Job Momoh, Joseph Chelemu Kangwa, Chika Udeaja, Jin Ruoyu and Rafiu Dimeji Seidu
Developing countries are currently on the verge of adopting principles used in achieving a sustainable urban future. As the urban population increases due to factors like…
Abstract
Purpose
Developing countries are currently on the verge of adopting principles used in achieving a sustainable urban future. As the urban population increases due to factors like urban–rural migration, increase in birth rate, migration, industrialisation, commercialisation, amongst others, there is a drastic need to adopt sustainability principles within urban spaces. To understand how sustainability can be achieved, there is a need to recognise how developed countries have designed assessment tools that work within their context which can inform how developing countries can work on their assessment tool. Urban neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools are used to reflect on the overall goal of the project and the most important indicators needed to be implemented within the project. Sustainability indicators are used to measure the levels and progress at which sustainability has been implemented within a project based on the data collected and these results can be used to make informed decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of urban sustainability assessment tool.
Design/methodology/approach
This research investigates the techniques utilised in developing an urban sustainability assessment tool Sustainable Composite Cities Environmental Evaluation and Design (SUCCEED-ND) tool within the Nigerian context. The data instrument used includes a questionnaire survey that sampled 50 correspondents, and the results were used to develop an urban assessment tool tailored for the Nigerian countries.
Findings
The findings used social, environmental, economic and planning sustainability dimensions in the design of the assessment tool which composes of 21 core sustainability indicators and 105 indicators to develop SUCCEED-ND tool.
Originality/value
This work developed the first urban sustainability assessment tool for the Nigerian urban environment. The result is meant to evaluate and implement sustainability within existing and proposed neighbourhood development.
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Joseph Kangwa, Femi Olubodun and Margaret‐Mary Nelson
This study undertakes to examine the perceived barriers to effective management of live city‐centre building refurbishment projects in the UK. Currently a school of thought posits…
Abstract
Purpose
This study undertakes to examine the perceived barriers to effective management of live city‐centre building refurbishment projects in the UK. Currently a school of thought posits that refurbishment projects are more unpredictable than new builds. The aim of the study is to identify how, against myriad logistical constraints of city‐centre refurbishment projects, managers endeavour to complete their projects on time.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 38 project managers responsible for large and medium‐scale city‐centre refurbishment projects in Manchester, Preston, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham were targeted as participants for the study. The projects were selected on the basis of location. Only live and active projects within a busy shopping centre of a city were targeted.
Findings
The study identified, using SPSS and non‐parametric statistical techniques, that the chance of success of planning for live city‐centre projects (LCCP) is impacted by economics, micro traffic flow, the experience of project managers, the share scale of the building form, the availability of specialist refurbishment trades, and how the project itself is linked to the feeder routes to and from the main active shopping areas (MASA). The study concludes that auxiliary skills remain critical to successful project completion; among these is the relationship between local authority agencies and the project team.
Originality/value
The study is unique as it seeks to identify which refurbishment dimensions and challenges are relevant and exclusive to live city‐centre refurbishment projects.
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Joseph Kangwa and Femi Olubodun
This paper seeks to explore the satisfaction rating associated with the repair and maintenance of 34 most occurring house defects remedied by owner‐occupiers selected from a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore the satisfaction rating associated with the repair and maintenance of 34 most occurring house defects remedied by owner‐occupiers selected from a stratified random sample.
Design/methodology/approach
The study targeted over 1,200 owner‐occupiers from 12 local authority wards; these were identified on the basis of the Ward Index of Multiple Deprivation. The sample also included some neighbourhoods recently designated for improvement under the Urban Renewal's Single Regeneration Budget initiative within the Northwest of England.
Findings
Through the use of nonparametric statistical techniques, the paper argues that owner‐occupiers' expectation of the quality of maintenance works is a derivative dichotomy of unrelated decision constructs: on the one hand is the prior knowledge of the severity of house defects which, in turn, impacts on the follow‐on repair strategies and maintenance quality expectations. On the other hand are the projected improvements as perceived in terms of the added value to a dwelling vis‐à‐vis the principal methods of remediation enshrined within the broader renewal initiatives.
Originality/value
Overall, the results suggest that expectations on maintenance quality ought to be defined as owner‐occupiers' perception of desired standard of work relative to the projected market value of their property. The study further concludes that, when all the notable variations in the satisfaction rating on follow‐on maintenance strategies and expectations are considered together, it is the perceived increase in the value of a property – following improvement works under the urban renewal programme – that stands out as the main influencing criterion.
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Joseph Kangwa and Femi Olubodun
The purpose of this paper is to espouse Triggernomic Repair Process Analysis (TRAP), a nonlinear theoretical methodology employed to stress the importance of an informed approach…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to espouse Triggernomic Repair Process Analysis (TRAP), a nonlinear theoretical methodology employed to stress the importance of an informed approach to the diagnosis and prognosis of structural building defects at the owner‐occupier level.
Design/methodology/approach
TRAP analysis focuses on the diagnosis limitations relating to house repair and maintenance among owner‐occupiers in the UK, based on a stratified random survey of owner‐occupiers' maintenance decisions.
Findings
It is concluded that lack of technical skills‐knowledge awareness is one of the main deterrents to efficient defect diagnosis. The failing on defect diagnosis is broadly defined as resulting from Chronic Deficiency of Defects Diagnosis (CD3). CD3 is furthermore conceptualised as a theoretical dichotomy construct which persists due to Chronic Diagnosis Failure (CDF) and Chronic Misapplication of Maintenance Remedies (CMMR).
Originality/value
The constructs identified help to explain why owner‐occupier housing disrepair remains high and a source of concern among practitioners in the UK. A pro‐maintenance housing regeneration agenda is imminent in order to promote technical skill‐knowledge awareness and the effectiveness of the maintenance decision making among owner‐occupiers.
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Joseph Kangwa and Femi Olubodun
This paper seeks to explore and detect underlying relationships between identifiable attributes that are influential to successful outcomes of home maintenance activities. The…
Abstract
This paper seeks to explore and detect underlying relationships between identifiable attributes that are influential to successful outcomes of home maintenance activities. The study's approach is to identify, from the perspective of owner‐occupiers, the attributes that are influential on the successful outcomes of home maintenance activities. The study is primarily based on 186 questionnaire responses from a stratified random sample of owner‐occupiers taken from 12 local authority wards identified on the basis of a Ward Index of Multiple Deprivation. The intercorrelations among the attributes influential to the outcomes of home maintenance activities demanded the application of principal component analysis to determine the factors perceived to dictate home maintenance outcomes. This resulted in the extraction of nine significant factors, which combine to exert their influence on the quality of the maintenance activities in the owner‐occupied sector.
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Joseph Kangwa and Femi Olubodun
This paper sets out to explore and detect underlying causes to increasing uncertainty and lack of transparency in the home maintenance sector. The study gives an account of…
Abstract
This paper sets out to explore and detect underlying causes to increasing uncertainty and lack of transparency in the home maintenance sector. The study gives an account of owner‐occupiers' experience on the standards of work they encounter with small‐scale domestic traders. Part I, in a previous issue, focused on the consensus ranking of 13 building maintenance standards or attributes that owner‐occupiers expect from builders (Xbmas) while part II focuses on the contrast between expectations and the actual maintenance setbacks observed from builders (Obmas) and which are a source of displeasure among owner‐occupiers. The application of nonparametric statistical techniques enabled the study to detect consensus on what defines expectations and how these differ from observed standards. An understanding of this disparity could be essential information for existing builders, new entrants into the home maintenance sector and inform housing regeneration professionals and agencies involved in the architecture and management of schemes for small‐scale builders.
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Joseph Kangwa and Femi Olubodun
This paper sets out to detect and explore underlying causes of increasing uncertainty and lack of transparency in the home maintenance sector. The study gives an account of…
Abstract
This paper sets out to detect and explore underlying causes of increasing uncertainty and lack of transparency in the home maintenance sector. The study gives an account of owner‐occupiers' experience on the standards of work they encounter with small‐scale domestic traders. Part I of the study focuses on the consensus ranking of 13 building maintenance standards or attributes that owner‐occupiers expect from builders (Xbmas) whilst part II focuses on the contrast between expectations and the actual standards that owner‐occupiers observe from builders (Obmas). The application of nonparametric statistical techniques enabled the study to discover a consensus on what defines expectations and how these differ from observed standards. The final inventory generated on standard attributes is an essential information for existing builders, new entrants in the domestic sector and can be used to inform housing regeneration professionals and agencies involved in the design and management of schemes for small‐scale builders.
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Joseph Kangwa and JFemi Olubodun
Recent governments have highlighted the problems of unfitness and why individual homeowners should intervene to deal with the maintenance problems of their own homes. Current…
Abstract
Recent governments have highlighted the problems of unfitness and why individual homeowners should intervene to deal with the maintenance problems of their own homes. Current estimates of the cost of comprehensive renewal are said to run into billions of pounds. There is also a genuine concern that the number of unfit dwellings will continue to increase regardless of the steady pace of renewal programmes. Arguably this concern has greatly influenced the dynamics of primary maintenance attributes of property owners. The primary attributes are recognised to be a product of increased owner‐maintenance awareness; enhanced owner‐maintenance skills and knowledge; and the owner‐maintenance management abilities. These attributes are interwoven, and therefore cannot be left out of current initiatives to improving the backlog of under‐maintenance in the owner‐occupier sector.
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Femi Olubodun, Joseph Kangwa, Adebayo Oladapo and Judith Thompson
Life cycle costing (LCC) is a means of comparing design options on the basis of their whole life cost with the objective of providing value for money for the life of the asset…
Abstract
Purpose
Life cycle costing (LCC) is a means of comparing design options on the basis of their whole life cost with the objective of providing value for money for the life of the asset. The process involves estimating all the cost elements of the particular subject and translating them into a cost at a particular point in time, the present, enabling comparison. Despite being in theory, a useful tool LCC appears to experience varied levels of usage. Varied opinions have been expressed about the level to which LCC is used but there is no doubt that private finance initiatives and public‐private partnerships procurement routes have seen an increase in the use of the technique. The paper aims to appraise levels of application within the construction industry, in particular the paper will evaluate the existence of motivators and barriers which affect the decision to undertake LCC analysis in order to identify what actions can be taken to increase usage levels.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a literature review, empirical research was undertaken to collect data from construction professionals regarding their views, opinions and experiences of LCC. In total, 100 questionnaires were sent to construction and professionals in the North West of England.
Findings
The paper suggests that whilst just over 50 per cent of the sample implemented LCC the data also identified the lack of understanding of the technique and the absence of a standardised methodology as key limiting factors to wider implementation.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations in both the data collection strategy and sample size raise the issue that the results obtained cannot necessarily be deemed to be representative of the construction industry as a whole but merely of the sample and further research is recommended.
Originality/value
The paper concludes that continued professional development for construction professionals and clients alike together with the development of standardised procedures may enhance usage levels.