The socio-economic impacts of urban regeneration programmes as a tool of housing in post-socialist era: a comparison of Hungarian case studies

Nzimande, Ntombifuthi Precious. The socio-economic impacts of urban regeneration programs as a tool of housing in post-socialist era: a comparison of Hungarian case studies. University of Szeged (Hungary), November 2022. Directors: Prof. Tivadar Tóth, Dr. György Csomós, Dr. Erika Nagy, Dr. Márton Berki & Dr. Márton Kiss

Theories of the voting behaviour in the context of electoral and urban geography

Electoral geography – the analysing of spatial patterns in voting – intends to explore the spatialspecific factors that influence voter decisions, while the theories of voter behaviour generally seek to explain the electoral results in the individual level. In many cases, the disciplines of the electoral geography and voting behaviour analysis are connected due to their research objectives. The two subdisciplines overlap in many ways, because voter’s behaviour is largely influenced by their social environment and daily interactions. This statement is especially true in a highly heterogeneous environment such as metropolitan area, where the population is vulnerable to many different influences. Based on the above, the aim of this paper is to briefly overview the literature on electoral geography and voting behaviour, and explore its connections with spatial sciences, especially urban geography. Therefore, the first major question of the study is how electoral geography literature has developed, what topics it has focused on, and how these have evolved into voting behaviour theories. The second major question is how different theories are embedded in certain social stratifications, spatial scales and spaces, with special reference to urban areas

Differences in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior and Food Insecurity by HIV Status in Nigeria

The aim of the study was to assess if there were signifcant diferences in the adoption of COVID-19 risk preventive behaviors and experience of food insecurity by people living with and without HIV in Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study that recruited a convenience sample of 4471 (20.5% HIV positive) adults in Nigeria. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the associations between the explanatory variable (HIV positive and non-positive status) and the outcome variables—COVID-19 related behavior changes (physical distancing, isolation/quarantine, working remotely) and food insecurity (hungry but did not eat, cut the size of meals/skip meals) controlling for age, sex at birth, COVID-19 status, and medical status of respondents. Signifcantly fewer people living with HIV (PLWH) reported a positive COVID-19 test result; and had lower odds of practicing COVID-19 risk preventive behaviors. In comparison with those living without HIV, PLWH had higher odds of cutting meal sizes as a food security measure (AOR: 3.18; 95% CI 2.60–3.88) and lower odds of being hungry and not eating (AOR: 0.24; 95% CI 0.20–0.30). In conclusion, associations between HIV status, COVID-19 preventive behaviors and food security are highly complex and warrant further in-depth to unravel the incongruities identifed

Stakeholders’ perceptions of urban regeneration: the case of kis-pongrác in budapest

Urban regeneration has been seen as the saving grace for cities, bringing hopes of rejuvenating their social environment, renovating their dilapidated buildings and revitalising local urban economies. To implement urban regeneration programs, governments have collaborated with various stakeholders for area-based initiatives. The paper aims to investigate the participatory, integrated approach in Hungary from the perspective of the key stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in a localised case study. Thus, the main objective is to identify the challenges within urban governance of a post-socialist which hindered the development of an integrated and participatory stakeholder engagement approach. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders that were then subject to thematic analysis. In the case study, findings provided critical insights into the interaction between stakeholders’ engagement and these projects. The findings also included the challenges that stakeholders experienced with the project and the need for long-term stakeholder collaboration between the residents, civil society and the government. It is hoped that the findings of this study are not only of interest to urban planners and how beneficial it is for the long-term to include local people in all the different stages of the program, but also to local academia to realise the significant role they can play in contributing towards the success of urban regeneration in their local communities plus in other regions through the sharing of their local urban regeneration outcomes to other academics

Theories of the voting behaviour in the context of electoral and urban geography

Electoral geography – the analysing of spatial patterns in voting – intends to explore the spatial-specific factors that influence voter decisions, while the theories of voter behaviour generally seek to explain the electoral results in the individual level. In many cases, the disciplines of the electoral geography and voting behaviour analysis are connected due to their research objectives. The two subdisciplines overlap in many ways, because voter’s behaviour is largely influenced by their social environment and daily interactions. This statement is especially true in a highly heterogeneous environment such as metropolitan area, where the population is vulnerable to many different influences. Based on the above, the aim of this paper is to briefly overview the literature on electoral geography and voting behaviour, and explore its connections with spatial sciences, especially urban geography. Therefore, the first major question of the study is how electoral geography literature has developed, what topics it has focused on, and how these have evolved into voting behaviour theories. The second major question is how different theories are embedded in certain social stratifications, spatial scales and spaces, with special reference to urban areas

Factors Associated with Financial Security, Food Security and Quality of Daily Lives of Residents in Nigeria during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

An online survey was conducted to identify factors associated with financial insecurity, food insecurity and poor quality of daily lives of adults in Nigeria during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The associations between the outcome (experience of financial loss, changes in food intake and impact of the pandemic on daily lives) and the explanatory (age, sex, education level, anxiety, depression, HIV status) variables were determined using logistic regression analysis. Of the 4439 respondents, 2487 (56.0%) were financially insecure, 907 (20.4%) decreased food intake and 4029 (90.8%) had their daily life negatively impacted. Males (AOR:0.84), people who felt depressed (AOR:0.62) and people living with HIV -PLHIV- (AOR:0.70) had significantly lower odds of financial insecurity. Older respondents (AOR:1.01) had significantly higher odds of financial insecurity. Those depressed (AOR:0.62) and PLHIV (AOR:0.55) had significantly lower odds of reporting decreased food intake. Respondents who felt anxious (AOR:0.07), depressed (AOR: 0.48) and who were PLHIV (AOR:0.68) had significantly lower odds of reporting a negative impact of the pandemic on their daily lives. We concluded the study findings may reflect a complex relationship between financial insecurity, food insecurity, poor quality of life, mental health, and socioeconomic status of adults living in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemi