EDRA Connections Fall 2017

DECEMBER 2017

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In this Issue

by Nisha A. Fernando, Editor

Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design

by Dr. Cody R. Price

Convergence: Repurposing Vacant Urban Malls into Dementia Friendly City Centers in Oklahoma

by Dr. Emily Roberts

In this issue BY NISHA A. FERNANDO

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he core purpose of research, typically, is to discover new information that guide us to build and expand on knowledge and to develop best practices. Within that traditional framework, environmental design research strives to understand intricate dynamics of relationships between human experiences of designed environments. Occasionally, research findings directs us refocus our views of existing environments to analyze them from brand new angles.

This issue of EDRA Connections closely examines and identifies how perceptions of spatial types can be used as powerful tools in identifying as new design approaches. Redefining and reinterpreting the ways in which form and function work together provide a critical new design path, while altering the viewpoints of aesthetics, perceptions and traditional space typologies. In two different empirical studies the two authors inform us how symbolism of form and function can be seen in a new light.

Dr. Cody Price investigates how affordable housing can be more supported by altering stigmatization through design. His study presents evidence on perceptions of neighborhood aesthetics and how design decisions can be used as powerful tools to decrease the negative attitudes towards affordable housing.

Dr. Emily Roberts illustrates how derelict urban spaces such as shopping malls can be redefined and redesigned to create spaces for elderly

A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association

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with Dementia. The repurposed design can provide substantial and efficient spaces that include care for the elderly while enhancing sustainability of urban spaces.

EDRA Connections always takes pride in acting as a platform for such unique and user-centered research conducted by EDRAites. Interested in seeing your research study published as a 1000-word essay in an upcoming issue? Please contact me at: Nisha.Fernando@uwsp.edu.

You can find more details at: edra.org/page/ publications.

Nisha A. Fernando, Ph.D. is the Editor of EDRA Connections and a Professor of Interior Architecture, University of WisconsinStevens Point. She can be reached at Nisha.

Fernando@uwsp.edu.

Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design

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BY DR. CODY R. PRICE

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he reality of today is that we live in an unjust society. Marginalized populations are continuously stigmatized and discriminated against—preventing them from accessing public services and living in areas of higher opportunity (Bloom, Umbach, & Vale, 2015; Tighe, 2012). Affordable housing promotes urban competitiveness, helps avoid homelessness, minimizes the impact of high shelter cost, and promotes mixed communities and urban social sustainability. However, one of the greatest threats towards putting affordable housing into higher-opportunity neighborhoods is community resistance and stigmatization (Dear, 1991; Koebel, Lang, & Danielsen, 2004; Nguyen et al., 2013, Pendall, 1999; Stein, 1992; Tighe, 2010). This paper presents my dissertation research on the formation and complexity of affordable housing stigma, and how design can reduce this stigmatization.

with affordable housing in Ohio. The study sought to answer two questions about homeowners’ willingness to live near affordable housing: 1. Does willingness to live near affordable housing increase if the homeowner receives information on affordable housing?

2. Does willingness to live near affordable housing increase if the homeowner sees that affordable housing can look like market-rate housing?

Although the study found no effect of exposure to information, it found that homeowners were more resistant to affordable housing when it did not match the appearance of market-rate homes.

Planners and developers have the capacity to decrease affordable housing stigma by educating people who live near planned affordable housing, by designing single-family affordable housing to resemble market-rate housing, and by testing neighbor responses afterward to refine future designs. By decreasing the stigma associated with affordable housing stigma, high-opportunity

The research objective was to understand the relationship between aesthetic design and stigma and if/how design can change people’s perceptions about an area, building, or the label of affordable housing. Using Qualtrics, three survey-based studies investigated a group of homeowners each, at the city, state or national level.

DESIGN AND STIGMA OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING The first study surveyed 718 homeowners in Ohio (556 females, 156 males, and 6 who did not answer) to investigate the effectiveness of house design at lessening the stigma associated

Figure 1. The six building styles tested (Column 1: Mediterranean, Farmhouse, Tudor; Column 2: Contemporary, Saltbox, Colonial).

Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design

neighborhoods might be more likely to support affordable housing in their neighborhoods, which could help reduce segregation and concentrated poverty.

SYMBOLISM OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING The second study used six styles of houses (Figure 1) and probed the likelihood that a homeowner would judge each style as an affordable house that houses a low-income family. The homeowner’s rated these styles after receiving a definition of affordable housing. The study tested this with 420 homeowners (324 females, 92 males, 4 did not respond) in three U.S. cities. The study sought to answer four questions about a homeowner’s judgement regarding the symbolic meaning of single-family homes labeled as affordable housing: 1. Is the perception of affordable or nonaffordable housing associated with certain building styles?

2. Do these associations with the styles hold across three cities?

3. Do these associations with the styles hold across different demographic groups?

4. What design elements make homeowners associate homes as affordable more than nonaffordable housing?

This study explored how people perceive and interpret homes that are labeled as affordable housing, and how symbolic meanings associated with building style might influence a person’s judgement. The study found that participants

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most likely judged a house as affordable if it had a plain style, few windows, and looked like an apartment building. In contrast, house styles that looked grander in style, and had more architectural detailing were perceived as least likely affordable housing. The results suggested that one can reduce the stigma towards affordable housing by designing such housing to look more like single-family, that uses a non-plain exterior, materials that look expensive like brick, ornate, more windows, large doors and entrances, more landscaping, chimneys, and columns.

COMPLEXITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING STIGMA The third study investigated the attitudes of 295 homeowners in the United States (175 women, 113 men, and 7 who did not indicate their gender) towards affordable housing across the seven stigmatized categories of affordable housing, maintenance, crime, property values, aesthetics, residents, physical structure, and the program as a giveaway. The study sought to examine two things: 1. If the validity of the seven-factor structure identified in the literature holds true for the questionnaire using a confirmatory factory analysis (CFA).

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developed around the seven stigmas of affordable housing identified in the literature, maintenance, crime, property values, aesthetics, residents, physical structure, and the program as a giveaway (Belden and Russonello, 2003; Galster et al., 2003; Tighe, 2010, 2012). 295 U.S. homeowners (113 men, 175 women, and 7 did not indicate their gender) completed the on-line questionnaire.

The study first used a CFA, which confirmed the seven-factor structure in the literature, but pointed to the complexity and interconnectedness of affordable housing stigma. Then the study used an EFA, which suggested a 4-factor structure with strong internal consistency. Notably, the analysis found that perceived maintenance, crime, residents, structure, and property value were highly correlated to the design aesthetics (See Table 1). Thus, perhaps good design can have positive effects on maintenance, crime, the structure, and property values. These findings offer a holistic view of the affordable housing stigma, and this information may help providers create more inclusive communities.

APPLICATION TO KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE Conceptually, each study examined how one can use design as a tool to alleviate affordable

2. If the aesthetics factor items nested in other stigmas of affordable housing regarding property values, maintenance, crime, and its structure using a principal component exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

To examine these questions, the study used a 28-item questionnaire

Table 1: Correlation of aesthetics with other latent factors derived by CFA.

Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design

housing stigma. The first study established that housing design matters because if affordable housing was built and designed indistinguishably with surrounding market-rate homes, then homeowners were more willing to allow it near them. The second study examined different building styles and found that certain styles evoked a sense of affordability more than others. Additionally, it highlighted specific design elements that planners, designers, and architects can use to make affordable housing look less like affordable housing with hopes of lessening its stigma and allowing for its development and implementation into higher-opportunity neighborhoods. The third study highlighted the complexity of affordable housing stigma and how the aesthetics of affordable housing was highly correlated with an affordable housing’s maintenance, crime, property values, and structure. Thus, it argued that if planners, developers, and architects focus on the aesthetics of affordable housing (something that they can control), they could potentially alleviate other stigmas associated with affordable housing rather than design alone.

REFERENCES Belden, N., & Russonello, J. (2003). Valuing Housing: Public perception of affordable housing in the Chicago region, Chicago, IL: Housing Illinois.

Bloom, N.D., Umbach, F., & Vale, L.J. (2015).

Public housing myths: Perception, reality, and social policy. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press.

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Dear, M. J. (1991). Gaining community acceptance.

Princeton, NJ: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Galster, G. C., Tatian, P. A., Santiago, A. M., Pettit, K. L. S., & Smith, R. E. (2003). Why not in my backyard?: Neighborhood impacts of deconcentrating assisted housing. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University / Center for Urban Policy Research / Transaction Press.

Koebel, C. T., Lang, R. E., & Danielsen, K. A. (2004).

Community acceptance of affordable housing.

Washington, DC: National Association of Realtors.

Nguyen, M. T., Basolo, V., & Tiwari, A. (2013).

Opposition to affordable housing in the USA: debate framing and the responses of local actors.

Housing, Theory and Society, 30(2), 107-130.

Pendall, R. (1999). Opposition to housing NIMBY and beyond. Urban Affairs Review, 35(1), 112136. Stein, D. (1992). Winning community support for land use projects. Bethesda, MD: Urban Land Institute.

Tighe, J.R. (2012). How race and class stereotyping shape attitudes toward affordable housing.

Housing Studies, 27(7), 1-22.

Tighe, J. R. (2010). Public opinion and affordable housing: A review of the literature. Journal of Planning Literature, 25(1), 3-17.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cody R. Price, PhD, is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the City and Regional Planning Section of the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University. He received his BS in City & Regional Planning from Ohio State University, a Masters of Public Service and Administration degree from Texas A&M University, and a doctoral degree in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University. His dissertation, “Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design,” has been presented at numerous conferences including the Urban Affairs Association, American Planning Association, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, and EDRA. His teaching and research interests focus on affordable housing, environmental psychology, stigma, and social justice.

NOTES The summary of research provided above is from his dissertation, “Alleviating Affordable Housing Stigma by Design,” completed in August 2017. All three studies described above are currently under review for publication. For inquiries about the research, please feel free to him at price.644@osu. edu or cprice.644@gmail.com.

Convergence: Repurposing Vacant Urban Malls into

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Dementia Friendly City Centers in Oklahoma

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BY DR. EMILY ROBERTS

Architecture is elastic; you can do strong, positive, progressive projects and change the future.

- M. Maltzan, 2017 In 2016 it was estimated that 5.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia and the number of Oklahomans with dementia is currently approximately 63,000 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2017). These numbers are expected to rise in the coming decades, leading to an unprecedented demand for memory care housing and services for individuals with dementia and their families. Due to the evolving pressures of density, affordability and the need for strengthening of community in contemporary cities, the burden of living with dementia can be overwhelming for those living with the disease and their family members. Once a family member no longer feels competent in their caregiving role, individuals with dementia are often institutionalized, leading to a number of negative outcomes, as the individual becomes further disconnected from their home, family, community and normal activities of daily living (Kirk & Kagen, 2015). The goal of raising awareness about the needs of a growing population of older adults with dementia is to create physical environments and communities which allow for high quality of life, autonomy and choice in daily living (Black, Johnston, Rabins, Morrison, Lyketsos, & Samus, 2015).

of the physical environment in resident well-being.

Two forward-thinking care settings for individuals with dementia are located in Weesp, Netherlands and Svendborg, Denmark. These large multi-acre secure Dementia Village settings allow for resident autonomy and continuation of daily patterns of

daily living through communities which integrate large exterior walking and gardening areas, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, grocery stores and beauty salons, along with housing developed around a series of landscaped courtyards (Figures 1-4).

Figure 1-Outside courtyards, Dementia VillageWeesp, Netherlands

Figure 2- Restaurant and cafe, Dementia Village-Weesp, Netherlands

Figure 3- Outside walking paths, Dementia Village-Svendborg, Denmark

Figure 4- Restaurant open to outside community, Dementia Village-Svendborg, Denmark

RE-THINKING DEMENTIA CARE Recent changes in thinking about dementia care have led to the consideration of the importance

Convergence: Repurposing Vacant Urban Malls into Dementia Friendly City Centers in Oklahoma (CONTINUED)

DEMENTIA FRIENDLY CITY CENTERS Many of the concerns for individuals with dementia in care settings focus on access to public spaces, medical care, affordable transportation and housing, yet the norm for dementia care providers United States, particularly in the state of Oklahoma, is that providers may not have the appropriately sized property, nor the funding, to offer multiple activities and services for residents. Repurposing existing structures, in particular vacant urban malls, may be one option for large sites that are needed for developments similar to the Dementia Village.

As consumer spending habits change to online shopping and other forms of commerce, it has been forecasted that 10% of the nation’s 1,000 indoor malls will fail by 2022, eventually converting to uses other than retail. The regulatory and financing structures for vacant urban malls are evolving in a way that should allow more of these properties to be repurposed in a productive way (Dunham-Jones & Williamson, 2011). By the repurposing of existing urban mall infrastructure for programs and services for individuals living with dementia, these urban settings may become sustainable Dementia Friendly City Centers (DFCC), because traditional mall sites are central to public transportation systems and the internal infrastructure is in place for lighting and HVAC, along with the spatial configuration of large public spaces for dining, walking, and gardening, and concentric organization for more private needs like classrooms, galleries, and physical and occupational therapy centers.

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These repurposed core services and activities may be funded by local, state and federal funds similar to those available for Programs for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and adult day programs and/ or may be offered by larger medical or physical/ occupational therapy providers. With linked housing, residents would have the opportunity to connect by pedestrian walkways into the larger DFCC for services and activities. The result would be a completely walkable, secure city center with multiple services and amenities available to the residents and visiting friends and family members in a barrier free environment, similar to the Dementia Village sites in the Netherlands and Denmark.

aging population with the changing economic factors in over-retailed urban sites. Students from the Oklahoma State University Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising and School of Architecture are collaborating on a multilayered assessment of two closed mall sites in the area. (See Figures 5-7)

HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES (HIAP) FRAMEWORK

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Improving and connecting health and wellness in long-term care service systems for individuals with dementia and their families in order to eliminate health disparities around dementia in Oklahoma.

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Educating the general community about the needs and concerns of individuals living with dementia and their families in order to

A working group of city agencies, developers, designers, dementia care specialists and design students interested in developing the DFCC concept for Oklahoma began meeting in July 2017 to look at what results and outcomes can be achieved together. The DFCC working group’s vision is to address the convergence of the needs of an

Using a Health in All Policies (HiAP) collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy arenas, the working groups future objectives include:

Figure 5. Oklahoma Mall Site #1 (Graphics-Gabi Pereira-OSU-DHM)

Convergence: Repurposing Vacant Urban Malls into Dementia Friendly City Centers in Oklahoma (CONTINUED)

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reduce discrimination and increase social cohesion and networks to support a strong community awareness of the impact of dementia.

Figure 6. Oklahoma Mall Site #2 (Graphics-Gabi Pereira-OSU-DHM)

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Promotion of sustainable practices through the repurposing and revitalization of an urban or suburban area mall impacted by the downturn of on-site retail purchasing.

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Developing the DFCC building type and technologies that foster health and social interaction for individuals with dementia and their families.

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Provision of resources for policy makers to help develop the public health infrastructure to support the DFCC concept, and valuation of the effectiveness and health impact of the DFCC concept as it relates to urban renewal, sustainable practices for the entire community and overall dementia care systems.

The DFCC working group will continue to rethink the current culture of dementia care in order to provide a sustainable public/private business model which is inclusive, progressive and convergent with the needs of an aging population, both locally and nationally.

REFERENCES

Figure 7. Conceptual View-Dementia Friendly City Center (Graphics-Gabi Pereira-OSU-DHM)

Alzheimer’s Association (2017). Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures: Statistical resource for data related to Alzheimer’s disease. Downloaded from: https://www.alz.org/documents_ custom/2017-facts-and-figures.pdf

Convergence: Repurposing Vacant Urban Malls into Dementia Friendly City Centers in Oklahoma (CONTINUED)

Black, B.S., Johnston, D., Rabins, P.V., Morrison, A., Lyketsos, C, and Samus Q. (2013). Unmet needs of community residing persons with dementia and their informal caregivers: Findings from the maximizing independence at home study.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61(12), 2087-2095.

Dunham-Jones, Williamson, J. (2011). Retrofitting suburbia: Urban design solutions for redesigning suburbs. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, New Jersey.

Kirk, R, & Kagan, J. (2015). A Research Agenda for Respite Care: Deliberations of an Expert Panel of Researchers, Advocates and Funders. ARCH National Respite Network.

Maltzan, M. (2017). From March 29, 2017 Public Housing Forum downloaded from: https://www. aiany.org/.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Emily Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising, College of Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University With a Ph.D in Architectural Studies, and Master’s degrees in Gerontology and Architecture, Dr. Emily Roberts has a research focus in Environmental Gerontology, the study of the person-environment fit between older adults and their physical environment. She has conducted international research in long-term care programming for older adults living with dementia, has published and presented her research in journals and professional and academic conferences and is currently the chair of the EDRA Environment-Gerontology network. In her role as Assistant Professor in Interior Design at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Roberts is dedicated to sharing the values and sustainable practices with her design students necessary to create a culture of aging which is life-affirming and meaningful and is leading the Dementia Friendly City Center working group at the state level through the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

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DECEMBER 2017

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EDRA Connections is published two to three times a year by the Environmental Design Research Association. © 2017. All rights reserved.

EDITOR Nisha A. Fernando Nisha.Fernando@uwsp.edu 2017-2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jeremy Wells, PhD, Chair Roger Williams University Deni Ruggeri, PhD, Chair-Elect The Norwegian University of Life Sciences Nisha A. Fernando, PhD, Secretary University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point Danny Mittleman, PhD, Treasurer Depaul University David L. Boeck, PhD The University of Oklahoma Elizabeth Hewitt, PhD Stony Brook University Sharmin Kader TreanorHL Karen Kim, PhD Student, Student Representative University of Buffalo, SUNY Lynne Manzo, Past Chair University of Washington Linda Nubani, PhD Michigan State University Sue Weidemann, PhD, Emeritus Member University of Buffalo EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lee Helgen leeh@edra.org A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association A publication from the Environmental Design Research Association

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