Housing affordability (HA) is considered an important determinant of a country’s socioeconomic development and stability. However, its optimal measurement has remained a major concern worldwide. In recent decades, methodological development and researches on housing affordability measurement approaches (HAMA) have accelerated and continue to grow exponentially. Despite this intensive global development, very few attempts have been made to present the theoretical bases and track the developmental trends of these approaches. Thus, this study attempts to fill this literature gap and extend prior studies by exploring several alternatives of HAMA; with a focus on their methodological weaknesses. This paper highlights three emerging novel methodologies, which complement the relative strength of the conventional approaches. Findings suggest that the main research evidence which summarizes the weaknesses in the conventional measures is; their inability to incorporate sustainability features and over reliance on economic dimension. While the complexity of emerging methodologies, though deepen the overall understanding of multiple concerns that breed HA problems. But are less transparent, more data intensive, and their computation is very demanding, with a high tendency that their complex nature could weaken their uptake by researchers. This study raises concern over the nearly sole reliance on the conventional approaches in the reformations of policy instrument, despite their overwhelming weaknesses. It reiterates the need for reconsideration and offers new insight, but not conclusive information on better ways to conceptualize and measure HA.

It is a shared global experience that a house which is already expensive will become even more costly. This experience is partly because housing supply has always failed to satisfy demand. In many developing countries, the issues of affordable housing supply center on shortage and poor distribution. Recent studies on this subject reveal that distribution-related problems can be addressed through choice reconciliations. Therefore, understanding how housing affordability problems affect housing choice enables a broader interpretation of the issue. Thus, critical in housing policy making and implementation, as well as towards sustainable development/delivery of affordable housing programs. In Nigeria, housing choice has never been investigated, neither has it been studied within the framework of sustainability. It is not a common strategy to incorporate sustainability into the concept of affordable housing choice. However, integrating sustainability into the concept of affordable housing choice allows for the introduction of wide-ranging and broader criteria such as environmental and social factors, which are routinely neglected in housing choice literature. Therefore, this study aims at filling this literature gap by identifying the determinants of sustainable affordable housing choice (SAHC) in the study area. The purpose is to establish the severity of the identified factors based on respondents’ perception and discuss the agreement levels amongst the three respondent groups. Regarding this, a comprehensive list of 43 different factors contributing to SAHC were determined through a systematic literature review. Based on which a survey of 83 affordable housing applicants, 102 and 69 residents of affordable housing estate and shantytown respectively, was performed. Through statistical analysis, results reveal that the factors affecting SAHC cuts across economic, social and environmental dimensions. Also, there is an agreement (correlation) by each group and the overall ranking of all participants. The tests confidence level for all inferential statistics was 95%, which implies 0.05 level of significance. These figures indicate that the data were obtained from the same population and points to the relatedness of factors identified. Using principal component analysis (PCA), the 43 different factors were narrowed down to seven. The study findings show that “Housing price in relation to income” and “rental price in relation to income” are the most severe factors with relatively high overall scoring, which is consistent with similar studies in this domain. However, it was uncovered that respondents placed high priorities on other non-economic factors like security (safety), housing location and building type. The study presents an interesting topic, usually unexplored in the field of decisions and public policy. It argues that at present, the housing affordability concerns and affordable housing choice determinants in the study area cannot be restrictedly defined in economic terms. Our findings build on previous studies and reiterate the need to consider a broader view towards affordable housing problem. It offers salient information to stakeholders and real estate companies, which could aid sustainable development/delivery of housing projects that are affordable.

This review offers a perspective on the role landscape and gardening play in urban settings from a socio-cultural, and ecological dimension. The practice of cultivating in gardens, parks and vacant lots, creates community spaces, and are increasingly becoming important to peoples’ experience of social and cultural wellbeing. In recent times, this has become a major focus of research in ecology, agriculture, urban design, landscape architecture, human geography, and sociology. Community gardening is one of the avenues toward revitalizing urban environments, and it provides a way of addressing multi-faceted urban problems ranging from limited food access to safety and community cohesion. That being said, it is necessary to continually evaluate the roles which society, ecology, and culture play in cities and landscape planning due to the dynamic nature of culture. This article aims to bring to the fore, the various factors of landscape and gardening practices in cities and the dynamics of cultural and ecological effects they have in building communities, reclaiming communities or engendering a personal place to thrive. A narrative review of the literature on peer-reviewed articles within the scope of the study was adopted as the research method.

The most important teaching and learning method in the architectural design studio (ADS) is the critique session, which is generally employed as an assessment tool. However, the traditional critique models which enjoy global acceptance and are the most applied teaching methods in ADS, are yet to attain their maximum potential. This assertion aligns with deep concerns reported globally in architecture schools regarding critique sessions and studio time. Therefore, there is a need to identify various innovative critique models as proposed by scholars. Using several electronic databases such as Google, Scopus, ProQuest Central, and Web of Knowledge, this narrative review synthesizes empirical evidence in the literature relating to ADS and critiques typologies. The research objectives are to ascertain the various innovative critique models developed or proposed by researchers, narrate findings; specify relevant literature gaps; and propose future research themes. This study argues that simultaneous or successive application of different innovative critique typologies in an interactive design studio environment can foster a studio culture that is open to discussion, trigger critical thinking ability, facilitate communication, and exchange of scholarly thoughts, as well as increase acceptance towards teamwork. Findings reveal that the key issue with the traditional models of critique is that many students find them threatening, and usually not conducive to design learning as well as the fear that they may not support contemporary learning and professional practice. This research emphasizes the deep value of critique in ADS settings and presents innovative critique typologies that can support sustainable learning, teaching, and assessments. This study concludes with the suggestion that new entrants into architecture programs, be given proper orientation of studio culture since it can be intimidating and confusing for new students. In addition, further empirical validation of the models identified in this review is required, to determine their robustness in the learning situations found in the ADS.

Evidence-based design strategies can improve stress-free environments in healthcare, by emphasizing strategic opportunities to influence the design of health facilities. Evidence-based design (EBD) as a tool for healthcare planning is a method that began in healthcare having a general-purpose of providing evidence-based medicine. It involved Gathering information and evidence and using this evidence to mould the environment which supports the programming stage in design problem-solving. The connection between the theories and use of findings in (EBD), have not been adequately revealed enough to be used as a tool in design. As such, several factors, or characteristics, evident in numerous studies about healing environment and (EBD), require categorization into tangible and non-tangible dimensions in order to apply them during the design process successfully. Two research questions served as a foundation for the investigation of attributes in healing environments: What critical attributes can be identified by healthcare staff related to Dilani and Ulrich’s research findings? Is a hierarchy of attributes perceived by healthcare staff? The aim of this research is to closely examine the factors of Psychosocial Supportive Design theory by Alan Dilani (2001) and Supportive design theory (SDT) by Roger Ulrich (1991) on the staff in Eastern Mediterranean university health centre. Questioners and site visit were used for data collection. SPSS was used to obtain percentages from data collected. The result of the study reveals a hierarchy of factors perceived by the staff that can promote supportive healing.