HOUSING VALUES: THE CONTRIBUTION OF PEOPLE -ENVIRONMENT STUDIES FOR HOUSING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE. Roderick J. Lawrence.

Transcription

1 HOUSING VALUES: THE CONTRIBUTION OF PEOPLE -ENVIRONMENT STUDIES FOR HOUSING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE Roderick J. Lawrence

2 WH0 S WHO Architectural practice in Sydney IAPS Housing Network (1986) Housing, Dwellings and Homes: Design theory, research and practice. John Wiley. (1987) ENHR Working Group on Housing Quality Research & Action Research Transdisciplinary Inquiry Rethinking Housing: Making Sense of Housing. Infolio. (2015) (Melbourne)

3 CONTENT INTRODUCTION PART I: WHAT IS THE FIELD OF PEOPLE-ENVIRONMENT STUDIES AND HOW IS IT APPLIED TO HOUSING? PART II: A REVIEW OF CONTRIBUTIONS (1960s-2000s) PART III: TRANSDISCIPLINARITY: OVERCOMING THE APPLICABILITY GAP? CONCLUSION

4 INTRODUCTION I: WHAT IS THE FIELD OF PEOPLE-ENVIRONMENT STUDIES AND HOW IS IT APPLIED TO HOUSING? (Vancouver)

5 INDIVIDUALS - SOCIETY - ENVIRONMENT - BIOSPHERE (Source: H. Barton et al. (2009). Health promotion International, 24i91-199).

6 WHAT IS HUMAN ECOLOGY? Human Ecology founded in 1920s: Basic principles: Reciprocal nature of peopleenvironment relations Human ecosystems are open to external factors Human regulatory mechanisms: adaptation and resilience for sustenance Co-evolution over time: changes to ecosystems can reflect orlead to changes in human behaviour (Vancouver)

7 APPLICATIONS OF HUMAN ECOLOGY Living Conditions and Health Status in Chicago R. Park, E. Burgess, & R. McKenzie The City: Suggestions for the study of human nature in the urban environment.(university of Chicago Press, 1925).

8 APPLICATIONS OF HUMAN ECOLOGY Living Conditions and Health Status in Hong Kong Stephen Boyden et al. The Ecology of a City and its People: the case of Hong Kong. (Australian National University Press, 1981).

9 PART I DISCIPLINARY CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF PEOPLE - ENVIRONMENT STUDIES 1960s Anthropology Human Geography Sociology Psychology (architectural, environmental) 2000s

10 EXAMPLE: PEOPLE - ENVIRONMENT STUDIES sociology geography psychology groups locality, territory individuals social status place self lifestyles domestic life personal identity appropriation place identity architecture and planning

11 PART I : RETHINKING HOUSING VALUES. Housing is a product (a housing unit, a residential building or the housing stock) Housing is a process (the provision and maintenance of housing, habitus) How should housing be studied? (Lisbon)

12 What is housing design and planning?. It is intentional: interpretations as product interpretations as process It is goal oriented: intended vs. actual uses (Nyon) Multiple functions & values: a complex domain.

13 Q: How can housing be studied? If housing is a multidimensional human construct then research on: cultural societal- economic, legal, political, technical demographic- households, migration flows geographical- location, climate, resources group and individual human factors are important. Example: Personal space, collective space, public space Transition spaces

14 Q: How can housing be studied? If we accept that housing is a processthen : - a temporal perspective is necessary in order to analyse -housing history, change in housing production and consumption patterns (house size, construction, location, etc) - building cycles, household cycles -lifecycles &residential biographies(physical and mental appropriation, residential identity, etc). Example: Residential biographies

15 Key Question How can housing assimilate changing needs and uses of space over time? Example: Inclusive housing (Norway)

16 Key Question How adaptable are new housing concepts, technologies, building materials, management structures and housing designs to continuity and changes in lifestyles and values? Example: Integrating innovative Technologies in existing buildngs (Switzerland)

17 PART II: A REVIEW OF CONTRIBUTIONS CLASS I Housing Economic, & Policy Studies CLASS 2 People and Housing (PES) (Meyrin, Geneva)

18 CLASS 1 : HOUSING ECONOMIC & POLICY STUDIES Urban and Housing Policies, Markets and Institutions Housing Supply and Demand Historical/Long-term Perspective (Stockholm)

19 CLASS 1: COMMON INTERPRETATIONS AVAILABILITY - Number of housing units - Number of households Locality access to employment, education and social services QUALITY - What is housing quality - How should it be explicitly related to housing and urban polices AFFORDABILITY - Cost of housing - Income of households 19

20 CLASS 1 : HOUSING ECONOMIC & POLICY STUDIES Quantitative methods statistical analysis (census returns about households and housing construction) Short-term or static interpretations (economic cycles, building construction cycles) Cross-sectional or global studies (specific groups, spatial locations)

21 MULTIPLE MONETARY & NON-MONETARY VALUES Demand? Supply Is there a problem with rental housing? Analysis of Core indcators of housing attractivity : Cost/Quality Floor area per person Vacancy rate in building Rotation rate of tenants Residential satisfaction and Wish to Move If there is a problem then an indepth analysis is necessary. 21

22 HOUSING DEMAND HOUSING SUPPLY Residents Building users Building owners - Use & Values - Satisfaction - Lifestyle - Mobility - Objectives - Standards - Regulations - Anticipation Local Authorities National Authorities Laws & Regulations GEOGRAPHICAL SCALES Housing Unit Building & Site Neighbourhood PHYSICAL FABRIC of HOUSING STOCK QUALITIES of HABITAT TEMPORAL PERSPECTIVE Past Present Future SOCIETAL FACTORS HOUSING MARKET SOCIAL GEO POLITICAL FACTORS ENLARGED KNOWLEDGE BASE

23 CLASS 1 : HOUSING ECONOMIC & POLICY STUDIES What is missing? Qualitative approaches (are very rare) Architectural/technical dimensions Cultural dimensions Psychological dimensions are often forgotten & Fundamental methodological questions (the interpretation of statistics).

24 CLASS 2 : STUDIES OF PEOPLE & HOUSING Multidisciplinary contributions: Architectural & spatial studies (plans, surveys) Functional analysis (uses of housing) Cross-cultural studies (fieldwork) Sociological studies (surveys, observations) Psychological studies (surveys, experiments) Historical/temporal perspective (archives) Housing layout/site planning (site plans).

25 CLASS 2 : STUDIES OF PEOPLE & HOUSING Quantitative approaches spatial analysis, household activity patterns, psychological and sociological interpretations Houses and People residents are design agents in many participatory approaches House and Peopleare both product and process Key concepts Inherent adaptability, Appropriation, Dwelling, Home, Place making, Home, Transition spaces

26 What is missing? CLASS 2 : STUDIES OF PEOPLE & HOUSING Little concern for political dimensions Little concern for economic dimensions Little concern for health Fundamental methodological questions (case study generalisations, sampling, statistical reliability, etc.)

27 PART III: INTERDISCIPLINARY & TRANSDISCPLINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TRANSGRESSING DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES Housing research & practice needs: - Many disciplinary competences - Effective team work - Efficient communication & coordination - Integration. How?

28 Housing Quality, Energy, Resource Use & Health CO-BENEFITS. Reduce consumption Affordable warmth Quality of Life HOUSING Energy Efficiency Reduce illness HEALTH Investment in Housing Stock Reduce Resource Use Local Air Quality Medical care Local & Global Sustainability Sustainable Issues Demand on Health Services

29 SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT DATABASES Geo-referenced data of population and housing stock Geo-referenced data and statistics of municipalities Geo-referenced data of socio-health information Links Topographical maps Database for each individual and household included in the housing and health survey SPSS Database of results of field work & survey SPSS

30 CLARIFYING TERMINOLOGY FROM DISCIPLINE TO TRANSDISCIPLINARITY (BY COURTESY OF THIERRY RAMADIER) DISCIPLINE MULTIDISCIPLINARITY INTERDISCIPLINARITY TRANSDISCIPLINARITY DISCIPLINARY THINKING

31 Inter-& Trans- disciplinary Contributions Cognitive dimension Integration Organisation of knowledge Interdisciplinary project Synthesis Collaboration Organisation of collaborative work Practical dimension (Source : N. Rege Colet)

32 CONCLUSION CHALLENGING BUSINESS AS USUAL Decision makers Values Scientific knowledge Professional expertise Civil society Example: Housing

33 CO-PRODUCTION CONCLUSION Housing for society or housing with society! KNOWLEDGE RESEARCHERS URBAN KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE ARENA PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONERS DECISION MAKERS STAKEHOLDERS KNOW-HOW

34 How can we apply Housing Values? CORE VALUES Aesthetic values, Use values, Symbolic values, Maintenance & Running Costs, Market Values. DOMESTIC CULTURE HOUSING RESEARCH CULTURAL & SOCIAL IDENTITIES HOUSING POLICIES HOUSING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

35 CONCLUSION Need for innovative contributions: recent examples interdisciplinarity - the residential context of health transdisciplinarity - collaborative planning in residential neighbourhoods Need for systematic monitoring and data collection But who is responsible?

36 . References R.J. Lawrence (1986). Le Seuil franchi : Logement populaire et vie quotidienne en Suisse romande, Georg Editeur. R.J. Lawrence (1987). Housing, Dwellings and Homes: Design theory, research and practice. John Wiley. R.J. Lawrence (2001). Human Ecology. In M. Tolba (ed.) Our Fragile World: Challenges and opportunities for sustainable development, vol.1, pp UNESCO & Eolss. R.J. Lawrence (2002). Healthy residential environments. In R. Bechtel & A. Churchman (eds.) Handbook of environmental psychology, pp John Wiley. R.J. Lawrence & C. Despres (eds.) (2004). Futures of Transdisciplinarity. Futures, vol.36, no.4: pp R.J. Lawrence (2010). Beyond disciplinary confinement to imaginative transdisciplinarity. In V. Brown, J. Harris & J. Russell (eds.) Tackling wicked problems through the transdisciplinary imagination, pp Earthscan.