The Institute for Housing Research is a multi-disciplinary research department established in 1994 under the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala University. Research at the Institute covers a wide variety of issues concerning housing and the built environment.

The number of exployees is about 40; professors, researchers, doctoral candidates and administrative staff. Most of the posts are in the disciplines of geography, economics, political science and sociology and in these subjects there are professorships. Other areas are anthropology, economic history and psychology. 
 

News

Public transport as alternative to private car use

Terry Hartig, IBF, together with Lauren Redman, Uppsala University, Margareta Friman, Karlstad University and Tommy Gärling, University of Gothenburg, has written the article "Quality attributes of public transport that attract car users: A research review" in Transport Policy. The transport sector presents contentious issues with respect to sustainable development with the aim to reduce private car use in urban areas. Public transport, cycling and walking are generally agreed to be sustainable alternatives to private car use. The authors want to know what improvements should be made in public transport to attract private car users. Toward achieving this aim, relevant research was reviewed to answer the following two questions: 1) What quality attributes of PT services are attractive to users? 2) What changes in quality attributes of public transport services would encourage modal shift from private motor vehicles till public transport? The research reviewed indicates that reduced fare promotions and other habit-interrupting transport policy measures can succeed in encouraging car users to try public transport. Other attributes must then be provided in sustaining the switch.

2013-05-13

Indoor environment quality on overall satisfaction in Swedish dwellings

Mats Wilhelmsson, IBF and KTH, together with Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson, KTH, has written the article ”Impact of perceived indoor environment quality on overall satisfaction in Swedish dwellings” in Building and Environment. The article examines the effect that perception of indoor environment quality has on overall satisfaction and what influence the characteristics of individuals and building may have on overall satisfaction. The results are representative of adults living in multi-family buildings in Sweden and occupants are in general very satisfied. Indoor air quality was found to have the highest impact as occupants’ satisfaction. The occurrence of problems with indoor environment quality, particularly draught, dust and too low indoor temperature may affect occupants’ overall satisfaction.

2013-05-06

Swedish Visitors to Eighteenth-Century London

Göran Rydén, IBF, has written the article ”Viewing and Walking: Swedish Visitors to Eighteenth-Century London” in Journal of Urban History. During the eighteenth century, London became the largest city in Europe and attracted many foreign visitors. Sweden and Britain constituted opposite ends of European urbanization; eighteenth-century Britain was among the most urbanized countries, with London as its largest city, while Sweden was still a predominantly rural country with a small capital. The objective of this article is to use six descriptions of London, made by Swedish travelers, as a starting point for a discussion about eighteenth-century cities, towns, and urban life and what meaning a city or a town had to eighteenth-century people.

2013-04-29

Neighbourhood Effects and Neighbourhood Selection

Lina Hedman, IBF, has toghether with George Galster, Wayne State University, Detroit, written the article "Neighbourhood Income Sorting and the Effects of Neighbourhood Income Mix on Income: A Holistic Empirical Exploration" in Urban Studies. The authors argue that neighburhood selection and neighbourhood effects should be studied jointly since the two processes are mutually causal. They develop a model with instrumental variables and find that this model result in larger coefficients on both neighbourhood selection and individual income than using a more conventional fixed-effects approach. The study population is
working-age men living in the Stockholm area.

2013-04-15

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