Purpose -The existing housing stock needs substantial adaptation to meet national and international carbon reduction targets. The largest proportion of housing is owner-occupied, and will require improvement works which go beyond those measures provided through the Green Deal and similar programmes. Therefore, the motivation of owner-occupiers to perform more substantial energy efficiency refurbishments is essential to facilitate greater action. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach -A synthesis of the extant literature from a range of disciplines reveals the role of motivation and the factors influencing motivation and pro-environmental action in the context of the home. Based on this synthesis of the literature, a new motivation model for energy efficiency refurbishment in the owner-occupied housing stock is then described. Findings -The study has found that multiple factors affect motivation to refurbish in the owneroccupied housing stock. Key motivations for energy efficient refurbishment can be categorized into the broad themes of economic, social, and environmental motivations. These motivations will be affected by a wide number of interrelated internal and external factors and mediated by the emotions of the individual. The model presented demonstrates the relationship between the multiple factors that affect energy efficiency refurbishment in relation to specific contexts. Originality/value -The study represents a potential addition to motivational theory and concepts for use within the field of energy efficient refurbishment of the owner-occupied housing stock. Implications for future government policy and towards raising the motivation of owner-occupiers are identified: it can be used to shape national and local policy and information campaigns to motivate energy efficiency refurbishment in the owner-occupied housing stock. To be successful, this should take differing internal factors and contexts into consideration and the dynamic nature of owneroccupier motivation. The model can also be used by industry professionals to better understand the owner-occupier customer motivations for energy efficiency refurbishment and therein provide a better service.

PurposeThis paper considers the merits of using projects bonds to finance infrastructure investment projects and considers the pricing of such bonds and the level of risk premium demanded by the market. Design/methodology/approachThe research used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods with desk based study and interviews. Interviews were held with policy makers, local authority staff, planners, developers, investors, fund managers and academics. Infrastructure bond data was obtained from the Bloomberg 1 database on all project bonds issued in four Asian countries -Malaysia, China, Taiwan and India -over the period 2003 to 2014. FindingsThe analysis indicates investor appetite for project bonds and suggests that a risk premium of between 150 to 300 basis points over the comparable government bond is appropriate depending on the sector and the degree of government involvement in underwriting the issue. Practical implicationsThe paper argues that the introduction of project bonds would be an important innovation, assisting the financing of infrastructure investment at a time when bank lending is likely to remain fragile. The current conditions in the sovereign debt market, where strong demand has forced down yields, has opened up the opportunity to introduce project bonds offering a higher yield to satisfy institutional investment demand for long term fixed income products. Originality/valueThe originality of this paper stems from the analysis of the merits of using projects bonds to finance infrastructure investment projects, the pricing of such bonds and the level of risk premium demanded by the market.

PurposeThis paper explores academic papers and reports and presents a chronology of the evolution of British low-rise prefabricated housing. The paper provides chronological information for construction and surveying researchers undertaking research in associated areas. Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative literature review, providing an exploration and analysis of academic papers and reports on low-rise prefabricated housing. FindingsA substantial literature was discovered. However, there are gaps in the available literature. The history of British construction technology is a rich research area but is under-researched.Prefabricated housing has a long history dating back to the 11 th Century. Stigmatised from the failures of housing in the 20 th Century, it is being increasingly used again in the 21 st Century when considering mass housing supply. Research limitations/implicationsThis paper provides researchers with an overview of the history of low-rise prefabricated housing in the Britain. It is not a comprehensive in-depth study; such would require numerous larger individual studies. Originality/valueFrom reviewing literature it was evident that there was a broad literature, but there was no single journal publication exploring the evolution of British low-rise prefabricated housing.The research provides an overview, exploration and analysis of the literature while providing a chronology. The evolution of prefabricated housing is chronologically presented. Areas for further research are also recommended.

Purpose – This research aims to provide an insight into large-scale real estate projects in Europe and how they are using a more innovative blend of finance. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology involved a mix of desk-based study, interviews and case studies. Interviews were held with financiers, policymakers, developers, investors, fund managers and academics. The specific case projects were Battersea Power Station Development in London; Leipziger Platz site in Berlin; and the Lammenschans site in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands. Findings – The research found that there is growth in the blend of financial products used in real estate development within large-scale mixed-use projects. This new blend is set with greater equity financing, often from domestic and foreign consortiums generating institutional funds – alongside private debt financing – that utilise a mix of large-scale multi-bank finance. Practical implications – The scale of the challenge in financing real estate development allied with capital budget constraints has meant that the appetite for innovative finance mechanisms has gained considerable momentum in practice and policy. This research investigates current examples in development finance and provides a discussion of the opinion of key multi-stakeholder participants in the individual cases, and trends more strategically at a broader level. Originality/value – This detailed study of three major development sites and at a more broader strategic level is significant, in that it provides a better understanding of the differing blends of finance that are being used.

This paper aims to investigate the similarities and differences in the drivers and challenges of the energy efficiency of listed pre-1919 housing in Italy and the UK. Conservation and sustainability The management of historic properties "is governed by established conservation principles" (Webb, 2017, p.749). The current principles and regulatory system for the protection of listed properties is primarily based on conservation philosophy developed in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly by John Ruskin (1849) and William Morris (1877) (