Planning Strategy Analysis Case Study in London - Essay Example

Planning Strategy Analysis Case Study in London Introduction Several factors are to be considered in order to achieve high quality houses. In order to achieve quality housing, there has to be strategized planning. Having to select and purchase a home is considered as one of the most important as well as exiting decisions one has to make. The value and quality of a house determines customer satisfaction. Planning to purchase a home requires proper strategizing considering factors such as architectural designs and site of the house. My case study will be on London city region. This essay shall elaborate more on key issues namely, architecture which includes building materials, new technology used, environment which includes landscape and humanities which include residents satisfaction in question. Brief Summary of Housing in London City London city area is the largest metropolitan city in the United Kingdom as well as the largest all over Europe. London city has also a diverse range of people, religions and culture. Currently, there are plans underway to improve the housing system in London. One such idea is the London plan (Books, 2010). The draft of the London plan was written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority on February 2008. The plan identifies areas of opportunity with an aim of reducing social deprivation a well as creating sustainable development. Such areas will be able to accommodate 2,500 homes. They will also be popular town centers. The objective of the London plan is be able to accommodate London’s growth for the years to come. Every occupant in London city will be able to afford a home as well as gaining accessibility to housing policies for example house insurance. This is meant to improve quality of life as well as creation of jobs. Another policy used in London to plan and build homes is the Council house which is popularly known as local authority house. The council houses were built and operated locally in areas surrounding London city. There were also houses newly built and spacious to attract interested persons. However, they mainly targeted the working class persons as they could rent the houses at reasonable prices while some were able to purchase houses. Over the years, many people have migrated to London city which has led to population increase. This is viewed as a negative aspect because houses have become less than the people leading to a vice called urban blight. The council responsible for providing houses is now faced with a challenge to relocate the excess people or build more homes. Optioning to build more homes has not primarily solved the issue as there is now reduced space for expansion in London city. Subsequently, this has led to the leaders of London city to consider building homes in the less developed areas of United Kingdom. Statistical analysis have shown 15% of the population in London having migrated decongesting the city. Nonetheless, a substantial 40% of London city still live in the council housing (Thorpe, 2010). They claim that the new housing schemes built in the less developed areas are not up to standard with the council houses. In light of this, the council has had to hire top architectures that drew new designs of houses that are at per with the tenants standards. The houses to be built were primarily rental homes. Since there were new designs of houses drew by the architectures, they required new building materials as well as new technology in order to achieve their goal. Technology and Building Materials Strategizing and making a low energy building needs planning and design. A lot depends on the type of weather. In a hot climate, the design needs to mainly focus on keeping the building cool meaning small windows and thick insulating walls on the side that receives the most sun. It has also must a good circulation system to draw out hot air while drawing in cooler air. In a cold climate, the main focus is keeping the building warm. The side of the house receiving the most sun should have a conservatory or large windows to make the most of the sunlight. There should also be good insulation to stop heat from escaping. Methods of heating and cooling that make use of the natural climate in this way are known as Passive Design. Planning the landscape can also be viewed as part of Passive Design. The trees and other plants improve air quality for example deciduous trees can provide shade during summer and allow the sun to warm buildings in winter. The architectural designs of the houses required modern materials used for building. Most of the house designs were generally very spacious sized rooms that included luxurious areas for example Swimming pools and Jacuzzis. The use of building materials with embodied energy is viewed as a good way to save energy. The contractors can build houses from low-energy materials such as mud, straw and old newspapers while laying the foundation. The use of recycled building materials such as old bricks and wooden flooring uses 95% less energy than assembling new ones. Rammed earth construction is basically making walls out of mud mixed with adobe made in factories. However, there are new materials made from factories which are far more weather proof as well as long lasting. An example of a new building material that uses low-energy is concrete made from lime and bemp. The final material made is as strong as concrete but also has the advantage of allowing water vapor to escape helping to prevent damp. The low energy materials can also be used to for insulation purposes and wall or floor coverings. Another new material used in construction is made from waste newspaper. Subsequently, it is injected into cavities in walls or onto roof spaces using special machines that blow air into it basically fluffing it up. The trapped air makes an excellent insulator as long as it remains dry. Architects who design the low energy buildings combine many distinct methods of reducing energy use. This is due to the fact that they often use natural materials making use of the sunlight and natural ventilations. As a result, the low-energy buildings are usually very pleasant places to live and work in. Limited design changes can also make major savings. For instance, a purposely built low energy home using Passive Design usually cuts energy by about 85% when compared to a modern house. In addition, devices such as solar panels and wind turbines are more efficient than electricity. In London, the Beddington Zero energy development (BedZed) is a group of modern houses and flats that do not require outside energy for heating purposes, lighting and power (Jack, 2003). This is the due to the houses being designed to make the most of the Sun’s energy. They are super insulated and get water heating and electricity from solar panels. The brightly colored chimneys are ventilators and heat exchangers. The idea behind this is the heating of the air coming into the chimney by the stale and warm air going out. London is a developed country hence the inhabitants produce a lot of waste as well as using energy. In their homes, they throw away waste food, packagings from things they buy, old clothes, old shoes as well as old Television sets and furniture. The total amount of waste produced from homes is overwhelming. In realization of this fact, the architectures designing homes are determined to build homes that make use of those waste products. They are also building homes from waste materials. There are new building materials designed from waste materials. For instance, one such kind of material is made from a mixture of crushed glass and ash. Another energy saver made from waste is Biogas, a promising kind of biofuel made from waste materials and break down of animal dung. Houses that have good insulation usually save a lot of energy. The building will need very little energy to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter. The parts of a building that are worst insulated are the windows due to the fact that ordinary glass is not a good insulator. New technology has introduced E-glass (Solway, 2008). The E-glass has special coatings that reflect the heat that usually passes through back to the surface. The E-glass is also combined with double or even triple glazing layers filled with special gases such as argon to achieve better insulation. The E-glass made this way is much better at insulating than ordinary double glazing. Some low energy houses use E-glass in other ways for example the use of computers to control the opening and closing. Considering this they can be used as part of a smart building management system. Ensuring Customer Satisfaction In order to achieve customer satisfaction, the entrepreneurs had to have an innovative approach and a passion for excellence. They had to have a good grasp of proper ways of strategic housing and planning elements. There have been groups formed which are committed to customer satisfaction for example Raven (Virginia, 2009). After a successful Audit Commission inspection, their main goal has been completion of decent homes. Having a committed staff dedicated to development, they have been successful over the years at building homes and improving the lives of London residents. Some private and affordable housing providers in the London have different customer based at ensuring satisfaction. Some companies use independent assessors to provide continuous feedbacks from their many clients. In order to ensure customer satisfaction, they have established contracts between the clients and housing associations. This strategy has improved the relationship between the customers and the housing companies. There are forums for example the Housing Forum that carries out surveys on private housing within London. The surveys are to ensure that residents have the right to be comfortable within their own homes. References: Addis W. (2006). Building with reclaimed components and materials: a design handbook for reuse and recycling. Earthscan press. Books LLC. (2010) Metropolitan Boroughs of the County of London: Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington, Metropolitan Borough of Hackney. General Books LLC. Jack P. (2003). Public sculpture of the city of London. Liverpool University Press. Solway A. (2008). Environmental Technology. Evans Brothers press. Thorpe D. (2010). Sustainable Home Refurbishment: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Retrofitting Homes for Efficiency. Earthscan press. Virginia. (2009). Acts passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. s.n. Princeton University Digitized. 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