Collaborative housing is an umbrella term for housing that is based on collectivity and self-organisation. In recent years, this form of housing has again been highlighted as an opportunity to create affordable and socially inclusive residential areas. However, collaborative housing is also recognised for its organisational complexity and legal uncertainty, particularly during the start-up phase. Research suggests that these issues may result in it being primarily accessible to the middle class, that is, people who generally already have access to the housing market. In some contexts, such as Sweden, there are discussions on its potential contribution to broader housing market problems and the hurdles that need to be overcome to make it more easily accessible. This study takes Swedish collaborative housing initiatives as its point of departure. It examines international research to identify what is considered crucial for collaborative housing to function as an affordable and socially inclusive housing option, and maps gaps in Swedish policy and research that may hinder broader access. The analysis is based on a two-step integrated literature review, combining Swedish policy documents and national literature with a systematic review of international research on legal frameworks, potential future residents, and cooperation with key partners. The findings indicate that collaborative housing has the potential to develop into an affordable and socially inclusive housing option for a broader segment of the population. However, realising this potential requires addressing underexplored legal challenges, reducing institutional, economic, temporal, and organisational barriers, establishing supportive relationships with public and private actors, and critically engaging with tensions related to social heterogeneity and inclusivity.
Liquidity constraints are often seen as a barrier to entrepreneurship, with many relying on personal or informal capital to start a business. This paper examines whether increased access to equity ─ via rising value of owner-occupied housing ─ affects the likelihood of business entry. Using detailed Swedish tax return data and exploiting the 2008 property tax reform as a natural experiment, we analyze how changes in house prices influence entrepreneurial activity. While higher housing prices correlate with business ownership and entry, this relationship disappears when isolating the causal effect of the tax reform. These findings contrast earlier findings and suggest that the value of owner-occupied housing proxy for individual characteristics rather than easing liquidity constraints, indicating that such constraints are not a major barrier to entrepreneurship in Sweden.
The war in Ukraine has severely tested the country’s land administration system (LAS). This study analyzes the resilience of Ukraine’s LAS under martial law using a qualitative approach that combines a literature review and legal analysis applied within the theory of system resilience. It examines the pre-war institutional and legal framework for land management and the emergency measures and regulatory changes introduced since February 2022. The study also addresses ongoing challenges such as the destruction of housing and infrastructure, population displacement, and land contamination. The analysis reveals that Ukraine’s LAS has continued to fulfil its responsibilities through three key models: emergency land administration, decentralized community-based models, and interim land management via digital and remote tools. Interpreting this response through a resilience lens underscores the importance of flexible legal frameworks that can adapt rapidly during emergencies. It also highlights the need to safeguard and digitalize cadastral data to ensure continuity of land rights, as well as to establish institutional mechanisms for coordination between various agencies and authorities. Overall, the findings provide insights for policymakers, land authorities, and researchers, illustrating that resilience is not only about maintaining core functions during conflict but also about laying the institutional and legal groundwork for post-war restitution, reconstruction, and longer-term modernization of the land administration system.
This study examines the strategies, location choices, and business models adopted by lessors and third-party office space providers in establishing and operating coworking spaces and flexible offices in the Greater Oslo Area. Based on literature reviews, document analysis, and interviews with key informants, the research highlights the dynamic evolution of the region’s office market, driven by the rise of SMEs and the adoption of project-based working by large enterprises. Lessors traditionally relied on long-term leases of large, unfurnished spaces. High transaction costs and changing tenant preferences have prompted the emergence of coworking and flexible office concepts. Lessors have responded with a range of strategies, including outsourcing operations to third-party providers, partnerships, and in-house coworking concepts. Both lessors and providers increasingly offer hybrid spaces, private offices combined with communal facilities. They are more profitable than hot desks. Location remains a critical factor. Most prime coworking spaces are concentrated in the CBD and city centre, but there is a discernible trend towards polycentric development, with flexible offices also established near transport hubs and activity centres. Third-party providers, dependent on access to desirable locations, often pursue lease arbitrage, partnerships, or franchise models to expand their networks. Key value propositions include all-inclusive pricing, flexibility, and user-friendly administration. Integration of digital platforms and service-dominant logic distinguishes successful operators. The study concludes that the relationship between lessors and third-party providers is both symbiotic and asymmetric, with both parties adapting to evolving market demands to enhance competitiveness and value creation in the office sector.
This article aims to elucidate the reasons for the lack of cadastral registration of older cases conducted by the land consolidation court in Norway. The cadastre’s increasing role in society requires the cadastre to be updated, among other things, after a land consolidation process. To assess the reason(s) for the backlog, a questionnaire survey was conducted and statistically analyzed. The current study revealed that many Norwegian municipalities don’t have an overview of how many older cases conducted by the land consolidation court there are within the municipality. Furthermore, the reason for the lack of cadastral registration of older cases conducted by the land consolidation court seems to be that the cases were never handed over to the municipalities for their cadastral records. In addition, it is a time- consuming, as well as highly complex, process to register these cases in the cadastre. The article’s contribution to the field is twofold. Firstly, the study provides insight into Norwegian conditions regarding land consolidation and cadastral records, which might differ from other Nordic countries. Studies were found that linked geodata to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the INSPIRE directive from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Fewer similar studies were found from Norway. Thus, a gap in the literature was revealed. To contribute to filling the gap the foundings of this article were discussed considering the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the INSPIRE Directive, as “land should be protected and sustainably managed for social cooperation, security and order”. Secondly, the article contributes to an ongoing debate in Norway about improving the quality of the cadastre. The study has limitations, as the survey sample was not a result of randomized sampling. Nevertheless, the data obtained give a picture of the current backlog in the registration of older cases carried out by the land consolidation court and how it effects the society and the public in general.
The revitalization of existing neighborhoods has been a frequent topic of public and academic debate in post–industrial times. Yet, little is known about the potential of individual, commercial real estate development projects to revitalize neighborhoods. Adaptive reuse of existing buildings, especially when combined with collaborative spaces, have been linked to positive social impacts beyond cultural heritage, such as aesthetic experience, and social inclusion. This study utilizes a social lifecycle assessment (S-LCA) framework to evaluate the social impact of an adaptive reuse project. The focus is on the revitalization potential on the respective neighborhood. The case neighborhood is Möllevången, located in Malmö, Sweden. The neighborhood and city both suffer from socioeconomic challenges, such as high unemployment rates, drug abuse, and vandalism. A building within the neighborhood has been refurbished for offices and workshops for the creative industries, as well as spaces open to the public and local community. Significant revitalization potential on the neighborhood was identified, predominantly through the categories of community development and engagement, cultural heritage, local employment, and neighborhood characteristics. The findings are useful to real estate owners and developers wanting to increase neighborhood vitality through real estate development projects, as well as researchers interested in ways to assess the social impact in development projects. The study identifies aspects where a real estate project can function as a tool to revitalize existing neighborhoods.
The necessity of housing tenure and ‘variation’ in tenures for a well-functioning housing market is often emphasized. This paper examines and compares different forms of housing tenure in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The Bundle of Rights theory has been used as a theoretical framework to clarify the content of the chosen tenures. Generally, the results suggest that owner-occupied housing possesses the most extensive rights; tenures based on indirect ownership also include far-reaching rights in many regards, while rented housing is the most restricted. However, significant differences can be identified between the different countries within these categories.
Cadastral boundaries are key components for ordering the ownership of real property by dividing it into territories. This study analyses the similarities and differences in marking cadastral boundaries in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. A case study was conducted by examining legislations, ordinances, guidelines, and other instructions. These are issued by both the respective national governments, and associated agencies responsible for real property formation and demarcation of boundaries, such as, the national cadastral authorities. We describe, analyse, and discuss the visual division between properties, boundary marks, natural features used as real property boundaries, the information on boundaries in national registers, prescriptive rights, and the localization of boundaries in each country. The outcome of the study shows that there are many similarities between the four countries, but also differences. As an example, the materials used for demarcation differ between each country. Furthermore, the party performing the cadastral procedures range from governmental officials to licenced private surveyors. Finally, differences were noted in whether a real property boundary following a river or stream when created will change position if the river or stream changes course over time.
Questions concerning cooperation are particularly relevant in complex projects where people from many organizations are involved and work together. There is a need to study and evaluate how better knowledge about cooperation can improve and make future projects more efficient. This case study is part of a research project aiming at evaluating the importance of abilities related to cooperation in the implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) projects. The problem at hand is that, many complex projects engage key personnel on different levels with limited experience on how to deal with questions of cooperation – both in planning and practical work. The aim of the study is to evaluate problems in cooperation using established theories and knowledge on cooperation, as well as to analyse whether problems of cooperation related to implementation specifically were a bottleneck in the studied project. Data capture is mainly based on open ended interviews. The study utilizes a framework including theories of cooperation and a model “talk – decision – action” (Brunsson, 2006). The results pointed towards problems in especially the action category. There was a lack of reciprocity between the cooperating parties, a lack of awareness about the need of daily cooperative behaviour in implementation activities and a potential risk of a free-rider problem. The most important lesson from the study is that, cooperation is a crucial component in a project of this kind, and that needed cooperation in practical implementation activities should be paid a lot of attention also in early planning activities.
The internal properties of land parcels in land subdivision layouts are known to impact land demand. Several layout options exist for the same land, in most cases. Accordingly, the study focuses on indexing the internal parameters of land parcels in the subdivision layout against their market value. An analytical hierarchical process (AHP) was used to develop the Weighted Index (WI). A structured questionnaire was used for data collection from experts in the residential real estate sector in Sri Lanka. The consistency ratio of the feedback was 0.096. The results show that eleven internal parameters mainly affect a land parcel’s market value. The highest significant parameter was ‘number of sides open to nature’ (0.244), and the lowest significant parameter was ‘compactness value of the land parcel’ (0.016). To validate the results, a residential subdivision layout of 55 land parcels was selected from the western province of Sri Lanka, to be analysed for the correlation between the calculated weighted index and actual market value. Results show a significant positive correlation between the calculated weighted evaluation index and per perch (25.29 m2) market value. Re-subdivision by eliminating the drawbacks associated with internal parameters shows a 2% increase in the market value of the proposed layout.
The efficiency of the public sector is a major discussion topic internationally. The discussion often refers to a need to review, renew, or reform public regulation in an attempt to balance the public economy, citizens’ needs, digitalisation, and sustainable use of resources. For example, Finland aims to redesign built environment regulation and promote digitalisation both on local and national levels, while balancing efficiency needs. This paper explores the potential to improve public land use processes through enhancing efficiency in the building permit process. The paper studies possible solutions based on the case development processes of two Finnish cities, and reflects them on a nationwide context by interviewing key persons in municipal land use management. Based on the findings, the challenges in achieving efficiency lie on the complexity of processes, public sector’s management, organisational culture, and needs of co-operation in multiple levels. Especially problematic is the unpredictability of the process, possibly outweighing the tangible benefits of the development. Digitalisation, including the use of data models and 3D BIM in automatisation, interaction, and knowledge management, is anticipated to aid the efficiency of the land use and building permit processes the long run. Findings suggests that, to emphasise the development in land use and building permit processes, fostering a new way of thinking and redesigning the public sector’s operating model is essential. The redesign should focus on more strategic management, and a new mindset for designing and conducting public processes. A successful new operating model and a renewed mindset would enable the adaptation of regulatory renewal, digitalisation, as well as sustainable use of resources.
The purpose of the study is to analyze the effect of list price strategies on two transaction outcomes, transaction price and time on market. The study quantitatively tests two hypotheses concerning transaction price and time one market. This is performed using both a hedonic modelling framework, as well as duration modelling. The models are applied to a set of property transactions for the capital region in Iceland, in total 35,000 transactions between 2014 and 2020. This study concludes that the choice of list price does affect transaction outcomes. In particular, a low list price in relation to market value adversely affects transaction price, and speeds up the transaction process. Thus, the findings confirm an existing trade-off between achieving a higher price, or selling a property quicker. The findings of this study may come to practical use in the sales process of real estate, as it may inform real estate agents as to the expected outcomes of different list price strategies. The results of this study are in line with previous findings under different sales processes, thus suggesting that list price strategies work similarly independent of sales processes. As such, this study increases understanding of the role of list prices.
Stakeholder management is an important task of project managers in housing renovation. Compared with new construction project, a great challenge that a housing renovation project manager faces, is managing the tenants that living before or during the renovation. This paper is a teaching case based on a real housing renovation project, which confronted difficult stakeholder management problems, of a Swedish real estate company between 2009 to 2016. It provides teaching materials that can be used by instructors for helping students to analyse and summarise the lessons learned from a troublesome stakeholder management process and to come up with suggestions that will ensure a smooth implementation of the housing renovation project. The case contains two main parts, namely the case description and teaching notes. It can be used by teachers and trainers, as well as university bachelor students and industrial practitioners in courses and training programs about housing renovation project management.
Rental markets hold an important role for a functioning housing market as a whole. Households with shorter time horizons, as well as households with little private equity and difficulties acquiring capital can see their housing needs met on the rental market. A functioning rental market does however require some sort of legislation. In this paper we argue that legislation must adapt to changing rental markets. We do so from the specific case of Iceland. The Icelandic rental market has, since the financial crisis, undergone noticeable structural change, evident from a number of perspectives. By applying a framework based in the role of rental market legislation, we provide a comparison between legislation in the Nordic countries. We conclude, based both in the presented structural change of the Icelandic rental market, and in aspects of Nordic rent legislation, that there is a case to be made for changes to the Icelandic legislation.
Management of roads and the institutional solution chosen is dependent on a number of factors – regulatory tradition, road network scale etc. It is likely that some solutions are more efficient than others, and in this article the Danish and Swedish institutional solutions regarding road management are compared an analysed. The aim is to explore and briefly evaluate the systems in terms of economic efficiency. It is observed that the chosen solutions on national and municipal level are much alike and appears efficient. However, for common private roads, the institutional designs are very different and seem to be based on two diametrically contrasting views on how to govern this kind of roads.
Shopping malls, as an important type of commercial facilities, are growing dramatically. They have gradually become one of the most dominant factors that can influence people's daily life as well as a city's economic development. People's willingness to pay for dwellings is also primarily associated with the surrounding commercial layout. Hence, it is of interest to find out more from a quantitative perspective on the relationship between shopping malls and housing prices. This study aims to analyze how the prices of condominiums will be affected by the proximity of shopping malls. Two aspects are considered and examined in the empirical study, namely a proximity to the shopping mall, and the number of shopping malls within 3 kilometers radius. We try to examine if there is any price premium for those apartments near the shopping mall or with more shopping malls in the neighborhood. In this empirical study, 36 shopping malls in different locations in the county of Stockholm, Sweden, is utilized. The sample of transactions consists of 336,914 apartments. By using regression analysis, based on the traditional hedonic model, the results show that there is an inverse relationship between the apartment prices and its distance from the shopping mall while the number of shopping malls is positively correlated with apartment prices. However, the impact has declined over time.
Homelessness has increased substantially in Sweden in the last decade with an emphasis on structural homelessness. Further, municipalities have the responsibility to house a certain number of newly ...
Homelessness has increased substantially in Sweden in the last decade with an emphasis on structural homelessness. Further, municipalities have the responsibility to house a certain number of newly-arrived immigrants under the Settlement Act. Many municipalities have had difficulties in meeting the acute housing need, as well as its costs, and have started to look at new types of housing solutions. Socially innovative initiatives of the civil society and private developers have been encouraged. This paper investigates three civil society and private housing developments and how they might contribute to socially and economically sustainable housing solutions for households in or on the verge to homelessness. In order to operationalize the sustainability concept related to these local projects, an analytical set of questions have been developed based on the literature and project data. It is concluded that all three projects are socially and economically sustainable at the outset, but that certain traits of the project set-ups make them more uncertain in the longer run. The sustainability lens was fruitful in analyzing the projects, but non-physical factors will in many cases be person dependent and therefore difficult to generalize. As it is expected that this new type of housing in the Swedish setting will increase in numbers, the analytical set of questions should be tested in relation to further projects and be developed further.
It is important to note that in Norway land consolidation remains the exclusive domain of the court system. There are three cumulative requirements that must be fulfilled before land consolidation can proceed in Norway. (1) The Land Consolidation Court may effectuate land consolidation if at least one property or easement in the land consolidation area is difficult to use gainfully at the current time and under the current circumstances. (2) The Land Consolidation Court may only proceed in this way in order to make the property arrangements in the land consolidation area more advantageous. (3) For any given property or easement, the land consolidation settlement shall not result in costs and other disbenefits that are greater than the benefits. All three criteria must be fulfilled. In this article, we present and analyse cases taken before the Norwegian Land Consolidation Court using case studies, surveys and qualitative interviews with property owners and judges at the land consolidation courts. The observed effects of land consolidation are separated into economic and spatial, legal, environmental and social effects. Our analysis shows that the effects of land consolidation are difficult to estimate or to calculate. There is a need to develop better methods both for valuations and impact studies.
The ongoing digitalization of public administration and increased automation of legal decision-making bears promise to benefit citizens, businesses and other stakeholders through simpler and more efficient civil processes, and thus has great impact on the urban planning and building process. However, automation of decision-making that is directed or constrained by normative systems such as laws, regulations and policies, requires a detailed and accurate representation of these concepts and their constituent parts, and the domain to which they are applied. In this paper, we combine two perspectives on formalisation and classification of legal relations within the urban planning and building domain. In a cross-disciplinary fashion, we analyse and describe a small part of this domain at a higher level of abstraction and formalization using two different analysis instruments. Using these tools, we perform structural and conceptual as well as logical analyses of two specific snapshots of a fictitious property subdivision case in Sweden, focusing on the legal relations between different entities and parties involved in the specific situations. The structural analysis uses the Land Administration Domain Model ISO 19152:2012 standard formalism, and the logical analysis is based on the notion of atomic types of legal relations. We discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of the two tools regarding the formal representation of rights, restrictions and responsibilities of different parties in the land administration domain, as well as how the tools relate to each other and how they can be aligned. We thus take one step towards a deeper understanding of the domain, and identify areas for future research that may provide better conditions for efficient and transparent use of geospatial information, and automation of the property subdivision process and other related civil processes.
