Saied al Surf, M; Trigunarsyah, B and Susilawati, C (2013) Saudi Arabia's sustainable housing limitations: The experts' views. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 2(3), pp. 251-271. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to attempt to bridge the gap between sustainable housing and the use of smart technologies to improve the level of sustainability in the housing construction in Saudi Arabia, by discussing the barriers and enablers concerned with applying sustainability to housing construction in Saudi Arabia, which utilises smart technologies. A Delphi method survey was employed, for which 25 individuals from three key stakeholder groups of the Saudi housing sector participated. They were asked about their degree of agreement (or disagreement) about the various barriers and enablers of applying sustainability to housing construction in Saudi Arabia, which utilises smart technologies. This research paper must be considered as an indicative study of selected experts that do not represent in any way the total population of Saudi Arabia. Lack of public awareness has been identified as the most significant barrier in implementing sustainable housing development in Saudi Arabia, which utilises smart technologies. Raising awareness of the public to the benefits of sustainable housing and enlightening key project stakeholders in the design of sustainable housing are both essential in order to overcome the barriers discussed in this paper. In addition, it is important to adopt smart sustainable construction methods, exemplified by but not limited to, appropriate water preservation and wastewater treatment systems that are simultaneously smart and sustainable. This particular research has dealt with only barriers and enablers in the application of sustainability to housing in Saudi Arabia, which utilises smart technologies. For a more complete understanding, there is a need for further analysis of supplementary factors. A study such as this, which identifies and prioritises barriers and enablers, could prove useful in guiding or encouraging the relevant ministry in Saudi Arabia to develop policies founded in the implementation of sustainability to the housing sector. This research is a preliminary investigation into the implementation of sustainable housing development as it relates to Saudi Arabia.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | housing construction; housing problems; housing stakeholders; sustainable housing; Saudi Arabia |
| Index terms: | residential construction, investigation, sustainable housing, implementation, Saudi Arabia, Delphi method, project stakeholder, population, housing, sustainable construction, research paper, survey |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, data collection methods, research dissemination and communication, construction type, demography, housing and residential development, sociology, construction integration, Geography, sustainable construction |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Construction Technology, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here