Interpreting the Sustainable Home - Bridging Discourses on Home and Sustainability in the Housing Sector

How we design, build and maintain our homes are increasingly seen as instrumental to the environmental, social and financial impact of the built environment. By examining perspectives on and interpretations of sustainability in housing development, with a focus on discourses within the Swedish housing sector, the aim of this Licentiate thesis is to explore and provide an account of contemporary conceptualizations of the sustainable home. Along with theoretical developments, empirical insights from interviews and focus groups conducted with actors in the housing market (developers and architects), as well as within academia (researchers and students) are presented. A series of pilot studies explore the two areas of study, relating to discourses regarding two particular cases that are portrayed as the ‘frontline’ of sustainability in housing.The empirical material indicates that outspoken aims of radically challenging the normative and resource intense ideals of the modern home generally appear to be lacking in new market-led housing development, with a rather unilateral interpretation of sustainability in eco-efficient or generally vague terms. It is suggested that a holistic perspective is required in the alignment between how different actors perceive housing development, and what is sustainable, where the academic case presented gives points for further discussion. In conclusion, a need to visualize ideals and various conflicting images of home in the housing sector is emphasized. This provides a point of departure for positioning sustainability in housing, introducing less resource intense ways of residing that also consider issues related to equality and diversity in the built environment

Conceptualizing the sustainable home - Explorations of alternative home practices

How we design, build and manage our living environments is instrumental in the environmental, socio-cultural as well as politico-economical implications of the built environment. A main indicator of resource use in particular is moreover found in individual residents’ ways of life, as well as aspects of material, spatial and thermal standards that influence the energy and resource intensity of contemporary home life. Of interest to the presented research is how residents’ perceptions of home, housing development and living standards relate to environmental attitudes and interpretations of sustainability. It explores perceptions of and the potential for less resource intensive home-related practices, primarily linked to voluntary simplicity, living smaller, as well as sharing spaces and resources in or in relation to the dwelling.A mixed methods approach is used to study residents’ perspectives, with empirical material from two different studies in two varying contexts: an urban tenant-owned housing association in Gothenburg; and semi-rural households in the Municipality of Alings\ue5s. In the first study, questionnaires were distributed to all households within a selected housing association, with a response rate of 51% (n=156). By recruitment through the questionnaires, follow-up interviews were conducted with 22 of the households. A second study revolves around narratives from people that have intentionally chosen to live in various alternative ways, where seven deep interviews, following a more ethnographic approach, offer valuable empirical insights.The studies provide a basis for exploring alternative home-related practices. The efficacy of current ‘green’ housing development is discussed, as well as the willingness among residents to reduce resource use in relation to more or less normative representations of home. The need for understanding residents’ dispositions and the implications this might have for targeting the resource intensity of homes in more or less radical ways is emphasized, in order to develop future approaches and policy

“It’s Just a Matter of Adjustment”: Residents’ Perceptions and the Potential for Low-impact Home Practices

In addition to material, spatial and thermal standards and norms that influence the resource intensity of home environments, a key indicator of the environmental impact related to housing is found in residents’ ways of life. Of interest to the study presented in this paper is how residents’ perceptions of home and living standards relate to opinions on environmental issues and the reduction of resource use, exploring the potential and willingness to engage in low-impact ways of living. Empirical material from a questionnaire (n = 156) and interview study (n = 22) with residents in a tenant-owned housing association in Sweden provides insights into conventions and perceptions surrounding practices primarily linked to voluntary simplicity, living smaller as well as sharing spaces and resources. The study emphasizes the need for understanding residents’ perspectives and the implications this might have for targeting the resource intensity of homes in future development and policy

Conceptualizing the sustainable home - Explorations of alternative home practices

How we design, build and manage our living environments is instrumental in the environmental, socio-cultural as well as politico-economical implications of the built environment. A main indicator of resource use in particular is moreover found in individual residents’ ways of life, as well as aspects of material, spatial and thermal standards that influence the energy and resource intensity of contemporary home life. Of interest to the presented research is how residents’ perceptions of home, housing development and living standards relate to environmental attitudes and interpretations of sustainability. It explores perceptions of and the potential for less resource intensive home-related practices, primarily linked to voluntary simplicity, living smaller, as well as sharing spaces and resources in or in relation to the dwelling.A mixed methods approach is used to study residents’ perspectives, with empirical material from two different studies in two varying contexts: an urban tenant-owned housing association in Gothenburg; and semi-rural households in the Municipality of Alings\ue5s. In the first study, questionnaires were distributed to all households within a selected housing association, with a response rate of 51% (n=156). By recruitment through the questionnaires, follow-up interviews were conducted with 22 of the households. A second study revolves around narratives from people that have intentionally chosen to live in various alternative ways, where seven deep interviews, following a more ethnographic approach, offer valuable empirical insights.The studies provide a basis for exploring alternative home-related practices. The efficacy of current ‘green’ housing development is discussed, as well as the willingness among residents to reduce resource use in relation to more or less normative representations of home. The need for understanding residents’ dispositions and the implications this might have for targeting the resource intensity of homes in more or less radical ways is emphasized, in order to develop future approaches and policy