Energy Sufficiency in Buildings and Cities
How can conditions be created for decent living standards for all without exceeding planetary limits?
Energy and climate policies have tended to focus on the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energies, but there is no evidence that these measures alone will be able to meet climate and sustainable development goals. This special issue explores what the concept of sufficiency means for the built environment - both as a floor (minimum) and a ceiling (maximum) to ensure a "good life". Sufficiency is explored in many interconnected issues such as land use and density, space usage (size and adaptability), sharing of goods, services and spaces, and space conditioning (heating, cooling and ventilation) for health.
Guest editors: Tina Fawcett, Sarah Darby & Marlyne Sahakian
The papers in this special issue contribute to shared understandings around sufficiency among diverse actors including professionals and members of civil society; how studies aim at assessing the potential of sufficiency measures; what efforts are being made to learn from and build on existing sufficiency measures, as well as initiatives that seek to experiment with sufficiency; and what conceptual advances are being put forward relevant to sufficiency research and action.
In addition to energy, some papers in this special issue focus on one of the most difficult discussions around sufficiency in housing: reducing housing space per person. It is feasible to frame sufficiency as a way to promote wellbeing and the good life i.e. live better while consuming less.
Other papers help to chart future directions for research and action by relating to theories of justice, focusing on elite consumption, or considering ways to engage in sufficiency with existing material and institutional arrangements.
There is likely to be increased demand for reliable basic modern energy services from hundreds of millions of people who do not yet have access to them. How can these be met in ways that avoid the huge environmental and social costs of the last two centuries? The question of justice is integral to these reflections, particularly justice in recognition — of vulnerabilities, of limited agency, and of unacknowledged over- and under-consumption
Table of contents
Energy sufficiency in buildings and cities: current research, future directions [editorial]
M.
Sahakian, T. Fawcett &
S.
Darby
Living smaller: acceptance, effects and structural factors in the EU
M. Lehner, J.
L. Richter, H. Kreinin, P. Mamut, E. Vadovics, J. Henman, O. Mont & D.
Fuchs
Are people willing to share space? Household preferences in Finland
E. Ruokamo,
E. Kylkilahti, M. Lettenmeier & A. Toppinen
Sufficiency, consumption patterns and limits: a survey of French households
J. Bouillet & C. Grandclément
Imagining sufficiency through collective changes as satisfiers
O. Moynat
& M. Sahakian
Provide or prevent? Exploring sufficiency imaginaries within Danish systems of provision
L. K. Aagaard & T. H.
Christensen
‘Rightsize’: a housing design game for spatial and energy sufficiency
P. Graham, P.
Nourian, E. Warwick & M. Gath-Morad
US urban land-use reform: a strategy for energy sufficiency
Z. M. Subin,
J. Lombardi, R. Muralidharan, J. Korn, J. Malik, T. Pullen, M. Wei &
Tianzhen Hong
Operationalising energy sufficiency for low-carbon built environments in urbanising India
A. Lall &
G. Sethi
Operationalising building-related energy sufficiency measures in SMEs
I. Fouiteh,
J. D. Cabrera Santelices, A. Susini & M. K. Patel
Implementing housing policies for a sufficient lifestyle
M. Bagheri,
L. Roth, L. Siebke, C. Rohde & H.-J. Linke
Promoting neighbourhood sharing: infrastructures of convenience and community
A. Huber, H.
Heinrichs & M. Jaeger-Erben
New insights into thermal comfort sufficiency in dwellings
G. van
Moeseke, D. De Grave, A. Anciaux, J. Sobczak & G. Wallenborn
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Latest Peer-Reviewed Journal Content
Spatiotemporal evaluation of embodied carbon in urban residential development
I Talvitie, A Amiri & S Junnila
Energy sufficiency in buildings and cities: current research, future directions [editorial]
M Sahakian, T Fawcett & S Darby
Sufficiency, consumption patterns and limits: a survey of French households
J Bouillet & C Grandclément
Health inequalities and indoor environments: research challenges and priorities [editorial]
M Ucci & A Mavrogianni
Operationalising energy sufficiency for low-carbon built environments in urbanising India
A B Lall & G Sethi
Promoting practices of sufficiency: reprogramming resource-intensive material arrangements
T H Christensen, L K Aagaard, A K Juvik, C Samson & K Gram-Hanssen
Culture change in the UK construction industry: an anthropological perspective
I Tellam
Are people willing to share living space? Household preferences in Finland
E Ruokamo, E Kylkilahti, M Lettenmeier & A Toppinen
Towards urban LCA: examining densification alternatives for a residential neighbourhood
M Moisio, E Salmio, T Kaasalainen, S Huuhka, A Räsänen, J Lahdensivu, M Leppänen & P Kuula
A population-level framework to estimate unequal exposure to indoor heat and air pollution
R Cole, C H Simpson, L Ferguson, P Symonds, J Taylor, C Heaviside, P Murage, H L Macintyre, S Hajat, A Mavrogianni & M Davies
Finnish glazed balconies: residents’ experience, wellbeing and use
L Jegard, R Castaño-Rosa, S Kilpeläinen & S Pelsmakers
Modelling Nigerian residential dwellings: bottom-up approach and scenario analysis
C C Nwagwu, S Akin & E G Hertwich
Mapping municipal land policies: applications of flexible zoning for densification
V Götze, J-D Gerber & M Jehling
Energy sufficiency and recognition justice: a study of household consumption
A Guilbert
Linking housing, socio-demographic, environmental and mental health data at scale
P Symonds, C H Simpson, G Petrou, L Ferguson, A Mavrogianni & M Davies
Measuring health inequities due to housing characteristics
K Govertsen & M Kane
Provide or prevent? Exploring sufficiency imaginaries within Danish systems of provision
L K Aagaard & T H Christensen
Imagining sufficiency through collective changes as satisfiers
O Moynat & M Sahakian
US urban land-use reform: a strategy for energy sufficiency
Z M Subin, J Lombardi, R Muralidharan, J Korn, J Malik, T Pullen, M Wei & T Hong
Mapping supply chains for energy retrofit
F Wade & Y Han
Operationalising building-related energy sufficiency measures in SMEs
I Fouiteh, J D Cabrera Santelices, A Susini & M K Patel
Promoting neighbourhood sharing: infrastructures of convenience and community
A Huber, H Heinrichs & M Jaeger-Erben
New insights into thermal comfort sufficiency in dwellings
G van Moeseke, D de Grave, A Anciaux, J Sobczak & G Wallenborn
‘Rightsize’: a housing design game for spatial and energy sufficiency
P Graham, P Nourian, E Warwick & M Gath-Morad
Implementing housing policies for a sufficient lifestyle
M Bagheri, L Roth, L Siebke, C Rohde & H-J Linke
The jobs of climate adaptation
T Denham, L Rickards & O Ajulo
Structural barriers to sufficiency: the contribution of research on elites
M Koch, K Emilsson, J Lee & H Johansson
Life-cycle GHG emissions of standard houses in Thailand
B Viriyaroj, M Kuittinen & S H Gheewala
IAQ and environmental health literacy: lived experiences of vulnerable people
C Smith, A Drinkwater, M Modlich, D van der Horst & R Doherty
Living smaller: acceptance, effects and structural factors in the EU
M Lehner, J L Richter, H Kreinin, P Mamut, E Vadovics, J Henman, O Mont & D Fuchs
Disrupting the imaginaries of urban action to deliver just adaptation [editorial]
V Castán-Broto, M Olazabal & G Ziervogel
Building energy use in COVID-19 lockdowns: did much change?
F Hollick, D Humphrey, T Oreszczyn, C Elwell & G Huebner
Evaluating past and future building operational emissions: improved method
S Huuhka, M Moisio & M Arnould
Normative future visioning: a critical pedagogy for transformative adaptation
T Comelli, M Pelling, M Hope, J Ensor, M E Filippi, E Y Menteşe & J McCloskey
Nature for resilience reconfigured: global- to-local translation of frames in Africa
K Rochell, H Bulkeley & H Runhaar
How hegemonic discourses of sustainability influence urban climate action
V Castán Broto, L Westman & P Huang
Fabric first: is it still the right approach?
N Eyre, T Fawcett, M Topouzi, G Killip, T Oreszczyn, K Jenkinson & J Rosenow
Social value of the built environment [editorial]
F Samuel & K Watson
Understanding demolition [editorial]
S Huuhka
Data politics in the built environment [editorial]
A Karvonen & T Hargreaves
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