Los altos costos de la vivienda, la dualidad de la tenencia que genera la imposibilidad de acceder a una vivienda adecuada, un alto gasto de salario dedicado al alquiler y el diseño de edificios no vinculados a las necesidades reales de los usuarios, están provocando una búsqueda urgente de modelos de vivienda alternativos. La investigación empírica presentada en este artículo tiene como objetivo identificar la gestión de vivienda alternativa y la distribución espacial a través del diseño democrático en una era de escasez en la provisión de viviendas asequibles. El artículo se centra en los estudios de caso de dos pioneros: "Casa Malta", una cogeneración multi-generacional en Helsinki y "Genossenschaft Kalkbreite", una cooperativa híbrida sin fines de lucro en Zúrich, ambas desarrolladas en la década de 2010. Los principales puntos clave analizados son el diseño centrado en el ser humano a través de procesos participativos, los espacios compartidos y las políticas de vivienda adoptadas. Estos dos proyectos destacan su capacidad de crear un modelo asequible para el desarrollo urbano que perciba la vivienda como un proceso colectivo, una vida asequible, la igualdad de género y la reducción de la especulación en la vivienda como una necesidad básica. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar los puntos clave de estos enfoques alternativos para la vivienda. Els alts costos de l'habitatge, la dualitat de la tinença que genera la impossibilitat d'accedir a un habitatge adequat, la alta despesa del salari dedicat al lloguer i el disseny d'edificis no vinculats a les necessitats reals dels usuaris, estan provocant una recerca urgent de models d'habitatge alternatius. La investigació empírica presentada en aquest article persegueix identificar la gestió d'habitatge alternativa i la distribució espacial a través del disseny democràtic en una era d'escassetat en la provisió d'habitatges assequibles. L'article se centra en el estudi de dos casos pioners: "Casa Malta", una cogeneració multi-generacional a Hèlsinki i "Genossenschaft Kalkbreite", una cooperativa híbrida sense ànims de lucre a Zuric, totes dues desenvolupades en la dècada del 2010. Els principals punts clau analitzats són el disseny centrat en l'ésser humà a través de processos participatius, els espais compartits i les polítiques d'habitatge adoptades. Aquests dos projectes destaquen la seva capacitat de crear un model assequible per al desenvolupament urbà que percebi l'habitatge com un procés col·lectiu, una vida assequible, la igualtat de gènere i la reducció de l'especulació en l'habitatge com una necessitat bàsica. Aquesta investigació va tenir com a objectiu identificar els punts clau d'aquests enfocaments alternatius per a l'habitatge. High costs of housing, the duality of tenancy generating the impossibility to access adequate housing, a high expenditure of salary dedicated to renting and building design not linked to the real needs of the users are causing an urgent search for alternative housing models. The empirical research presented in this article is intended to identify alternative housing management and spatial distribution through democratic design in an era of shortage in affordable housing provision. The article focuses on two pioneers’ case-studies: “Casa Malta”, a multigenerational cohousing in Helsinki, and “Genossenschaft Kalkbreite”, a non-profit hybrid cooperative in Zurich, both developed in 2010 decade. The main key points analyzed are the human-centered design through participative processes, the shared spaces, and the housing policies adopted. These two projects highlight their ability to create an affordable model for urban development perceiving housing as a collective process, affordable living, gender equality, and reducing the speculation in housing as basic needs. This research aimed to identify the key points of these alternative approaches for housing.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a benchmark analysis of European cities based on the estimation of a composite index of efficiency from the dimensions of the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2017 (CCCM). The study helps to initiate a new exploration path based on this information, using a segmentation criterion of countries according to their economic and demographic characteristics, in search of greater comparative homogeneity.Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the metafrontier methodological proposal with data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been used to compare the groups of cities individually with their joint reference.Findings: The results obtained indicate, from a greater control of heterogeneity, through the segmentation of the sample of cities and the metafrontier methodology, that the composite index (IEC3) through the enveloping data analysis methodology (DEA) is more robust than that obtained with the arbitrary assignment of CCCM weights. The analyses carried out make it possible to study and conduct more real and rigorous comparisons of the cities that experience the best practices, unlike other more distant ones. Reference to cities such as Paris, Louvain and Cork could serve as a basis for possible improvements.Originality/value: It is important to bear in mind that the possible urban policies of a city and the creative strategies and their derived impact are different, because of the diversity in each city. These new comparability possibilities could serve as a tool for economic policy makers, companies and local managers to carry out learning and simulation processes in the improvement of creative cities.

This work aims to research the connection between cohousing architecture and interiority. For this purpose, the analyses are structured in two phases. The first consists of the characterisation and identification of underlying typologies of European cohousing projects in the last three decades, 1981–2022. The second phase consists of the connection between the interiority concepts (in terms of planimetry, typology, spatial syntax, and interior spaces) and the cohousing architecture in the case studies selected from the first phase, which made it possible to compare cohousing projects and propose future strategies. The research identifies a typology with two clusters of cohousing projects of greater/lesser age and scale. The comparative analysis of the two selected projects, Malta Cohousing (Helsinki) and Schönholzer Strasse (Berlin), provides architectural proposals for compacting the shared and distributed interior spaces on the second floor of the projects, thus making them more usable and finding the points of greatest visibility at the perimeters or in the centre of the interior floor layouts. These proposals could reveal various possibilities for the design of spaces in terms of dynamic forms of the body-space relationships that characterise them and contribute to their improvement and the understanding of the functioning of the occupation and use of the different spaces, whether individual, collective, public, or private. These results fill the existing gap in the literature in terms of a better understanding and analysis of the connection between cohousing architecture and the concept of interiority while also contributing to stakeholders and policymakers in future decision-making.

This paper assesses technical efficiency and its determinants in the Spanish construction sector from a comparative perspective for the period 2000 to 2010 by using different parametric approaches in the form of stochastic frontier models. The main results reveal similar (no) influential factors on efficiency. For all models, the determinants found were capital intensity, prefinancial and postfinancial crisis periods, and workers’ skills. There was no difference in terms of sign and statistical significance. Firm age was positively related to efficiency in two of the three models. Firm size was not significant in any model. Finally, the average efficiency values obtained by the models are 55.3, 69.2, and 91.0%, suggesting the possibility of significant improvements in resource management.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the regulatory effects on homeownership and rental prices in Spain in the years between 1977m1 and 2019m5, taking into account the economic crisis. It also studies the causal relationship of the prices of private housing (owned and rented).Design/methodology/approach: Interrupted time series analysis has been used to analyze the legislative impact on the construction sector. Also, the Box–Cox transformation has been used to carry out the above analysis. Finally, Granger's test has made possible to determine the causal relationship between the price series.Findings: The results obtained in this work show the partial positive effects of legislative instrumentalization, which in general result in decreasing trends of prices in both types of housing use. Likewise, the causal relationship between the prices of owned and rented housing shows that the latter do not provide any incentive with respect to the former.Social implications: The social implications in this work could be important since this paper analyzes the effects of (de)regulation on housing prices in Spain, and the policy implications could help to control the speculation in housing.Originality/value: The results obtained in this work could be relevant, both from the point of view of future housing policies and of the agents involved and that of society in general. In addition, this work could contribute to fill the existing gap in this field in Spain, given the scarce literature that raises the objective, using quantitative methodologies.