Sustainable Housing

The underlying factors of housing research emanate from the fact that people's lives and well-being rely on the quality of the house and the surroundings where it is situated. Housing satisfaction goes beyond brick and mortar and aesthetics. It examines housing attributes that are not already visible to the eyes that could influence the occupants' satisfaction with such buildings. This study investigated user's satisfaction with private housing estates using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The research is imperative because most studies in Nigeria focused mainly on government-owned or social housing satisfaction. While private housing estates have received little attention over the years. 280 questionnaires were randomly distributed to the building occupants within the estates under consideration based on their level of availability during the 13 weeks surveyed periods. From the survey, the top-ranked factors that influence user satisfaction were utility adequacy...

This work is an operational analysis of an initiative of low cost and sustainable housing called EcoLar. In it contains listed the activities previously and afterwards the improvement of processes, tools and materials. EcoLar is a social startup that builds sustainable houses for low income families that live in improvised housing. The company was created in 2014 inside the Mangalo Group, in Sao Paulo. A case of operations management was studied and diagrammed so that people and organizations could build low cost and sustainable housing over the country. Empowering professionals and organizations might reduce significantly the housing deficit in Brazil, and the community of social builders can improve its processes and materials, reducing costs and environmental footprints while building more houses for those who need. After the new operational management EcoLar could reduce its building time from three days to ten hours. The environmental impact was positively maximized with the new materials. More families were endowed and more volunteers were able to help. The building cost reduced as the building time reduced. The planning and productivity are not only good for a company, but also to impact families with low cost and sustainable housing.

Sustainability is clearly represented in Jeddah old city where traditional builders have developed unique practices that promote environmental, social and economic qualities. The urban form and buildings proved efficiency towards the conservative society, the pattern of life and the prevailing hot-humid climate. The open space system, characterized by narrow walkways and wider intersections, provided shaded and ventilated places for walking and communicating. Houses were configured according to social traditions that imply the separation between private and public life. Walls were constructed of locally coral stone blocks known by its thermal insulation ability, then finished with white color which acts on reflecting sunlight and reduces the heat absorption. Large wooden latticed windows admit daylight but control heating and ventilation, while providing privacy for the family. Moreover, rainwater was collected and stored in basement reservoirs. However, attempts to record these man...

"Sustainable housing implementation requires strong support from the public, government and the housing industry. Lack of public awareness and understanding of the language and the
meaning of sustainable housing may cause lack of public support. Salama stated that "sustainability or sustainable design is simply a rephrasing of some of the forgotten values of traditional architecture and urbanism"(Salama 2007). This exploratory paper examines public awareness of sustainable housing in Saudi Arabia. In developing countries, like Saudi Arabia, which have been experiencing a rapid rate of urbanisation, sustainable concept intervention is essential due to the scarcity of resources (Reffat 2004a). Sustainable building methods include the full use of the site design, passive solar design, natural light and ventilation. This paper reports on an exploratory survey on understanding the potential of the implementation of sustainable housing in Saudi Arabia. The main problem is that more than half of respondents were not aware of sustainable housing. Thus, one of the recommendations from the survey is to educate the public by using local media to inform people of the benefits of sustainable implementation to both new and existing housing stock."

Covid-19 disproportionately affected Afro-Americans and other ethnic minorities, along with the poor. There is an emerging consensus that the race differential is also associated with socioeconomic correlates. A large share of the black population in the U.S. lives in poor areas characterized by high unemployment, low housing quality, and unhealthy living conditions, making low socioeconomic status a critical risk factor.
As a consequence, the higher Covid-19 death toll paid by black Americans has been linked to the “redlining” policies introduced by the Home Owners Loan Corporation in the 1930s. These policies are believed to have contributed to the development of segregated neighborhoods plagued by unemployment, low housing quality, and unhealthy living conditions.
Nowadays, we assist to the new “redlining” which come in the different shape of the formal/informal market divide in housing. In fact, two pathways to homeownership have always existed in this legal framework. On one hand, a well-established legal regime that provides families with secure, marketable title to their homes. On the other hand, an informal regime where the most vulnerable citizens (Black, Latino, immigrants and poor) buy “on contract”, something alike an installment land contracts whereby the seller could easily repossess the house, since he is entitled to evict the would-be owner even when a single monthly payment is missed. Indeed, such contracts grew in number particularly in the aftermath of the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, when the lack of equal access to credit for homeownership led many people to buy houses “on contract”.
Furthermore, the formal/informal market divide shapes US geography, as most vividly expressed in the contrast between the living conditions in “golden ghettos” and slums, where urban conditions are of poverty, segregation, exclusion and marginalization.
This research aims at showing how predatory lending practices, by fostering ghettoization, favored the race differential during Covid-19 pandemic.

Iraq oil rich country is in the condition of economic chaos and confronting an intense scarcity for the low-cost housing in the capital as migration from the surrounding cities flooded where country poor economic condition has pushed the housing price hiked in cities. Therefore, this study is conducted with aims to determine critical factors affecting the affordable housing in Iraq. Quantitative study consisting close ended questionnaire of four sections cover all critical factors and randomly distributed questionnaire among the construction industry players to determine the objectives of the study. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic/local language so the every responded understand the questions, total distributed questionnaire is 175 and in response 134 received and data is analysed using SPSS software. Study findings shows that sustainable land management, easy and low interest rate loan arrangement to overcome on the financial constraints are the critical problem followed by unsteady or interpreted supply of construction materials, pricing control significantly help to keep lower the cost of affordable housing. Study also concluded that smaller size houses are no longer the key barriers of acceptance to the Iraqi community. Thus, study strongly recommend government stakeholders to develop framework and properly manage the land for housing purpose. Lastly, steady supply chain management for all the essential construction materials such as steel, technology, cement, electrical and sanitary appliance also control the pricing so low-cost housing dream of the people become true.

Cities around the world are dealing with a profound housing crisis, where access to affordable, safe and secure housing is becoming harder to attain. In Melbourne, Victoria, this housing crisis is compounded by a severe shortage of government-supported housing, a growing waitlist for social housing and an increase in rates of homelessness. In light of this, one particular niche has emerged as a potential solution to tackling this crisis: tiny houses. This thesis examines the existing discourse surrounding tiny houses within the social housing space. It interrogates the current considerations and evident tensions of tiny houses in Melbourne as social housing from the policy, statutory planning and social domains. Deploying an exploratory multi-method approach, this thesis first analyses policy documentation, academic literature and media articles to understand the surface level tensions; and then develops a case study approach supported by participant interviews, exploring the tensions encountered in the recent Ballarat Road Harris Transportable Housing Project in Melbourne. The research finds a significant number of tensions including limitations in social housing stock and management, finance, tiny house definitions and standards in permit applications. This thesis suggests that tiny houses will likely continue to be considered as a form of social housing, advanced through neoliberal notions of choice, however, the scale of tiny house solutions to the housing crisis will be contingent on how the
tensions identified develop over time.

Keywords: tensions, tiny houses, social housing, choice, planning, policy.

Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur is one of the cities that have among the highest urban densities in the world as a result of increasing urban population. This circumstance has directly impact the need to conserve land and reduce greenhouse gas emission. Most of urban planners and designers have advocated more compact living to accommodate this situation, which has resulted to more people living in high-rise residential buildings. Residential highrise in Malaysia currently is the highest energy user in terms of residential building per square meter due to the high density of building. This is based on the need of cooling due to the fact that Malaysian climate is very hot and humid. The best known way to cool down fast is by using air conditioning units that is very high in energy consumption. Currently, the cost of energy is rising and the need to reduce energy is a must. If the rise of cost in energy continues, Malaysia will be hard hit because of the need of constant cooling throughout the year. That is why there is a need of natural ventilation and cooling in high-rise buildings particularly in urban settings. This paper focuses on natural ventilation relating to thermal comfort in high-rise residential buildings in urban neighbourhoods in Malaysia. It concentrates on typical high rise residential building designs which are developed solely for the purpose of accommodation and also custom designed high-rises that takes into account of natural ventilation and also thermal comfort achieved through natural sources.

While the Dutch acknowledged the vital need for sustainable housing, the reality is that the Netherlands has been facing an affordable housing crisis in which 300,000 houses are coming short. The ‘affordable’ and ‘sustainable’ Tiny House has started to gain popularity in the Netherlands and may be of value here, but no relation had been made between the three areas of ‘sustainable housing’, ‘housing crises’ and ‘Tiny Houses’ and the Tiny House community seemed to struggle in adopting Tiny Houses. This thesis research explored why and how Tiny Houses could be a way to relieve the housing crisis in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner within the current policy framework. Qualitative phenomenological research was conducted through a desk study and semi-structured interviews. Besides making a contribution to the interdisciplinary body of literature on this topic, the MMAMS framework was proposed to identify bottlenecks for the diffusion of an innovation within a market system. The Tiny House was found to be a sustainable type of housing that would address the need for affordable housing of low- and middle-income classes, but in order for it to be adopted on a wider scale the vague definition of the Tiny House, restrictive national laws, ignorant municipal members, negative associations, NIMBY-ism, and a lack of investment options should be addressed. In the conclusions, suggestions to overcome these barriers are made, including the use of CityLabs and the establishment of a national interdisciplinary knowledge centre.

This research, conducted by the author when a Senior Researcher at Newcastle University, UK, was funded by a UK governance organisation to help them assess, integrate and improve their understanding of the governed population.

ABSTRACT: Governance organisations have been urged to develop more holistic evidence-based approaches with partners to better deal with issues affecting the governed population. This presupposes an understanding of the population, yet there has been little research work addressing how governance organisations come to understand their governed population, nor how this understanding can be improved upon within such organisations.

This case study examined in-depth how understanding of a governed population was developed within one UK local governance organisation and it explored how such understanding might be developed and improved through more holistic and evidence-based organisational learning within the organisation and its governance partnerships.

The research methodology involved placement within the governance organisation, participant observations on several projects and innovative initiatives, observations within, across, and outside the organisation, and also interviews with varied key stakeholders.

The study examined:

- stakeholder engagement and networks
- current and varied understandings of the population
- mechanisms actually used for developing understandings
- the influence of context on organisational learning

and analysed these to arrive at a recommendations to improve organisational understanding of the governed population.

In the case studied, significant strengths were found: including innovative past learning trials for development, extensive ongoing networking activities, and many varied and accumulating quantitative datasets available across partnerships.

However, entrenched organisational approaches and practices constrained the development of holistic evidence-based understanding, for instance: the absence of systematic maintained collective learning processes; weak recording and forgetting of understandings; methodological exclusion of stakeholders from the development of understanding; the relative neglect of qualitative data, explanations, investigations, interpretations, and reflexivity; and also implicit organisational acceptance of such limitations and low aspirations.

Nonetheless, untapped opportunities existed to enable change including: latent practitioner knowledge and innovative management champions, the desire for improvement and raised aspirations within learning networks, and the development potential of alterative learning approaches.

It was concluded that more holistic evidence-based understanding was possible, but required new learning approaches beyond those then in use in both local government or academia.   

Recommendations are made to utilise and develop improved organisational learning approaches trialed and reported in the case study.

It is argued that the case study findings, conclusions, and recommendations may be applicable to other similar local governance organisations and partnerships that seek to better understand local populations, services and interventions.

The work was also submitted for, and awarded, an MPhil (at Newcastle University, supervised by Prof. Patsy Healy)

The access to affordable housing in the Global South is very limited for millions. Many households have chosen for incremental self-construction; herewith sustainability does not have the highest priority. The main question is whether affordable housing for the urban poor and the need for sustainable housing and urban development can be combined. Transference of knowledge to (self) builders is a key issue, as is the role of assistance in self-help housing. It is argued in this paper that sustainable goals for low-cost housing and applications are achievable. Measures concerning the physical development of neighbourhoods, such as urban density and connectivity are equally as important as measures concerning community development. The latter include support for community based organizations, small housing cooperatives (or similar forms of cooperation) and individual households – or small groups – that build and improve their houses incrementally. Adequate planning and social organization and cooperation are preconditions for achieving sustainability in incremental housing.

The housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia has been booming rapidly in the past two decades. This boom has faced multiple downfalls in relation to government regulations and building codes. Another dilemma facing the boom of the housing construction industry is applying sustainable methods to the housing construction in accordance with building codes and regulations. This paper sheds some light on the current role of the Saudi government and the role of the Saudi Building Code (SBC) in the housing construction industry. The methodology utilised in this paper was a Delphi survey that was distributed to twenty-five key stakeholders in the housing construction industry in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that there is a lack of integration between the Saudi Building Code and the current construction methods used in the current construction industry. Some factors and elements are recommended to be incorporated into the Saudi Building Code and to be adopted as regulations in the Saudi housing construction industry.

Rapid urbanization in developing countries is putting stress on current infrastructure, which is resulting in the rapid consumption of natural resources to cope with the increasing demand of the population. Saudi Arabia is one of the developing countries facing rapid urbanization where its infrastructure is facing a huge demand by the increasing urbanization levels of its major cities. Developing sustainable housing in Saudi Arabia is a must for the preservation of resources for future generations of the region and of the world. In the coming years, several resources (such as fossil fuels and natural water) will be facing shortage if not managed properly. Providing electricity for housing in Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest challenges facing the country, where it is estimated that by 2050 energy demand in the Kingdom will be approximately 120 GW, and to meet this growing demand, 8 million barrels of oil per day will be required. However, implementation of Sustainable Housing in Saudi is still problematic to reach the desired goals of various key Saudi stakeholders. This paper analyses three case studies that have adopted sustainable construction methods and compares them to traditional non-sustainable houses. The outcome suggests that there is a viable chance for development of sustainable housing in the region if supported by the government with less red tape to deal with. This paper recommends that the Saudi governments should mandate new laws to reduce the overall consumption of energy and water to reduce the overall consumption of natural resources to secure the future generation’s demand of natural resources.

The unprecedented destruction caused by Typhoon Washi triggered a large-scale resettlement program in the city of Cagayan de Oro. For the process of resettlement, the priority was a top-down coordination and decision making, where the participation of local communities was neglected. Consequently, there was a limited understanding of the beneficiaries’ needs and the local conditions. After the beneficiaries occupied the new settlements, they expressed willingness to compensate the shortcomings of the provided houses starting the construction of extensions. The local government prohibited these constructions arguing that residents may recreate unsafe and precarious pre-disaster housing conditions. These claims contrast with those of researchers who consider that resident-initiated housing extensions may contribute to community development and empowerment. Our paper focuses on the analysis of the actual situation of four villages located in Calaanan resettlement site in Cagayan de Oro. The aim of the paper is to identify the pros and cons of the building of resident-initiated extensions and to determine whether there are vulnerabilities created that may lead to the creation of unsafe environments. The findings reveal that the building of housing extensions is unavoidable since they are the result of the priorities of the residents and are the expression of residents’ capacities and willingness to improve their living conditions. In contrast, this study found deficiencies in the construction where the conventional materials were used. Thus, it is crucial to provide guidelines to enable support for better building practices involving different stakeholders, where residents must play an active role in the process.

Abstract. The affordability of housing is a pressing problem that not only affects individual households but also has implications for the wider economy and environment, e.g. employment, health and sustainability. Thus it is evident that providing affordable housing is not simply about cheap and decent homes, it entails having regard for a broad range of factors. Housing affordability is traditionally defined and assessed in terms of economic criteria; namely housing costs in relation to incomes. Areas are therefore often regarded as affordable simply because they are low cost. However this indicates nothing about the quality of the housing or the environment in which the housing is situated. An integral part of the research is the theory that affordability is not only affected by housing costs and incomes, but by a wider range of criteria that also influence a household’s quality of life. It is the view of the authors that housing affordability must be evaluated in a wider context ...

The United Arab Emirates is experiencing a challenging turn towards sustainable social housing. Conventional neighborhood planning and design principles are being replaced by those leading to more sustainable urban forms. To trace this challenging move, the research has investigated the degree of consideration of sustainable urban design principles in two social housing neighborhoods in Al Ain City in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE. The first represents a conventional urban form based on the neighborhood theory; the other represents the new sustainable design. The ultimate aim is to define the obstacles hindering the full achievement of a sustainable urban form in this housing type. To undertake research investigations, a matrix of the design principles of sustainable urban forms has been initiated in order to facilitate the assessment of the urban forms of the two selected urban communities. Some qualitatively measurable design elements have been defined for each of these principles. The results of the analysis of the shift from 'conventional' to 'sustainable' case studies have revealed some aspects that would prevent the attainment of fully sustainable urban forms in newly designed social housing neighborhoods. Finally, the research concludes by recommending some fundamental actions to help meet these challenges in future design.

Plastic bottle sandcrete masonry is a new innovation in building industry which can assist to obtain a social equity by avoiding the gap between the rich and the poor people housing in Nigeria. This study aims to determine the performance of plastic (PET) bottle sandcrete masonry in five-storey building due to vertical and lateral loading. Three scenarios of reinforced concrete frames were employed to achieve the serviceability of the structure. The scenarios were; bare frame, full infilled and soft storey, which are likewise compare with the conventional hollow sandcrete block. Experimental data from literature were used for the modelling and analysis. Numerical modelling was done by Equivalent strut method design by Federal Emergency Management Agency and ETABS software package was used for the analysis of the modelled frame structure. From this study, it was observed that maximum deflection values for bare frame differs greatly from that of frame with full infilled. The maximum displacement values for fourth storey gotten for bare frame, full infilled (pet), full infilled (hollow), soft storey (pet) and soft storey (hollow) were 8.29mm, 0.737mm, 1.058mm, 1.916mm and 2.19mm respectively. A closer value were gotten when compared with Equivalent strut methods. Conclusively, PET plastic bottle produced a lesser displacement than the conventional hollow sandcrete block It is thereby recommended for its adoption as a construction material for load and non-load bearing wall.

This is a paper prepared by me for the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore-CRERI Real Estate Research Initiative. The paper is intended as a overview of the affordable housing sector with special emphasis on India. Affordable Housing is fast taking centrestage in the national agenda. In India, affordable housing is a term largely used in the urban context.Affordable housing refers to any housing that meets some form of affordability criterion, which could be income level of the family, size of the dwelling unit or affordability in terms of EMI size or ratio of house price to annual income.
The demand drivers for affordable housing are several.Alongside the growth of the urban population, rising incomes have led to the expansion of the middle class. This has led to a spike in demand for housing that is affordable but includes basic amenities. The agencies working in the affordable housing sector can be classified into . the public sector and the private sector. Both are dogged by issues such as scarcity of land,scarcity of marketable land parcels,titling Issues, rising costs and regulatory concerns. The way forward calls for a collaborative multi-pronged multi-stakehoder approach.

— The most significant policy dilemmas in improving housing affordability and environmental sustainability take three forms: distractions towards broad system change; searches for a silver bullet, which inevitably prove conflictual; and 'shooting in all directions' without any coherent approach. Instead, a cooperative, coordinated and trusted housing for degrowth movement leading to a new systemic reality requires a powerful narrative with exemplary models to counteract growth narratives. We argue that creating an inspirational degrowth narrative of complementary grassroots and 'top-down' initiatives is the most important strategy for housing for degrowth, and degrowth more generally. We offer this 'collective degrowth housing narrative' approach to policy, to guide top-down enabling policies complementing bottom-up activities.

A building must be sustainable in order to make as little impact as possible on the natural environments and use energy, water, land and other resources efficiently. However, the concept of sustainability makes sense when applied by all segments of society. No matter how sustainable, a building never achieves environmental protection completely, while another build-ing next to its harms the environment. To ensure environmental protection completely, especially the low-income group must be included in this situation. Contrary to the popular belief, sustaina-bility and being economic are not opposed to each other; but are complementary. As the housing built according to sustainability criteria will not create additional cost in total for low-income group, it is estimated to reduce total cost. In policies implemented especially in the lower income group projects, due to the fact that widely only construction cost is taken into account and mainte-nance and operating costs of housing are ignored, on the one hand, the housing producing for low-income group after a while cannot be affordable, on the other hand, it damages the sustainable environmental goals in terms of issues such as efficiently using energy, water, land and other resources. In addition, for the reason that the allocated share for housing expenses increases in total income, one would have to allocate less money for food, health care and other expenses. This can damage the social sustainability of the society. A housing project that appealed to the low-income group can contribute a sustainable living by reducing maintenance and operational costs incurred throughout its life cycle. In this study, the concept of sustainability will be dis-cussed with long term affordability in the context of low-cost housing in Turkey. The aim of the study is to help developing a transparent, extensive and systematic research of the commonalities, incompatibilities and tradeoffs between affordability and sustainability. This study offers general guidelines how produce more sustainable and affordable housing with using LCC analysis. The study also purposes to contribute to the housing policy in Turkey to produce more sustainable and affordable housing and to inform policy makers/decision-makers and occupants in terms of the effectiveness of existing low-cost housing projects in the long-term maintenance and operational affordability.

ABSTRACT: A low cost sustainable housing prototype for Tijuana, Mexico was designed and is under construction by faculty and students of Architecture and Regenerative Studies, in the grounds of the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona in Southern California. This prototype emphasizes local materials and technology appropriate for the cultural and economic conditions of the community in Tijuana.

Studies identify that architectural design characteristics affecting design simplicity enhance core housing affordability. Effect of this attribute for affordability improvement, crucial in establishing design strategies for affordable low-cost urban homes, is lacking. Study examined this effect in Anambra State of Nigeria, using mixed method approach (primary data sourced from personal interviews, and questionnaire on 242 sampled residents from a 540 population. Using Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s Rank-Order correlation for analysis, all prototypes were found non-affordable, with p-value of 0.000 for significant variation for affordability. Significant relationship, strong and positive (p-value, 0.000; correlation coefficient 0.778), was established between architectural design characteristics affecting design simplicity and affordability. Recommendations for improving core housing affordability include: minimal floor area for initial unit (studio apartments for households earning below N161, 000 monthly, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom prototypes for those earning between N161, 000 and N200, 000); simple geometric plans; and local building materials for roof covering.

Sustainability in built environment is inevitable around the world. Locally sourced and renewable building materials is one of the ideal strategies for attaining the sustainable built environment. This research has explored the opportunities of capitalizing on the abundance of stones on facilitating Mwanza city residents to achieve sustainable housing construction. Factors deterring stone applicability have been identified and the strategies toward addressing the conundrum have been recommended.

The key objective of this study is to explore the factors that affect customer's purchase decision of residential apartment i n Dhaka City, capital of Bangladesh and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Data for this study is collected from 470 respondents who are of lower-middle and middle income group living in Dhaka city area through structured and non-disguised questionnaire having close ended questions. The convenience sampling method is used for choosing the respondents though survey method where a five point Likert scale has been used to measure variables. This exploratory study also intends to categorize the considered 25 variables into factors. This study has found six factors which affect the purchase decision of a residential apartment among two particular income groups in a specific area. It concludes that the financial and project facilities factors affect the purchase decision of buyers followed by Physical quality and location and communication factors. Also the two factors environmental and promotional factors affect the purchase decision of the buyer from these two particular income groups. The real estate developers, market researchers and policy makers can be benefitted from the study as the customers from lowermiddle and middle income groups are vital consumers having confined financial ability but need for a proper and sustainable housing. The influencing factors identified from this study can be used in estimating housing demand and to increase the supply on account of these two income group people to develop the real estate market policies and strategies.

We are currently living in the most consumptive and polluting chapter of the human society and have the widest range of global problems ever, as global warming, population growth, shortage of resources, refugees, anxiety, depression, obesity etc. We have to take action as soon as possible or else those challenges will lead us to an irreversible self-destructive path. Each of us must do our part to make the necessary changes and as architects, we must also take strict measures in our field.
Contribution of architecture to the worldly problems is limitless. First, it is polluting to mine and process the modern construction materials which all became scarcer and consequently more expensive. Second, concrete towers which we crowd into have nothing to do with creating societies. Third, we rely heavily on impure mechanical solutions while acclimatizing our residences. Fourth, we offer inadequate housing solutions to the numerous climates and societies on the globe. And the list goes on.
All these old attitudes seem helpless with housing the population within healthy, contented, and sustainable environments. Architects must take charge. However, can design tackle the big contemporary problems? It is not unrealistic to look back for an advice, when modern approaches seem useless. Our ancestors built viable environments. They used the perfect materials in the most suitable techniques. Their solutions were clearly region and culture specific ones. Many of the answers we seek may lay in the adaptation of previous methods. We clearly need to find a way to adapt a new urban vernacular architecture.
The strict definition of vernacular architecture is basically the architecture without the architect. This may seem helpless for our modern cities therefore we need to call the expanded definition: Related to the environmental contexts, available resources, and traditional techniques, vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs, accommodating values, economies and ways of living of the cultures produce them. Much can be learned from this most sustained architectural variant. In fact, what can be more sustainable than a vernacular structure, in both tangible and abstract terms?
Several specific samples of vernacular architecture have adaptable default features. The mud skyscrapers of Yemen, the round tulous of China, and Black Forest houses of Germany are just few to name. They all inhabited several families, worked perfectly with the local climate, and were built of regional materials and techniques. In fact, this adaptation issue in not totally alien. Many architects either studied vernacular architecture or inspired from them in their works. Charles Correa, Geoffrey Bawa, Hasan Fathy, Amos Rapoport, and Paul Oliver are the pioneers. We must also investigate their works before offering adaptation solutions.
As architects, we need to re-learn how to design positive housing environments furnished with social landscapes and exalted inhabitants. It is not a romantic approach. There is no doubt we will continue to use modern materials but with a greater attention. Adaptation phenomenon is the effort trying to link the best of the traditional with the best of the modern. Doing so, the mission of the new urban vernacular can be offering healthier, more pleasant, and more sustainable residences.

""El problema de proveer de hábitat a poblaciones de bajo ingreso, especialmente en los países en desarrollo, plantea un desafío social, ambiental y económico. Social, dado que la
construcción de hábitat constituye una cuestión crucial de desarrollo individual y comunitario. Ambiental, en término que la localización de poblaciones en distintas áreas urbanas y
periurbanas implican importantes impactos en el medio natural y antropizado, que según sus caracteristicas de diseño y planificación podrán tender a ser positivas o negativas.
Económica, ya que los Estados enfrenta crisis cada vez mayores para financiar programas sociales habitacionales, insuficientes además para enfrentar la creciente demanda de vivienda de los sectores populares, planteandose nuevos escenarios de actuación del sector público asociado al sector público, en el contexto de una estrategia de desarrollo económico local impulsada a partir de la planificación de los procesos de urbanización.
El enfoque de "mejores prácticas" constituye una iniciativa para selecciónar a nivel internacional obras emblemáticas de los nuevos enfoques de producción habitacional y planificación urbana tendientes al desarrollo sustentable, a partir de un conjunto de fundamentos consensuados por una red de instituciones académicas, gobiernos, y ONG's (Organizaciones no gubernamentales) convocados por la Comisión de Asentamientos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas.
El presente trabajo fué realizado sobre la base de un relevamiento de proyectos internacionales seleccionados como "mejores prácticas" por Naciones Unidas, que de alguna
manera representan tendencias emergentes a nivel de Latinoamerica, y por otra parte, un relevamiento de proyectos locales construídos en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, fundamentado
en los mismos principios; involucrando obras del gobierno local, el sector privado y las ONG's, analizando comparativamente sus distintas fortalezas y debilidades, en término de sus respectivos niveles de sustentabilidad, medidos en términos ambientales, sociales y económico-financiero.

Habitually presented as marginal and degraded zones, these settlements are not a result of real estate agencies speculation neither institutional activity, but a product of cooperation, social action and making more with less. Settlements configured by direct interaction on the human scale between the user and his environment, adapting them to particular and collective demands at the same time. It all leads to a spontaneous habitat, with valuable merits and an original spatial concept with their own complex characteristics. The study of these characteristics is an opportunity to understand a different urban dynamic and opens the discussion about the new strategies towards urban, environmental and social sustainability.This concept is expressed on two levels; in the architecture level on spontaneous houses, which in its transience are designed as object-cells in constant evolution. And in urban scale, shaping structures of communal spaces that have its own organization and identity, ...

EU's main approach to sustainable housing is promoting green practices/products within the building construction sectors SCs. EU Switch Asia program financed research conducted in Nepal, 2015, to understand the organization of SCs, identify factors/barriers affecting SCM and existing relationships, the reasons to adopt green concepts/approaches and recommend support for SMEs to strengthen the sector's management and sustainability. 109 companies, non-probabilistic snowball sampling and semi-closed questionnaires used in the survey. Conclusions: Companies create SCs to increase customer satisfaction, maintain long-term sales and retain clients. Size of company influences SCs organisation, SCM and using/producing green products/services; majority of participants had a person in the company to manage SC's and had very good knowledge of SC, SCM and greening issues. SMEs need support with: information/communication technology, promotion and improvement/development of green products/services. Government should: increases awareness of green building products/services; develop financial green incentives and simplify administrative procedures to buy solar products.

Studies indicate flexibility in space use in architectural design as enhancing core housing affordability. Despite this and the notion that intended residents cannot afford core houses, it is not yet documented what constitutes this attribute, and whether they featured in the core house designs. This information, required as a check for future designs, is lacking. Study examined flexibility in space use in architectural designs of existing public core housing schemes in Anambra State, Nigeria, using Mixed Method approach (data sourced from architectural drawings of existing prototypes, field observations and personal interview protocols). Observation schedule with "Yes" and "No" ratings was used in ascertaining reflection of the attribute in each of the 7 prototypes studied. The attribute was found featuring only in 1 out of the 7 prototypes. For affordability improvement, the paper recommends consideration of the variables constituting flexibility in space use i...

Purpose A solid legislative framework and a strong sense of environmental sensitivity by the government are some of the elements that have contributed to a sustained development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) in developed countries, especially within the building sector. In Mexico, a big portion of the sustainability strategy from this sector has been focused on social housing. For this reason, the main objective of this research is to analyze a possible path to incorporate EPDs as part of this sustainability strategy, determining its possible reach and limitations in the current context of Mexican environmental legislative framework for housing sector. Methods General information about the legislative framework supporting the government strategy for sustainability in the housing sector is presented. The main instruments and programs that have been developed to accomplish this strategy are analyzed. This analysis is made mainly through the National Strategy for Sustainable Housing (NSSH) because it organizes and correlates most of these instruments. An analysis is made on how the life cycle approach and EPDs are considered within the NSSH. Results and discussion There are instruments contemplating the life cycle approach and even the use of EPDs to promote the sustainability of the housing sector; however, these instruments are not part of the NSSH. Despite this, the majority of housing developers know and use them during their housing design process, but they do not do it properly, since they are unaware of the LCA methodology and EPDs. So, a proposal is made to fully incorporate the use of EPDs as part of the government’s sustainability strategy for the Mexican housing sector. The Sisevive-Ecohouse (the only official instrument in Mexico for the housing evaluation) is proposed as a platform. Incorporating the instruments that already contemplate the life cycle approach and the use of EPDs as part of the NSSH is also part of the proposed strategy. Conclusions The strategy for housing sustainability in Mexico is mainly focused on the houses’ use phase, so a paradigm shift on this strategy has to be made, where life cycle approach must be included. There is feasibility for EPDs to be used for this purpose from existing instruments and programs. Nevertheless, the lack of legislative connection in addition to the obstacles for EPD implementation in an emergent economy as Mexico could slow down its development.

Obtaining a home in Syria has been an equivalent to a strategic goal around which the life of the Syrian citizen revolves. Housing was one of the problematic crises before the war, which accelerated due to the war. Moreover, this turned into a humanitarian disaster, and the situation has become more urgent and requires immediate treatment. The solution of this demolition is not limited to an easy rebuilding and needs a more sustainable and qualified policy in order to prevent to turn back to the existing crisis before the war. This paper focuses on finding an appropriate strategy to respond to the housing crisis in Syria in the light of successful implementations of social housing. In order to achieve that, after a literature review of the general context of social housing, the Singapore social housing experience has been analyzed. Considering the housing problems and implementations in Syria (before and after the war) in a comparative evaluation with the Singapore experience, some strategies have been suggested, along with discussing the transfer of this experience to the Syrian context. Although applying a social housing system in a country that has had a failed experiment is not an easy task, the study proposes a list of recommendations for developing a social housing strategy based on a clear legal framework which also provides a base for social housing. In addition to defining all the criteria related to social housing, such as the target groups, the type of housing, the available financing methods, and focusing on urban planning and architecture for the importance of their role in creating a peaceful coexistence in the conflicting societies.

The cities of Saudi Arabia have perhaps the largest growth rates of cities in the Middle East,
such that it has become a cause in shortage of housing for mid and low-income families, as
is the case in other developing countries. Even when housing is found, it is not sustainable
nor is it providing the cultural needs of those families. The aim of this paper is to integrate
the unique conservative Islamic Saudi culture into the design of sustainable housing. This
paper is part of a preliminary study of an on-going PhD thesis, which utilises a semistructured interview of a panel of nine experts in collecting the data. The interviews
consisted of ten questions ranging from general questions such as stating their expertise
and work position to more specific question such as listing the critical success factors and/or
barriers for applying sustainability to housing in Saudi Arabia. Since the participants were
selected according to their experience, the answers to the interview questions were
satisfactory where the generation of the survey questions for the second stage in the PhD
thesis took place after analysing the participant’s answers to the interview questions. This
paper recommends design requirements for accommodating the conservative Islamic Saudi
Culture in low cost sustainable houses. Such requirements include achieving privacy
through the use of various types of traditional Saudi architectural elements, such as the
method of decorative screening of windows, called Mashrabiya, and having an inner
courtyard where the house looks inward rather than outward. Other requirements include
educating firms on how to design sustainable housing, educating the public on the
advantages of sustainable housing and implementing new laws that enforce the utilisation of
sustainable methods to housing construction. This paper contributes towards the body of
knowledge by proposing initial findings on how to integrate the conservative Islamic culture
of Saudi Arabia into the design of a sustainable house specifically for mid and low-income
families. This contribution can be implemented on developing countries in the region that
are faced with housing shortage for mid and low-income families.