Sina Shahab | Cardiff University (original) (raw)

Publications by Sina Shahab

Planning Practice & Research, 2024

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs have been used in Italy over the last two decades f... more Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs have been used in Italy over the last two decades for various purposes, e.g. to avoid expropriation. While previous research shows that implementing TDR programs at a regional level creates considerable transaction costs, there is no study concerning the costs generated by employing these programs at a city level. This paper addresses this gap through an analysis of the city of Milan's TDR program. Results show that transaction costs in a fully market-based TDR program are mainly related to TDR contracting, monitoring and creation, influencing the efficacy of the program.

Local Economy, 2024

City centres and their retail spaces have faced major challenges in recent years, including the r... more City centres and their retail spaces have faced major challenges in recent years, including the rise of e-commerce and out-of-town retail, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current cost-of-living crisis. These challenges, along with other changes to the retail sector, have led to high retail vacancy rates, reduced footfall, and a decline in department stores, particularly in UK city centres that have struggled in recent years to attract sufficient visitors to remain economically viable. Many cities in the UK have prepared strategic plans to respond to the recent challenges of retail spaces of city centres. This paper aims to explore how the UK Core Cities have dealt with these challenges at a strategic level. Through analysing their strategic plans, this paper investigates whether they have acknowledged the major challenges in the retail sector, whilst classifying the strategies that they have adopted to deal with these challenges. The results show that the studied cities have acknowledged the major changes to the retail sector and have adopted various strategies to address retail-related challenges. These strategies can be classified into three categories of temporary interventions, economic and financial interventions, and planning and design interventions. While there are considerable similarities among the adopted strategies, some cities have developed more comprehensive and innovative strategies, particularly in relation to planning and design interventions.

Sustainability, 2024

Planning for port development presents a complex challenge. Along with fostering cooperation and ... more Planning for port development presents a complex challenge. Along with fostering cooperation and economic synergies, port development also necessitates careful balancing with existing city functions. Previous research on port–city relationships (PCRs) has yielded valuable insights, but a comprehensive systematic and bibliometric review to identify future research directions is lacking. Moreover, existing research in this field has not addressed the need for a comprehensive classification of content, methods, and driving forces. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing 113 academic articles published on PCRs between 2000 and 2023. Using a bibliometric approach, this study leverages the JavaScript programming language, VOSviewer software, and the Scopus database. This paper aims to identify key research areas and influential studies within the field of PCRs. This analysis reveals emerging research topics and themes within PCRs. Additionally, it depicts which research countries, journals, and keywords are the most prominent with regard to this field, outlining the relationships between them. This study’s findings provide valuable insights into the current state of PCR research, including geographical distribution, publication trends, methodological approaches, and key research variables.

International Journal of Housing Policy, 2024

The housing market in England is in crisis, in terms of both availability and costs of housing. A... more The housing market in England is in crisis, in terms of both availability and costs of housing. Although it is not a solution for everyone, many advocates of the tiny house movement promote developing small houses that are financially affordable and environmentally sustainable. There is limited research on tiny houses, and the hidden costs of developing this type of housing have not been investigated. This paper addresses this gap through exploring the perceived transaction costs associated with developing tiny houses in England, and how these costs can be reduced. It was found that there are considerable transaction costs in different stages of the development process, including searching for information, finding suitable land, obtaining planning permission, and constructing the house. The paper concludes that tiny houses require enabling legislation in planning policy so that planning permission is easier to obtain. Also, awareness of tiny houses needs to be raised so that local planning authorities and the public understand the concept better.

Land, 2023

The question of land ownership is fundamental to any modern society and has been blamed as the ro... more The question of land ownership is fundamental to any modern society and has been blamed as the root of numerous social inequalities. This paper explores one potential solution to the land question, Land Value Tax (LVT), which was first popularised in the 1880s by Henry George. Despite its long history, LVT has not been widely implemented, but recently proposals to replace existing property taxes with this form of taxation have re-emerged on the political scene. While the Welsh Government has recently explored the idea of introducing an LVT, there are limited studies on this form of taxation in the context of a discretionary planning system, such as the Welsh planning system. This paper conducts exploratory qualitative research using Wales as a case study. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews with experts across various related fields, primarily within taxation and planning, to establish the potential effects of LVT in practice, with a particular focus on how it might affect the equity of planning outcomes. Overall, the re-search showed that despite the strong theoretical potential, fundamental practical issues would diminish the ability of LVT to effectively influence planning. LVT is argued to be largely in-compatible with a discretionary planning system (e.g., the Welsh planning system), and therefore, the research concluded that many of the potential benefits of LVT could be better achieved through reforms to existing taxes and planning processes, particularly land value capture mechanisms.

Land Use Policy, 2023

In recent years, transfer of development rights (TDR) programs have become widespread as a mechan... more In recent years, transfer of development rights (TDR) programs have become widespread as a mechanism for implementing urban transformations and achieving planning goals. As market-based instruments, they facilitate land acquisition whilst avoiding compulsory purchases and minimizing public spending. By promoting urban transformation, TDR programs affect the provision of ecosystem services (ES) delivered by green and permeable areas. ES are essential for wellbeing, and the inclusion of ES in planning decisions promotes sustainable urban development. This research aims to provide a starting point for mainstreaming ES knowledge in TDR studies and application. Through a literature review, this paper aims to gain greater understanding as to what ways, and to what extent, ES have been considered so far in TDR studies and to identify if there is evidence that demonstrates how ES can be included in the design phases of TDR programs to improve their effectiveness in ensuring sustainable spatial transformations. The results show that the inclusion of ES can strengthen the ex-ante phase of TDR processes, supporting the development of the design features and paying greater attention to receiving areas identified during the process.

Resilient and Sustainable Cities, 2022

Over the last two decades, technology has become a ubiquitous part of the planning profession. Th... more Over the last two decades, technology has become a ubiquitous part of the planning profession. The growing presence of technology can be witnessed throughout the planning process, from the submission of online applications to the use of e-questionnaires within public consultations. More recently, a wave of new web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies has emerged, providing opportunities to enhance the planning process, enable better communication a variety of stakeholders, and collect, present, and analyse real-time big data to enhance the decision-making process. The uses of web 3.0 technologies could facilitate smarter planning, which is innately different to previous approaches. However, how planners, in general, are responding to these new waves of technological and social innovations remains to be understood.

Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022

As the editors of the Research Topic “The Impact of Urban Green Spaces on Environmental Perceptio... more As the editors of the Research Topic “The Impact of Urban Green Spaces on Environmental Perceptions and Social Life”, it was our honour to receive several interesting research papers and review articles. This Research Topic consists of a wide range of studies that examine the impact of urban infrastructures and green spaces on urban life and citizens at different timeframes (e.g., different development stages of cities or during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and at different geographical scales (e.g., at an urban level such as urban neighbourhood or at a regional level such as river deltas). In this editorial paper, we present an overview of the main findings and conclusions of the included articles.

Sustainability, 2022

Over the past few decades, city centres and their retail spaces have undergone significant change... more Over the past few decades, city centres and their retail spaces have undergone significant changes and have struggled to remain economically viable. The COVID-19 pandemic and the public health response to the crisis have exacerbated this situation and posed a serious challenge to the already economically struggling city centres. Recommendations for how city centres should respond to the current crisis are urgently needed, but despite this, few studies have focused on the impact of COVID-19 on retailing in city centres. This paper conducts a systematic review to provide a better understanding of how retail in city centres has been affected by the pandemic. It also offers insights to support better decision making about the future of retailing in city centres and provides recommendations for ensuring a sustainable future for city centres. The review, conducted between the 20th of November 2021 and the 20th of January 2022, shows that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent public health response have intensified some considerable changes in customer preferences and the role of city centres. As a result of these changes, more retailers have adopted multichannel retailing and repositioning strategies. This paper concludes that in order to create vibrant and sustainable city centres post-pandemic, decision makers should support the repurposing of vacant and underperforming retail spaces, promote an experience economy, and create episodic retail spaces.

Journal of Planning Literature, 2022

Land policy influences how and by whom land is used; therefore, it impacts the efficiency and equ... more Land policy influences how and by whom land is used; therefore, it impacts the efficiency and equity of land use. This paper offers an economic perspective on efficiency and equity as fundamental purposes of planning and land policy. It brings a highly needed mutual understanding between planning and economics, whilst acknowledging the limitations of the theoretical concepts of efficiency and equity in their real-world applications. The paper also provides a solid ground for analysing trade-offs between efficiency and equity of land policy interventions. Situations minimising trade-offs should be of particular interest as they provide opportunities for improvements without necessary sacrifices.

Sustainability, 2021

In recent decades, unsustainable urban development stemming from uncontrolled changes in land cov... more In recent decades, unsustainable urban development stemming from uncontrolled changes in land cover and the accumulation of population and activities have given rise to adverse environmental consequences, such as the formation of urban heat islands (UHIs) and changes in urban microclimates. The formation and intensity of UHIs can be influenced not only by the type of land cover, but also by other factors, such as the spatial patterns of thermal clusters (e.g., dimensions, contiguity, and integration). By emphasising the differences between semi-arid and cold-and-humid climates in terms of the thermal−spatial behaviours of various types of land cover in these climates, this paper aims to assess the behavioural patterns of thermal clusters in Tehran, Iran. To this end, the relationship between the land surface temperature (LST) and the types of land cover is first demonstrated using combined multispectral satellite images taken by Operational Land Imager (OLI), Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) of the Landsat8 and MODIS, and Sentinel satellites to determine LST and land cover. The effects of different behavioural patterns of thermal clusters on the formation of daytime urban heat islands are then analysed through spatial crosscorrelation analysis. Lastly, the thermal behaviours of each cluster are separately examined to reveal how their spatial patterns, such as contiguity, affect the intensity and formation of UHI, with the assumption that each point in a contiguous surface may exhibit different thermal behaviours, depending on its distance from the edge or centre. The results of this study show that the daytime UHIs do not occur in the central parts of Tehran, and instead they are created in the surrounding layer, which mostly consists of barren cover. This finding contrasts with previous research conducted regarding cities located in cold-and-humid climates. Our research also finds that the more compact the hot and cool clusters are, the more contiguous they become, which leads to an increase in UHIs. The results suggest that for every 100 pix/km 2 increase, the cluster temperature increases by approximately 0.7−1 °C. Additionally, placing cool clusters near or in combination with hot clusters interrupts the effect of the hot clusters, leading to a significant temperature reduction. The paper concludes with recommendations for potential sustainable and context-based solutions to UHI problems in semi-arid climates that relate to the determination of the optimal contiguity distance and land use integration patterns for thermal clusters.

Journal of Planning Literature, 2022

'Transaction costs', as a well-established theory in New Institutional Economics, has been used t... more 'Transaction costs', as a well-established theory in New Institutional Economics, has been used to explain and analyse various planning matters for about 30 years since its introduction to planning literature. However, there is no study on how planning-related studies have utilised the theory. This paper conducts a systematic review that aims to develop a better understanding of how transaction-cost theory is used in planning literature. The review shows that while potential contributions and implications of transaction costs have been conceptually discussed in planning literature, the empirical studies have remained limited, particularly concerning the magnitude of such costs in planning systems.

Sustainability, 2021

Urban planning and design can impact mental health, but it is unclear how ever-growing and changi... more Urban planning and design can impact mental health, but it is unclear how ever-growing and changing cities can sustain the psychological wellbeing of vulnerable groups, who are among the most mentally sensitive to spatial inequalities. This systematic review synthesised quantitative and qualitative studies on urban design interventions and their impact on wellbeing in vulnerable groups. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched five online databases from inception to May 2020. A total of 10 papers were included. We found mixed evidence of benefits for wellbeing linked to urban regeneration projects or focused interventions (green spaces, transport, security). Interventions that were centred around participation, sustainable living, and quality of design (e.g., perceived sense of safety) were as-sociated with increased residential satisfaction and wellbeing, particularly among low-income communities and women. Risk of bias was low to medium, but there was high methodological heterogeneity; studies were mainly from Western countries, and none of the included studies investigated the experiences of people with disabilities, migrants, or racial minorities. This review highlights the importance of inclusive and sustainable design interventions to create happy places for all strata of society, although further investigation is warranted.

Cities, 2021

e-Participation has been employed by many planning authorities across the world to facilitate the... more e-Participation has been employed by many planning authorities across the world to facilitate the engagement of people in decision-making processes. Previous studies on eparticipation have shown that this form of participation can increase the level of flexibility and inclusiveness of public engagements, make government interventions more responsive to citizens' needs, and increase government accountability. While there is a growing use of e-participation in the planning systems of developed countries, its application in developing countries has remained very limited. This paper explores the barriers to employing eparticipation in the context of a developing country's planning system, using Iran as a case study. We have conducted interviews with different planning actors, including both publicand private-sector planners, to investigate what they perceive as such barriers. The results of this study show that the primary barriers to e-participation in Iran are attitudes towards participation, the structure and culture of the planning system, and staff capacity to engage the public through e-participation. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations regarding how these barriers can be overcome.

Sustainability, 2021

The development of the self and custom housebuilding sector can work towards increasing the suppl... more The development of the self and custom housebuilding sector can work towards increasing the supply of housing and alleviate some of the strain on the housing market in England. Although it is not a solution for everyone, improving self and custom housebuilding can add diversity to the market, increase housing affordability, and produce sustainable homes. This has been recognised by the UK Government which has introduced legislation which aims to assist self and custom builders on the journey to building their own home. The goals of the legislation are to ensure every local authority in England keeps a register of individuals who want to build their own home, to consider this register when carrying out other planning functions, and to grant sufficient planning permissions for those on the register. This paper evaluates the 'self-build and custom housebuilding registers' from the perspective of transaction costs and perceived effectiveness. This is achieved through semi-structured interviews with local authority planners, private-sector planners, property developers, and national bodies. The findings of this study identify that the primary transaction costs occur in the eligibility tests stage of the register application and relate to the uncertainty felt by applicants post application. The paper concludes that these could be rectified by implementing a more consistent and fair system. The perceived effectiveness of the register varies considerably. The paper determines that the policy requires significant change in order to meet the goals it set out to achieve, which includes model Supplementary Planning Guidance documents and a robust support system for applicants.

Behavioural Public Policy, 2024

Behavioral scientists have begun to research 'sludge,' excessive frictions that make it harder fo... more Behavioral scientists have begun to research 'sludge,' excessive frictions that make it harder for people to do what they want to do. Friction is also an important concept in transaction-cost economics. Nevertheless, sludge has been discussed without explicit referral to transaction costs. Several questions arise from this observation. Is the analogy to friction used differently in both literatures? If so, what are the key differences? If not, should we develop the concept of sludge when the well-established literature on transaction costs already exists? This conceptual article shows that sludge and transaction costs are related, but distinct, concepts, and that the literature on sludge can benefit from incorporating elements from transaction-cost research. For example, we suggest defining sludge as aspects of the choice architecture that lead to the experience of costs, organize sludges using a typology inspired by the transaction-cost literature, highlight specificity, uncertainty, and frequency as important determinants of the 'sludginess' of choice architecture , and show that sludge audits can be conducted using methods developed in the transaction-cost literature.

Urban Science, 2021

This paper seeks to evaluate how successful national policy interventions have been at addressing... more This paper seeks to evaluate how successful national policy interventions have been at addressing land barriers to self-build and custom housebuilding when applied by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) across the South West of England. A longitudinal triangulated mixed method approach was undertaken to comprehensively interrogate the research objective. This comprised submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to each LPA within the study area; an assessment of the most recently produced Strategic Housing Market Assessments (SHMAs); deriving alternative demand estimates using national data as a proxy; and alternate estimates of supply calculated using BuildStore and The Land Bank Partnership plot search websites. The findings of the study revealed that LPA Registers can only be viewed as a minimum assessment of demand for self-build and custom housebuilding and the effectiveness of LPAs in classifying suitable development permissions for self-build and custom housebuilding was highly dependent on the mechanisms used to identify permissions.

Land Use Policy, 2021

Housing development is a lengthy and multi-step process; starting from the initial stages of a pl... more Housing development is a lengthy and multi-step process; starting from the initial stages of a planning permission proposal to when a proposal is realised on-site. Each stage seemingly impacts how developments are delivered; however, research is limited into why quality of development has been seen to weaken in the post planning-decision stage (i.e. the stage after a planning permission is granted). This paper uses a case study of Cardiff to explore whether the key stages of the UK development management process could be improved to influence the delivery of high-quality housing developments. Using semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the perceptions of planning professionals towards the requirement and applicability of improved methods, covering the following issues: a) the role of key actors in influencing outcomes during the development management process; b) the factors hindering implementation of high-quality developments; and c) how involved actors can improve the delivery of housing developments. The findings of the paper show that involved actors principally perceive inadequate local authority resource, limited enforcement powers, and a lack of on-site monitoring to be key hinderances in ensuring developer compliance, which to an extent, has a bearing on the implementation of high-quality developments. Furthermore, a difference in attitudes and knowledge towards development aspirations is uncovered, which reveals to have a considerable influence on the outcome of development quality. However, where resource may be available, some mechanisms are proposed by planning professionals as potential key factors in improving the post planning-decision process.

Energy Policy, 2020

Home-heating energy-poverty risk presents both challenge and opportunity for policymakers, busine... more Home-heating energy-poverty risk presents both challenge and opportunity for policymakers, businesses and communities. Effective measurement and management of this risk requires an evidence base that accounts for characteristics of the householder, building, and heating system. A composite index utilising 10 indicators refined to Small Area level is created to deliver spatially refined analysis of home-heating energy-poverty risk. The index is used to assess home-heating energy-poverty risk across 18,641 Small Area clusters in Ireland. This risk index is a scalable and internationally transferrable methodology that can be extended to cover other energy uses. Importantly the index is also dynamic and offers the capacity to analyse changes in energy-poverty risk associated with specific policy intervention proposals, including major contemporary environmental policy transitions such as residential fabric retrofit, residential heating system changes, energy price changes and carbon taxation. The application of the index to the Irish case affords refined insight into the impact and incidence of various market, technology and policy driven interventions such as fuel price changes, retrofit strategies and carbon tax increases. Risk and impacts vary geographically, and this index is designed to inform targeted policy interventions to mitigate home heating energy-poverty risk and thereby support ambitions for a 'just transition'.

European Planning Studies, 2021

How do municipalities strategically use land policy to develop land for housing? The development ... more How do municipalities strategically use land policy to develop land for housing? The development of housing is a challenge for many European countries, though the scale and time of it differs. Issues are not always about the absolute number of houses that need to be supplied in a country. The distribution and quality of houses affect the demand for housing. Land policy determines where and how future developments take place, and as a result, it has a considerable impact on both supply and demand of housing. Municipalities use different strategies of land policy to pursue housing goals. This paper aims to explore the rationalities underpinning such strategies of land policy. Therefore, a theory on pluralism-Cultural Theory-is employed to understand municipal strategies in different contexts, i.e. Germany (Ruhr region), Belgium (Flanders), and Netherlands. Applying Cultural Theory to land policy results in four ideal-typical strategies of active, passive, reactive, and protective land policies. Despite the fact that the decisions of municipalities are made within (or constrained by) their institutional environments (i.e. national/regional planning systems, development cultures, etc.), we found that there are key similarities between the strategies of the studied municipalities regardless of their different institutional environments.

Planning Practice & Research, 2024

Local Economy, 2024

Sustainability, 2024

International Journal of Housing Policy, 2024

Land, 2023

Land Use Policy, 2023

Resilient and Sustainable Cities, 2022

Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022

Sustainability, 2022

Journal of Planning Literature, 2022

Sustainability, 2021

Journal of Planning Literature, 2022

Sustainability, 2021

Cities, 2021

Sustainability, 2021

Behavioural Public Policy, 2024

Urban Science, 2021

Land Use Policy, 2021

Energy Policy, 2020

European Planning Studies, 2021

How do municipalities strategically use land policy to develop land for housing? The development ... more How do municipalities strategically use land policy to develop land for housing? The development of housing is a challenge for many European countries, though the scale and time of it differs. Issues are not always about the absolute number of houses that need to be supplied in a country. The distribution and quality of houses affect the demand for housing. Land policy determines where and how future developments take place, and as a result, it has a considerable impact on both supply and demand of housing. Municipalities use different strategies of land policy to pursue housing goals. This paper aims to explore the rationalities underpinning such strategies of land policy. Therefore, a theory on pluralism – Cultural Theory – is employed to understand municipal strategies in different contexts, i.e. Germany (Ruhr region), Belgium (Flanders), and Netherlands. Applying Cultural Theory to land policy results in four ideal-typical strategies of active, passive, reactive, and protective land policies. Despite the fact that the decisions of municipalities are made within (or constrained by) their institutional environments (i.e. national/regional planning systems, development cultures, etc.), we found that there are key similarities between the strategies of the studied municipalities regardless of their different institutional environments.

Wydawnictwo Społecznej Akademii Nauk w Łodzi, 2020

Nowa Ekonomia Instytucjonalna jest nurtem nauk ekonomicznych, kładącym istotny akcent na analizę ... more Nowa Ekonomia Instytucjonalna jest nurtem nauk ekonomicznych, kładącym istotny akcent na analizę zjawisk społeczno-gospodarczych, w centrum których znajduje się działający człowiek. Taką oto specyfikę można dostrzec już w początkach tego nurtu, który datuje się na pierwsze dekady XX wieku. Kolejni naukowcy, ekonomiści i socjologowie, tj. Thorstein Veblen, Douglass Cecil North, Ronald Harry Coase, Oliver Eaton Williamson, Elinor Ostrom, analizowali rzeczywistość gospodarczą z perspektywy człowieka, który w tejże przestrzeni funkcjonuje. W przestrzeni społecznogospodarczej istnieje jednak coś, co kształtuje sposób realizacji działań przez człowieka. Tym czymś jest instytucjonalny determinizm, przez kolejne lata rozwoju nurtu Nowej Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej coraz precyzyjniej definiowany i dookreślany. Najważniejszym pytaniem dla wszystkich przedstawicieli tego nurtu w ekonomii jest tym samym, dlaczego człowiek działa w taki, a nie inny sposób? Próby odpowiedzi na to pytanie ujawniają się w różnych teoriach, które wspólnie tworzą dzisiaj Nową Ekonomię Instytucjonalną. Poniższe opracowanie stanowi próbę przedstawienia najważniejszych ze wspomnianych teorii. Pierwsza tego typu próba została zrealizowana przez autora w monografii poświęconej zagadnieniom polityki gospodarczej [Derkacz 2018]. W pracy tej poszczególne teorie NEI stanowiły jednak teoretyczne tło dla definiowania koncepcji optymalizacji inwestycji publicznych. Aktualne opracowanie zostaje natomiast w całości poświęcone wybranym teoriom Nowej Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej, które ujęto z perspektywy rzeczywistości społeczno-gospodarczej i porządku ekonomicznego. Opracowanie zyskało tym samym charakter przeglądu najważniejszych elementów tego nurtu ekonomii. Opisano tu teorię instytucji, teorię praw własności, teorię kosztów transakcyjnych oraz teorię kontraktów. Każda z nich jest kolejnym sposobem/kontekstem opisu porządku ekonomicznego, poprzez co kształtują one porządek nowego instytucjonalizmu z perspektywy ekonomicznej. Każda w sposób oryginalny uzasadnia, jak określone zjawiska społeczno-gospodarcze powstają, istnieją i się zmieniają. Każda wyjaśnia sposób funkcjonowania człowieka w gospodarce i w społeczeństwie. Każda ostatecznie ową różnorodność sposobów działania człowieka uzasadnia instytucjonalnym determinizmem, który jest jej (działalności ludzkiej) pierwotnym i fundamentalnym determinantem. W tym kontekście omówienie kolejnych teorii Nowej Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej będzie ukazywało poszczególne elementy porządku ekonomicznego, sposobów działania człowieka oraz osadzenie ludzkiej aktywności w sferze instytucjonalnej.