LV

L.M. Vergara d'Alençon

info

Please Note

13 records found

Introduction: The challenge of the energy transition in the built environment has, in recent years, been exacerbated by rising awareness of the material resource limitations we face on the path towards sustainable development. In this context the concepts of Circular Economy (CE) and Product-Service Systems (PSS) have emerged as potentially complementary industrial and business strategies to overcome the interdependent material resource and clean energy challenges.

Research significance: Research in the field of circular and PSS-based construction frequently centres on the design and engineering of products, mainly through technical strategies such as design for disassembly and adaptability, and the use of the different “R’s” (Reuse, Repair, Remanufacturing, etc.) to extend and/or reset the service lives of building materials and components. Such an approach often ignores the fact that these strategies require changes in the management, financing, and governance aspects of products and therefore buildings, throughout their entire service-lives. This paper will focus on the systemic administrative (i.e. management, financing, and governance) challenges of the circular and servitisation transitions in the building and construction sector, to enable products which are “Circular by Design”, to effectively support regenerative processes.

Research question: The paper asks how traditional building products’ management, financing, and governance processes prevent or delay the implementation of CE and PSS models. It explores the demand side’s perspective (commissioners, building owners and facility managers), taking a systemic view to the search for new practical, strategic, and scalable administrative models.

Methodology: The research method applies the DAS model (De Jonge et al., 2009; Van der Zwart et al., 2009; den Heijer, 2011; den Heijer et al., 2016) to data gathered from focus group discussion and co-design sessions involving multidisciplinary teams of experts from both academy and industry, as well as literature. The research was conducted within the context of the TU Delft Facades-as-a-Service full-scale pilot project.

Results: The research has shown that, while PSS models to enable material circularity can be partially implemented within the current managerial, financial, and governance framework, this implementation is not efficient, effective, or scalable. This is because standard modes of operation in these disciplines are misaligned with that goal. The practical barriers resulting from this misalignment increase the complexity, risk perception, and therefore cost of PSS alternatives, and thus prevent their organic adoption despite increasing market interest. Recommendations are made for policymakers, financiers, suppliers, and building owners to overcome these barriers. ...
Conference paper (2021) - D.K. Czischke, C.J. Huisman, S.L. Dos Santos Vieira Brysch, L.M. Vergara d'Alençon, V.A. Cortés Urra
In the face of societal challenges such as decreasing housing affordability, population ageing, individualisation and climate change, Europe has seen a rise in collaborative housing. Such housing comprises a wide range of collectively self-organised residential projects, which have in common collaboration between groups of residents and professionals aiming at providing affordable and sustainable housing. Despite increasing research on these practices, existing data about collaborative housing are currently scattered across national and regional levels, preventing a comparative understanding of the challenges and opportunities that these new housing forms offer. Furthermore, comparative data are needed to facilitate mutual learning and communication amongst users across countries and regions. This leads to the following research question: how can we categorise different collaborative housing forms that exist across Europe, in a way that helps compare and analyse the most salient characteristics, and so bring current scientific and applied debates further? To help fill this knowledge gap, we develop a scientifically validated categorisation of collaborative housing. To do so, we applied a mixed-methods approach including the development of a Delphi study drawing on insights from academic and practitioner experts across Europe. We provide an overview of different collaborative housing forms in Europe on the basis of data collected from Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The resulting evidence-based and theoretically-informed categorisation aims to contribute to the debates about the role that collaborative housing can play in solving the above challenges. We find local differences combined with international similarities, and observe tensions between generalised meanings and regional understandings. ...
Journal article (2020) - Luz María Vergara D’alençon
In Chile, an increasing number of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) have positioned themselves as vehicles of social and political transformation through the implementation of projects in the built environment. These organizations are driven by social goals and represent an alternative to governmental and market gaps. This paper aims to describe the role of CSO in the context of housing and urban regeneration in deprived territories. To do so, an analytical framework based on their intermediary role and the dimensions of social innovation is proposed. Based on the analysis of two group of organizations: foundations and associations, and community-led functional and territorial organizations, the paper elaborates on their role in vulnerable territories, and the results are synthetized in four main types of social innovative practices. Main results showed the contribution of SCO from their simultaneous role as implementer and catalyst, with a predominant contribution in the dimensions of processes and empowerment. ...

Technical, Organisational and Sociocultural Challenges in Chilean Condominium Housing

In the context of social vulnerability, the house is an important social and economic resource to cope with poverty. However, low-income homeowners face constraints to maintain their houses, negatively affecting the quality of their dwellings, buildings and neighbourhoods. In the case of Chile, current studies have shown high levels of housing deterioration due to the lack of maintenance, but more knowledge is needed to understand the problems behind this poor management process. One important challenge is to consider an integral approach, beyond the technical dimension, that includes organisational and sociocultural inputs. Therefore, this paper presents the results of an exploratory study about the nature of the management problems in the context of Chilean low-income condominiums. The method considered semi-structured interviews with Chilean homeowners, researchers and professionals from the private sector, municipalities and central government. Main findings show the interdependencies between sociocultural, organisational and technical dimensions of the management problem; and the relevance of the sociocultural variables to perform technical maintenance activities. A better understanding of the nature and relationships among the management problems will provide better tools to improve current housing management models. ...

Challenges for Collective Densification

Book chapter (2019) - Luz Vergara d'Alençon
The development of self-organised neighbourhoods positions the residents at the centre of the process. They organise themselves to plan, densify and subsequently manage their dwellings collectively. This chapter focuses on defining the type of management that accompanies the housing densification in condominium tenure, and the challenges related to the maintenance and administration of common property areas. Housing management is understood as a multidimensional process in which the correct performance of the condominium is defined by organisational, technical and sociocultural aspects. From the identification of challenges for the community and the institutions, this chapter reflects on the need for cross-sector collaboration and institutional support to ensure a sustainable long-term management. ...
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are becoming a popular educational tool in different disciplines. Urban planning education is no exception and new MOOCs are being released every year. Despite this, it is still not clear how this new learning experience is being developed, delivered, and impacting upon planning education. This article sheds light on this issue using the case of the Rethink the City MOOC organised by the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of TU Delft. The course received the AESOP Excellence on Teaching award in 2017 and serves as an example of how planning education is facing the change towards online education. The article briefly introduces the course and develops on the challenges and results of it. Based on the course team experience of preparing and delivering the course, the article contributes to the
debate about online education and supports fellow academics involved with the creation of new MOOCs. ...
Book chapter (2019) - Luz Vergara d'Alençon, Cristián Robertson
We are facing a paradigm shift in the production of housing, and it is precisely in this transition where contexts as different as The Netherlands and Chile find a common denominator: the problem of affordability and general discontent in the face of a supply that is increasingly remote from the economic capacity and needs of people. Access to housing has become a scarce commodity. In a growing context of demands for the right to the city, the provision of affordable housing has become such a situation that it has promoted the inhabitants to position themselves as protagonists - seeking solutions that cope with the housing problem through collaborative processes. In Europe these processes have re-emerged as a reaffirmation of self-determination in response to the commodification and standardization of housing. However, in Chile the search has been more related to means of collaborative survival through the dynamics of allegamiento and self-organization in pericentral areas.   From this common point of departure, the initial chapters of the book identify collaborative processes, alternating experiences both in Chile and in Europe. The European case, reviewed from the Dutch social housing model and the re-emergence of collaborative housing models, provides three important points of reflection when traditional and consolidated systems face novel and emerging models. First, the opportunity that arises from the hybridization of both systems and cooperation among different actors. Second, the importance of having a cultural change, followed by regulatory frameworks, to ensure the implementation and subsequent massification of new models. Third, despite the legal and operational barriers, the European experience has shown that self-organized and self-managed models are possible, necessary and effective when housing demands have not been satisfy by the State nor by the market. ...
In Chile, social condominiums are a significant part of housing for low-income households. After decades of occupancy, this housing stock shows signs of rapid deterioration and devaluation due to neglected maintenance. Given the weak governmental support in management practices, third sector organisations are positioning themselves as alternatives to providing technical solutions and contributing to the enhancement of opportunities and capacities among communities that live in deprived areas. However, little is known about the dynamics between these organisations and the communities they work with as well as their interactions with their institutional environment in the context of improving condominium management practices. Employing concepts of intermediation and institutionalisation, we analyse the practice of the organisation Proyecto Propio. We describe the dynamics of the intermediary role as implementer of housing policy and catalyst of social innovation, and the institutionalisation of these practices. The main characteristic of their intermediary role in condominium management practices is a holistic approach as implementer and catalyst for complex interventions, situating the users at the centre of the process. The main challenges are related to institutionalisation: the inclusion of more incentives to scale up and consolidate the third sector as a relevant actor in housing and condominium management. ...

Strategies for third sector intermediaries to support low-income homeowners in Chile

In Chile, social condominiums are a significant part of the affordable owner-occupied housing stock. However, after decades of occupancy, this housing stock shows rapid signs of deterioration and devaluation due to neglected maintenance. This situation has evidenced a twofold challenge for low-income homeownership in Chile. On the one hand, it includes the financial and social restrictions faced by co-owners that diminish their collective capacity to take care of building maintenance. On the other hand, it includes institutional limitations with regard to housing management in terms of regulations, institutions and actors.
This research explores the intermediary role of the third sector in providing support, skills and building capacity among communities to improve the maintenance and administration of their properties. Based on international and local case study analyses, the research proposes a set of management approaches and strategies for Chilean third sector intermediaries to support low-income homeowners in condominium management. Findings show the relevance of multidimensional approaches and strategies, so as to tackle the interrelated challenges by contributing to enhance the community’s capacities and level the built environment conditions. Findings also show the need of partnerships between third sector organisations and municipalities to face complex areas, and the relevance of fostering collaboration and specialisation among third sector organisations. ...

The Intermediary Role of Third Sector Organisations in Supporting Low-income Homeowners

Book chapter (2018) - Luz Vergara d'Alençon
This paper is part of the PhD project ‘Managing Social Condominiums’1, which focuses on the role of third sector organisations in supporting Chilean low-income homeowners in condominium management. Understanding the relevance of external action to improve management processes among vulnerable households, this paper presents the intermediary role of the third sector as a vehicle for social innovation. It analyses and discusses the participation and roles of the third sector in housing and condominium management activities by using a database of international case studies. The results reveal different ways of participation of the third sector through public programmes, single interventions and specialised organisations and distinguishes between implementer and catalyst roles of the third sector. ...
The management of condominiums represents fruitful area for collaborative approaches and community-led initiatives. However, in the context of social vulnerability, co-owners face internal financial and social constraints along with context’s externalities that may diminish the potential of community organisation. The result is poor maintenance and management and thereby, accelerated processes of housing and neighbourhood deterioration and devaluation.
In this context, intermediary organisations may act as enablers, facilitating access to opportunities and resources between communities and public/private institutions. Using the case study of a Chilean social enterprise, the paper seeks to answer the following question: what is the intermediary role of social enterprises in affordable condominium management encouraging collaborative approaches?. The methods used are literature review and semi-structured interviews with professionals and clients of intermediary organisations’ case studies. The paper will discuss the relation between the characteristics of the community, the strategies implemented by the intermediary and the results achieved in a specific institutional and cultural background. The results aim to contribute to the understanding of organisational dynamics and opportunities of intermediary organisations for collaborative management of affordable condominiums in Chile. ...
Journal article (2016) - Luz Maria Vergara D'alencon
Ante el creciente deterioro del parque habitacional, este artículo aborda el desafío de la gestión de la vivienda social, enfocado en condominios sociales.
El texto se inicia con la descripción y evaluación de los programas de mejoramiento de viviendas y barrios, presentando luego tres desafíos y campos de
acción para mantener y consolidar esta inversión. Primero, la necesidad de incorporar el concepto de gestión habitacional entendida como los procesos
de administración y mantenimiento de la vivienda en el tiempo. Segundo, la importancia de una mirada multidimensional a la gestión de la vivienda
social desde el ámbito técnico, organizacional y sociocultural. Finalmente, la necesidad de incorporar nuevos actores, potenciando el rol de las
organizaciones intermedias y la comunidad en el proceso ...