Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is a key manifestation of urban climate change that disproportionately burdens vulnerable populations in rapidly growing cities. While prior research has identified associations between heat exposure and relocation, the spatial nuances of intra-urban heat disparities and their relationship with residential mobility remain under-explored. Focusing on San Antonio, Texas, this study links geocoded household records from Data Axle with 30-meter Landsat-derived land surface temperature (LST) to identify block-group UHI exposure and defines mobility as an inter-annual address change. Using exploratory spatial analysis and mixed-effects logistic regression with block-group random intercepts and socio-economic and demographic controls, we examine the statistical associations between block-group UHI exposure and household mobility. Results show that UHI zones are concentrated in socio-economically disadvantaged central neighborhoods. Moreover, average residential tenure is longer and mobility rates are significantly lower in UHI areas. Regression analyses further reveal that, even after controlling for socio-economic and demographic characteristics, households in UHI zones exhibit significantly lower probabilities of moving, suggesting a pattern of spatial immobility associated with UHI exposure. Interaction results show socially differentiated immobility: within UHI areas, higher-income and younger households exhibit lower mobility probabilities, broadly aligning with theoretical expectations from cost–benefit and in-situ adaptation frameworks, while among younger households, limited accumulated wealth may also be associated with constrained access to relocation options. These findings suggest that observed residential stability in UHI areas may reflect systemic constraints rather than simply elective adaptation. This underscores the need for equitable heat adaptation strategies that move beyond individual behavioral changes to integrate urban cooling interventions with housing affordability and systemic land-use governance.
Urban renewal projects (URPs) are more complex to manage than new constructions. Drawing on stakeholder interviews concerning 24 completed URPs, this study uses a large language model–assisted grounded theory method to develop a type–approach fit framework for URP. The framework comprises five domains: implementation scheduling, subcontracting model, responsible entity selection, investment management, and stakeholder participation, revealing front-loaded decision-making, decompositional delivery, and coordination-intensive processes, as prevailing tendencies. Using this framework, projects of different functional types are analysed to identify their management–approach preferences, with the observed type-specific differences interpreted in relation to project scale, stakeholder composition, profitability potential, and cost burden. The framework guides URP decision-makers in selecting and coordinating appropriate approaches across the five management domains based on their project type, thereby supporting more systematic and context-sensitive project implementation.
Rapid urbanization and population concentration in Iran’s metropolitan areas have led to challenges such as land scarcity, pollution, and declining quality of urban life. In response, new town policies were adopted to decentralize population and provide residential and functional needs. However, Iranian new towns have struggled to achieve livability and urban cohesion due to weaknesses in public space design, spatial discontinuity, and reduced sense of belonging. This study examines the relationship between spatial cohesion and social cohesion in Sahand New Town, Iran, through the lens of Richard Sennett’s “Open City” theory. The research focuses on the urban corridor from Omran Square to Moallem Square, using a descriptive‑analytical design with a mixed‑methods approach. A structured questionnaire based on spatial and social cohesion indicators was developed, and data were analyzed using SPSS. Findings reveal a significant positive correlation between spatial and social cohesion (r = 0.557, p < 0.01). Enhanced spatial continuity, permeability, and openness promote social interaction, civic engagement, and sense of belonging. Physical indicators such as legibility, place identity, and functional diversity also showed relatively favorable conditions, underscoring the role of spatial quality in fostering social cohesion. Designing flexible, permeable, and multi‑functional urban spaces based on Sennett’s Open City principles can significantly strengthen social cohesion and sustainable livability in emerging new towns.
Canadian scholarship has increasingly recognized immigrants’ high rates of homeownership, residential mobility and suburbanization, as well as their tendency to form ethnic enclaves. Yet the role of ethnocultural identity in relocation decisions, particularly moves to the suburbs, remains understudied. This study compares the relocation and suburbanization of Portuguese homebuyers in Toronto and Montreal, examining settlement patterns, housing choices and preferences, and residential search strategies. Portuguese immigrants have established communities in both cities since the early 1950s and have high rates of homeownership and suburbanization. The study draws on longitudinal data beginning with surveys of Portuguese residents in Montreal in 1984 and of Portuguese residents who had relocated from Toronto to Mississauga in 1990. In 2003, follow-up research was conducted with 39 participants in Mississauga and 26 in Montreal. Additional ethnographic fieldwork was undertaken in May 2023 in Portuguese communities in Toronto, Montreal and their suburbs. The findings show increasing geographic dispersion among first-generation Portuguese immigrants in both metropolitan areas, including movement to the suburbs. While many aging first-generation residents are resisting pressures to move resulting from gentrification in Little Portugal/Petit Portugal, younger generations born in Canada are increasingly unable to afford housing in the urban cores. They are moving to the suburbs and outer suburbs of Toronto and Montreal in search of more affordable housing to buy or rent.
Housing significantly influences the overall quality of life, and extends beyond physical shelter and environmental performance to include affordability and socio-cultural integration in the context of developing countries. However, existing housing sustainability assessment frameworks do not fully integrate the diverse sustainability objectives in a holistic and context-sensitive manner. Addressing these issues, this study explored the concept of Sustainable Housing and developed a conceptual framework to assess housing sustainability in developing countries. The methodology combined a structured literature review with a Delphi process involving experts from academia and professional practice, including academicians, architects, contractors, IGBC consultants, and one end-user representative. Through iterative ratings and qualitative feedback, the indicators, criteria, and sub-criteria were refined in line with the proposed concept of sustainable housing. The results showed acceptable internal consistency (0.755 to 0.957) and mean ratings (3.429 to 4.286), indicating support for the inclusion and perceived importance of the proposed framework components. Thus, the study contributes a more balanced and context-sensitive framework to serve as a structured guideline for all stakeholders, regardless of their preferences with respect to social well-being, affordability, technological feasibility, and environmental considerations, in the selection, planning, design, and execution of residential buildings.
