Living Lightly: How does Climate Change Feature in Residential Home Improvements and What are the Implications for Policy?

Ageing domestic housing stock is frequently remodelled and remade to suit homeowners' aspirations and to comply with changing expectations about the home, its appearance and function. In the context of preparing for climate change, it can be argued that significant improvements to existing stoc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban policy and research 2011-03, Vol.29 (1), p.59-72
Main Authors: Maller, Cecily J., Horne, Ralph E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Aging
Attitudes
Behaviour
Change agents
Climate change
Consumption
Environment
environmental concern
Environmental policy
Environmentalism
Everyday life
Expectations
Gentrification
Global warming
Greenhouse effect
home improvement
Home ownership
Household consumption
Housing
Housing consumption
Mitigation
Social policy
social practice
Sustainability
Urban policy
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Summary:Ageing domestic housing stock is frequently remodelled and remade to suit homeowners' aspirations and to comply with changing expectations about the home, its appearance and function. In the context of preparing for climate change, it can be argued that significant improvements to existing stock and changes to how it is inhabited are required to improve the environmental performance of residential dwellings. Yet home improvement, environmental performance and household practice rarely occur together in social enquiry. Drawing on Hobson's framing of the 'rationalisation discourse of sustainable consumption' we explore the assumed links between homeowners' concerns for the environment, home improvement consumption and household practice. Amongst other findings, we demonstrate that although there is some association amongst these elements, the links are weak. To achieve real change towards climate change mitigation we suggest future policy and programs need to look beyond such simple causal links between attitudes and behaviour and draw on a deeper understanding of the social practices and associated systems of provision implicated in daily life.
ISSN:0811-1146
1476-7244
DOI:10.1080/08111146.2011.539514