Transcript Slide 1

Valuing sustainability in housing?:
Case study of a new community in York
Deborah Quilgars, Alison Dyke, Becky Tunstall and Sarah West
Stockholm Environment Institute &
Centre for Housing Policy
Policy background I
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The Climate Change Act 2008 requires an 80% cut on 1990
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (in UK and elsewhere) (HM
Government, 2011).
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In 2009, 37% of UK CO2 emissions resulted directly from
heating and powering buildings (HM Government 2011). By
2050, all buildings should have an emissions footprint close to
zero.
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To date, low-energy housing has resulted in lower ‘as built’ and
‘as used’ performance than expected (eg. JRF/JRHT 2012, MilesShenton et al. 2012, Bell et al. 2010).
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42% UK CO2 emissions results from actions taken by
individuals, linked to housing, food, energy and personal travel
(Haq and Owen 2011). Considerable disparities in emissions by
socio-economic group.
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Policy background II
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At least three types of variables that can influence behaviour
(Hungerford and Volk, 1990):
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Entry level variables (particularly environmental sensitivity/ values);
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Ownership variables (including in-depth knowledge about, and personal
investment in, environmental issues)
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Empowerment variables (how much impact someone believes their
actions can have)
Nature of knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, motivations & actions,
and links between them are complex (Cabinet Office 2011).
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Information, motivation, and support can serve as complements to good
design (eg. Cabinet Office 2011).
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Group activities appear to be an important element in the most successful
energy behaviour change interventions (eg. Mulugetta et al. 2010,
Heiskanen et al. 2011).
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Introduction to Derwenthorpe
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Mixed tenure development of 540 new homes, 2012-2016
(2019). Developed by JRHT and David Wilson Homes.
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Two key aims:
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to support/ promote more sustainable patterns of
energy use;
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promote community development
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Level 4 Code for Sustainable Homes
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Phase 1 won a national design award as an ‘exemplar’ of
low energy design (and local awards)
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Urban extension of York, c 3m from City Centre
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Derwenthorpe: Four phases
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16 designs in Phase 1
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Interventions : Home
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High levels of insulation, airtightness and high
performance UPVC windows
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Biomass boiler for home and water heating
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Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system
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Wintergarden
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Low energy fittings (light bulbs; white goods etc)
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Low water use taps
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Outside drying facilities
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Garden water butt; compost bin
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1.1 car parking space per home
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Interventions: Community
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Green space; pond; landscaping
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KIDS Zone play areas
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Cycleway
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Free bus pass
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Free car club membership
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Bicycle buying discount scheme
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Community activities
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JRHT community development role
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Derwenthorpe: Playground and
Energy Centre
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Derwenthorpe: Pond/ Green spaces
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Research aims
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To find out the extent to which Derwenthorpe meets its
aims of creating an environmentally (and socially
sustainable) community
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What might we expect to find?
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Energy consumption will be lower than residents’ previous
homes and comparable households, but higher than ‘as
built’ data would predict.
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Resident carbon footprints will vary and reduce after movein as people learn about their homes.
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Some interventions will be successful and replicable.
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Residents will be at least as satisfied with homes and
neighbourhood, as the best of other similar communities
(and energy use interventions will contribute to this).
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Research methods
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In-depth research with a panel sample of one fifth of
households (N=36; 16 to date)
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Tracking ecological footprints using Reap Petite survey
(http://www.reap-petite.com)
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Measures household consumption (home heat and
power, food, travel, shopping , leisure activities, other)
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Takes about 15 minutes; can make pledges
National and local comparators, including
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Lancaster Co-Housing Scheme - 41 properties and a
common house; Level 6 Code for Sustainable Homes
and Passiv Haus standard:
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Carbon footprinting
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One way of calculating carbon footprints is using
environmentally extended input-output models. These models
link carbon emissions associated with different sectors of an
economy, the financial transactions that take place in each
sector, and emissions associated with different product groups
(Minx et al 2009 gives an overview of the model used).
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This type of model is behind Reap-Petite.
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Reap-Petite takes multi-regional approach which means that as
well as calculating the indirect emissions that occur in the UK,
the models include emissions that are associated with overseas
production.
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As well as measuring carbon emissions, REAP also calculates
emissions of other greenhouse gases, and converts them to
carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), giving a “carbon footprint”
that incorporates all the major greenhouse gases.
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Moving to Derwenthorpe
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Most important factor in choosing Derwenthorpe:
the homes themselves, particularly space and
design.
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The next most important factor was the location,
being relatively close to the city centre but with a
less urban feel.
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Over half interviewees mentioned the green
elements of the scheme, but this was usually a
subsidiary factor in choice to buy or to accept the
Derwenthorpe offer.
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What do people think of their homes?
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16/18 respondents ‘very satisfied’ with accommodation
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Design important: Light, space, height (ceilings;
building), accessibility standards, external also praised
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The house probably feels bigger because it’s full of light!
And high ceilings. (Resident)
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The other good thing is that the houses are built so you can
stay forever. As the houses are built with the width you
need… (Resident)
Improvements?
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Need for flexible finishing of the internal layouts and decoration
options.
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Kitchens and bathrooms fixtures and fittings could be of a higher
quality specification
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What do people think of their homes?
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Heating and power:
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getting used to systems
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concern over billing (and communication over this
issue)
Number of issues with MVHR system; greater control
desired; some improvements in air quality reported
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…it was like sleeping under a jumbo-jet, we turned it off after the 24
hours because you just couldn’t tolerate the noise!... (Resident)
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The atmosphere in the house, from the air point of view, it’s really nice,
it’s really fresh, you can feel it’s a good breathing space. (Resident)
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What do people think of their homes?
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Mixed views on Wintergarden – some really liked them
but most were unsure of its use and purpose
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Some residents had disabled water temperature restrictors
– need for further investigation
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Size of gardens okay. Possible improvements around
layout of patio, laying of lawns, tree planting
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Not many people using compost bins (‘I fear this mountain
of compost that I can’t get rid of!’)– but high level of interest
in communal food growing
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Some take up of cycle voucher; just a few using car club/
bus pass
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What do people think of their new
community?
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14/18 respondents ‘very satisfied’ with local area as a
place to live
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Most people felt there was ‘a sense of community’ and
believed that Derwenthorpe would become a strong
community
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People like a village feel:
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And I do quite like living in the village environment, I think that is really
nice for the children, that they are going to grow up in a nice place now...
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Green areas, pond and play area appreciated; some
nuisance/ anti-social behaviour reported
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Residents using communal resource; lots of interest in
developing further activities using this facility
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Derwenthorpe carbon footprints
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Average (mean) carbon footprint better than York average
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‘Housing’ footprint much lower, but slightly higher for
transport
Sector
Overall score
Housing
(Power)
Travel
Food
Consumables
(Shopping)
Services
(Activities)
Other
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Example
Electricity use in home,
energy efficiency
measures
Car, flights etc
Meat consumption
Clothes, footwear,
household appliances
Tobacco, theatre trips,
audio-visual equipment
Government spending on
roads
Derwenthorpe
REAP Petite
scores (2013)
(Average)
15.47
1.32
York carbon
footprint (average)
5.11
2.25
1.96
4.41
2.51
1.98
0.98
1.16
2.65
2.65
16.73
4.01
Derwenthorpe resident footprints
35
30
Individual footprint CO2e
25
Other
20
Activities
Shopping
15
Food
Transport
Housing
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Derwenthorpe individual footprints (anonymised)
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15
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19
20
Environmental Impact
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Environmental impact
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Other green initiatives requested included:
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Solar panels
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Community garden (up and running!)
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Allotments
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Bug hunts
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Charging point for electric cars
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Remote controls for heating in homes
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Communal composting
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Implications for housing policy
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Need more than high environmental credentials to attract
people to sustainable housing developments
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Can have significant impact on housing footprint – but
need other initiatives to impact on wider carbon footprint
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Debate point: To what extent do we wish to influence
attitudes and behaviour? Role for environmental
stewardship?
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Empirical question: To what extent can we influence
housing/ environmental attitudes and behaviour? Watch
this space!
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Thanks for listening
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Research Team:
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Deborah Quilgars & Becky Tunstall, CHP
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www.york.ac.uk/chp/
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Sarah West & Alison Dyke, SEI
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www.york.ac.uk/sei/
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