Hybridized Housing Solutions

Africa faces a major housing crisis due to rapid urbanization and a growing slum population. New, targeted approaches to affordable housing are necessary if countries want to take advantage of the demographic shift to make cities inclusive, spur economic growth and expand job opportunities, according to a new report by the World Bank Group.

The report, Stocktaking of the Housing Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, projects that Africa could have as many as 1.2 billion urban dwellers by 2050 and 4.5 million new residents in informal settlements each year, most of whom cannot afford basic formal housing or access mortgage loans.

“Adequate quality housing is critically important for economic growth and social inclusion,” said Mamta Murthi, the World Bank Group’s Acting Vice President for Africa. “Governments will need to join hands with the private sector to facilitate investments in housing by expanding access to and improving the quality of existing stock, while at the same time making it easier for people to access land and housing finance.”

“In many African countries, only the upper 5 to 10 percent of the population can afford the cheapest form of formal housing,” said Ede Jorge Ijjasz Vasquez, Senior Director for the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice.  “As a result, 90 percent of Africans live in informal housing, where living conditions are often substandard, unsafe and without basic services like water, electricity and sanitation. 

While many governments in Africa have been directly providing housing to meet the demands of growing urban populations, these programs are extremely costly to government, out of reach for the urban poor, and have not significantly increased the amount of affordable housing.  

Hence this project aims to solve the issue of access to smart affordable housing in Africa

Infrastructure development must be linked to a broader system of financial inclusion, a strong regulatory and institutional framework to govern service delivery and construction, resilient economic demand for services, long-term low-cost capital, and technology and innovation.

In 2021, Africa will experience one of the biggest pan-African policy game-changers it has ever known, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. If successful, the AfCFTA revolution will unleash a new wave of internal migration within Africa, which will lead to a significant rise in not just demand, but due to the predicted prosperity gains, effective demand, for infrastructure, including housing on the continent.

According to the World Bank, if implemented fully, the trade pact could boost regional income by 7% or $450bn, accelerate wage growth and lift millions out of poverty, and with trade liberalization, integrate Africa much more into global supply chains. The protocol on the free movement of persons, right to residence and relight to establishment, all related continental initiatives, will further accelerate this possibility

Building technology and energy efficiency are key

Our lives revolve around buildings. Investing in new energy-efficient buildings and retrofits could provide huge emission reductions and cost-savings across many cities of the world, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Buildings account for 40% of CO2 emissions and offer the greatest and lowest-cost potential for reducing them. Energy used in buildings in Africa is estimated at 56% of the total national electricity consumption, underscoring the link between sustainable and affordable housing and power sector viability.

As more and more consumers move to remote working from home,residential utility bills have risen, which can be crippling if it causes strain and anxiety via consumers’ need to constantly keep vigilance over their consumption of and spending on household electricity.

In some ways, energy consumption may be manageable when consumers go about their daily business, but now forced indoors, anxiety over energy consumption will rise, and policies and education that promote energy efficiency and conservation measures for residential dwellings will be crucial.

Innovation in building technology is also key. Unconventional building technologies such as light gauge steel construction that provide significant cost savings or the popular klevabrick that creates eco-friendly housing options in South Africa and is spreading across Africa are redefining construction technology on the continent.

Across many economies, low to negative yields on many other financial assets has also made real estate investments a relatively more attractive asset class for investors seeking returns. Some African cities like Cape Town still saw robust rental yields as high as 5% despite the pandemic. But if investment in housing is to move beyond just an investment asset class to a long-term and sustainable revolution, then a broad system of financial inclusion, long-term financing, innovation, and governance will be key.

From 3D printing to biomanufactured materials, new building technologies have been making the headlines as a quicker—and cheaper—way to address the global housing deficit, which is expected to affect 1.6 billion people by 2025.  These new technologies could also present outsized environmental benefits by cutting construction waste, while proving to be carbon neutral or even negative. This enthusiasm has been much welcomed, but do these technologies live up to the hype?

While new housing technologies can help cut waste and reduce GHG emissions, they are unlikely to make a dent in the global housing crisis, unless accompanied by other changes.  In fact, prefabricated houses have existed since the early 1900s in the United States, popularized by Sears, which sold tens of thousands of affordable housing "kits." A century later, prefab housing technology is still considered an innovation that has yet to take off. The reason may lie in the fact that construction is only one piece of the housing puzzle. Here are four elements to remember as we consider adopting new housing tech to solve the global housing crisis:

1. Focus on the customer by expanding options available to families. By emphasizing new construction and homeownership, the global housing market has become too standardized. Though standardization is often promoted to increase production efficiency and reduce costs, one-size-fits-all may not be the right answer. Case in point: Mexico’s mass production of readymade homes in less-than-desirable locations caused the whole housing market to crash. Many of the units are still empty today. Surely, a market of that size should have more choices. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of adaptability in housing: being able to add or subtract walls, for example, or layouts that could adapt to the needs of remote work. Beyond new housing construction, many families need access to simple repairs or upgrades to their existing units. Estimates show that two-thirds of the buildings that exist today will be around in 2050—presenting both structural and environmental problems, on top of other features affecting quality of life. The good news is that technology is already available to address these issues: 3D scans are mapping informal settlements; machine learning software is being used to support countries’ efforts and on-the-ground inspections to efficiently and cheaply identify buildings at risk of collapse.  Newer technologies, such as light-reflecting paint and low-cost structural retrofit techniques can go a long way toward making homes safer and greener.  
2. Design innovative financing schemes. Today, many households in the world cannot access a formal mortgage because they either work in the informal economy or do not have official land titles.  Proof of income and down payment requirements also block access to mortgages. Innovations in fintech will help underwrite informal incomes and enable households working in the informal economy to receive a housing loan. In the meantime, exploring options such as blockchain technology to ensure clean land titles or an innovative use of guarantee funds can provide families with informal and irregular incomes access to credit at reasonable costs and  financial institutions with greater security.  
3. Create innovative housing solutions for those who cannot (or do not want to) immediately purchase a home. The Economist has branded the quasi-global focus worldwide focus on homeownership a big mistake, which has only created more inequality and inaccessibility in the housing market.  Rent-to-own start-ups are springing up around the world to meet the needs of this large market. Just like Airbnb disrupted the vacation rental market, rental platforms can play a key role in supporting low-income households, refugees and other underserved segments of the population who struggle to find adequate rental housing. In many places, landlords demand exorbitant fees upfront and do not sign a formal contract with their tenants. Disruption in the global rental industry for low-income families can formalize the market, protect the rights and savings of honest renters and benefit from government support through rental subsidy schemes or guarantee funds to reduce or eliminate upfront deposits.  
4. Promote long-term policy changes. The barrier to housing accessibility is often linked to the high costs of urban land, which makes single-family housing expensive.  In emerging markets, the issue can be more complex as urban plans are poorly implemented, infrastructure is stretched and land titles, often unavailable. These issues make serviced, well located, and titled land prohibitively expensive and force households to live in precarious areas without access to safe drinking water or security of tenure. Developers build homes far from city centers where land remains relatively cheap, making commutes longer and stretching infrastructure even further. Urban policies that incentivize strategic land allocation and formalization, transportation, green building, while taking advantage of proven, cost-effective technological solutions can create livable, sustainable cities. Mexico and Colombia learned this lesson and have since revamped its policies to ensure that new housing investments support urban regeneration, sustainable construction, and home improvements. At the end of the day, the greenest home built in suburbia is still more polluting than a classic urban house. To truly cut housing costs and its environmental footprint, construction tech cannot repeat the same housing designs and mistakes that have made our cities unsustainable in the past. 

Technology is always in search of a problem to solve. When it comes to the housing crisis, there are many.  As we embrace innovative construction technologies, let us not forget that housing is more than bricks and mortar. Solving the global housing shortage will also require innovations in policy, finance, urban planning and beyond.

The Solution looks at the low income to middle income dweller in rural and urban Subsaharan Africa.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the $1.25 a day poverty rate has shown no sustained decline over the whole period since 1981, starting and ending at around 50 per cent. In absolute terms, the number of poor people has nearly doubled, from 200 million in 1981 to 380 million in 2005. However, there have been signs of recent progress; the poverty rate fell from 58 per cent in 1996 to 50 per cent in 2005.  hence it would be purely looking at dwellers in Sub Saharan Africa

Our Team is well positioned to do so by following the following steps and achieving this 

Goal 1: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Target 1a. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

• Target 1b. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.

• Target 1c. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

Goal 2: achieve universal primary education

• Target 2a. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

Goal 3: promote gender equality and empower women

• Target 3a. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005 and in all levels of education no later than 2015.

Goal 4: reduce child mortality

• Target 4a. Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.

Goal 5: improve maternal health

• Target 5a. Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.

• Target 5b. Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.

Goal 6: combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

• Target 6a. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

• Target 6b. Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it.

• Target 6c. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

Goal 7: ensure environmental sustainability

• Target 7a. Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

• Target 7b. Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss.

• Target 7c. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

• Target 7d. By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

I am applying to solve for the following reasons ;

• Receive access to funding in grants and investments, including through prizes and Solve Innovation Future. At least $10,000 is awarded to every selected team. This year, there is more than $1.3 million in pre-committed funding to selected teams.

• Join a class of impressive peers that act as trusted support group, offering inspiration and guidance

• Join a powerful network of impact-minded leaders across industries and sectors, with dedicated spaces to meet year-round and during Solve’s flagship events such as Solve at MIT.  

• Access mentorship, coaching, and strategic advice from experts, as well as the Solve and MIT networks. 

• Receive monitoring and evaluation support to build an impact measurement practice. 

• Gain exposure in the media and at conferences.

• Access relevant in-kind resources such as software licenses and legal services from Solve Member and partner organizations. 

1. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Technology

EPS Construction Demo. (Source: constructionkenya.com)

Housing contractors are opting for cost-effective ways to build homes and still maintain a high standard of workmanship. EPS panels are precast housing components made in factories and transported to building sites for assembly. This modern prefabrication technique is gaining popularity in sub-Saharan countries because of the obvious advantages for the builders and homeowners.

Key Benefits  

• Quick Construction – Since all the panels are pre-made, the majority of the work on the building site involves the assembly of the components. This is a relatively easy task that can significantly cut down the construction time.
• Cost-Effective – on average, the cost of building using EPS panels is approximately 25% cheaper than conventional brick and mortar structures. Thus, the end product will be more affordable housing.
• Durable – Skeptics may doubt the quality and stability of EPS components. However solid research has proved that despite being lighter than bricks, EPS panels are sturdy. Their use is applicable in residential buildings, schools, office blocks among other structures.

2. Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks (ISSB)

ISSB Construction. (ource: Design Indaba)

This simple but effective modification of the popular mud bricks has the potential of increasing affordable housing units. The difference between ISSB and normal bricks is in the preparation process. Whereas conventional bricks have to go through an elaborate molding and kilning process, ISSB uses a simple compression machine and easily accessible ingredients. All that’s needed is rich moist soil, some bags of cement and a pressing machine. With these few components, builders can make hundreds of bricks a day. The process requires some training to ensure the soil and cement are in a homogenous mix and in the right proportion.

Key Benefits

• Ease of Access – Materials for this form of bricks are readily available.
• Simplicity – Requires basic brickmaking training.
• Reduces transport costs – Bricks can be made onsite.
• Economically viable – Significant cut in cost and time in comparison to conventional brickmaking methods.

3. Klevabrick

Klevabrick House Construction (Source: klevabric.co.za)

This one-of-a-kind building technology involves the use of specially crafted bricks that do not require mortar as a binding agent. During construction, the bricks are joined together using a proprietary bolting technology that facilitates wall construction. This affordable building option has taken root in South Africa and is spreading across the continent. 

Key Benefits  

• Cost reduction – The absence of mortar and reduction in the workforce translates to more affordable housing units.
• Reduces transport costs – Bricks can be made on-site.
• Easy transfer of skills – Semi-skilled workers can easily be trained to build using this method.
• Durability – The bricks are sturdy and crack-resistant.

4. Fiber Cement Prefabbing

Affordable Cement Fiber Houses. (Source: constructionkenya.com)

Fiber cement is a composite building material that is useful for both domestic and commercial construction. It consists of cement that is reinforced using cellulose fibers. Prefabricating companies are now using this material to manufacture pre-cast panels that are then fitted together at the construction site, resulting in a robust finished structure. 

Key Benefits

• Reduces construction costs – This method significantly cuts down the costs and duration of construction. This leads to more affordable housing units.
• Guaranteed durability – Fiber cement is sturdy and resistant to termites, fire, and rot.
• Custom-made options – Can easily be customized to suit various preferences.

5. Light Gauge Steel Construction

Light Gauge Steel Frame. (Source: buldingdesign.co.ke)

In most parts of Africa, building a modern dwelling requires plenty of wooden beams which can be costly to the environment. A cheaper and arguably more durable option is light gauge steel. They come in different sizes and shapes for the construction of housing frames, walls, and floors. This is also a more eco-friendly form of construction because it drastically reduces the pressure on timber use.

Key benefits

• Time-saving – Significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to complete structures.
• Guaranteed durability – The materials are solid, therefore, it can withstand human and environmental forces.
• Eco-friendly – Encourages the construction of ‘green’ buildings

There is a strong link between the quality of life in cities and how cities draw on and manage the natural resources available to them.  To date, the trend towards urbanization has been accompanied by increased pressure on the environment and accelerated demand for basic services, infrastructure, jobs, land, and affordable housing, particularly for the nearly 1 billion urban poor who live in informal settlements.

Due to their high concentration of people, infrastructures, housing and economic activities, cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters impacts. Building urban resilience is crucial to avoid human, social and economic losses while improving the sustainability of urbanization processes is needed to protect the environment and mitigate disaster risk and climate change.

Resource efficient cities combine greater productivity and innovation with lower costs and reduced environmental impacts, while providing increased opportunities for consumer choices and sustainable lifestyles.

Data and Statistics / Facts and Figures:

• The world’s cities occupy just 3 per cent of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions.

Targets linked to the environment:

• Target 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
• Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
• Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
• Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
• Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
• Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
• Target 11.a: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, per-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
• Target 11.b: By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

Cost benefit analysis 

Cost benefit analysis

Developing sustainable goals will require you to analyze the following:

1. Initial costs
2. Maintenance costs
3. Direct costs
4. Indirect costs
5. Sustainable library development

Initial costs

The initial costs are associated with the planning and implementation period. Usually, our work is intense at this stage. We help analyze the user needs, scenarios for programming and conceptual designs to support the project. We work with the library community to determine the pro’s and con’s for each plan. This includes: potential revenue increases, displacement savings, growth avoidance, and equivalent service benefit.

Maintenance costs

The maintenance costs are associated with managing any piece of equipment, services, software, hardware or space. You must maintain the library for a continuous period of time. Our master plans include a view of twenty years. We provide a roadmap to follow and update. We will help your team determine the capacity benefits associated with the new ability to increase services.

Direct costs

Direct costs include new outlays for a project. This can be physical upgrades or technology that provides a service. For example, library buildings cost a lot of money to keep up to date. When we analyze the direct cost for a project, we try to understand the long term return on investment.

Indirect costs

Indirect costs include internal resources that are not considered part of the general overhead and that do not directly affect operating budget, but that are modified by the project. Often these indirect costs can make a long term impact on the sustainability of the library, museum or organization.

Sustainable library development

Sustainable library development provides intangible benefits that cannot be expressed in dollars and for that reason are the hardest to prove, but they also tend to be among the most important. They include training/education, staffing levels, public image, community leadership and the quality of the library building and electronic service. Our research has found that:

• Intangible benefits are difficult to quantify.

• They possess intrinsic value and are often the unknowns that distinguish a well-managed library from a poorly managed one.

• Revenue increases due to service upgrades, displacement savings, and growth avoidance are usually reflected in operating budgets.

• Capacity benefits and equivalent service benefits are indicators of the long term effectiveness of a management plan. They tend to the most political and the first to be discarded when making up the budget.

A creative planning process is required

We provide a process that uncovers the libraries priorities. As a result, we address the tangible and intangible benefits of the library. When we start our work, the first set of workshops include present value discussions and a risk analysis that focuses on the future. We look at existing conditions and future needs. We often adjust future costs/benefits to the present value for comparison. We assess the riskiness of a project as it is defined. We analyze the likely variability of future returns from the project.

CONTACT LIBRARY CONSULTANT TO START YOUR MASTER PLAN

Theory of Change

Every organisation seeks to contribute to change and impact. In the context of social change, where influences are many and outcomes are not straightforward, what’s the problem we are addressing, what’s our role, and what’s the impact and change we want to achieve? The Theory of Change is big picture, future-focussed, and sets up the how (the Strategic Plan).

A Theory of Change starts with the organisational WHY – the problem we are responding to, and our role in making a difference. It tells a story of change, identifying short, medium and long-term outcomes for impact.

Why is our Theory of Change important?

• It defines our purpose and focus.
• It helps to manage ‘mission drift’.
• It defines the high-level outcomes we want to work towards.
• It succinctly outlines our organisational ‘why’, for us and our stakeholders.

What is the problem we are responding to?

Access to safe, secure and affordable housing is a fundamental human right and driver for gender equality.

Young women, women and people of marginalised genders disproportionately experience housing stress and instability, challenges in accessing safe and affordable housing, and the risks of homelessness. In 2019-20, the majority of people accessing specialist homelessness services were women (60%) – most commonly aged 25 – 34 years old (21%). While the numbers of women aged 55 years and over were small, they were increasing at a greater rate than men aged 55 years and over (AIHW 2020).

Housing careers and pathways are gendered and intersectional, due to the systemic and structural drivers of gender inequality and family and domestic violence.

In 2019-20, 41% of clients accessing specialist homelessness services had experienced family and domestic violence – of those aged over 18 years, 9 out of 10 were women (AIHW 2020). Women were more likely to present with children, be housed privately (including temporary and unsafe accommodation), with safe and secure housing an immediate priority. They are twice as likely as men not to receive assistance.

The challenges are compounded for First Nations women, women with disability, migrants and asylum seekers, and people of marginalised genders, due to lack of appropriate housing and supports, economic disadvantage and institutional and structural discrimination.

Women may be housed – and homeless.

Insecure and temporary tenure, overcrowding, an unsafe environment and lack of choice and control over living conditions, may all render a woman effectively homeless. Our research with women on low to moderate incomes across regional Australia found: 1 in 5 said their housing was not suitable for them; 1 in 3 who live in unsuitable housing did not feel safe in their home; 2 in 3 were experiencing housing stress; 1 in 8 had been homeless in the last 5 years, and 1 in 4 of them hid their homelessness from others. One in 5 knew at least one woman who is currently homeless (YWCA National Housing, 2020).

There is a lack of safe, secure and affordable housing that meets the needs of young women, women and people of marginalised genders.

In 2017, there were an estimated 1.3 million households in housing need (unable to access market housing and households requiring rent assistance to avoid rental stress). This is projected to rise to 1.7 million households by 2025 (AHURI, 2017). The lack of safe, secure, accessible and affordable housing has been identified as a key issue in blocking exits from crisis and temporary accommodation and specialist homelessness assistance.

Existing supply is often limited by traditional typologies that do not cater to the needs of women and people of marginalised genders, and may not be appropriately located with connections to community and required social supports.

Housing and homelessness are intersectional feminist issues

• There is a critical need for specialist feminist housing responses and supports that understand intersectional housing pathways and address existing and unmet needs. This includes a deep understanding of how family and domestic violence affects housing needs and pathways, support requirements and wellbeing. Targeted early intervention is required.
• There is an additional priority need for systems and structural change, to deliver a future where gender equality is a reality.
• This must be led by young women in all their diversity and people of marginalised genders, bringing their lived experiences to advocacy and leadership for change.

Through our strategic core activities…

• Deliver safe, affordable housing and referral pathways for young women and women.
• Provide case management and support to young women and women at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.
• Galvanise membership to advocate for young women and women’s housing, support services and systems change.
• Create tailored leadership pathways for young women with lived experiences in homelessness and housing risk.
• Apply an intersectional feminist approach to achieve sustainability and impact.

So that…

• Safe, affordable, appropriate, accessible and secure housing in proximity to community supports and infrastructure.
• Young women and women have supports that meet their needs and facilitate positive pathways and wellbeing.
• A robust evidence base demonstrates the case for housing and social supports for young women and women.
• Young women have increased capacity and capability to lead housing and social supports advocacy and policy discussions.

Then…

• Young women and women have increased housing choices that meet their requirements.
• Effective and sustainable partnerships facilitate positive supports and outcomes.
• Ecosystem decision-makers value the social and economic benefits of housing and social supports for young women and women. Young women influence key policy and systems change.

Towards…

• Young women and women experience increased wellbeing, safety, and security in their homes.
• Young women lead policy and systems change for effective housing pathways and social supports.

The story of the 20th and 21st centuries is one of rapid technological advances. In the last 30 years especially, progress in personal computers and microchips has progressed at an exponential rate, and things aren’t slowing down. A report from the Computing Technology Industry Association found that 46 states had net increases in tech jobs in 2015 and that the tech industry now accounts for 7.1% of the U.S. GDP.

As it grows, tech is transforming every industry around it, including the housing market. Here are four technological advances that are making their mark on renters, homeowners, landlords, and developers alike.

3D Printing

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3-D printing has broad application in housing. Using 3-D printing, it’s possible to build an entire home in under a day. Plus, additive manufacturing allows for easy customization. And since it’s possible to “print” only the materials needed for construction, 3-D printing cuts down on waste.

The majority of new buildings aren’t the product of 3-D printing. But as the technology improves, it could have vast implications for architecture and design. Will structures built by 3D printers be sturdier than traditional wood and concrete buildings, since designers can “print” reinforcing materials like carbon fiber into the walls? Will creative architects and designers use the technology to push the boundaries of traditional building design? Only time will tell.

Drones

For several years, drones have been used on construction sites. They’re useful tools for surveying construction sites and are sometimes used to guide heavy machinery. Insurance companies use them to check out hard-to-reach areas of buildings for damage or needed repairs.

Increasingly, unmanned aerial vehicles are part of the process by which rents are determined. Traditionally, building permits are the way commercial real estate agencies track construction. But according to a CNBC report, CoStar Group has found a new way to monitor construction: military-grade drones. With a drone, companies like CoStar have more immediate and dynamic access to real-time construction information. The drone allows them to see where new properties are being built, and how fast — which allows them to better understand the rental market’s balance of supply and demand.

Virtual & Augmented Reality

Virtual reality is useful for both customers and developers. It’s especially beneficial for architects and designers, who can use augmented reality to interact with a fully immersive environment as they design it. On construction sites, VR can help workers better visualize the structure they’re building, as well as quickly introduce them to changes in plans and new instructions.

As for consumers? VR has obvious benefits for potential homeowners allowing them to interact with fully immersive models of their prospective new home. Some companies use technology such as, Matterport, to allow prospective homebuyers to take 3-D tours of properties— no headset necessary. Who needs a tour, if you can do it from the comfort of your own couch?

Smart Devices

Smart devices have become a big hit for consumers on the higher end of the rental and homeownership market. Whether it’s adjusting your home’s lighting or temperature, setting alarms and monitoring security, or regulating your home’s energy usage, to your home’s temperature, security, alarms, outlets and more, smart devices grant consumers a greater degree of control over their living spaces than ever before. It also increases efficiency and lowers energy costs — a win for both consumers with bills to pay and developers hoping to minimize the environmental impact of new construction.

Strategies to Promote Inclusiveness

that we adopt

1. Acknowledge Differences It’s OK -- and necessary -- to admit that people are different from one another, whether it be race, gender, religion or even personality and management style. “Don’t feel guilty,” says Stewart. “Be thankful you’re aware so that moving forward, you can minimize the incidence of discriminatory behavior and decision making.”  
2. Offer Implicit Bias Training -- for Everyone No matter how open and bias-free we think we are, judgments are often engrained because of socialization and life experiences. Implicit bias training helps create a safe place to raise awareness of unconscious attitudes, and teaches tools to help change behaviors. Harvard hosts an online Implicit Association Test that anyone can take.  
3. Provide Mentors Connect underrepresented employees with internal and external mentors in their group to provide support and promote growth. Encourage participation in appropriate professional organizations.  
4. Let People Learn by Doing If you’re a CEO with only one female engineer, you don’t have an opportunity to put her on a team with other women, says Blancero; but you can offer her a leadership role so her success will speak for itself and open male minds. “Having people act ‘out of the norm’ is often more powerful than trying to unearth deeply held attitudes because now you have objective evidence that is a more direct and more likely to change attitudes,” she says. And be mindful of the potential added stress of minorities feeling they have to prove themselves.  
5. Encourage Personal Evaluation In executive training, Blancero asks people to look at their LinkedIn network or Facebook friends and calculate the overall diversity to open up your mind. If all the senior people in your network are men, does it imply that you think women are not leaders? “Reviewing your contacts is something you can do privately and nobody has to see it. You get a window into your behavior.”  
6. Ask Questions Whether you’re hiring, firing or promoting, ask yourself, “If this person’s social identities were different, would I still be doing the same thing?” Female or minority managers, for example, will often have a different set of etiquette than their male counterparts.  
7. Value All Diversity “You have perspectives that no one else has,” shares Stewart. “You are part of that tapestry that adds value. Inclusive means that everybody can have a place and a voice on projects and goals.”

Our 12 strategies for business model

1. Real estate marketplace  

The real estate marketplace helps to connect property managers, brokers, and realtors with their clients.  If you coordinate the project, manage several contractors, and process the data about more than 100,000 properties, you may find it hard to keep up. The data-driven technology acts as a helping hand, minimizing the paperwork and increasing overall efficiency. The software analyzes thousands of data types and immediately provides recommendations that are in line with the user’s needs. 

HouseCanary is a real estate marketplace startup that reveals the future of home values. Automated valuation models and home price indices fuelled by machine learning provide users with accurate valuations and forecasts. The tiered pricing model is used to allow access to the value reports and forecasts, while usage-based pricing is selected to provide access to the analytics Application programming interface (API). The startup also relies on tiered pricing to offer users automatically generated reports. HouseCanary charges fees for connecting with mortgage lenders.

 

HouseCanary app functionality

2. Mortgage marketplace  

A home mortgage remains a mysterious and challenging process for many. The pain points are especially felt when you need to adjust your schedule with the bank’s working hours, gather all your documents, wait for days for data verification, and even deal with someone’s judgmental attitudes. With a tech-enabled innovation, users have many loaning processes simplified, benefiting from greater convenience and accessibility. A mortgage software helps users with the entire mortgage process, from equity release to purchasing a new home. The technology increases users’ awareness of the best loan programs available, allowing them to make a more informed choice.  

Morty is one of PropTech companies that offer customers the loan options that are best for them, without the hassle. In seconds, the software aligns the options with clients’ financial situation and property. Customers can compare different prices, rate lock periods, and credits, further personalizing their loans. Morty charges a percentage off the principal, which is paid by the lender.  

 

Morty app platform

3. Leaseback platform

This PropTech business model offers users to sell their homes while remaining tenants. Clients save time and receive the money they need for pursuing their ambitions and life goals. Whether buying a new property, starting a business, or paying off debt, with the leaseback platform users will no longer have sleepless nights, stressful house searches, and the burden of moving out.

EasyKnock is a startup that facilitates complicated lending processes for homeowners. The company buys clients’ homes offering them about 70% of the appraised value of the property. Former homeowners are allowed to either stay as tenants or move out later. At the end of the lease term, the customer must either sell the property to someone else or purchase it back. EasyKnock charges money from the former homeowners through monthly rent and additional fees from the sale of the property at the end of the lease term. 

 

EasyKnock app functionality

4. iBuying platform

An iBuying platform software gives users a chance to sell and buy a home using a mobile device only. For home sellers, the technology helps to make a transparent offer avoiding all the fuss and uncertainty. Clients may relax and stop worrying about fixing the roof, choosing the best agent, and wondering if their property will be sold at last. 

Opendoor is an iBuying platform leader whose business model is rather simple: the company purchases houses and acts as a middleman in property transactions. The company doesn’t purchase all types of property,  but only houses constructed after 1960 with an appraised value between $125,000 and $500,000. Opendoor cooperates with both seller commissions and real estate agents. The startup makes money by charging fees for the services, ranging from 6 to 12%. Opendoor also earns from the differences between the property’s buying and selling price.

 

OpenDoor app functionality

5. Workplace Management Platform

The workplace management platform solution assists workplaces in optimizing real estate management, services management, workplace management, asset and maintenance planning, and so on. The software allows managers to minimize facility and real estate costs and enhance business productivity at the same time. 

Robin is a workplace management company that enables businesses to manage hybrid work. The software offers people an opportunity to choose how and where they work. Meanwhile, the software equips organizations with the tools needed for success, such as hybrid work scheduling, office demand measurements, capacity tracking, office access management, employee health screening, and so forth. The company opts for the tiered pricing model providing several packages, such as basic, pro, and premier, with different functions offered at different prices. 

 

Robin app platform

6. Insurance for landlords

Landlord insurance software facilitates the process of getting insurance for individuals who rent their homes to other people. Landlords save their time and energy due to the fast and easy procedure while still protecting their property from a wide range of risks. Whether it is a natural disaster or tenant injury, landlords can feel safe knowing that they won’t get stuck with the burden of sudden expenses. 

Steadily refers to one of the PropTech companies that make the process of rental insurance easy. You only need to describe your property, complete coverage in a couple of minutes and electronically sign your insurance document. The company uses per feature pricing to empower customers to choose how many risks they want to have covered. 

 

Steadily app platform

7. Smart home solutions 

Smart home solutions enable connections with appliances and devices to automate a range of processes, such as smart security cameras, heating and cooling, door locks, lights, and such. A smart home system is usually controlled remotely. The smart home software improves users’ household convenience, ensures more efficiency in energy use, and offers greater security.

Openpath refers to the smart home solution company that provides mobile access control products. The software enables customers to open authorized doors by using their mobile phones. You just need to wave your hand, without even opening the app or the phone and the system will recognize you. The company’s pricing model has two types of tiers, basic and premium, based on the combination of features users need. 

 

Openpath app platform

8. Virtual tour software platform

The visual tour software presents a property in a panoramic, 360-degree view. Owing to this technology, you can view a location without actually visiting the place. Due to the ease of access, users can have a look at many locations without the need to travel anywhere. But beyond all that, the increased demand for visual tours has become one of the major PropTech trends. The technology helps customers to follow social distance measures and take care of their health in times of a pandemic. 

Rooomy is a visual tour software company that provides virtual staging and design services. Real estate brokers deliver photos of a location for $20 per object. The technology identifies where the walls in the location are and transform the photo into a 3D model. Rooomy allows users to make a one-time purchase, charging them $49-$109 per property image with a customized design service included. 

 

Rooomy app platform

9. Energy consumption tracking and optimization

Tools within this business model help with minimizing energy costs for communities, buildings, and industries. When you track energy consumption, you can better understand how much energy your property requires and ways to optimize its usage. The software generates reports, so that you can decide how to reduce the use of electricity. 

OhmConnect employs energy market integration and smart meter analytics to improve users’ home energy management. The software helps identify which things within the property are consuming more energy and from which plant the energy comes. In times of intense demand, users receive alerts asking them to conserve energy. Users can get rewarded by the app for their energy-saving efforts. OhmConnect receives funds for software maintenance from energy suppliers and state programs. 

 

OhmConnect app functionality

10. Real estate crowdfunding

The real estate crowdfunding software enables investing in a real estate project by individuals instead of requesting funds from big companies. Investors can become shareholders without heavily financing the project or purchasing a property to get a return.  

Fundrise epitomizes a real estate crowdfunding platform, which helps investors to find real estate opportunities aligned with their preferences. Users have the power to control investments online and get financial reports on a regular basis. The startup charges a fee of 0.3%-0.5% of the investment each year. Also, the company opts for charging a $5,000 due to diligence cost as well as a one-time origination fee of between 1% and 2%.

 

Fundrise app functionality

11. Home service management software

Home service management software refers to operating field service businesses with increased efficiency and ease. The software provides businesses with dispatching, route optimization, and scheduling tools. Many business processes, which priorly depended on lengthy phone calls, endless paperwork, and confusing calendars, now have become automated. 

ServiceTitan is a PropTech business that aids home service firms, such as plumbing or HVAC, in addressing different aspects of home service management, from sales to scheduling. The software enables technicians to make presentations to support sales, as well as helps dispatchers to manage a lot of phone calls and obtain necessary information on the spot. The company has usage-based pricing, as the price goes up, if you use more of the individual contractors’ service. 

 

ServiceTitan app functionality

12. SaaS-based property management platform

SaaS-based property management platform seeks to support communications and relationships between property managers and renters. Businesses following this model help to retain customers and ensure their commitment to property management services. Meanwhile, customers enjoy an easy and secure rental process driven by PropTech solutions.

TurboTenant is a SaaS-based property management startup that provides the necessary tools to manage the rental process. The technology enables an easy method to screen renters, estimate the rent, obtain tenant applications, and receive money for the rent online. The app is free for landlords, while tenants have to make a one-time payment. The company relies on per feature pricing, offering a greater number of features for higher-priced packages. 

 

Step 1: Learn about Sustainability

The first step in creating a small business sustainability plan is learning what, exactly, sustainability is all about.

• Knowledge is power. Use your resources wisely! There are many guides out there that offer suggestions on sustainability as well as renewable and sustainable energy. Use them as a jumping-off point.
• Profits, people and planet. Internalize the idea that sustainability within your business means managing your triple bottom line: your financial, social and environmental impacts, obligations and opportunities.
• Going green vs. going sustainable. You may be wondering, what is a green business? Green products and services directly reduce the environmental impact when compared to other products and services— sustainability is a broader concept. It’s about the long-term, multifaceted impacts and implications of your products and services. But you can use green language in your small business sustainability plan and campaign using green goals to measure your total sustainability success.
• Out with the old (way of thinking). Forget the outdated “take-make-waste” worldview, and adopt the “borrow-use-return” model. It’s all about a perspective shift. The key is to see the business, the self, the economy and the household as connected with—instead of separate from—the environment.

Step 2: Assess Areas of Improvement

If the federal government and major corporations can find ways to improve sustainability, so can your small business! It just takes some research.

• Learn the laws. From local development laws to self-regulation in your industry to international treaties, many standards are already on the books in terms of sustainable practices. The Environmental Protection Agency’s website is a great place to start in your research.
• Check your compliance. At a minimum, your business should be in total compliance with any laws or standards already in place. Research cost-effective ways to improve compliance, such as through pollution-prevention techniques and innovation.
• Assess global issues. Research issues such as global warming, energy and fuel crises, and ecosystem decline to see whether your practices are a contributing factor. This will guide what small business sustainability goals you set in terms of improvement.

Step 3: Find Opportunities

Start embracing the entrepreneurial spirit of innovation and asking yourself the hard questions: check out these opportunities for creating the best small business sustainability plan possible.

• Innovate. Success in implementing sustainable business practices is directly related to innovation. If you want to meaningfully reduce waste and energy consumption, you’ll need to innovate, whether you’re a start-up or a thriving business. From problem solving to finding cheaper and better ways of doing things, innovation ranges from simple changes to implementation of complex new technologies.
• Get employee input. Bring in employee ideas and support; employees will take responsibility for things like energy efficiency and come up with solutions that will help you implement and improve sustainability.
• Self-reflect. Ask yourself a few questions, and you’ll find numerous opportunities for improvement: What strengths does my business bring to the table that can play a unique role in sustainability? Does my company create an overabundance of waste? Do the companies I work with create mass amounts of waste?

Step 4: Create a Vision

Your vision for sustainability is all about what makes you and your business tick.

• Find your company’s passion. What is your company passionate about? Choose from a few environmental issues (e.g., global warming, air pollution, waste disposal, water pollution, urban sprawl), and focus on where you can have a meaningful impact.
• Be specific about your small business’s vision. Create a separate vision for each section of your small business, from those on the front lines to those working behind the scenes in different departments.
• Define your sustainability model’s terms. Be sure to define a few words that describe your business’s specific sustainability model. This will help you give your employees the ability to take ownership of your overall vision.

Step 5: Implement Changes

The final of the five steps to sustainability is an exciting one. Implementation!

• Communicate clearly. Adequately communicate your new sustainability plan across your entire company. Educate your employees to ensure successful implementation, and make sure all leaders are involved.
• Change policies. Ensure your current policies align with your sustainability plan. If not, create new ones that are specific to different departments and employees.
• Review performance. Create specific, measurable and attainable written goals, and develop metrics on how to track the success of your changes. This could be as simple as comparing a previous energy bill under the old policies with a new one that comes after you’ve implemented changes.
• Get feedback. Have your leaders in the company report back to you on any difficulties they encounter in implementing changes to policies, so that you can troubleshoot how to fix them while still staying true to the sustainability model. This will help you identify opportunities for more small business sustainability.

1. Partner With Nonprofit Organizations

Many organizations interested in embracing sustainability stop short of implementing any concrete initiatives simply because it’s new to them, and the learning curve can be quite extensive. An employee or sustainability board tasked with generating a sustainability plan for the organization can quickly become overwhelmed, leading to inaction.

One way around this, especially for businesses new to the world of sustainability, is to form partnerships with nonprofit organizations in the space that interests them. Many such organizations exist and have the resources and experience necessary to help you get your efforts off the ground. Even those that cannot help you conceptualize or implement policies in your organization will be happy for support, which can help you make an impact even while you’re first getting started.

Whether you’re interested in racial or gender equity, labor concerns, environmental issues, or something else, a nonprofit likely exists that aligns with your organization’s specific goals.

2. Educate Your Employees

Often, the businesses with the most impactful sustainability initiatives are successful because they educate their employees about the issues and include them in the process.

This is important for multiple reasons. First, educating your employees increases buy-in throughout the organizational chart, making it less likely that you’ll slip back into old ways. Second, it empowers your employees to do their part, which can go far in boosting morale and helping everyone realize they have a role to play.

Exactly how you go about educating your employees about the issues that your organization cares about will depend on your situation. Some options include weaving language around sustainability into company addresses; organizing webinars, lectures, or lunch-and-learns for employees to attend; or even purchasing corporate social responsibility training.

3. Encourage Volunteerism

Another excellent means of involving your employees in the sustainability process is to take steps that encourage volunteerism. There are many strategies you might pursue to achieve this goal.

For example, you might provide paid time off for employees who wish to volunteer, sometimes known as volunteer time off (VTO). Even providing as little as one or two days of VTO per year can go a long way in empowering your employees. Similarly, you can consider organizing a company-wide volunteer drive or day of giving, wherein your employees are encouraged to volunteer at local charities or for causes they’re passionate about.

4. Rethink Your Supply Chain

If your business produces and sells a physical product, analyzing your supply chain has the potential to illuminate significant opportunities to embrace sustainability, such as:

• Sourcing materials responsibly: If you source raw materials or individual components from outside vendors, do you know how these materials are procured? The simple act of ensuring that your partners follow fair labor practices, such as disavowing child labor or embracing fair-trade agreements, can have a lasting impact on your company’s social footprint.
• Reducing consumption of natural resources: While it may not be obvious at first glance, there may be significant opportunities to reduce the number of natural resources your company consumes as a part of doing business. You might, for example, rethink your packaging or streamline your manufacturing process to reduce plastic waste.
• Reducing carbon emissions: Likewise, there are many ways you might reduce your organization’s carbon emissions. Installing smart sensors within your facilities can ensure that heating, cooling, and electricity are automatically shut off when it isn’t necessary. Moving the production of physical goods closer to the end customer can significantly reduce transportation-related emissions. On-site solar- or wind-power installations can allow you to replace some, if not all, of your electrical needs.