3.1. “Soft” Features of Sustainable Housing and Neighbourhood Design
The “soft” features of sustainable housing and neighbourhood design for use in the survey were identified through a two stage process (
Figure 1) [
18]. Given that a framework based approach is a more appropriate way to define and discuss the concept of sustainable housing [
7,
9], a broad framework for sustainable housing with an emphasis on health and well-being was developed. An extensive review was carried out of the sustainable housing literature as well as housing and health research, and, from this review, 28 housing characteristics were identified as components of this framework given their importance to healthy and sustainable housing.
Figure 1.
Summary schematic of the process used to identify 11 “soft” features of sustainable housing and neighbourhood design.
Figure 1.
Summary schematic of the process used to identify 11 “soft” features of sustainable housing and neighbourhood design.
The second stage involved a content analysis of eight sustainable housing standards. These eight standards from the UK and abroad (The Code for Sustainable Homes (UK), BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment (UK); R-2000 (Canada), High Quality Environmental standard (France), Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (Japan), SB Tool (International), GreenStar (Australia), and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (US)) were used to broadly represent industry’s best practice, and each of the 28 components of the sustainable and healthy housing framework were reviewed against these standards to ascertain the level to which they have been addressed. The 11 aspects that received least coverage (
Figure 1) are the focus of the remainder of the study. These were labelled as the “soft” features of sustainable housing because they are all non-technological elements of housing and neighbourhood design that can have an indirect, but nevertheless important impact on the health and well-being of residents and the satisfaction with their homes [
19].
The 11 “soft” features, also described in more detail in [
19], and why they are important factors to the quality of life, particularly to health and well-being, are as follows:
Suitable indoor space (F1): Research evidence suggests that inadequate space in the home can negatively affect educational outcomes of children, family relationships as well as the well-being of individuals [
20]. These effects can arise through lack of space to socialise with household members and guests, lack of privacy (e.g., inability to work, study and relax in a quiet environment), through the impact on diet and nutrition due to inadequate space for food preparation, as well as limited opportunities to pursue certain hobbies or keep a pet [
2,
21,
22,
23].
Private outdoor space (F2): Benefits of gardens tend to be dependent on cultural values; however, depending on their size, private gardens can offer opportunities for creativity and self-expression, exercise and restoration from stress, personal satisfaction from sense of achievement, relaxation, socialising, and food production [
24,
25].
Adaptability of the dwelling (F3): Internal space and layout should be designed in a way that would allow areas of the dwelling to be adapted, converted or extended reflecting the changing circumstances of the occupants and ensuring a greater lifespan of the home. The inability to adapt a home can have a negative impact on the quality of life due to crowding, lack of privacy, reduced mobility and the generally reduced ability to fully participate in day-to-day activities such as food preparation, reducing comfort and pride in one’s home [
21]. Such restrictions will be particularly felt by those who cannot afford to move. However, those who are able to move home to meet their space needs may experience indirect negative consequences such as disrupted social relationships, greater financial strain and the stress of moving.
Compatibility with local architectural heritage (F4): The exterior design of housing is not merely a personal matter of aesthetic preference. As a component of culture [
13], housing is a public good that becomes a part of the landscape and the heritage of a nation [
26]. By helping people to identify with the past and their heritage, new housing developments that are sensitive to the local vernacular can foster a sense of belonging and help enhance the quality of life [
15,
27].
Features in the neighbourhood for informal social interaction (F5): There is growing evidence that affirmative social interaction and support can have a number of positive health and well-being effects mental health mood, anxiety and stress levels [
28]. While housing and neighbourhood design itself cannot develop social networks, provision of certain features (e.g., seating areas, playgrounds, picnic sites, communal gardens) can facilitate the growth of social interactions and support existing ones. Such features can therefore not only contribute to quality of life and well-being, particularly for the less mobile societal groups such as the elderly [
29], but also promote the growth of social capital, thereby supporting the development of strong and sustainable communities [
30].
Accessible and good quality public greenspace (F6): There is a substantial and growing body of research building the evidence base for a positive impact that natural environments have on physical and mental health and well-being (e.g., [
31,
32]). While the exact links have not been fully elucidated, the positive impacts on health may be through greater active outdoor recreation [
33], by providing a restorative function from stress and enhancing positive emotions [
34,
35] as well as through greater opportunities for social interaction [
36]. After a comprehensive review of the evidence, the 2007 Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report on the Urban Environment concluded that “the evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant amending planning guidance to recognise the health benefits of green space and to build green space into new and existing developments” [
37] (p. 47). However, it is important to note that quality and accessibility are crucial factors in mediating this relationship between greenspace and health [
31].
Attractive views to the outside (F7): Bad views from the dwelling was found by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Large Analysis and Review of European Housing and Health Status (LARES) study (2002–2003) to be one of the four key housing problems linked to increased prevalence of mental health symptoms (other factors were missing daylight, noise, and inadequate privacy perception) [
38]. While it would be unrealistic to expect highly attractive views from all rooms of a dwelling in a typical housing development, there is evidence that views of nature or natural features are associated with a higher sense of well-being and a more positive perception towards the quality of the overall neighbourhood [
39].
Opportunities to get involved (F8): Meaningful community engagement is an important factor in a housing development as it communicates housing users’ concerns and opinions, instills a sense of pride in the neighbourhood, increases the sense of ownership and helps to build social capital [
15,
40]. It is becoming recognised that developers can support the establishment of community governance structures that would enable residents to participate in the management of the neighbourhood, thereby instilling a greater sense of ownership and pride in the area [
2].
Dwelling and neighbourhood design that contributes to safety from crime (F9): Fear of crime has been linked to health and well-being not only in relation to mental distress [
41] but also physical health as body mass index has been found to be higher among residents with lower levels of perception of safety in their neighbourhoods [
42]. The perception of safety, fear of crime as well as actual levels of crime can be influenced through housing and neighbourhood quality and design [
41,
43]. Structural elements that can exacerbate fear of crime include windows that do not close properly, poor boundary design, inadequate lighting and management of public areas and inability to overlook the street from the house [
36].
Compact neighbourhood design (F10): The issue of residential density in a sustainable housing context is complex and contentious. While compact housing developments are often regarded as more sustainable forms of the built environment [
15,
44], some argue that the extent and nature of benefits associated with higher densities are less clear cut and higher density urban forms may produce trade-offs between the core elements of sustainability [
45]. However, proponents of higher density housing argue that previous failures of high density built forms are more the result of underlying social problems and management issues than the residential density factor [
44].
Proximity to amenities (F11): Availability of and easy access to local amenities such as shops, entertainment, healthcare, education and other facilities have been linked to a number of social, economic and health benefits. These include reduced number of car trips (leading to greater physical activity, reduced air pollution and congestion), greater number of casual or planned interactions that encourage the formation and reinforcement of social networks and the sense of local community, as well as a source of local jobs and a benefit to the local economy [
15].
3.3. Importance Rating Scores
The mean scores of importance rated by housing users (
n = 123), housing associations (
n = 48), local authorities (
n = 34) and developers (
n = 30) were calculated and are shown in
Figure 2. Using these scores, the relative importance can be explored from two angles; firstly, there is the resulting average ranking assigned by each stakeholder group for each feature, and secondly, the actual value assigned.
Figure 2.
Mean scores of importance for the 11 “soft” features (F1–F11) as rated by the four housing stakeholder groups (from 1 = “not at all important” to 5 = “extremely important”). (NB. The shading of the features is for clarity and does not relate to importance).
Figure 2.
Mean scores of importance for the 11 “soft” features (F1–F11) as rated by the four housing stakeholder groups (from 1 = “not at all important” to 5 = “extremely important”). (NB. The shading of the features is for clarity and does not relate to importance).
All groups rated indoor space (F1) as the most important feature. Of the four groups, developers gave this feature the highest average score (M = 4.60, SD = 0.5) followed by housing associations (M = 4.48, SD = 0.58), “housing users” (M = 4.47, SD = 0.67), and lastly local authorities (M = 4.15, SD = 0.66). Outdoor space (F2) was rated second in importance by both the “housing users” and developers, although “housing users” gave this feature a higher average score (M = 4.31, SD = 0.91) than did the developers (M = 3.90, SD = 0.80). Outdoor space was scored much lower by housing associations (M = 3.65, SD = 0.67) and local authorities (M = 3.53, SD = 0.71)—placing it in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Both social housing providers allocated security (F9) to the second place, while this criterion came fifth in importance for both “housing users” (M = 3.50, SD = 1.07) and developers (M = 3.60, SD = 0.86).
Greenspace (F6) came third in terms of importance for the “housing users” group (M = 3.80, SD = 0.96). This was rated similarly, fourth in importance, by both housing associations (M = 3.67, SD = 0.86) and developers (M = 3.63, SD = 1.03), and came a little lower in importance, fifth, for the local authority respondents (M = 3.56, SD = 0.86). Interestingly, “housing users” rated attractive views (F7) as fourth in importance (M = 3.73, SD = 0.84) while all housing providers, but particularly social housing providers, marked this much lower in importance; housing associations scored it tenth (M = 3.06, SD = 0.91), local authorities—ninth (M = 2.82, SD = 0.78) and developers scored it seventh (M = 3.57, SD = 0.90). From the mean scores, however, it can be seen that out of the three housing provider groups, developers gave this feature the highest rating and local authorities the lowest.
Another difference in the level of importance that is interesting to note relates to “access to amenities” (F11). “Housing users” placed this feature in the middle place, sixth, with a mean score of 3.33 (SD = 1.03). However, all of the housing providers allocated a higher level of importance to this feature—both housing associations and developers placed it in third place (M = 3.94, SD = 0.73 and M = 3.73, SD = 0.94 respectively) and local authorities marked this in fourth place (M = 3.88, SD = 0.81).
Local authorities differed from all the other stakeholder groups in the relatively high level of importance they allocated to adaptability (F3). Local authority respondents marked adaptability as third in importance with the mean score of 3.88 (SD = 0.95). “Housing users”, on the other hand, assigned this feature to eighth place with a relatively low mean score of 2.98 (SD = 1.12). Similarly, developers placed it ninth with the mean score of 2.83 (SD = 0.99), while housing associations have it slightly higher rating of 3.56 (SD = 0.85) placing it sixth.
No major differences were seen in the ratings given to the compatibility with local architectural heritage feature (F4). Both of the social housing providers placed this feature in the eighth position with housing associations scoring it an average of 3.21 (SD = 0.82) and local authorities, 3.24 (SD = 0.86). “Housing users” scored this lower at 3.04 (SD = 1.11), although placed at a slightly higher ranking of seventh. Among the four groups, developers gave it the highest scoring of 3.56 (SD = 0.97), placing it in sixth position of relative importance.
Features for informal socialising (F5) and opportunities to get involved (F8) were scored low by all groups. F5 received an average score of 2.89 (SD = 1.12) from the “housing users”, placing it in the ninth position, while housing associations placed it in the same position with an average score of 3.06 (SD = 0.81). Local authorities allocated F5 to the tenth position of relative importance with scores of 2.82 (SD = 0.80), while developers marked it slightly higher with 3.23 (SD = 1.10), placing it in eighth position. For opportunities to get involved (F8), both of the social housing providers placed this in the seventh position with housing associations, scoring it 3.48 (SD = 1.15) and local authorities scoring it similarly with 3.47 (SD = 0.83). “Housing users” and developers placed F8 lower, in the tenth position, with the former giving this feature a slightly higher average score of 2.66 (SD = 1.09) than the latter group who scored it an average of 2.27 (SD = 0.91).
Lastly, all groups placed compact neighbourhood design (F10) as the last in the list of relative importance. In terms of the mean scores, “housing users” scored this highest of the four groups at 2.43 (SD = 1.09), followed by local authorities at 2.32 (SD = 0.95), with housing association and developers giving it very similar scores of 1.94 (SD = 0.84) and 1.93 (SD = 0.83), respectively.