If you could be in charge: student ideas for promoting sustainability in housing

• Published in: International journal of consumer studies 2011-03, Vol.35 (2), p.265-271
• Main Authors: Parrott, Kathleen R, Mitchell, Kimberly J, Emmel, JoAnn M, Beamish, Julia O
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buildings; College students; Conservation; Construction; Consumers; Content analysis; energy and environment; Environmental quality; Financing; Housing; Resource conservation; Resource management; student environmentalism; Student participation; Studies; Sustainability; Sustainable development; sustainable housing; teaching about energy; teaching environmentalism; Testing; U.S.A; Water conservation
• ISSN: 1470-6423; 1470-6431
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00969.x

In the spring of 2010, 55 students at a major US university participated in a course entitled: Housing: Energy and the Environment. Over 20 different academic majors were represented in the class, including housing design, residential property management, various engineering specialties, environmental studies and architecture. The majority of the students in this class were knowledgeable about housing and planned careers in housing-, design-, management- or construction-related fields. For the final paper/exam in the class, the students were to design a programme that would ‘promote resource conservation and management, and environmental quality in the housing and building industry'. Examples included (but were not limited to) a government policy, certification programme, training programme or municipal code. A content analysis of the student exams was conducted to give insight into how the next generation of professionals and consumers might set priorities on sustainability and how they might consider implementing these priorities. Topics in the content analysis included programme content, type of programme, funding, target audience and technology. The most frequent programme topics were energy, resource and water conservation. The most common type of programme was training or education, and programmes were more likely to be targeted at building professionals, consumers or owners of buildings. The majority of the students did not address the issue of programme funding or assumed that the government would pay for their programmes. The programmes designed by the students suggest they believe in the importance of sustainable housing and expect to be involved in energy and environmentally friendly practices as professionals and consumers. Yet, these students also see the need for greater motivation, requirements and preparation to achieve energy independence and environmental sustainability.