SUSTAINABILITY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSIN

SUSTAINABILITY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PROJECTS
The notion of sustainability is very broad and used in different ways by different
researchers. The World Commission on Environment and Development defined
sustainable development as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987, p.8). In the
context of housing, Priemus (2005, p.5) defines sustainability as the minimisation of
negative impacts of housing development on the environment. Lawrence (2000) takes
a broader perspective by considering not only the environmental but also the social
impacts of housing development. Yates et al. (2008, p.8) take a systems viewpoint,
defining a sustainable housing system as one that is fiscally sustainable and allows
successive generations to gain access to appropriate and affordable housing. In
business literature, the concept of ‘triple bottom line’ is defined as an approach which
measures success of projects and organisations by looking not only at their financial
bottom line, but also the social and environmental impacts of their activity (Norman &
MacDonald 2004, p.243).
Our approach in this study is based on the notion that social, environmental and
financial outcomes all need to be considered in the evaluation of affordable housing
projects. In this chapter, we discuss the key environmental, social and financial
considerations that are relevant to the design, development and operation of
affordable housing. These, in turn, are central in shaping our research method, as we
discuss in Chapter 3.

Results (English) 1:

SUSTAINABILITY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSINGPROJECTSThe notion of sustainability is very broad and used in different ways by differentresearchers. The World Commission on Environment and Development definedsustainable development as ' meeting the needs of the present without compromisingthe ability of future generations to meet their own needs "(WCED 1987, p. 8). In thecontext of housing, Priemus (2005, p. 5) defines sustainability as the minimisation ofnegative impacts of housing development on the environment. Lawrence (2000) takesa broader perspective by considering not only the environmental but also the socialimpacts of housing development. Yates et al. (2008, p. 8) take a systems viewpoint,defining a sustainable housing system as one that is fiscally sustainable and allowssuccessive generations to gain access to appropriate and affordable housing. Printbusiness literature, the concept of the ' triple bottom line ' is defined as an approach whichmeasures success of projects and organisations by looking not only at their financialbottom line, but also the social and environmental impacts of their activity (Norman &Macdonald, 2004, p. 243).Our approach in this study is based on the notion that social, environmental andfinancial outcomes all need to be considered in the evaluation of affordable housingprojects. In this chapter, we discuss the key environmental, social and financialconsiderations that are relevant to the design, development and operation ofaffordable housing. These, in turn, are central in shaping our research method, as wediscuss in Chapter 3.