I-RES’ Post

If the shelter and human settlements crisis is to be reversed, we need to be innovative, inclusive and work across disciplines. Providing adequate shelter is not a matter of providing a subsidy to a bottomless pit of beneficiaries created by historic lack of opportunities and an underperforming economy. We need to let the formal and the informal sectors continue to be innovative in providing shelter and the state to also be innovative in how it regulates the sector while it facilitates environmentally development in the sector. As you read this paper, please consider how the White Paper for Human Settlements can be enhanced by considering Small Scale Affordable Rental Accomodation as viable option to shelter provision. South African Cities Network #whitepaperhousing #sustainablesettlements #inclusivecities #houdingeconomics

"The roots of the housing crisis are two-fold and, in essence, reflect both a mismatch between supply and demand and the lack of scalable and sustainable solutions from the private and public sectors. With respect to the private sector, the data illustrates that the majority of units developed by this sector cater primarily for the upper-middle and higher (luxury) ends of the property market (Tshangana & Jubane, 2023). This leaves the public sector responsible for delivering housing for the bottom and lower-middle markets (Drummond, 2022). However, given a housing delivery rate of 125,000 units per year in 2018 (DoHS, 2020), the public sector cannot meet the demand for housing from these markets. Given the need to roll out as many units as possible within the parameters of the current housing models, public sector housing delivery has had the unintended negative outcome of reinforcing the ‘apartheid city’ as most housing projects are built on the peripheries of our cities where land values are lower. Furthermore, fiscal constraints, poor state capacity, and the poor coordination of activities across all government spheres hamper the delivery of scalability. Therefore, we must find the most scalable, sustainable and resilient delivery model, which rallies the knowledge and resources of all sectors of society, including the private sector.   Small-scale affordable rental (SSAR) has been identified as one such model..." Read the report below. Congrats South African Cities Network

Short-Term Lets Face New Planning Rules in UK The UK government is proposing new regulations for short-term lets, aiming to balance tourism benefits with resident concerns. Here's a summary: Key changes: Planning permission required: Landlords renting properties as short-term lets (excluding main homes under 90 days/year) will need planning permission. New planning class: A dedicated category for short-term lets will be created. National register: Mandatory register to track short-term lets and their impact on communities. PD rights: Two new permitted development rights: converting short-term lets to homes and vice versa, subject to local authority oversight. Rationale: Address concerns about reduced housing availability for locals due to short-term lets. Empower communities to control the balance between tourism and resident needs. Improve compliance with health and safety regulations. Reactions: Positive: Airbnb welcomes the register for clarity and data access. Supportive: Businesses impacted by short-term lets endorse stricter regulations. Overall: These proposals aim to bring more control and transparency to the short-term rental market, balancing economic benefits with community concerns. The specific regulations and their impact will depend on future consultations and implementation details.

We invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to contribute to our upcoming publication on the pressing issue of overtourism. This call for papers seeks to explore the multifaceted dimensions of overtourism, focusing on its impacts on mobility, the environment, and the economy. #callforpapers #overtourism #mobility

Before you relocate to Austria, familiarize yourself with the country's housing market and rental process. And you can do just that on our website! Stop by and read a detailed insight on this important topic! https://lnkd.in/gBDMQE57 #austria #housingmarket #rentalprocess #movingoverseas #beforethemove

We invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to contribute to our upcoming publication on the pressing issue of overtourism. This call for papers seeks to explore the multifaceted dimensions of overtourism, focusing on its impacts on mobility, the environment, and the economy. #callforpapers #overtourism #mobility

#Walesplan24 #RTPICymru Wales Planning Conference breakout sessions covered wide-ranging topics in the hope of providing something of interest to everyone. Jonathan Cawley led a session on sustainable tourism, which considered the car-use impacts of tourism on Eryri National Park and ways of addressing the local impact vs the risks of deterring visitors who opt for foreign holidays with a worse carbon footprint and no local economic benefit. Improved rail park and ride offers one opportunity. #FrancisTaylorBuilding provided a valuable update on relevant case law, including Finch, a ruling that emerged this morning. I'm always in awe of the brain capacity of barristers to absorb brand new information. Lindsay Christian and Amy Longford led a discussion on decarbonising Wales' 30000 Listed Buildings and other heritage buildings, recognising the importance of keeping buildings in use to preserve heritage assets. "There's always something you CAN do". And linking back to housing delivery, how can we align reuse of town centre heritage buildings for affordable housing with flexibility regarding WHQS to access funding. Nick Bennett and Rebecca Williams spoke about the economic benefits of decarbonisation in terms of direct and indirect job creation and investment.

I know there are people in tourism who might be horrified by what I'm about to say, but I believe it's critical to really consider the role and impact of short-term rental accommodation on our communities in general. Hotels and other forms of visitor accommodation have to go through a DA process to ensure the development is appropriate for the site. Short-term accom rentals may seem innocuous, but what is the cumulative impact on communities? I'm all for disruption but governments and communities spend huge amounts of money and time planning the future of how they will evolve and yet this sector has been allowed to ignore that and as a result the consequences and impacts are felt by the communities they impact. The original idea was to share a spare room... we are a long way from where it began. We don't have to throw the baby out with the bath water, but we should have mechanisms to limit where, how long, and how many short-term rentals are available in any one area or community. This is no different to limiting the number of vehicles that drive on the beach. Every year, there are a limited number of beach permits allowed, and people apply and they are allocated. Can you imagine the chaos if anyone could just drive on the beach whenever they liked? A fit-for-purpose permit system would allow these properties to apply for a year or two, and providing they don't have complaints, they can operate. Council can use this as a mechanism to stimulate accommodation in areas where there is a gap in supply and limit in areas where there is an oversupply or where residential accommodation is a priority. Just food for thought ... What do you think?

Sun, Sea, Sand and Article 4 Directions A persistent need for housing in Wales’ holiday hotspots has led to the Welsh Government introducing new measures for authorities to manage pressures. We dive into the challenges and opportunities for housing and holiday accommodation in Wales. In this Insight focus, we explore a number of assumptions regarding the impacts of second homes and short-term holiday lets in Wales. We also review the potential consequences of the introduction of Article 4 Directions for the housing market, the tourism industry and for local authorities. See full Insight focus: https://lnkd.in/eV32jeWm Simon Coop, Helen Ashby-Ridgway, Stephanie Irvine, Joseph Thompson

Cork City has reached an impressive milestone, ranking as the 15th cleanest city in Europe and the top city in Ireland for air quality, according to the latest report by the European Environment Agency 🌍 Cork City recorded a level of 5.2 μg/m³, slightly above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 5 μg/m³. 💧 This European city comparison is a positive outcome from the suite of air quality commitments and actions that have been undertaken in Cork over the past number of years. 💨 Measures such as the delivery of Cork City’s Air Quality Strategy and the associated actions such as the creation of a Clean Air Zone, work on numerous citizen science and air quality outreach projects as well as Cork playing host to Clean Air Day. ♻ Cork City Council is committed to improving and expanding public and active travel, retrofitting its buildings and its housing stock and in promoting all available grant funding schemes for home energy upgrades. 📢