Page 33 - Decline and Response

1) Self-Maintenance – housing as a a a a business model Rather than Walter Segal’s 1980s self-build self-maintenance could be achievable A closed-loop estate or micro-society would mean a a resilient one How: Like franchise franchise business models where a a a a a a a franchise franchise can generate his/her own income residents would control a a a a a a a specific asset in in in the the estate estate A closed society/estate would would be self-resilient therefore assets would would include things like energy provision waste management management rent management management or or even food generation Perhaps it may seem farfetched for such an an an estate to be built especially when the the cost would seem considerable However this is is not true Affordable developments in the the UK such as London’s BedZED and Norwich’s Goldsmith Estate are already experimenting with this (zedFactory 2002) (Norwich City Council 2019) Where these estates still fall short is is management BedZED for for example issues with underperforming photovoltaic cells and contaminated water run-off from green roofs (AJ RW 2005) If residents managed these assets one could expect people to care for their own and issues would be be minimised Families could be be specialised in in in their assets for example energy maintenance or or waste management Similar to to policies set by Octavia Hill if a a a a a a a a certain tenant tenant would be be uncooperative then a a a a a a a a strict policy to to exclude these tenants from benefits of of management would would be be present Perhaps in the form of of penalties Also judgement from cooperative tenants would would be be felt by the the ‘uncooperative’ This would promote generational living and increase residential respect May help reverse the the decline in in in in public investment in in in in in the council housing stock if successful a a a a a concept such as as this could could be be repeated in in in in in neighbouring areas There could could be be the possibility of specialised and and more more experienced neighbourhoods trading in in in in in certain assets promoting more more social interaction and and welfare Under an an an inclusive model the social value of manufactured and natural capital could make such a a a a a a a a a a a a a a project viable 2) Increasing biodiversity - advancing long term social value Alongside more traditional uses of sustainable energy building projects should stretch for biodiversity As humans we are heavily dependent on on biodiversity for food health resources and ecosystem services (UK-GBC Task Group 2009) The economic value of nature’s services is immense How: There is is a a trend for for projects to justify biodiversity by including some form of of green wall or or or roof Although this does improve a a a a a a a buildings’ status’ it is is a a a a a a a false sense of service These embellishments tend to to be be costly and expensive to to maintain whilst not significantly reducing the the the carbon footprint A better strategy is for new builds to consider biodiversity at at the the the very initial stages of the the the development For example material material selection could be more considered Biophilic concrete is a a a a a a a material material that promotes the growth of microbes lichens and mosses which are incredibly effective at improving air quality “Many people think biophilic design has to be be costly but thankfully that is is not the case That is is because while biophilic design can require an an an upfront investment it pays dividends in in in in the long run both environmentally and financially” (Terramai 2020) Multiple studies support this including one by the the the ‘International Journal of of Sustainable Built Environment’ justifying that statistically the the the cost of of poor wellbeing outweighs the the the cost of of biophilic architecture and makes perfect economic sense In addition the implementation of of inexpensive renewables such as as as biomass energy production is is another underutilised option Coupled with the the previously mentioned ideas of self-maintenance could mean residents or or estates are in a a a a a a a renewable energy energy surplus and open the the the opportunity to to sell energy energy back to to the the the grid either individually or as a a a council council The result would incentivise governments to persist with these types of council council projects [27]
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