A Framework for Environmentally Sustainable Social Housing in the UK

Environmental sustainability and social housing are closely intertwined concepts significantly influenced by the housing sector's design, construction and operation. In the UK, social housing accounts for 18 % of the total housing stock with 4.4 million homes and is responsible for 6.6 % of the country's energy consumption and 4.4 % of its carbon emissions. To tackle these challenges, the UK government has implemented various strategies, including improving sustainable building regulations, aiming for net zero emissions and promoting a sustainable and decarbonised housing sector. To utilise these strategies, a combination of voluntary and mandatory sustainability regulations and housing policy measures have been introduced. However, studies and reports by various scholars and governmental agencies indicate slow progress in achieving these national targets and raise concerns about their feasibility.
This PhD argues for the urgent need to develop a novel and simple framework for environmentally sustainable social housing. It challenges existing unsustainable practices, which appear inadequate due to the complexity and fragmentation of current policies and practices, as well as the widespread misconception of environmental sustainability among stakeholders and the lack of clear pathways to a sustainable future for housing. The study takes a three-part approach, consisting of conceptualisation review, an analysis of three case studies in England involving 114 social housing units, and 31 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including representative from housing associations, architects and sustainability designers and housing researchers.
The result of this study is a theoretically informed, practice-orientated framework that provides a coherent theoretical-practical basis for social housing perceptions, practices and regulatory frameworks. It explains the design and planning parameters, provides policy guidance and practice recommendations for realising environmentally sustainable social housing in the UK. Beyond its practical applications, this framework aims to influence nationwide policy reform and stimulate future research aimed at realising sustainable social housing through more streamlined and effective practices, policies, regulations and standards.