium of between 150 and 300 basis points over the comparable government bond is appropriate depending on the sector and the degree of government involvement in underwriting the issue. Practical implications - – The paper argues that the introduction of project bonds would be an important innovation, assisting the financing of infrastructure investment at a time when bank lending is likely to remain fragile. The current conditions in the sovereign debt market, where strong demand has forced down yields, has opened up the opportunity to introduce project bonds offering a higher yield to satisfy institutional investment demand for long term fixed income products. Originality/value - – The originality of this paper stems from the analysis of the merits of using projects bonds to finance infrastructure investment projects, the pricing of such bonds and the level of risk premium demanded by the market.

Innovative real estate development finance – evidence from Europe

Purpose – This research aims to provide an insight into large-scale real estate projects in Europe and how they are using a more innovative blend of finance. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology involved a mix of desk-based study, interviews and case studies. Interviews were held with financiers, policymakers, developers, investors, fund managers and academics. The specific case projects were Battersea Power Station Development in London; Leipziger Platz site in Berlin; and the Lammenschans site in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands. Findings – The research found that there is growth in the blend of financial products used in real estate development within large-scale mixed-use projects. This new blend is set with greater equity financing, often from domestic and foreign consortiums generating institutional funds – alongside private debt financing – that utilise a mix of large-scale multi-bank finance. Practical implications – The scale of the challenge in financing real estate development allie...

Responsible Citizens and Accountable Service Providers? Renegotiating The Contract Between Citizen and State

New forms of governance, conditional approaches to public service access, and initiatives to engage citizens in taking on new responsibilities are being developed in the context of the scaling down of the welfare state. We examine the extent to which collaboration and multidirectional accountability can be developed between the state and citizens, with a focus on a case study of Community Contracts in England. These quasi-legal agreements, operationalised at the local level, involve citizens and service providers cooperating in tackling social problems through agreed responsibilities and behaviour. Findings from interviews and focus group research suggest that Community Contracts represent an innovation in governance. Citizens are given a voice and there are new pathways for effective service delivery and accountability; conditionality applies to citizens and service providers. However, although there was evidence of increased service accountability, the impact on civic responsibility and conditionality beyond already active citizens and beyond certain issues was less apparent. Although citizens and service providers were ready to take on new roles, the legal status of the contract was only loosely defined. Challenges remain concerning how contract-based approaches can be fully realised in practice.

Problematic Differentiation between Property Bonds and Leases in Healthcare Provision

Investment into healthcare is now attracted by creating leases with guaranteed rental uplifts creating a property bond in all but name (Enever, N., Isaac, D., and Daley, M., 2010). Given the collapse of notable healthcare institutions, this research proposes more effective modelling of institutional investment for sustainable healthcare provision. Quantitative comparators are used to establish a differentiation between rental growth, care costs/charges and RPI. Qualitative data regarding the way in which advisers and investors view the security and value of these new instruments are gained via interviews with professionals in the market (Hardin, W., 1999). Findings consider the differentiation between rental growth defined by the balance of supply and demand, and indexed rental uplifts. This is in addition to a misunderstanding of the nature of the investment vehicles currently being marketed (Gilovich, T., Griffin, D. and Kahneman, D., Eds. 2002). As such, the new investment vehicles question the sustainability of modern private healthcare provision. Thus meaning that the dissemination of professional education will be required to create a market correction in the valuation and sale of these products.

Building heritage in Enterprise Zones: the latest threat or opportunity?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider heritage for buildings within Enterprise Zones – a programme promoted by central government to improve the UK economy. A central view has been focusing on economic growth, with little thought given to the wider implications of heritage when imposing these zones of deregulation. Design/methodology/approach – An illustrative case study of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone is used that includes primary interviews with key stakeholders involved in the zone. This is synthesised with secondary literature review allowing an investigation of the way in which heritage issues are being dealt with and the resulting implications for both Bristol and in other zones in the UK. Findings – Conflicts are demonstrated between the objectives of the Enterprise Zone scheme and those of heritage protection, indicating that they are not natural partners. It is argued that existing statutory protection is not necessarily enough to safeguard the heritage of these areas, give...

New research methods in identifying motivations for energy efficiency refurbishment of owner-occupied homes

Previous studies on home energy efficiency have traditionally focused on either the technical s avings or on social aspects such as behavioural change. These studies have typically excluded the role of motivation, a key component in the implementation of energy efficiency refurbishment in owner-occupied housing. Previous research studies of motivation have typically incorporated Likert scales and questionnaire surveys, but this provides a s omewhat superficial view of motivation and can res ult in disproporti onate and inaccurate responses. A ne w research approach for inv estigating the motivation of home-owners for energy efficient refurbishment is p resented. The approach i ncorporates in-depth interviews and a detailed physical survey of the properties to explore the underlying mechanisms for motivation for energy efficiency refurbishment, and to provide a m eans of comparison between cases. Through better integration of methods from the social science and s urveying disciplines a more complete understanding of owner-occupier motivations for energy efficiency refurbishment and the underlying mechanisms affecting it can be realised.

A pluralistic conceptual model for affordable housing in Lagos, Nigeria

Housing is one of the challenges caused by urbanisation in Nigeria. Since independence, it has always been on the agenda of past governments to reduce the housing shortage and improve the quality of housing. In 1991, Nigeria made the paradigm shift from direct provision to enablement strategy as promoted by the United Nations. The housing problem remains intractable especially in the urban centres across the country forcing many urban residents to continue to live in poor housing conditions. It therefore becomes necessary to re-examine the affordable housing agenda in a new perspective. This contribution is an attempt to offer solutions to the perennial housing shortage in Lagos, Nigeria, drawing inspirations from an extensive review of literature and suggesting a new pluralistic approach. The pluralistic approach consolidates on the gains of a private sector driven approach, while recognising the new roles for the public sector.