Conference Agenda

Urban density facilitates face-to-face interaction. Yet few studies have sought to quantify the influence which access to face-to-face interaction has on residents’ social connectivity and residential location choice. Using the geolocation and phone contact history of a large sample of mobile phone users in Singapore, we identify social hotspots in public spaces and the contact network size of the individual users. We find that the frequency of visits to social hotspots by a user correlates positively with the user’s social connectivity but negatively with the travel time between the user’s home and the hotspots. Furthermore, we find a price premium for homes with easier access to social hotspots, other things being equal. These findings provide evidence that residential location affects face-to-face social interaction, which in turn affects the social connectivity of residents.

The world population is aging at an alarming speed, including in China. Creating an inclusive city that caters to the needs of all social groups, especially the disadvantaged (e.g., the elderly), has become the priority of city policymakers. Recent studies increasingly demonstrate that older adults’ well-being is not only determined by their own resources and physical conditions but also by various social determinants, such as the community environment and the quality of housing they live in. Influenced by traditional norms, most Chinese older adults prefer to age in place without long-distance relocation, and most of them live in their homes either alone or with families instead of in nursing homes as they age. Thereby, providing age-friendly housing that facilitates the elderly aging well in place is crucial to improve the inclusiveness of Chinese cities. Using matching strategy and regression analysis, this study investigates the impacts of various housing attributes on older adults’ subjective well-being and the moderating effect of living arrangements. We firstly comprehensively measure multi-dimensions of housing features of the respondents. Then, by matching comparable older adults with similar attributes, we identify the effects of various types of housing features on older adults’ subjective well-being. Furthermore, we examine whether older adults living alone are more susceptible to housing attributes than those living with family members. This study provides insights to real estate developers, property management companies, as well as the government to create age-inclusive housing and communities that better prepare China for an aging society and to improve older adults’ well-being in their later life.

To improve housing affordability many jurisdictions around the world have introduced substantial taxes and other restrictions on non-resident home buyers. We use the foreign buyer tax introduced in British Columbia, Canada in August 2016 to investigate the extent to which such taxes and restrictions improve housing af-fordability for the local population by reducing house prices. Our work is based on a direct transaction-level identification of foreign buyers. This identification was instituted through legislation prior to the announcement and subsequent introduc-tion of the tax. Using a difference in differences methodology to compare house price changes pre- and post-tax between high and low foreign buyer concentration neighbourhoods, we find the tax to reduce house prices on the order of 6%. The quantitative effects are also striking, with overall foreign buyer share falling from 9.5% of transactions in the six weeks prior to the announcement of the tax to 1.7%for the four months following the tax. Additionally, we find that the tax had no effect on areas and market segments with little presence of foreign buyers.

This study looks into the ‘Housing Finance Use by the Residentially Vulnerable Households’, an HF survey in 2019, to analyze characteristics of the groups living in inadequate housing, such as ‘Gosiwon’(cramped boarding houses), ‘Jjokbang’ (split-rooms), and ‘Deteriorated Housing’. With SPSS 14.0 program, both frequency and cross-analysis were conducted to reveal that single-person households accounted for most disadvantaged groups across all housing types, with marked differences by each type. Specifically, Gosiwon accommodated mostly young singles, most of whom were students or day laborers, preferring monthly rents to Jeonse, which requires a lump sum of deposits. In the meantime, the majority of Jjokbang dwellers were seniors, who were single by divorce or deceased spouses. Recipients of the Basic Livelihood Subsidies, not income earners, were largely dependent on the government for their livelihood. Lastly, Deteriorated Housing was mostly occupied by senior recipients of the Basic State Pension. Featuring better living conditions compared with Jjokbang, the residents of this housing type were hoping to continue to live in the dwellings after home repair or renovation. The analysis suggests the followings; first and foremost, as the ‘Housing Vulnerable Groups’ has a blurred concept, it needs to be more clearly defined. With a clarified definition, it would be possible to devise tailored residential welfare policies that cater to the needs of each group. The study also indicates a need to adopt initiatives to improve the living conditions of vulnerable groups for better residential stability. In addition, information on residence or housing finance should be readily available to vulnerable groups. Lastly, various surveys on the groups should be conducted regularly to have a timely and precise understanding of their conditions.