The Exploration of Attitudinal Issues and Decision-Making of Key Stakeholders in Sustainable Housing Development

Alder SJ¹, Yang J¹*

1. School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Sustainable housing is a paradigm that invokes a strong interest among many Australians. With much research already conducted in relation to sustainable design and innovative technologies in the building industry, it is believed that a need exists to examine the gaps between the increasing number of exemplar projects for smart and sustainable development in the residential sector and the continuing dominance of project homes on the market.

Over the last decade, many intelligent, green and eco homes have emerged as exemplars. To a large degree, they concentrate mainly on technical solutions, typically dealing with energy efficiency, water usage, and choice of building materials. Most were developed on an ad-hoc basis following passive design principles and strategies. While these technical aspects are important and will continue to be explored, the economic and social aspects of sustainable housing, and in particular the integrated considerations, need to be properly addressed in order to bridge the gaps.

This paper will focus on the attitudinal patterns and behavioural issues of both the developer and home buyer from a management point of view. Engaging these major stakeholders will help identify key drivers and define an acceptable balance between factors that influence the adoption of sustainable housing. The paper refers to the preliminary findings of an on-going research, which aims to engage stakeholders in the housing industry, in a process that identifies how smart and sustainable housing can be better promoted and eventually adopted as standard practice in the Australian housing industry.

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