Perceptibility of barriers and threats to successful and sustainable restoration of Heritage Buildings. A perspective of UK’s heritage practitioners

Purpose of this paper The research set out to examine whether, among heritage practitioners, there is unanimity as well as notable discrepancies in what they perceive as the barriers and threats to the successful and sustainable restoration of heritage buildings. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data from 87 practitioners. These included professional building surveyors, conservation officers, designers, main heritage as well as specialist heritage subcontractors. This heterogeneous sample was subject to the same research instrument. The data generated was chiefly non-parametric. Findings Principally, the notable barriers explored are ‘Prognosis–intervention barriers’. These are represented by a lack of knowledge about the principles of conservation and repair; followed by inconsistent repair standards. Even among the most dexterous heritage practitioners, the study noted a marked variation in the prognosis of structural failure as well as routine inconsistencies in the defects diagnosis methods. These challenges are contemporaneous within the sector as the likes of Historical England, (as custodians of Ancient Monuments) are continually seeking long term, and in some cases imminent interventional solutions. It is worrisome, however, to note that the custodians themselves are trapped in paralysis as the cycle between episodes of intervention become longer. The corollary is that, throughout the UK, most grade 1, grade II* and Ancient Monument structures are making the ‘risk register’: too many buildings, face the threat of being lost foreover. Research limitations The study concludes that a wider UK sample will be needed. This is because some of the applied technologies, preferred by practictioners, are not widely practised, especially in a sector where planning consent and wholesome depature from established principles, the local siginifcance attached to buildings are not only inimitable but demand solutions which are intagible and incomparable. Practical implications Within the heritage sector, the ongoing concerns about the slow rate of sustainable restoration merits considerable attention. Likewise, the challenges intrisic in the technical heritage doctrines such as ‘reversibility’ should in turn, be embraced as offering sustainable low carbon retrofit solutions. Indeed, by putting emphasis on the ‘reversibility’ ethos, a multi-perspective analysis unveils the fact that among practitioners, a sense of optimism is generally lacking. The study concludes that the sector lacks ‘can-do’ attitudes. As a result, it is diffuclt to innovate and to find solutions to the inexorable cycle of disrepair and the enormous restoration bill, currently estimated to run into several billions of Pound sterling. Sadly, locked-in with this, is the enormous high carbon foot print due to the ensuing restoration and repair activity

Leveraging big data for improving the estimation of close-to-reality travel time to obstetric emergency services in urban low- and middle-income settings

Maternal and perinatal mortality remain huge challenges globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where >98% of these deaths occur. Emergency obstetric care (EmOC) provided by skilled health personnel is an evidence-based package of interventions effective in reducing these deaths associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Until recently, pregnant women residing in urban areas have been considered to have good access to care, including EmOC. However, emerging evidence shows that due to rapid urbanization, this so called “urban advantage” is shrinking and in some LMIC settings, it is almost non-existent. This poses a complex challenge for structuring an effective health service delivery system, which tend to have poor spatial planning especially in LMIC settings. To optimize access to EmOC and ultimately reduce preventable maternal deaths within the context of urbanization, it is imperative to accurately locate areas and population groups that are geographically marginalized. Underpinning such assessments is accurately estimating travel time to health facilities that provide EmOC. In this perspective, we discuss strengths and weaknesses of approaches commonly used to estimate travel times to EmOC in LMICs, broadly grouped as reported and modeled approaches, while contextualizing our discussion in urban areas. We then introduce the novel OnTIME project, which seeks to address some of the key limitations in these commonly used approaches by leveraging big data. The perspective concludes with a discussion on anticipated outcomes and potential policy applications of the OnTIME project

Influence of Building Type on Post-Handover Defects in Housing

Clients’ lack of involvement in defining quality requirements for dwellings built by developers leads to a perception of poor quality at the time of purchase. The research presented in this paper aims to broaden previous research on defects by analyzing the defects that remain in the post-handover stage, which usually lasts 12 months after the handover period, and identifying the factors that influence the appearance of these defects, determining whether a significant difference exists in the quality of the two main residential building types built by developers: flats and detached houses. It also analyzes and discusses the areas and elements in which the defects were detected. The data were obtained from client complaint forms completed after the handover of 95 dwellings in Spain. The data were then statistically analyzed using a t-test analysis, a Pearson’s parametric correlation, and a chi-square test. The research reveals that clients detect more defects in flats than in detached houses. The lower quality of the materials used in flats and the tighter schedule to which flats are subject may cause these differences