Are health issues being adequately integrated into sustainable housing policy and developments? A preliminary assessment

Abstract

Sustainability of the built environment is becoming an increasingly prominent issue in academic and policy discussions in the UK and EU. Initiatives such as the Code for Sustainable Homes in the UK have been developed to aid the integration of sustainability principles into housing developments. The primary focus of policy initiatives, incentives and sustainable housing demonstrator developments has been largely on environmental sustainability, particularly energy efficiency, waste minimisation and ecological construction methods. However, in line with the definition of sustainable development, sustainable housing must encompass social and economic factors alongside environmental concerns. Drawing from an ongoing study investigating health impacts of sustainable housing, the article firstly outlines three key reasons why health and well-being need greater consideration within current sustainable housing policy and developments. These are: (i) Creation of greater market demand: Public demand for sustainable buildings could be enhanced through greater promotion of health within sustainable housing policies and availability of empirical evidence of enhanced well-being associated with such dwellings; (ii) Time-scales: Longevity of buildings means that health considerations are necessary to avoid any possible future adverse effects; and, (iii) Indirect societal benefits: Enhanced health and well-being can lead to wider societal and economic benefits such as lower healthcare costs and higher productivity. The paper then presents some of the seminal findings from health and housing literature review, outlining the current state of knowledge and research trends, and how these can be used to enhance sustainable housing policy and developments. The paper concludes by presenting the next stages of research in the study.