How to measure sustainable housing: A proposal for an indicator‐based assessment tool

Abstract

Housing drives urban development and has a significant potential for contributing to sustainability. However, ample sustainability indicator sets fail to include relevant indicators of sustainable housing—assessment seems to be an underdeveloped topic. We chose the United Nations Geneva Charter on Sustainable Housing as a conceptual foundation for the proposed assessment tool. It addresses recent challenges by four defining principles and related rationales, thus forming a theoretical basis of sustainable housing. We applied both theoretical research (desktop analysis) and qualitative research (an expert panel) to develop a comprehensive framework for sustainable housing and complemented it with relevant indicators. The proposed housing sustainability assessment tool (HSAT) explicitly advocates a holistic approach that seeks to balance the environmental, social, economic and institutional dimensions of sustainability; simultaneously, it includes an integrated concept of the building–community–locality. Hence, this article does not seek to redefine the sustainable housing definition or concept but to contribute to the development of a highly relevant indicator‐based system for its assessment. This will ensure that correct and unambiguous messages are sent not only to policymakers but also investors, urban planners and finally also the citizens—the housing clients.