Downsizing of Housing

Abstract

Housing is one of the major sources of the environmental impact of consumption. An aspect of housing that has rarely been considered in previous studies on sustainable housing is the size of the dwelling, even though research has shown the impact of dwelling size on the environmental impact of housing to be significant. This study analyzes socio-cultural meanings about downsizing as well as norms about dwelling size. The study analyzes naturally occurring, cultural texts (media texts and corporate communications about small-sized dwellings). The study offers a view on how the meaning of downsizing is negotiated, the (in)voluntariness of downsizing emerging as the main point to be negotiated. Additionally, the study offers understanding for how norms about dwelling size are negotiated in order to normalize smaller dwellings. In these ways, the study offers researchers insights about how downsizing can be advanced in order to reduce the environmental impact of housing.

New Conceptions of Sufficient Home Size in High-Income Countries: Are We Approaching a Sustainable Consumption Transition?

“…Based on interviews with Swedish respondents striving to adopt "low-impact ways of living," the authors demonstrate the limits of this approach and describe the multifaceted ways in which notions of the home are being reconstituted to more effectively achieve this objective. Third, Sandberg (2018) analyzes the communication materials distributed by commercial providers of downsized homes in Finland and explores incipient processes to normalize smaller dwellings in the country. Finally, Lorek and Spangenberg (2019) consider the limitations of customary energyefficiency improvements due to rebound effects and other perverse consequences and argue that only by embedding sufficiency (interpreted as energy required on the basis of average per person residential floor area) in the design of new housing will it be possible to achieve absolute reductions.…”

“…The six models in this category range from 49 m 2 /537 ft 2 to 105 m 2 / 1,130 ft 2 . Sandberg (2018) reports that the average size of a newly constructed detached house in Finland is 111 m 2 /1,195 ft 2 and that the smallest cubic alternative (less than half the national average) has attracted the most popular interest.…”

“…The paper first highlights the concept of sufficiency as it applies to housing (Hagbert 2016;Hagbert and Femenias 2016;Sandberg 2018;Lorek and Spangenberg 2019;Moberg et al 2019;Cohen 2019). Second, it builds on prior work on "sustainable consumption corridors" and "doughnut economics" to formulate parameters for sufficient home size based on an environmentally tenable and globally equitable amount of per person living area (Di Giulio and Fuchs 2014;Raworth 2017).…”

Residential Land Use Change in the Wissahickon Creek Watershed: Profitability and Sustainability?

“…Branching out from the housing buildout approach may involve the conservation districts, and transit-oriented, mixed-use, and infill development discussed by Göçmen et al [8]. The downsizing of dwellings of Sandberg [5], the "backcasting" of Musse et al [6], the "eco-districts" of Stachuro [9], the Blue-Green Infrastructure network approach of Ahmed et al [21], and the expanded business model of Dunphy et al [13] can help inform future planning and put the two scenarios described above into a broader perspective.…”

“…Hudson [4] contrasted the treatment of sustainable housing development with the traditional approach in the US, of development without much concern for natural capital. Sandberg [5] approached sustainable housing by looking at proposed downsizing of dwellings in Finland. Musse et al [6] applied a "backcasting" approach to providing low-income housing in a Brazilian city through a vision of a sustainable future.…”