The Intersections of Energy and Housing Justice: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected working class and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, who have been more likely to contract and die from the virus. These inequalities in part stem from higher rates of comorbidities such as asthma, which can be connected to local built environments. One area where these inequalities are starkest is in energy generation and distribution, where marginalized communities are both more likely to be exposed to hazards from energy production, whereas at the same time more likely to struggle to afford that energy, leading to difficult trade-offs with other necessities. In turn, many of these inequalities can be tied to spatial patterns of residential segregation, such as redlining, which cut off BIPOC communities in from the prevailing wealth generating mechanisms of the past century, leading to the patterns of divestment and hazard exposure seen today. In this article, we explore the connections between public health, energy production and consumption, and redlining, using Milwaukee, WI as a case study. Using data from March to June 2020, we perform quartile regressions to assess the relationship between positive COVID cases, local demographics, and the local energy environment. We find that low-income and BIPOC communities were more likely to contract COVID, while also facing higher energy burdens and exposure to respiratory hazards, as well as a statistically significant relationship between COVID rates and redlining policy. We argue these results call further research into the connections between energy insecurity and other forms of injustice that manifest within racial capitalism.

Impact of COVID-19 on rural and nonrural recovery housing in the United States

This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on recovery housing (RH), an important resource for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). A cross-sectional survey was disseminated electronically between June and July of 2020 to RH owners and operators affiliated with Oxford House or the National Alliance of Recovery Residences nationwide. The survey intended to develop an understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on RH in terms of (a) resident housing access, (b) mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 spread, (c) RH financials, and (d) health and well-being of residents and staff. Impacts were assessed among all houses in the sample and then by rurality of RH location (rural vs. nonrural). Among 1,419 respondents, only 4.6% reported positive COVID-19 cases, and 85% reported having implemented centers for disease control-recommended policies. More than half (59%) reported financial impacts, and close to half (49%) reported COVID-19 had "a lot of impact" on residents attending meetings. Rural RH represented only 9% of respondents and a greater fraction of rural RH respondents reported spending more on all COVID-19 expense categories compared to nonrural RH respondents. Compared to nonrural RH, rural RH were significantly more likely to report having a process for evaluating COVID-19 (p = .007), wearing masks (p = .047), taking temperatures (p = .042), and spending more on food due to COVID-19 (p = .015). With SUD rates and the associated morbidity and mortality from SUD continuing to rise, addressing the financial viability of RH, an important resource supporting individuals in recovery is crucial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement This study suggests that recovery housing, an important resource for individuals seeking or in recovery from a substance use disorder (SUD), is proactive in ensuring resident safety during national emergencies such as COVID-19. The most prominent impacts found in this study were financial (for the recovery home) and residents' ability to attend mutual aid recovery support meetings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Housing and respiratory health: Exposures, health effects and interventions

Housing quality and affordability are well established as social determinants of health through direct and indirect mechanisms. Respiratory illnesses related to housing are nearly all the result of housing disrepair that allows intrusion into the home of environmental agents that are directly or indirectly associated with disease. Structural deficiencies such as leaks, cracks in the foundation or holes in the home's exterior can facilitate the presence of mould, which is causally linked to the development of asthma and is associated with exacerbation of asthma symptoms in children and adults. Indoor cleanliness can also contribute to the presence of mice and cockroaches. Proper ventilation can improve air quality, reducing exposure to PM, VOCs and infectious respiratory agents. Disparities in exposure to the housing conditions associated with respiratory disease are readily apparent across socioeconomic lines. Low-income families are less likely to be able to afford the costs of maintaining a home, which prevents them from making repairs that could improve respiratory health.Copyright © ERS 2023.

Housing and the Pandemic: How Has Covid-19 Influenced Residents' Needs and Aspirations?

Satisfactory housing conditions define, in many aspects, people's comfort and a high standard of living. The psychological and social characteristics of residents strongly determine housing needs and preferences. They also depend on economic, spatial, technical, and cultural factors. The Covid-19 pandemic, which humankind had been experiencing for two years, influenced all spheres of human life, especially inhabitation. The functional program of homes has changed, as well as public spaces, transportation and social ties. While the future is uncertain, the many changes provoked by the pandemic might become irreversible. This paper aims to present how the phenomena mentioned above have influenced the housing environment and residential preferences and trends that may follow. A survey conducted among Cracow residents in Autumn 2021 revealed a significant shift in lifestyles that corresponded with the change in residential needs, preferences and attitudes towards the housing environment. Working from home has induced redefining the use of particular rooms/spaces. For safety, families attempted to reorganize the entrance zone. Outdoor public spaces have become more appreciated following the trend of healthier everyday life. Over the long term, the pandemic experience may significantly influence the residential market. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Real Estate Management & Valuation is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Leaving: Residential mobility and housing conditions in France during the Covid-19 epidemic

In the spring of 2020, a national lockdown was declared in France to control the Covid-19 epidemic - the longest and strictest to date. This led to spontaneous population movements, widely publicised in the media as the urban exodus of Parisians. But were departures from large cities to low-density areas the only types of mobility during this period? And what can we learn from housing changes during lockdown about the ordinary residential practices and dwelling conditions of households, as well as about the resources mobilised to cope with these exceptional situations? Based on the EpiCOV survey (Inserm-Drees), conducted in France among a sample of 135,000 people aged 15 and over at the end of the first lockdown, this article examines the different types of residential mobility that took place in the spring of 2020 on French territory. While this study does not predict whether or not these movements are to become permanent, or whether they would be repeated during further phases of lockdown, it highlights the heterogeneity of mobility practices, captured here in terms of distance travelled, changes within the urban gradient, types and conditions of housing, as well as the variety of resources mobilised according to sex, age and social position of individuals. While long-distance mobility more often concerns wealthy populations, local movements are almost as frequent and concern more heterogeneous fractions of the population. © 2023 Geographie-Cites. All rights reserved.

Adaptive reuse of closed malls for dementia programs and services: Community focus group feedback

The double societal hit of dementia and infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 have raised a convergence of concerns for the future of care settings for people living with dementia. Images of institutionalized older adults who are quarantined in closed settings have led developers, government agencies, and care administrators to search for innovative options to create more autonomy and quality of life in care settings while protecting the health of residents. This chapter describes the qualitative work being conducted by a Midwestern university research team, laying the groundwork for the conceptual adaptive reuse of an 800,000 square-foot closed mall site for centralized dementia programs, services, housing, and an on-site quarantine and medical center. Focus group outcomes from architects and developers highlighted five principle themes relating to the barriers and benefits of adaptive reuse for this model which include: mixed-use precedents, linking the old with the new, economic factors, development partnerships, and sustainable building practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Covid-19 disruption, resilience and industrial policy: the automotive sector in the West Midlands

The Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit have focused attention on the resilience of key sectors and firms. This paper explores the financial resilience of the 50 largest automotive firms in the West Midlands region of the UK in their response to disruption and economic shocks. The findings demonstrate that 22 firms are at high risk due to poor current liquidity ratios, with Coventry and Birmingham emerging as locations most susceptible to firm closures. High-risk firms include key flagship original equipment manufacturers operating at the downstream end of supply chains. If these firms were to fail, there would be a significant destructive impact on both the industry and the local economy. We assert an effective subnational industrial policy is required in order to support economic resilience in regions such as the West Midlands where a few firms account for a disproportionate share of employment and value-added.

Critical Gloss to the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in Katowice of 22 June 2022, I ACa 669/21. Adoption of Written Resolutions by the General Assembly of a Housing Cooperative

The author believes that the provisions of Article 36 § 9-13 of the Co-operative Law concerning the possibility of ordering general assemblies to adopt resolutions in writing or using direct communication at a distance are also applicable to housing cooperatives, due to the wording of the provision of Article 1(7) of the Co-operative Law, according to which the provisions of the Co-operative Law are directly applicable to matters not regulated by the Act of Housing Cooperatives. Notwithstanding the above, the SA also seems to have completely ignored (iura novit curia) the wording of the uninterrupted provision of Article 15zzzr of the Act of 2 March 2020 on special solutions related to the prevention, prevention, and eradication of COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and crises caused by them, according to which a declaration of will of a member of a body of a legal person – and thus of the members of a housing cooperative who form a body such as the general assembly of the cooperative – other than the State Treasury or a local government unit, may be made in documentary form (and thus also in writing). Therefore, this provision should also be regar-ded as lex specialis to Article 83 of the Act on Housing Cooperatives. © 2023, Spoldzielczy Instytut Naukowy. All rights reserved.

The Post-COVID Home. How Confinement Altered Domestic Space Use and Living Modes, in Lisbon

Not only is space use a result of spatial configuration, but it is also greatly determined by social patterns and society's living modes. The COVID-19 pandemic and confinement resulted, worldwide, in a 24/7 use of the domestic setting, which had to be adapted to the emergence of new needs and functions in the domestic space. The paper aims at understanding how COVID confinement altered domestic space use in Lisbon and how current society has maintained some of those changes, a reflection of new social patterns. The analysis is supported by an inquiry, carried out during the first confinement of 2020, in the city of Lisbon. Results show that domestic space use had to be adjusted to a new context, gaining new functions, and bringing into evidence the need for additional spaces. In light of the proven changes in living modes, the research concludes that the post-COVID home needs to be rethought and new housing programs should take into consideration the new social patterns and living modes. © 2023 by the authors.

Conference Report (Re)shaping the inclusive city: the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning engages indigenous and immigrant voices, histories and lived experiences

The 62nd annual conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ASCP) met from Nov 2-5, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. The conference brought together nearly 1,200 planning educators, researchers and students affiliated from more than thirty countries. Attendees were composed of approximately 700 faculty and more than 400 students. There were nearly 250 sessions including presentation of research papers, roundtable discussions, workshops, career information sessions and mobile sessions. The conference was the first in-person conference after two years of virtual convenings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local hosts for the conference included the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University. The focal theme of the conference was "(re)shaping the inclusive city: engaging indigenous and immigrant voices, histories and lived experiences."

Through the prism of the right to housing: first notes for a critical constitutional analysis

The essay investigates the constitutional dimension of the right to housing, through the study of its foundation in the Constitution and the constitutional jurisprudence. The perspective adopted is broad and approaches the fundamental right from different angles: general recognition, relationships between property and social function, house rents and blocking of evictions in the Covid-19 era, State-Region competences in the management of policies for the right to housing, access to public housing. The thesis put forward is that it is necessary to adopt an institutionalist theory of fundamental rights to guarantee the effectiveness of the right to housing, which involves a contextualized reading of the constitutional system and is not limited to the individualistic dimension of the right. In fact, this approach involves, on one hand, the political-legal need to regulate urban conflict and, on the other hand, the constitutional need for the intervention of public powers in economy, in order to rebalance the socio-economic disparities that arise and are perpetuated in the urban dimension. © 2023, Societa Editoriale Federalismi s.r.l.. All rights reserved.

Rebalancing UK regional and industrial policy post-Brexit and post-Covid-19: lessons learned and priorities for the future

In this paper, we examine the challenges and opportunities facing the UK's industrial and regional policy in the context of the policy decisions made over recent decades. We argue that the overly centralized and sectoral logic of the UK governance systems has led to a lack of clarity in thinking through place-based issues. This, in turn, has resulted in policy ambiguity, confusion and contradictions, and successfully moving industrial policy and regional policy forward post-Brexit can only take place if conceptual and operational clarity is brought to these matters.

Mapping the riskscape of using privately-owned short-term lets for specialist family violence crisis accommodation

COVID-19 has generated many problems and some opportunities in the housing market. The potential role of privately-owned short-term lets meeting specialist family violence crisis accommodation demand is one such opportunity. This paper engages with an important and increasing practice in the Australian context, of the utilisation of private housing stock as a component part of a public housing crisis response system, in this case explored in relation to domestic and family violence. In seeking to gain insights into the feasibility of this practice, this article will first frame mixed public/private accommodation provision as potentially overlapping relations between a thin territory of insufficient crisis infrastructure and a thick territory of commodified short-term let infrastructure. Second, this paper situates the potential of this intersection of mixed private/public responses in terms of riskscapes by unpacking how risk is perceived within these contested territories. The findings highlight tensions between both real and perceived understandings of safety, housing, wellbeing, economic and political risks. While there was some support for utilising short-term lets for crisis accommodation, barriers were revealed to adding thickness to the crisis accommodation space. Given increasing homelessness in Australia, diversifying crisis models could offer increased violence-prevention infrastructure to support women.

Social Determinants of Health and Their Impact on Families of Children with Sickle Cell Disease during Covid-19 Pandemic

Background: According to national prevalence data, SCD has an estimated economic burden of $2.98 billion per year in the United States and caring for a child with sickle cell disease (SCD) carries its own financial burden, resulting in higher healthcare costs and unintended days lost from employment. Social experiences are known to impact health outcomes in the general pediatric population. These experiences can be examined through the construct of social determinants of health (SDOH), the "condition in which people are born, grow, work, live and age" that impact their health. Since the WHO has designated COVID-19 a pandemic in January 2020, many families in the US have suffered financially, and during the shutdowns, there was a record number of jobs lost. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial and employment status of SCD Families Methods: This study was part of the larger CNH Sickle Cell Disease Social Determinants of Health study that was IRB approved. Caregivers of children with SCD completed a 30-question survey reporting their experiences with SDOH that included Demographics, USDA Food Security Scale, the We Care housing screening tool, and the validated COVID-19 Employment Status/COVID-19 related household finances survey in RedCap during clinic visits and hospitalizations Results: 99 caregivers of SCD patients responded to our survey (82.5% Female, 17.5% Male) (N=97). 93.9% identified as African-American, 3% identified as Hispanic or Latinx, 1% identified as "other". Of respondents, 66% were insured through on Medicaid and 33% had private insurance. Twenty-six percent endorsed food insecurity and 2724% relied on low-cost food. Thirty-one percent lived in an apartment, 67.768% lived in a home, 1% lived in shelter or transitional housing. Sixteen percent lived in subsidized or public housing. Thirty-seven (36.8%) percent reported at least once they were being unable to pay the mortgage or rent on time at least once, 9% (8.5%) reported living with other people because of financial difficulties, 55.2% reported their home not being heated, 7.2% reported being evicted from their home and 3.1% lived in an emergency shelter or transitional housing. 6.1% had an educational level of high school graduation or less, 42.2% were college graduates or completed additional post-graduate education (N=98). Two weeks prior to the pandemic, 61.5% worked full time, 13.5% worked part time, 6.3% were unemployed with only 2.1% working from home of the 96 caregivers who responded to this question. 15.5% (N=12 of 77) reported losing their job or were furloughed during the pandemic;34.4% (N=33 of 96) reporting at least one household member losing a job or a significant amount of income. Twenty-five percent (N=21 of 83) reported it was difficult to get work/school done because of the home environment. 36.4 % (N=35 of 96) reported household income was significantly less since February 2020. 53% (N=52 of 97) worried their household income has been or will be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, 48.9% (N=47 of 96) worried the value of their assets (housing, savings, other financial assets) has been or will be negatively impacted by COVID-19 and its effects. Since February 2020, 9.8% (N= 9 of 97) received unemployment insurance, 30.9% (N=29 of 94) received SNAP or food stamps, 16.5% (N= 15 of 91) received from the food pantry, 6.6% (N=6 of 90) applied for temp ass.

The "epidemic within the pandemic”: meeting the needs of racially minoritised women experiencing domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic

PurposeIn March 2020, the UK entered its first lockdown responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the same month, the Domestic Abuse Bill had its first reading in Parliament. Charities and non-governmental organisations critiqued the Bill for failing to protect migrants from domestic abuse, and not complying with the Istanbul Convention. Drawing on interviews with staff from Southall Black Sisters, this paper aims to foreground the experiences of practitioners within the women's sector to explore the unique experiences and challenges migrant and racially minoritised women encountered when seeking support from domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic. It highlights how the pandemic-related lockdowns created barriers to accessing support services and housing, creating an epidemic within the pandemic, and how minoritised women and the organisations that supported them had to overcome structural barriers and racism.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff from a leading women's organisation that supports migrant and racially minoritised women. Four participants were asked questions within four themes: domestic abuse before and during the pandemic;accessing support from and reporting domestic abuse;accessibility of resources;and post-pandemic challenges. A phenomenological approach was used to analyse the transcribed interviews.FindingsParticipants consistently highlighted the unique threats and barriers migrant and racially minoritised women faced when seeking support. Barriers included racism, language barriers, cultural constraints, the triple threat of destitution, detention, deportation, and political resistance to protect migrant women from destitution/homelessness.Originality/valueThis paper provides a unique insight into the experiences of staff members within a specialist by and for women's support organisation in England and their perspectives on the barriers racially minoritised and migrant women experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. It offers rare insights into how service users' needs changed during the lockdowns and how the pandemic affected their ability to operate.

Housing in Portugal and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The adoption of important housing-related measures in Portugal occurred in 2018/2019, before the period in which the SARS-COV-2 pandemic began to manifest itself. Although these measures intended to anticipate and regulate several dimensions of the right to housing, they were not fully prepared, or were not in a state of concreteness, such as to allow a timely reaction to Covid-19 related changes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection between the new demands brought about by the pandemic and the distinct legal responses that had an impact on the housing market in Portugal.

Forecasting Residential Energy Consumption: A Case Study for Greece

Residential energy consumption forecasting has immense value in energy efficiency and sustainability. In the current work we tried to forecast energy consumption on residences in Athens, Greece. As a proof of concept, smart sensors were installed into two residences that recorded energy consumption, as well as indoors environmental variables (humidity and temperature). It should be noted that the data set was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we integrated weather data from a public weather site. A dashboard was designed to facilitate monitoring of the sensors' data. We addressed various issues related to data quality and then we tried different models to forecast daily energy consumption. In particular, LSTM neural networks, ARIMA, SARIMA, SARIMAX and Facebook (FB) Prophet were tested. Overall SARIMA and FB Prophet had the best performance. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Effectiveness and supply effects of high-coverage rent control policies

Concerns about housing affordability are widespread in cities worldwide, prompting discussions about rent control policies. This paper studies the effects of a rent control policy adopted in Catalonia in 2020 that applied to some but not all municipalities. The policy virtually covered all the rental market and forced ads and tenancy agreements to specify the applicable rent cap to ensure enforcement. To identify the causal effect of the rent control regulation on the rental market, we exploit register microdata of tenancy agreements and implement difference-in-differences regressions and event-study designs. Our results indicate that the regulation reduced average rents paid by about 4% to 6%. We do not find evidence of a reduction in the supply of rental units, as measured by the number of signed and ended agreements or the active stock of rental units. We implement several robustness tests to address identification concerns related to Covid-19. Our results suggest that rent control policies can effectively reduce rental prices without necessarily shrinking the rental market.

Housing inequalities and resilience: the lived experience of COVID-19

COVID-19 policy responses have intensified the use of housing as a spatial and material defence against community spread of infection. In so doing, they have focussed attention upon pre-existing inequalities and the effects of socio-economic management of COVID-19. This paper draws upon individual households' accounts to explore these effects on housing inequalities, and then adapts a critical resilience framework from disaster response in order to examine the implications for policymaking. The empirical work centres upon a case study of lived experiences of COVID-19-constrained conditions, based on a longitudinal-style study combining semi-structured interviews with 40 households, photographs and household tours at two datapoints (before/during COVID-19) in Victoria, Australia. The study reveals how these households were impacted across four domains: (1) employment, finances, services, and mobilities;(2) homemaking including comfort and energy bills, food and provisioning, and home-schooling/working from home;(3) relationships, care and privacy, and;(4) social, physical and mental health. The interviews also indicate how households coped and experienced relief payments and other related support policies during COVID-19. Drawing upon literature on disaster response, we highlight the centrality of vulnerability and resilience in recognising household exposure and sensitivity to COVID-19, and capabilities in coping. From this analysis, gaps in COVID-19 housing and welfare policy are exposed and guide a discussion for future housing policy interventions and pandemic planning.