Evaluation of Risks Related to Transfer of Rural Housing Land for Tourism Development in the Context of “Separation of Three Rights” Reform in China

In this paper, based on a field survey on typical villages in a Chinese metropolis suburb, we employ a risk matrix and the Borda ranking method to evaluate risks related to transfer of rural housing land for tourism development from the perspectives of different stakeholders. We also make suggestions regarding how to standardize transfers and revitalize utilization of rural housing land use rights. Combining qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, the risk matrix determines the various risk levels faced by different stakeholders in the circulation of rural housing land for tourism development from two dimensions: risk impact degree and risk occurrence probability. Then, the Borda ranking method can subdivide the risk types within each risk level, thus identifying the most critical risks. Our results indicate that (1) unfair distribution of income from land transfers is the major risk faced by farm households and directly decides their willingness to transfer their housing land; (2) market instability is the prime risk factor faced by social investors, and together with project progress risk, indirectly leads to occurrence of operation risk and severely affects the motivation of social investors to invest in transfer, development and operation of rural housing land for tourism development; (3) disappearance of countryside characteristics is the critical risk factor faced by village collectives, and coordination and management risk is the main impediment that blocks the process of transfer of rural housing land for tourism development; and (4) other risks confronted by stakeholders in land transfer, although not the main ones, still need to be granted great importance and followed up closely. Therefore, it is necessary not only to establish appropriate risk avoidance measures for different critical risk factors faced by different stakeholders of such land transfers, but also to strengthen study of the association between the risks, identify the conduction effect of direct and indirect risks, macro and micro risks, and before action and after action risks, and improve the ability to prevent and mitigate these risks.

Proposal of Rural Housing and Habitat Improvement of the Town El Encanto, in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico

In the state of Chiapas, Mexico, there are numerous rural communities located in isolated territories and away from important population centers. Families, in essence, have indigenous roots and low economic incomes and, because of this condition, their homes are precarious, unsafe and unhealthy, with many limitations to access basic water and sanitation services, as well as basic health services, recreation, education, communication, etc. This study analyzed the housing and habitat problem of the El Encanto community, located on the coast of Tapachula, Chiapas. As a result, structurally safe, economical and healthy housing proposals were developed, with water and sanitation services, functional spaces with sociocultural characteristics, typology and appropriate to environmental conditions, with the use of ecotechnologies and building materials of the place for the conservation of the environment and biodiversity, in addition, proposals for community equipment for habitat improvement were developed.

Rural Housing Reconstruction and Sustainable Development Post Wenchuan Earthquake: A Land Unification Perspective Using Dujiangyan City as an Example

This study is a retrospective evaluation of the long-term benefits of rural housing reconstruction in Dujiangyan city (DJY) after the Wenchuan earthquake from a land unification perspective based on statistical data, field investigation, literature review, and a case study. Research shows after the Wenchuan earthquake, during rural housing reconstruction, DJY optimized land development strategies through planning guidance, promoted marketized transfers of land resources, clarified the attribution of land rights through policy support to protect the interests of disaster victims, established equilibrium in the interests of the government, market, and masses, and coordinated the functions of life, production, and ecology through categorized reconstruction. Practice proves that implementation of post-earthquake housing reconstruction, guided by land unification and land-use transformation, reshapes rural form and the rural-urban relationship, thereby facilitating rural revitalization and integrated rural-urban development.

POST OCCUPANCY EVALUATION (POE): A TOOL TO INVESTIGATE THE RESIDENTS’ SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE OF HOUSING PROJECT, CASE STUDY – KANHAPUR, INDIA

In developing countries like India, very less research has been conducted on the Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of rural housing projects. This research aims to investigate the performance of an Eco-Village at Kanhapur, India which was designed by the Centre of Science for Villages. Research investigation was based on the occupants’ views on the physical condition of their housing units and neighborhood spaces. The study aided to determine the occupants’ housing satisfaction and thus evaluate the housing quality in the rural housing projects. The results revealed that, CSV, failed in achieving the residential satisfaction and the model of Eco-village collapsed. The housing project could offer them the shelter, but not the livable conditions on account of multiple reasons discussed in the paper. CSV never came back to the community to take the feedback on their living conditions and problems even after 10 years of occupancy. The study of this eco village led to the conclusion that POE can be utilized as a powerful tool to diagnose the residential satisfaction and thereby investigate the loopholes in the performance of housing projects.