Building Towards Sustainability: Developing a Better Future Through Housebuilding - Essay Example

Introduction In recent times housing has become more than just a means of providing shelter to humanity. Any self-respecting housing project must take into cognizance several pertinent factors. Among the important issues are sustainability, environmental impact assessment, affordability, accessibility, culture and aesthetics. Experts on housing must handle these matters well if they are to come up with a successful project. This is because in contemporary times there are more players and stakeholders in such projects than simply those who mix concrete and mortar. Those with a stake include the targeted occupants, government, regulations of local authorities, environmental advocacy organizations, financiers and planners. This is a proposal aimed to explore how these issues impact on the impediment of Barratt Homes Project, an initiative of the Barratt Developments in the UK. The organization is currently the third largest housing development company in the UK, with an investment worth £ 1,799m. The only other projects larger than this are George Wimpey with £2,600m and Taylor Woodrow with £2,208m in investments (WWF 2009). However, with increasing competition, the project needs identify and address any issue that may affect its marketability in contemporary times. Topic Area The topic of research is: Impediments to Sustainable House Construction programmes. The area of focus is on project sustainability and acceptability in the face of all emergent current issues. By closely analyzing The Barratt Homes project, this search aims to satisfactorily elucidate the issues concerned in sustainable housing project development and enhancing a better future through responsible construction of buildings. However, not all feedbacks are positive. Some are complaints, which have highlighted the problem areas in the company’s service. It is from such complaints that policies are generated which respond to ever changing customer demands. This study seeks to combine these responses with a survey of samples of past customers of the company, to establish the positive and negative impacts of the Newcastle upon Tyne project of the company, which is its oldest and most developed. Of specific interest are customer complaints as they directly contribute towards giving insights into this topic. This target group, the customers, is the mainstay of any commercial housing project. Also to be interviewed will be three members of the local authority directly responsible for policy on housing matters. Three representatives each of three environmental advocacy groups will also be surveyed. The number three is deliberately chosen because it is the least odd number that is more than one. This will provide the advantage of dealing with as small a number as possible, while still gaining insight into the general direction of belief of the represented organizations. Odd numbers are useful in avoiding ambiguity and that may occur through a tie of two diametrically opposed views. The Research Question The main question to be addressed by this research is whether house building projects that address issues of environmental impact and cultural acceptability are more likely to succeed in modern times than others. The definition parameters are that housing projects affect the environment and are affected by environmentally unfriendly practices in current times. Secondly, the issue of acceptability of the project is in terms of design, consideration of cultural beliefs of the community and aesthetics. Both parameters of course are environmental issues. The rationale is that it is not just enough to have a house that does not emit dangerous gasses, the house must snugly blend into its physical and emotional setting as well. Significance of the Topic to Knowledge This particular topic seeks to add to knowledge in two significant ways. First, matters of the environment on housing have been mainly tackled in relation to the chemical and gaseous degradation of the environment around the buildings. Rarely is the issue of the blending of the houses to the environment itself been tackled exhaustively. Whereas this research does not make any grandiose claim to be able to exhaust the issue, a contribution that will upgrade and widen this area of knowledge is its main focus here. Secondly, houses are becoming more and more functional in terms of utility in more ways than mere accommodation. This research delves into how well it does facilitate access to a disabled person for example. Aesthetic matters here clearly include such utility value. In effect, this research will make recommendations for Barratt Homes that will be useful for policy, planning, design and implementation of construction in a manner that enhances residency rather than impedes or limits it. Literature Review The current pursuit of Sustainability as a concept in building practice is just the latest stage in the development of architecture. Late in the 20th century Sustainability emerged as a consideration over and above structure and function in the construction industry. Today’s building must satisfy the provision of being environmentally friendly (Naoum 2006 pp24-25). The materials used, the impact on the natural and built up environment and its demands upon non-sustainable energy sources used in heating, lighting and cooling. Of equal importance are its water demands and waste management systems (Howes D 1991, p 21) . Architecture as a discipline has undergone numerous changes over time. In its ancient beginnings as a purely artistic design practice, it mainly served the purpose of designing attractive buildings for aristocrats. Then came the modernism stage, which emphasized the functionality over artistry in modern buildings. This era is best captured in the words of Louis Sullivan’s now famous declaration: “Form follows function " (Blesser & Salter 2007, pp 11-12). This was followed by postmodernism, which sought to combine the advantages of the two values. According to a WWF (2009) study christened “Million Sustainable Homes Campaign” only two companies in the UK have scored over 70% and are thus prime examples in “Environmental Best Practice”. They are Countryside Properties and Berkeley Group. All the other companies have scores ranging between 20-60 in environmentally friendly policies in terms of materials used, policies, management and pre-construction assessments. The Barrat Homes website (2009) states that the company was founded in 1958 in Newcastle upon Tyne. It has since grown steadily by expanding its operations to cover many towns in the UK. It currently enjoys great confidence of public who constitute its customer base. However, the many years of experience in service to the public has taught it to always seek ways of improving its services to them, which is done through corporate social responsibility and customer feedback through the public relations department. The company takes great pride in the testimonies past customers give about the benefits they have received in dealing with the company, in terms of housing quality and follow up responses. These feedbacks, albeit only the positive ones, are readily available on its website. It is in total awareness that their project whose score is still below 50% on the WWF findings that the Barratt Homes project has come up with the code 6 - zero carbon home programme. It is a project aimed to make the company and their homes more environmentally friendly. The code 6 – zero programme aims to adhere to the current push for green housing, which takes into consideration the energy sources to be used in the house. It is an important aspect of the crucial environmental angle. Renewable energy sources such as the sun have become more preferable to current generations for their cleanliness and reliability. Houses are generally major sources of gasses such as carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons that are a danger to the immediate environment and the ozone layer. People generally try to avoid causing any harm to the environment if they can. Given a choice, and urged on by the ever-strident campaigns of conservation groups, more people are opting for a greener existence even in housing, Enrique (2009, p 102). The code zero initiative therefore draws targeted beneficiaries to the project. This particular issue has remained a thorny one for Barratt Homes both with environmental conservation advocacy groups, such as WWF and UNEP, as well as with the community Among the choices to make in putting up modern housing is the use of in-built solar panels that automatically taps the sun and supplies the electrical needs of the house. This impacts on the environment well by reducing electricity generation through gasoline and nuclear energy. It is all so good to come up with a project that puts up impressive houses, but if they are not being bought as intended then the project is doomed to fail. Since one of the main aims of housing is to improve the general lives of people by providing them with suitable shelter, it is of primary importance that they are able to afford them. If not, then the project will not be attaining its primary aim in the first place. Considerations in price management include the use of locally available materials. If the materials are to be transported from very far away, the costs are escalated making the end product more expensive. Timber may be used in a heavily wooded area, just like bricks will be preferred over stone in a place that is not rocky. Choice of site also dictates the cost per meter of any given construction. Difficult sites that involve leveling, excavation or draining raise the overheads significantly. Another factor is the economies of scale. Building apartments on the same foundation or putting up many standardized units result in more houses that are cheaper. Conversely though, people who have been in the construction industry for long like Barratt Homes know that there is no such thing as a perfect construction site or a ready alternative the one available. Customer tastes and demands also vary making the choice to build a standard design for all out of the question. These are some of the issues that the company has to grapple with in carrying out its business. Pagalos (2008, p 16) argues that modern architecture must take into consideration the demands of current living requirements and culture. People may find no solace in the mere fact that a building has high utility value if they do not find it attractive. The converse of this is also true. What comes to mind here is the involvement of the community involved in the choices made for the project. Buildings play diverse roles in the lives of people over and above just being erected edifices. They act as landmarks and sometimes even a source of communal pride and cultural identity. The Eiffel tower, the Capital Building, the Taj Mahal and Big Ben are all associated with history and national pride. Roberts (2009, p 23) in “Sustainable Development: Agenda 21” identifies Climate Change, Energy, Waste, the Built Environment and Community as some of the crucial considerations in putting up modern housing projects. Climate change has an important role to play in the process of decision making for house builders. Immediate considerations include the choice of building materials. Putting up wooden houses in an environment in which forests have been depleted is a very unfortunate choice. It leads to further worsening of an already bad situation by interfering with rainfall patterns, which leads to slow desertification. Enrique (2009, p 29) takes these arguments further. He says that another consideration is Energy. Just what types of energy sources are available and how do they augur for the environment. He concurs that energy options could make or break the environment in which the people will ultimately live. Humans must by nature use some form of energy. Putting up houses on hillsides is great for avoiding flooding where such incidents are common (P. Thiel 1997 p 6). But on the downside, it encourages the use of motor vehicles over bicycles with all those hills to scale. Rondanini, (1981 p 9) asserts that the built up environment must also give allowances for a natural environment. Paving up every available space interferes with the vegetation responsible for natural oxygen supply. Eventually this impacts negatively on the health of the residents. Houses are an intrusion into the natural ecosystem that supports plants and animals. The Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS website 2009) gives an example of a housing project in Kajiado Kenya which is built bang on the migration path used by animals between the Amboseli and Nairobi national parks. This has gravely affected the free movement of Elephants, Wildebeests and Zebras thus making them to suffer from the vagaries of drought rather than seek pasture elsewhere as they normally do. To most animals, Human habitation is a no go zone. One cannot really discuss housing without thinking of waste disposal. People will produce litter, sewage and other forms of waste. Any serious housing planner must plan well in advance how this waste will be disposed of. All too often waste ends up polluting surface or underground water. A proper waste management and disposal plan is as important as the plan of houses itself. In fact, it should come before the housing plan. The Barratt Homes project therefore has to take into consideration all of the above factors to remain competitive in the fast changing building industry. However, the most important source of information for them is their customers who will candidly give information on their feelings towards the houses they purchased. These will represent the voices of potential customers in future. This knowledge will help go along way in helping them plan and therefore compete effectively. Previous Research There have been several research exercises that have been done in the field of public housing Projects. Otunu Ogenga (2001) in his masters thesis titled: "Community Participation: A Review of Four Participatory Housing Projects in Developing Countries" argues that community participation in housing projects has been more of a lip service than a practical concept in developing countries. He says that there is lack of consensus on just exactly how the exercise should be carried out. Such community participation, he says, can be of crucial importance to these projects. He says that the community is an integral part of housing projects if they are the ones to benefit and be affected by them. It is unfortunate he points out, that the issue has been more of a public relations exercise for the government authorities and their close friends in the housing development industry, funding agencies, professional planners, architects and social workers. It is no wonder then that Cites in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya have seen housing developments mushroom bang in what looks like idle lad for developers, but is actually a children’s playfield. Another study was done by Laura F. Rutledge (2005) for the Planning and Development Department of the Municipality of East Hants; "Improving the Public Participation Model for Planning and Development Issues: Increasing Community Involvement through Improved Communications Strategies"; was carried out along the same lines. The difference is that Rutledge points out that this time community participation was progressing well. She notes that the programme itself is running smoothly as a result of this participatory approach. Her recommendation is that the problem should be improved further. A third study by masters degree study by Braden Smith (2005) titled: "(Re)Creating a Successful Neighborhood; Pocket Park - A Proposal for Mandaville Court Park” was carried out with the aim of establishing how a limited public space in a Mandaville neighborhood in Halifax Nova Scotia, could be used more effectively in serving the recreational needs of the community. What is of interest in this research is that children in the neighborhood were very indifferent to the park with the prevailing feeling that it was not properly developed to cater for their needs. The study seeks to identify ways of making the field more useful to the community. Alessandro de Lima (2001) in his Phd Thesis: “Urban Planning” explores the idea of planning housing in a manner that is most attractive to the people, in Rio de Jenairo. He points out that there is a disconnect between those who make decisions and those who actually have to live with them. He points out that whereas those who live in exclusive, leafy apartments believe that they can act in the best interests of apartment dwellers, the often can’t or wont. The poorer folk opt to live with the mistakes from above rather than raise hell, which is a highly dangerous and costly exercise, about it. He concurs with the other studies that the real stake holders in urban building projects are those who are expected to be dwelling them and not anyone else. Lima argues that if this intervention is not put in place to emblem the public make their contribution to the planning process. Penultimately, another masters study by Iddi Hamis Ali (2005) in Calcutta, India of the title: “ Chaos In Calcutta” the issue of houses that do not meet the needs of the people is studied. Ali points out that small houses built without the occupants in mind have contributed towards: “ Congestion, insecurity, desperation and an outlook of general poverty in which few options are available.” He postulates that the kind of housing available easily contributes to and determines the kind of livelihood people will have in the said neighborhood. Ironically, crowding people together creates an artificial environment of intense competition for even as basic things as a water source. Children who grow up in this environment believe that life is a never-ending rat race. Only those who venture out of the environment can afford to think differently. Finally, my own baseline survey revealed that the customers of Barratt Homes are more than ready and willing to share their thought on the direction they would like the company to take. This study was carried out in early 2009 and sampled twenty randomly selected households in several projects of Barratt in Newcastle upon Tyne. The aim of the survey was to determine the level of willingness and positivism towards the actual survey that I propose to carry out here. The level of enthusiasm for the project turned out to be an overwhelming 85% of the respondents. Even those who were skeptical expressed the feeling that such a survey was long overdue. Interlocking Findings and Unanswered Questions The main overlapping issue in all of these studies is the need for a more central role for the community in project planning. This not only raises public interest in the project, but also increases participation and identity with it. Moreover, cooperation will be enhanced if the community has a role to play in the project. Since Barratt homes wishes to remain competitive in the housing sector and to boost their sales, I strongly believe that this survey will open a window for increased revenues an d more studies of the same sort in future. Preliminary Work on the Topic So far the work I have done on the project is a preliminary survey to establish the willingness and enthusiasm of the communities involved in participating during the main survey. This survey not only clearly brought out the willingness among the people to participate, but also raised issues which have helped shape my current study, which are highlighted in the next section of this paper. Having established the dire need for the project to proceed to the next level, I went on to carry out a thorough literature review and study the theses reviewed above. After that I planned the project and worked on the questionnaires, which are briefly discussed here. Finally I prepared a work plan and a budget to be presented with this proposal. The Remaining Questions and Inter-Locking Logic The interlocking logic between this study and the others done before it is that ever recurring need for public participation in the process of planning any project aimed at the public. The other studies above reveal a pattern in which the projects, which involve the public from the very beginning, flow more smoothly and generally fare better than those that do not. It is quite proper to clarify here that no public project really takes place without some level of public awareness of it. Indeed, the Barratt Homes is constantly in touch with its publics through the public relations department and the Internet. However, the two important issues that are rarely dealt with under the controlled conditions of these interactions are message distortion, both on the part of the dispatcher and recipient. This leads to a situation where, the company and its public relations department have their ego in the way, which encourages the tendency to hold back issues that may prove too embarrassing or difficult to communicate. The issue of pricing for example is rarely tackled in detail, and so the public draws its own conclusions, mostly wrong ones, on how the prices are arrived at. The other issue is indifference. If you only care about people who are about to buy houses and don’t bother about those who already bought them, then they also form an attitude of indifference towards the company. This research is also not proceeding on the assumption that no such research has been carried out before at the company, though I have not laid my hands since I started working on this project. But even if some have been carried out before, this particular one still aims to be a success no matter how any previous one performed. In this subtle way feelings of negativity accumulate which translate into low sales, since past customers are the best placed people to promote confidence in the company. They are, so to speak, the horses’ own mouth. Winning them over to the side of the company is crucial for the image and subsequent sales of the company. So to get rid of this feeling something substantial and urgent needs to be done before matters go out of hand. Something like this survey for instance. It is a very good way of raising issues to be considered in the future policy direction of the company. Carrying out a survey like this not only gives them a sense of importance and belonging, but also creates the feeling that matters affecting them are being tackled at last. Creating such a participatory attitude is important for a company such as Barratt that Housing which is involved in a tight market in the face of the ever biting international economic recession. The research questions I raise here have to do with what exactly the public expects of the company while putting up the housing schemes. What they feel should be improved and the open-ended issues that should be taken into consideration. Methodology This shall be a survey targeting the customers of Barratt homes who have already purchased or are in the process of purchasing houses and are currently occupying them. It will be a quantitative research that will employ a structured questionnaire. The choice of a quantitative instead of a qualitative research is deliberately made since time is of the essence. The baseline survey I carried out earlier was purely qualitative as it was meant to gather feelings as well as employ face-to face interviews. This took the better part of two weeks despite the fact that sampled group was much smaller than what will be dealt with in the actual research. The questionnaires will be designed to gather easily quantifiable and analyzable data. The questions employed shall be divided into three sections. The first section shall deal with personal data mainly used to identify the person in terms of name, gender, occupation, and location of the house. The next section will deal with issues affecting the tenants including method of purchase of the house, maintenance of the house, security, leisure amenities, accessibility of social structures (schools, churches, parks and shopping areas). The third section will deal with the issue of feelings and shall have open ended questions to allow for contributions such as what they feel should be improved and how. This method is preferable because it less expensive than moving around to interview each individual in person. The target groups are well-educated people and so interpreting and responding to the self-administered questionnaires will be a matter of will rather than ability. Any unexpected exceptions to this scenario are not likely to be more than negligible. This is because the baseline survey carried out revealed well-educated middle class individuals. Approach A target sample of 500 respondents randomly selected at intervals of five houses in every row will be surveyed. In addition to my-self, ten research assistants shall be employed and trained to assist with the work. The training shall need to be facilitated by myself with two training assistants taking care of the paper work and logistical arrangements. To ensure that concepts are well understood and necessary simulations of what the actual work will be like are carried out, the training programme shall cover a period of two weeks. After the training, the assistants shall help in calling the respondents in the selected houses, informing them of the survey and mailing the questionnaires to them. All questionnaires shall be accompanied by stamped return envelopes to avoid response apathy. Making the phone calls to the targeted groups shall be quite easy since the numbers can easily be obtained from the company offices. Once the questionnaires are mailed and they shall be followed up with phone calls especially where there is no response. Respondents who are away from home will be duly replaced with others. The other duties of the assistants will be to compile and analyze the data until a full report is compiled to be handed over to the company. This whole exercise will be planned to take place for a period of a whole month taking into consideration that the building complexes targeted are large. This period should give both the respondents and the postal service ample time to play their respective roles. Where responses prefer to use other modern means of communication like faxes or email to respond, they shall be allowed to do so both to save time and to avoid apathy. Data Processing, Analysis and Interpretation The data required will quantify the attitude, recommendations and even demands of the customers. This data will then be used compiled and used to make recommendations to the company. The tedious part of the job will of course be to compile into a structured analytic form responses to part three of the questionnaire. The training of the assistants will lay special emphasis in this area since each of them will be handling a total 50 questionnaires. The need to take as little time as possible in handling the data without compromising the quality cannot be gainsaid. The respondents shall be classified in terms of the location, gender and age bracket with a range of five years from the age of 20. Anybody who is under this age or above fifty will be classified as below 20 and over 60. The responses on each question shall be recorded in graphic form and a narrative report. The data shall be interpreted on the criteria of needs, age bracket and recommendations. Generally, an allowance of plus or minus 5% will be given for the sake of misinterpretation at the response or analysis level. Results Among the expected results will be recommendations on revision of house costing and buyer friendly purchase methods and rates, security improvement, necessary social amenities, green and sustainable energy and need for regular consultations with the company. The main aim of this exercise is of course to boost the income level of the company by encouraging a more open discussion on purchasing with the customers. This shall only be measurable within six months after the research. Another important outcome shall be that the customers will have gained insight into the company stand on issues. However, this shall not be measurable within the scope of this research. Discussion and Conclusions The Barratt Homes Building Towards Sustainability Project is a timely one for the future of the company. The information it gathers will be useful in gathering the information needed to adjust policy matters for the betterment of customer relations. This shall in turn translate into better sales and growth. More importantly though, it will provide the management of the company with a timely mirror in which to view itself and thus gain insight into what image they project to the public. Policy makers will also have ample opportunity gauge the rating of their ideas in a competitive market place. And of course as a consequence the company will have better and people friendlier policies. All concerned should embrace this opportunity since it setting up a good avenue, which will most definitely be used in future to gather information whenever the need arises. In addition, it has been emphasized severally in this paper that this also provides an avenue for the silent but crucial voice of the customer be heard in the company. Even if no action is actually taken on customer recommendations, at least an amicable relationship will have been established. No single activity is a panacea for solving all existing problems. But judging from findings in my baseline survey, and in all the research exercises carried out and considered here, this is not only a timely exercise but on that is direly needed. Bibliography Ali I H (2005), Chaos In Calcutta, Achitectural Journal. Mumbai, University of Mumbai. Blesser B and L Salter (2007) Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture, MIT Press. Building Towards Sustainability (2009, 24 July), WWF, < http://www.wwf.org > Conserving the Environment (2009, 25 July), Unep, de Lima A (2001, 23 January), Urban Planning, Urban Development Journal, University of Nairobi. Enrique L (2003), “Development of Modern Architecture”, Oxford, OUP. Howes D (1991), The Variety of Sensory Experiences, University of Toronto Press. Kipngetich J (2009), “Blocking Animal Migration Corridors”, Retrieved July, 25. Naoum S (2006), "Dissertation Research and Writing for Construction Students," Gloucester: Esevier Publications. Ogenga O (2001), "Community Participation: A Review of Four Participatory Housing Projects in Developing Countries", Pagalos P (2008), "The significance of time in contemporary architecture. Technical and poetic time: the case of Aldo Rossi", Phd dissertation, Patras: University of Patras. Rondanini, N (1981). Architecture and Social Change, Heresies II, Vol. 3, No. 3, New York, Neresies Collective Inc., 18. Smith B (2005), "(Re)Creating a Successful Neighborhood; Pocket Park - A Proposal for Mandaville Court Park, http://www.atlanticplanners.org Thiel P (1997), People, Paths, and Purposes, University of Washington Press., 6. Read More