Building Ownership, Renovation Investments, and Energy Performance—A Study of Multi-Family Dwellings in Gothenburg

The European building stock was renewed at a rapid pace during the period 1950–1975. In many European countries, the building stock from this time needs to be renovated, and there are opportunities to introduce energy efficiency measures in the renovation process. information availability and increasingly available analysis tools make it possible to assess the impact of policy and regulation. This article describes methods developed for analyzing investments in renovation and energy performance based on building ownership and inhabitant socio-economic information developed for Swedish authorities, to be used for the Swedish national renovations strategy in 2019. This was done by analyzing measured energy usage and renovation investments made during the last 30 years, coupled with building specific official information of buildings and resident area characteristics, for multi-family dwellings in Gothenburg (N = 6319). The statistical analyses show that more costly renovations lead to decreasing energy usage for heating, but buildings that have been renovated during the last decades have a higher energy usage when accounting for current heating system, ownership, and resident socio-economic background. It is appropriate to include an affordability aspect in larger renovation projects since economically disadvantaged groups are over-represented in buildings with poorer energy performance

Estimating the probability distributions of radioactive concrete in the building stock using Bayesian networks

The undesirable legacy of radioactive concrete (blue concrete) in post-war dwellings contributes to increased indoor radon levels and health threats to occupants. Despite continuous decontamination efforts, blue concrete still remains in the Swedish building stock due to low traceability as the consequence of lacking systematic documentation in technical descriptions and drawings and resource-demanding large-scaled radiation screening.The paper aims to explore the predictive inference potential of learning Bayesian networks for evaluating the presence probability of blue concrete. By integrating blue concrete records from indoor radon measurements, pre-demolition audit inventories, and building registers, it is possible to estimate buildings with high probabilities of containing blue concrete and encode the dependent relationships between variables. The findings show that blue concrete is estimated to be present in more than 30% of existing buildings, more than the current expertassumptions of 18–20%. The probability of detecting blue concrete depends on the distance to historical blue concrete manufacturing plants, building class, and construction year, but it is independent of floor area and basements. Multifamily houses and buildings built between 1960 and 1968 or nearby manufacturing plants are more likely to contain blue concrete. Despite heuristic, the data-driven approach offers an overview of the extent and the probability distribution of blue concrete-prone buildings in the regional building stock. The paper contributes to method development for pattern identification for hazardous building materials, i.e., blue concrete, and the trained models can be used for risk-based inspection planning before renovation and selective demolition

Renovating on Unequal Premises: A Normative Framework for a Just Renovation Wave in Swedish Multifamily Housing

While the energy transition of the EU housing stock is now being intensified with the launch of the Renovation Wave, economic inequalities are increasing in many OECD countries, which has effects on housing-related inequalities and the demand of affordable housing. The Renovation Wave is thus an opportunity to improve housing quality for low-income households, but also entails risks for increased rents. In Sweden, the standard of housing is relatively high and energy poverty in multifamily housing is rare, meaning that there are limited social benefits to be achieved from extensive energy retrofitting; moreover, Sweden lacks a social housing sector, which limits protection of the worst-off residents. This paper thus explores whether the limited social benefits of the Renovation Wave weigh up against the risks that it entails for the worst-off in the Swedish context. This is done within a normative framework for just energy transitioning that is developed within the context of the Renovation Wave and increasing economic inequalities, consisting of four ordered principles: (1) The equal treatment principle; (2) The priority principle; (3) The efficiency principle; and (4) The principle of procedural fairness. Analysis showed that to be considered just according to our framework, the Swedish energy transition of housing should, in contradistinction to what is suggested in the Renovation Wave, limit the imposition of extensive energy retrofitting in low-income areas. Finally, having identified a mismatch between the most effective approaches in terms of energy savings and the most acceptable approaches in terms of social justice, we offer policy recommendations on how to bridge this mismatch in a Swedish context

A differentiated description of building-stocks for a georeferenced urban bottom-up building-stock model

Several building-stock modelling techniques have been employed to investigate the impact of energy efficiency measures (EEM), where the description of the building-stock generally consists of an age-type classification to specify building characteristics for groups of buildings. Such descriptions lack the appropriate level of detail to differentiate the potential for EEM within age groups. This paper proposes a methodology for building-stock description using building-specific data and measured energy use to augment an age-type building-stock classification. By integrating building characteristics from energy performance certificates, measured energy use and envelope areas from a 2.5D GIS model, the building-stock description reflects the heterogeneity of the building-stock. The proposed method is validated using a local building portfolio (N = 433) in the city of Gothenburg, where modelled results for space heating and domestic hot water are compared to data from measurements, both on an individual building level and for the entire portfolio. Calculated energy use based on the building-stock description of the portfolio differ less than 3% from measured values, with 42% of the individual buildings being within a 20% margin of measured energy use indicating further work is needed to reduce or quantify the uncertainty on a building level

Applying spatial regression to evaluate risk factors for microbiological contamination of urban groundwater sources in Juba, South Sudan

This study developed methodology for statistically assessing groundwater contamination mechanisms. It focused on microbial water pollution in low-income regions. Risk factors for faecal contamination of groundwater-fed drinking-water sources were evaluated in a case study in Juba, South Sudan. The study was based on counts of thermotolerant coliforms in water samples from 129 sources, collected by the humanitarian aid organisation M,decins Sans FrontiSres in 2010. The factors included hydrogeological settings, land use and socio-economic characteristics. The results showed that the residuals of a conventional probit regression model had a significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran\u27s I = 3.05, I-stat = 9.28); therefore, a spatial model was developed that had better goodness-of-fit to the observations. The most significant factor in this model (p-value 0.005) was the distance from a water source to the nearest Tukul area, an area with informal settlements that lack sanitation services. It is thus recommended that future remediation and monitoring efforts in the city be concentrated in such low-income regions. The spatial model differed from the conventional approach: in contrast with the latter case, lowland topography was not significant at the 5% level, as the p-value was 0.074 in the spatial model and 0.040 in the traditional model. This study showed that statistical risk-factor assessments of groundwater contamination need to consider spatial interactions when the water sources are located close to each other. Future studies might further investigate the cut-off distance that reflects spatial autocorrelation. Particularly, these results advise research on urban groundwater quality

The effect of resource sustainability interventions on social sustainable development in the built environment

There are several sustainable development targets for the Swedish housing market. The sector as a whole is expected to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Housing prices should increase and not inflate. Meanwhile, the development of the built environment should contribute to well being and decrease segregation. Prioritization amongst these targets is often done through policy and by actors in the housing market. This thesis focuses on the trade-offs between environmental and social sustainable development targets. The thesis builds on two studies of development in the built environment. The main study describes an environmental upgrade of housing in a disadvantaged area of Gothenburg, and the second investigates a redevelopment area with high environmental ambitions. Environmental targets, such as CO2 reduction, have in some cases been profitably achieved in housing projects in Sweden. The principal study of this thesis describes the implementation of volumetric billing of water at Bredfj\ue4llsgatan which successfully reduced water usage and was profitable for the implementing real estate company. However, the system’s change also increased the average monthly costs for the households, and the average monthly costs increased even more in households where the inhabitants were unemployed. The lock-in effect of welfare dependency is increased by rising monthly expenses. This group lacks economic incentive to save water since welfare pays for water usage. The analyses of water consumption data show that while economic incentives account for some reduction of water consumption, other parameters such as household size, crowdedness of apartments, and household level of education are also important factors. Households receiving welfare are not economically affected by the implementation of volumetric billing of water but are further socially excluded from society when trapped in welfare dependence. The real estate owner states economic and environmental aspects as motivators for the system’s change. Social sustainable development targets on a societal level are not an outspoken priority to the same extent. The real estate owners in disadvantaged housing areas should be recognized as important actors in the development to tackle segregation of the housing market.The second study presents empirical insights from a housing area that is being built with high environmental ambitions. Perspectives of sustainable development amongst developers in the area differ, but it is apparent that social dimensions of sustainable development receive less attention. The complexity of social dimensions is not fully addressed. Social sustainable development is for example thought of as comfortable outdoor environments in the area, while the larger societal impacts of the housing project were not considered to the same extent. Integration, affordability, and equity were given direct focus; instead these targets are often assumed to be reached by varying apartment sizes and mixing tenure in the area

The effect of resource sustainability interventions on social sustainable development in the built environment

There are several sustainable development targets for the Swedish housing market. The sector as a whole is expected to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Housing prices should increase and not inflate. Meanwhile, the development of the built environment should contribute to well being and decrease segregation. Prioritization amongst these targets is often done through policy and by actors in the housing market. This thesis focuses on the trade-offs between environmental and social sustainable development targets. The thesis builds on two studies of development in the built environment. The main study describes an environmental upgrade of housing in a disadvantaged area of Gothenburg, and the second investigates a redevelopment area with high environmental ambitions. Environmental targets, such as CO2 reduction, have in some cases been profitably achieved in housing projects in Sweden. The principal study of this thesis describes the implementation of volumetric billing of water at Bredfj\ue4llsgatan which successfully reduced water usage and was profitable for the implementing real estate company. However, the system’s change also increased the average monthly costs for the households, and the average monthly costs increased even more in households where the inhabitants were unemployed. The lock-in effect of welfare dependency is increased by rising monthly expenses. This group lacks economic incentive to save water since welfare pays for water usage. The analyses of water consumption data show that while economic incentives account for some reduction of water consumption, other parameters such as household size, crowdedness of apartments, and household level of education are also important factors. Households receiving welfare are not economically affected by the implementation of volumetric billing of water but are further socially excluded from society when trapped in welfare dependence. The real estate owner states economic and environmental aspects as motivators for the system’s change. Social sustainable development targets on a societal level are not an outspoken priority to the same extent. The real estate owners in disadvantaged housing areas should be recognized as important actors in the development to tackle segregation of the housing market.The second study presents empirical insights from a housing area that is being built with high environmental ambitions. Perspectives of sustainable development amongst developers in the area differ, but it is apparent that social dimensions of sustainable development receive less attention. The complexity of social dimensions is not fully addressed. Social sustainable development is for example thought of as comfortable outdoor environments in the area, while the larger societal impacts of the housing project were not considered to the same extent. Integration, affordability, and equity were given direct focus; instead these targets are often assumed to be reached by varying apartment sizes and mixing tenure in the area

Challenges of renovating the Gothenburg multi-family building stock - An analysis of comprehensive building-specific information, including energy performance, ownership and affordability

In Sweden and many European countries, the building stock increased at a rapid pace during the period of 1950-1975. This aging building stock is in need of renovation which is a challenge and an opportunity in reaching the energy performance targets as well as decreasing societal inequities. The contribution of this thesis is to demonstrate how economic, social and resource usage challenges of renovating the building stock can be analyzed and described using comprehensive building-specific data. In this thesis, building ownership types, area socio-economic characteristics, building energy performance, and investments in renovation, are analyzed for the Gothenburg multi-family dwelling stock. Measured energy usage from the Swedish Energy Performance Certificate was used in the analysis. The data quality of the Energy Performance Certificate was assessed for the purpose of analyzing the building stock. The Energy Performance Certificates were matched with official building information from the Swedish Land Survey and area socio-economic information from Statistics Sweden. Using this dataset, rent increases due to renovations are estimated and compared. To broaden the analysis, a case study in a renovation project of multi-family dwellings in an economically disadvantaged area is also presented. In the case study renovation, the implemented energy usage reducing measure of volumetric billing of water was found to increase rents. The case study is used to exemplify how energy usage reducing renovation projects, with little consideration for social city development targets, can aggravate economic segregation. There is positive progress towards the 2020 targets of greenhouse gas emission reduction and improved energy efficiency in the Swedish housing sector; while there is little progress toward the Gothenburg city target to reduce segregation. The Swedish housing sector is rather part of the economic and geographic segregation process in Gothenburg. Renovation will be needed to reduce differences in living standards. The upcoming renovation need is a challenge, for mainly municipally owned companies, in reaching greenhouse gas and energy usage reduction without raising rent and increasing economic segregation.Appended articles: I. Mangold M, Morrison G, Harder R, Hagbert P, and Rauch S. (2014) “TheTransformative Effect of the Introduction of Water Volumetric Billing in a DisadvantagedHousing Area in Sweden.” Water Policy 16 (5): 973-990. doi:10.2166/wp.2014.105.  II. Mangold M, Österbring M, and Wallbaum H. (2015) “Review of Swedish ResidentialBuilding Stock Research.” International Journal of Environmental Sustainability, 11 (2).ISSN: 23251077.  III. Mangold M, Österbring M, and Wallbaum H. (2015) “Handling Data UncertaintiesWhen Using Swedish Energy Performance Certificate Data to Describe Energy Usage inthe Building Stock.” Energy and Buildings 102: 328–36.  IV. Mangold M, Österbring M, Wallbaum H, Tuvander L, and Femenias P. (2016) “SocioEconomic Impact of Renovation and Energy Retrofitting of the Gothenburg BuildingStock.” Energy and Buildings. 123: 41-49 doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.04.033   V. Mangold M, Österbring M, Wallbaum H, Overland C, and Johansson T. “Buildingownership, renovation investments and energy performance - A study of multi-familydwellings in Gothenburg.” Submitted to Energy and Buildings. This thesis has been financially supported by Chalmers Infrastructure Engineering, SIRen, E2B2,Chalmers Area of Advance Energy, and the Swedish Research Council for Environment,Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning – Formas, within the Homes for Tomorrow project. </p

Omtanke som utgångspunkt vid akdemisk handledning

Det är under all kritik att så många doktorander mår dåligt och inte färdigställer sina avhandlingar. Vi mer seniora akademiker har ett medmänskligt ansvar att etablera strukturer som tar hand om våra kollegor. Omtanke om våra doktoranders utveckling behövs då vi designar strukturer för doktorerande så väl som handledande. I denna artikel argumenterar jag för att omtanken om doktorandens utveckling bör vara en utgångspunkt i handledningsarbetet. Med hjälp av omtanke blir det enklare att: hitta rätt nivå för krav och mål, erkänna brister i handledarskapet, prata problem i satta maktrelationer, hantera utmaningar från den våldsamma akademin, med mera. Att bry sig om doktorandens utveckling innebär många olika saker under resans gång. Även om det i artikeln konkretiseras vad omtanke om doktorandens utveckling kan innebära, så är poängen snarare att det blir enklare att inse vad god handledning är, ifall omtanken om doktorandens väl är en utgångpunkt i handledningsarbetet.CARE AS A POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR ACADEMIC SUPERVISION  It is appalling that so many doctoral students feel bad and do not complete their theses. We, more senior academics have a responsibility as fellow human beings to establish structures that take care of our colleagues. In this article, I argue that care for the doctoral student's development should be a starting point in supervision work. With care as a point of departure, it becomes easier to: find the right level for demands and goals, admit shortcomings in the supervision, talk about problems in fixed power relations, and deal with challenges from the violent academy, amongst others. Caring about the doctoral student's development means many different things during the journey. Even though the article details what care for the doctoral student's development can mean, the point is rather that it becomes easier to realize what good supervision is, if concern for the doctoral student's well-being is a starting point in the supervision work.Article Details

Challenges of renovating the Gothenburg multi-family building stock - An analysis of comprehensive building-specific information, including energy performance, ownership and affordability

In Sweden and many European countries, the building stock increased at a rapid pace during theperiod of 1950-1975. This aging building stock is in need of renovation which is a challenge andan opportunity in reaching the energy performance targets as well as decreasing societal inequities.The contribution of this thesis is to demonstrate how economic, social and resource usagechallenges of renovating the building stock can be analyzed and described using comprehensivebuilding-specific data.In this thesis, building ownership types, area socio-economic characteristics, building energyperformance, and investments in renovation, are analyzed for the Gothenburg multi-familydwelling stock. Measured energy usage from the Swedish Energy Performance Certificate wasused in the analysis. The data quality of the Energy Performance Certificate was assessed for thepurpose of analyzing the building stock. The Energy Performance Certificates were matched withofficial building information from the Swedish Land Survey and area socio-economic informationfrom Statistics Sweden. Using this dataset, rent increases due to renovations are estimated andcompared.To broaden the analysis, a case study in a renovation project of multi-family dwellings in aneconomically disadvantaged area is also presented. In the case study renovation, the implementedenergy usage reducing measure of volumetric billing of water was found to increase rents. Thecase study is used to exemplify how energy usage reducing renovation projects, with littleconsideration for social city development targets, can aggravate economic segregation.There is positive progress towards the 2020 targets of greenhouse gas emission reduction andimproved energy efficiency in the Swedish housing sector; while there is little progress towardthe Gothenburg city target to reduce segregation. The Swedish housing sector is rather part of theeconomic and geographic segregation process in Gothenburg. Renovation will be needed toreduce differences in living standards. The upcoming renovation need is a challenge, for mainlymunicipally owned companies, in reaching greenhouse gas and energy usage reduction withoutraising rent and increasing economic segregation