Sharmin, T and Khalid, R (2022) Post occupancy and participatory design evaluation of a marginalized low-income settlement in ahmedabad, India. Building Research & Information, 50(5), pp. 574-594. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
This paper presents a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of a participatory design project for a marginalized low-income community in Ahmedabad, India. Through a mixed-methods socio-technical approach, it presents an in-depth qualitative assessment of the architectural design and homeowners' use of and satisfaction with domestic spaces. Analysis shows that although a participatory design approach can lead to improved user satisfaction, it can have contradictory environmental and sustainability outcomes in low-income communities due to homeowner’s limited environmental awareness, aspirations for improved social standing, and financial constraints. Findings show that combining POE with participatory design can help recognize occupants' housing needs while also revealing various hierarchical agencies in participation and power dynamics within the built environment. It further substantiates the need for a socio-technical approach in POE that integrates environmental standards with occupants' contextual socio-cultural needs and incorporates plans for future socio-economic growth, while providing assessment of the design process itself and engagement with various stakeholders. The study shows that successful Building Performance Evaluations (BPE) should incorporate bottom-up participation through incremental, and affordable demonstration projects in housing developments that take account of localized socio-cultural contexts and allow more inclusive development through stakeholder integration for long-term sustainable transitions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | end-users' satisfaction; global South; low-income housing; participatory design; post-occupancy evaluation |
| Index terms: | economic growth, participatory design, India, user satisfaction, inclusive development, architectural design, income, post-occupancy evaluation, design process, stakeholder integration, low-income housing, socio-technical, homeowner, environmental awareness, agency, housing need, built environment, building performance evaluation, housing development, dynamics, satisfaction |
| Subjects: | participation process, construction type, infrastructure and transport systems, sociology, design methods, communities and social development, systems engineering, research methods, design practice, building performance, Geography, environmental behaviour, evaluation methods, economic development, project delivery, client relations, economic analysis, housing and residential development |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Urban Studies, Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Quality Management, Design Practice, Construction Technology, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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