Assessment of the likelihood of implementation strategies for climate change adaptation measures in Dutch social housing

Housing providers have to keep adapting their building stock to keep pace with the dynamic changes in the urban environment. One of the main drivers of adaptation is climate change, caused primarily by man-made greenhouse gases. Climate change is impacting on urban areas largely through drought, flooding from extreme precipitation, and heat stress. Climate change not only threatens the building stock, but also the quality of life of people living and working in urban environments. In the Netherlands, housing associations have strong interests in and responsibilities for managing the social housing stock and maintaining quality of life, but they seem scarcely aware of the challenge that lies ahead in terms of adapting their stock to the impacts of climate change. This paper focuses on physical adaptations to the housing stock and discusses the likelihood of the adoption of five implementation strategies for climate adaptation measures as assessed by decision-makers in Dutch housing associations in an online survey. The strategies combine conceptual approaches in policymaking, involvement of external players, and the execution of construction projects in a partnering approach, with the addition of one extra strategy that assigns a central position to the tenants. There was no strategy that stood out clearly as the one most likely to guide the implementation of measures. Many housing associations do, however, see opportunities in this area and might be persuaded to take action if they were provided with a wide palette of implementation strategies from which they could select the most suitable combination

Implementation strategies for climate change adaptation measures in Dutch social housing

Housing managers are constantly confronted with the changing demands and requirements that their building stock must meet. One aspect of this is the changing climate, which is caused primarily by greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Even if the emissions of all these gases could now somehow be put on hold, the process of climate change could not be, and the effects of climate change would most probably continue to be felt for many more years. In urban areas, these effects include drought, flooding caused by extreme precipitation and heat stress caused by the urban heat island effect. In addition to threatening the building stock, climate change is also threatening the quality of life of people in urban environments. In the Netherlands, housing associations are responsible for managing the social housing stock and maintaining the quality of life of those that live there. However, research has shown that they are not yet sufficiently aware of the challenge that lies ahead in adapting their dwellings to a changing climate. In view of the focus on the physical adaptations of the building stock, it was chosen to discuss in this paper the effectiveness of three types of conceptual approaches for governance that housing associations could apply directly in their maintenance processes. The conceptual approaches are hypothesised based on the results of earlier research on the implementation of climate change adaptations in social housing. The conceptual approaches are: CA1) incorporate climate adaptation into the policy that guides the overall management of their stock; CA2) involve actors that traditionally do not play a role in the construction process, such as insurance companies and water boards; CA3) emphasise performance-based procurement to encourage the execution of projects using a partnering approach. The effectiveness of these conceptual approaches was tested using a SWOT analysis for each approach, which was discussed with practitioners. The results are five implementation strategies, based on the combinations of conceptual approaches that are potentially feasible for the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in the Dutch social housing stock. One crucial factor in these implementation strategies is collaboration, because these days no housing association is financially able to assume responsibility for climate-proofing its housing stock on its own

Constraining new physics in b→cℓνb\to c\ell\nu transitions

$B$ decays proceeding via $b\to c\ell\nu$ transitions with $\ell=e$ or $\mu$ are tree-level processes in the Standard Model. They are used to measure the CKM element $V_{cb}$, as such forming an important ingredient in the determination of e.g. the unitarity triangle; hence the question to which extent they can be affected by new physics contributions is important, specifically given the long-standing tension between $V_{cb}$ determinations from inclusive and exclusive decays and the significant hints for lepton flavour universality violation in $b\to c\tau\nu$ and $b\to s\ell\ell$ decays. We perform a comprehensive model-independent analysis of new physics in $b\to c\ell\nu$, considering all combinations of scalar, vector and tensor interactions occuring in single-mediator scenarios. We include for the first time differential distributions of $B\to D^*\ell\nu$ angular observables for this purpose. We show that these are valuable in constraining non-standard interactions. Specifically, the zero-recoil endpoint of the $B\to D\ell\nu$ spectrum is extremely sensitive to scalar currents, while the maximum-recoil endpoint of the $B\to D^*\ell\nu$ spectrum with transversely polarized $D^*$ is extremely sensitive to tensor currents. We also quantify the room for $e$-$\mu$ universality violation in $b\to c\ell\nu$ transitions, predicted by some models suggested to solve the $b\to c\tau\nu$ anomalies, from a global fit to $B\to D\ell\nu$ and $B\to D^*\ell\nu$ for the first time. Specific new physics models, corresponding to all possible tree-level mediators, are also discussed. As a side effect, we present $V_{cb}$ determinations from exclusive $B$ decays, both with frequentist and Bayesian statistics, leading to compatible results. The entire numerical analysis is based on open source code, allowing it to be easily adapted once new data or new form factors become available.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures. v3: minor clarifications, conclusions unchange

Towards successful partnering in housing refurbishment - an assessment of six Dutch dyads

Supply chain partnering is seen as one method of handling the need for more efficient and transparent building processes. Although it has received considerable attention from practitioners and researchers, supply chain partnering is still in its formative phase within the construction industry. There have been a number of studies that focus on ‘success factors’ in partnering, but relatively few studies have focused on whether and how these factors are applied in practice. Moreover, almost no studies have been completed into supply chain partnering in housing refurbishment projects. An assessment was made of the partnerships between six Dutch housing associations and general contractors, on the basis of the success factors identified in literature: trust, leadership, partner capabilities, commitment, conflict resolution, coordination and communication. The conclusion is that most of these factors play a role, although there are considerable differences in the way in which the dyads used these factors in their partnering process. Conflict resolution techniques and coordination measures have not yet been developed. This may be due to the experimental stage of the dyads and/or the level of trust within the dyads, but it also implies a risk for the further development of the partnering process, should conflicts arise

Innovation in housing refurbishment through adopting a partnering approach

Housing associations own 32 % of housing stock in the Netherlands, making them major actors in maintaining and improving the quality of life in the urban environment. The building stock requires effective innovation to keep pace with the needs of today’s tenants. Moreover, the current financial circumstances and political environment have pushed housing associations to innovate in their (re)construction processes, for example by adopting a partnering approach. Several studies indicate that the implementation of innovations could benefit from partnering approaches in the construction supply chain. An evaluation of refurbishment projects that have been carried out using a partnering approach, however, indicates that the innovation process itself was seen as the major innovation and may (initially) even hamper innovations that aim to upgrade the dwelling to current standards. This effect should be taken into account when developing innovations in dwellings

Awareness of climate change adaptations among Dutch housing associations

Climate change: the question is not anymore if it happens, but what the impact is of its effects such as drought, heat waves and increased precipitation on the quality of our lives in cities, offices and houses. A significant share of the Northern European housing stock is owned and maintained by large stock owners, such as housing associations. It is their responsibility to be aware of changes and risks that might challenge the quality of life of their tenants. Moreover, in order to provide housing with a good market value in the future, adaptation to climate change can no longer be overlooked. With the aim to discover the level of awareness of climate change adaptation among Dutch housing associations, a content analysis was undertaken on the policy plans and the annual reports of the 25 largest housing associations. Subsequently they were classified according to their level of awareness. The analysis returned no topics that directly referred to climate change adaptation, which implies that all housing associations are categorised as being ‘unaware’. Therefore, in order to reach higher levels of awareness and to incentivize the implementation of adaptation measures, appropriate governance strategies need to be developed. Future research will define the characteristics of these strategies in relation to the level of awareness of the housing associations. Adoption of the measures could be easier if adaptation measures are combined with maintenance activities, as this has been the case with mitigation measures

Evaluation of climate change adaptation measures by Dutch housing associations

Purpose – Research into climate change adaptation measures has resulted in the identification of 155 such adaptation measures that contribute to making the built environment more climate resilient. These measures mainly focus on new construction. This paper assesses the feasibility of the measures for the existing social housing stock in the Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted with 12 property managers and policy staff members from Dutch housing associations. The interviewees judged 21 measures that were designed to adapt dwellings to heat-related problems caused by climate change, and they also answered questions regarding their awareness of climate change and regarding the feasibility of the measures. Findings – Low awareness of climate change adaptations, the financing of the measures and the technical complexity of adaptation measures are perceived barriers to implementation. Several possibilities to remove these barriers are discussed. Research limitations/implications – The sample of 12 interviewees provides valuable insight into the opinions of a select group of policymakers from housing associations. The judgments were made based on the personal experiences and expectations of the interviewees. Originality/value – This paper provides valuable insight into the opinions of policymakers and decision-makers in Dutch housing associations on climate change adaptation measures in the existing building stock. These insights will be of use for policymaking at the local and national levels directed towards creating a resilient building stock.&nbsp

On the economic impact of international sport events: microevidence from survey data at the EURO 2008

Using firm-level data for more than 700 Swiss hotels and restaurants, we evaluate the economic impact of the EURO 2008 soccer championship in Switzerland. Although aggregated macrodata do not reveal any sizable economic impact, we report an overall negative effect based on the surveyed companies. Notably the reported effects of the individual firms are very heterogeneous. For instance, hotels in cities benefitted from the tournament as they were able to raise prices and thereby increase sales. Looking at the long-run impact only a small fraction of companies do believe in a positive effect. Interestingly, this outlook does not depend on realized sales, but on the guest structure. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis