3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The location and the nature of Airbnb listings in Johannesburg and their impact on property prices and the availability of long term rental stock(2019) Niselow, TehillahThe popularity of the digital or the ‘shared economy’ has become almost ubiquitous amongst the middle and upper classes in developing and developed countries. Many people wonder how they managed before ride hailing applications such as Uber and short-term accommodation rental applications such as Airbnb. These technologies have changed the face of commuting and travelling within cities as well as travel for business people and holiday makers. Despite the relative novelty of these technologies, there have been concerns raised about their impact on labour rights and housing prices in some countries. Regulators in several of the world’s tourism hotspots such as London, New York and Amsterdam have stepped in to create controls around Airbnb to mitigate concerns about rising property prices affecting locals. In South Africa, there has been anecdotal reportage in the media about the link between the popularity of Airbnb and rising property prices in Cape Town. While Cape Town has received more attention, the number of Airbnb listings in Johannesburg is growing, though still relatively small compared to other metropolitan cities in the world. No large-scale study has been undertaken into the phenomenon in both cities by government authorities or academic scholars. This research report looks at the nature and location of Airbnb listings in Johannesburg as well as data on rental and property prices in Johannesburg and nationwide over the last five years. In the report, I also make use of interviews with real-estate agents and city planning authorities to consider whether Airbnb has impacted housing prices or spatial patterns. This report concludes that most Airbnb listings are located within areas in Johannesburg that are already well connected to economic opportunities and infrastructure. In addition, the research shows that Johannesburg, a city in a state of flux and ever evolving, is not like cities within developed countries with relatively stable economies. Due to difficult economic conditions in recent years and weaker property prices as well as rental incomes, it is not possible to find a correlation between the rise of Airbnb and property prices.Item Addressing skills shortages in the South African residential construction industry through automation: a case study of Gauteng region(2019) Takawira, MemoryThe construction industry remains a cornerstone and plays a leading in many national and global economies and contributes up to 10% of GDP in developed countries and more than 25 % in developing countries. In South Africa since 2008, the industry has been contributing an average of 9% of the total employment in both formal and informal sectors and around 9% towards the GDP. Despite playing such a significant role i researches have shown that the industry is crippled with many challenges which amongst others include shortages of skilled personnel to do the work. The construction industry which oftentimes is however, over the years it has failed to deliver as per expectations owing to these skills shortages. Previous researches on construction skills shortage have focused on education and training as a remedy but this has failed to yield the desired solutions as the skills shortages are still being felt despite heavy investments in education and training. A more radical approach is thus needed to overcome these challenges. This study is therefore conducted to evaluate the potential use of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence in addressing skills shortages in the South African construction industry. In order to evaluate the potential use of automation and artificial intelligence in addressing skills shortages, there was a need to establish the records of the current skills shortage and the benefits of automation in overcoming such skills shortages. For this, meta-synthesis of existing literature was used for global skills shortages and the advantages of construction automation. To narrow down the issue of skills shortages specifically to the South African construction industry, five interviews were contacted to identify the enablers and threats for using construction automation in the country as well as the extent to which the use of such automation can affect the perceived labour intensive construction industry. Results from this study shows that, despite the construction industry playing a significant role in many economies globally, there are damning results when it comes to skills shortage. With the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the use of automation and artificial intelligence in the construction industry is the next big thing. The research concluded that, although cconstruction automation and robotic technologies can be adopted and used, there should be compensation of the benefits accruing from the use of automation and artificial intelligence to offset the possibility of high levels of unemploymentItem Determining the most resilient real estate market segment in the residential sector throughout the economic cycle waves, for the innercity of Johannesburg(2017) Kgano, Desmond NeoThe research study seeks to determine the most resilient residential real estate market segment throughout the economic cycle waves, for the innercity of Johannesburg, South Africa. The study is prompted by various global reports that subtly suggests a uniform effect to real estate market segments throughout economic cycle waves. Such reports have adopted various indices as proxy to economic cycle waves (e.g. interest rates, current account deficit, gross domestic product, etc.) and house price as proxy to real estate market segments in an attempt to justify the relationship between the proxies. For purposes of this research report, business cycles are employed as proxy to economic cycle waves whilst house prices are also representative of real estate market segments. In a country that ranks third globally on high inequality, with a gini coefficient of 0.63, it is considered improbable – at the very least - that the performance of real estate market segments would react uniformly to the effects of economic cycle waves. The residential sector is opted as a test case, mainly due to growing number of population and the desperate need for housing to accommodate such high population growth levels. The housing challenge needs to be thoroughly understood so that informed and/or adequate planning can be formulated. The research study follows a Pragmatism Philosophy, which allows for mixed method approach in addressing research questions, in order to meet the research aim and objectives. An Explanatory Sequential research design is used as a form of mixed method approach. The process involves collecting both Qualitative and Quantitative data, integrating the two forms of data, and using distinct designs that involves philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks. In this case, Quantitative methods are used to explain Qualitative methods. Priority is given to Quantitative data and the two methods are integrated during the interpretation phase of the research study. Empirical analysis using tools such as Quantile Regressions (e.g.OLS regressions) for a period between 2005 (Q1) and 2015 (Q4) are analysed and discussed. Standard errors and covariances were computed using tools such as the Huber-Sandwich methods, to which an Augmented Dickey-Fuller test was conducted to test for the null hypothesis of a unit root in a time series sample. The Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM test is also used to confirm the absence of serial correlation at four lags. The ARCH LM test is used to show that residuals are homoskedastic, i.e. that there is no evidence of time-varying variance. A negative and significant coefficient appears only the high price sector, suggesting that the business cycle has a negative impact on house prices in the high residential real estate market segment, displaying negative average growth over the period. House prices in the low and medium residential real estate market segments do not respond to movements in the business cycle, on the average. Property size also displayed a negative impact on house prices in the high residential real estate market segment. The autoregressive parameters for house prices in the low and middle residential real estate market segments are statistically significant at 5% and 10%, respectively. Negative and significant coefficient is recorded for the middle residential real estate market segment as well, at the second quantile. In conclusion, the low residential real estate market segment appeared to have been the most resilient residential real estate market segment amongst other residential real estate market segments. The middle residential real estate market segment appears to have been a partially resilient, whilst the high residential real estate market segment appears to have been the least resilient. Given these findings, it is submitted that residential real estate market segments need to be considered or assessed individually, in order to formulate adequate strategies for integrated and sustainable human settlements.