Carbon regulation and pathways for institutional transition in market-led housing systems : a case study of English housebuilders and zero carbon housing policy

In this paper, we argue that current research on carbon regulation neglects the complex interactions of institutional norms and market behaviour that characterise responses to regulatory change. We draw on empirical research undertaken with English housebuilders and housing market stakeholders to examine how transitional pathways towards a low-carbon housing future might be advanced and consider the implications of such for carbon regulation and low-carbon economies. Our core proposition is that carbon regulation research can no longer ignore the impact of institutionally constituted market behaviour in shaping pathways and transitions towards low-carbon futures

Post occupancy evaluation of social housing designed and built to Code for Sustainable Homes Levels 3, 4 and 5

In the housing sector, carbon emissions arise primarily through the consumption of energy to heat, light and ventilate our homes. Significant improvements in UK housing energy performance have been driven both by changes in legislation, and by the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes in 2007. Compliance with certain levels of this Code has been adopted as policy by Local and Regional Authorities, and social housing providers. The evaluation of the performance of low carbon housing requires the assessment of increasingly complex building services technology, and occupant behaviour. This added services complexity, and the expectation that tenants understand how to use it, has led to a number of unintended consequences which have resulted in a higher risk of performance failure. This study comprises the detailed evaluation of seven new social housing dwellings, designed and built to Code levels 3, 4 and 5, including comprehensive environmental monitoring, measurements of the consumption and generation of resources, and social surveys of the occupants. The results show that as the Code levels increase there is a reducing energy and water consumption rate, and an increasing energy generation rate, but only at the expense of a significantly increased risk of services system failure

The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers

There is growing interest among policymakers in the promotion of wellbeing as an objective of public policy. In particular, local authorities have been given powers to undertake action to promote wellbeing in their area. Recent advances in the academic literature on wellbeing are giving rise to an increasingly detailed picture of the factors that determine people’s subjective wellbeing (how they think and feel about their lives). However, the concept of subjective wellbeing is poorly understood within local government and much of the evidence base is extremely recent. I therefore review the literature on the definition, measurement, and determinants of wellbeing, and discuss some of its implications for local public policy

Housing options for older people in a reimagined housing system: a case study from England

The housing options of older people now extend far beyond the traditional choice between staying put and making do, or moving to specialist housing or residential care. A flexible suite of options has emerged, centred on promoting independence and wellbeing. Valuable insights have been provided into the development, delivery, costs and benefits of these options. Light has also been cast on the experiences and preferences of older people. However, little is know about who gets what housing, where and why. This reflects a tendency within analysis to consider these different housing options in isolation. This study responds by situating the housing options of older people within wider debates about the reimagining of the housing system driven by the neoliberal transformation in housing politics. Taking a case study approach, it explores the gap between the ambitions of policy and realities of provision at the local level, relates this to the particular intersection of state practices and market mechanisms manifest in the case study and, in doing so, rises to the challenge of extending analysis of the impacts of the neoliberal approach on the right to housing to new groups and different settings

Low energy housing retrofit in North England: Overheating risks and possible mitigation strategies

In the drive to reduce space-heating demand and associated CO2 emissions as well as tackle fuel poverty, dwelling overheating and summer-time occupant thermal discomfort might be the unintended consequences of low-energy building retrofits. This paper presents the findings of a steady-state modelled low energy retrofit dwelling in northern England and its potential current and future climate overheating risks using UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) scenarios (2050 and 2080 High Emission Scenarios). Predictive findings highlight that retrofitting to low energy standards increases overheating risk over time, unless passive prevention measures are included in the retrofit design. In addition, the steady-state nature of the model might not fully capture the occupants’ exposure to actual future overheating risks. Among the most effective individual passive overheating mitigation strategies are temporary internal shading, permanent external shading, and night-time ventilation. Most effective is a combination of these adaptation measures, so that predictive overheating is minimised in a future changing climate, reducing the uptake of active cooling in retrofitted dwellings. Practical applications: Much research focuses on building overheating risks in the warmer South-east of England. However, this paper highlights how dwelling retrofit in north England (Sheffield) also can lead to increased dwelling overheating risk, unless passive design measures are included in the retrofit design. Among the most effective individual passive overheating mitigation strategies are solar shading devices and increased night-time ventilation, though ideally different measures are combined. Using future climate scenarios highlights that retrofits designed today might not be able to provide occupant thermal comfort in a future warming world

Planning at the neighbourhood scale: localism, dialogic politics and the modulation of community action

This paper builds upon literature examining the foreclosing of community interventions to show how a resident-led anti-road-noise campaign in South-Eastern England has been framed, managed and modulated by authorities. We situate the case within wider debates considering dialogical politics. For advocates, this offers the potential for empowerment through non-traditional forums (Beck, 1994; Giddens, 1994). Others view such trends, most recently expressed as part of the localism agenda, with suspicion (Haughton et al, 2013; Mouffe, 2005). The paper brings together these literatures to analyse the points at which modulation occurs in the community planning process. We describe the types of counter-tactics residents deployed to deflect the modulation of their demands, and the events that led to the outcome. We find that community planning offers a space - albeit one that is tightly circumscribed - within which (select) groups can effect change. The paper argues that the detail of neighbourhood-scale actions warrant further attention, especially as governmental enthusiasm for dialogical modes of politics shows no sign of abating

The financial and economic challenges of housing provision for an ageing society

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to assess the critical financial and economic issues associated with the provision of adequate housing in the UK in the face of current and future demographic change. Design/methodology/approach The review is based on an investigation of the current state of preparedness of the housing market and its various stakeholders based on recent reports and secondary statistical evidence. Findings The findings emphasise the need for a multi-faceted approach to tackle the challenges that need to be addressed. Unless measures are initiated to influence the market, the requisite increase in the stock of appropriate housing in the face of rapid demographic change will not occur. Originality/value The value of the study is that it identifies the issues based on the current state of provision and makes recommendations for meeting the challenges arising from these issues. These recommendations have strong implications for policymakers and other stakeholders

Improving contemporary approaches to the master planning process.

Master-planning has had a strong revival in recent years. However, significant demographic and social changes are on-going amidst the constraints of the current economic stagnation, the policy of reduced public spending and the drive to respond to environmental imperatives. These conditions challenge the feasibility of the application of past master-planning practice. The way we conceive of master-planning now requires re-visiting. The traditional perspective of master-planning as a design-led activity concerned with the architectural form of buildings, spaces and infrastructures is out-dated and inadequate to coordinating the plural processes of negotiating sustainable place development which, in addition to realising a visually pleasing townscape, critically satisfies social, functional, economic and environmental requirements. Masterplanning requires both a business planning component, without which there is no delivery, and a governance component, without which the physical strategy has no legitimacy. A more adaptive master-planning approach is required. The paper proposes how a flexible master-planning process can provide a basis of a suitable approach for the development of sustainable settlements. Published in Proceedings of the ICE - Urban Design and Planning, Vol 167, Issue 1, October 2013. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of this PDF file is subject to reprint fees.</p