Carter, K and Fortune, C (2007) Sustainable development policy perceptions and practice in the UK social housing sector. Construction Management and Economics, 25(4), pp. 399-408. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
Massive investment has been allocated by the UK government to improve the quality of its programme of rented social housing over the next five years. Central to the achievement of this aim will be the incorporation of sustainability features within the building projects associated with this development programme. A sustainable development policy that addresses environment, economy and society in equal measure is a new funding requirement for social housing projects. There is a gap between policy and practice in two areas: (i) the possession or otherwise of a sustainable development (SD) policy; and (ii) the relative importance given to differing features of sustainability. The perceptions and practice of built environment professionals involved in the procurement of sustainable housing schemes has been gauged regarding SD policy. Quantitative data were collected from a randomized sample of 338 developing registered social landlords (RSLs). The results show that only a minority of respondent organizations have developed a sustainable development policy and that environmental, economical and societal aspects of sustainability are not given equal weighting. This does not reflect governmental policy and suggests that sustainability is not being fully addressed in the procurement of social housing projects. Further work is needed to evaluate the links between sustainability and procurement approaches, and to model the benefits of delivering sustainable housing projects for RSLs in the UK.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | housing associations; housing development; policy; sustainability |
| Index terms: | social housing, sustainable housing, funding, minority, built environment, landlord, housing association, sustainable development, programme, housing development, relative importance, society |
| Subjects: | risk assessment, construction type, institutional client, economic analysis, health safety and environment, project controls, housing and residential development, sociology, infrastructure and transport systems, communities and social development |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Construction Technology, Urban Studies, Ethics, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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