Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

HANDBOOK 2 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
not debated. Thus, as Davidson (2005a) argues, “we might not be able to provide the solutions which
ensure a genuinely sustainable future”.
Ultimately, the decision about the particular ecological system selected is a societal one. In general,
definitions of sustainability describe the concept in terms of maintaining conditions for future
generations. The interpretation of ‘maintaining conditions’ varies, and can include potentially
conflicting interpretations, such as maintaining productivity of economic systems and maintaining
natural capital stocks. The interpretation of ‘maintaining conditions’ will depend on the prevailing
ideology in a given society, and will generally emphasise maintaining one condition over another.
Maintaining the productivity of economic systems is emphasised in the Brundtland definition. It is
often referred to as a definition of weak sustainability, derived from a neoliberal concern with
maintaining economic growth. Clapp and Dauvergne (2005 p.60) also note that the Brundtland Report
offers a strategy ‘palatable to all’, though they acknowledge that it does suggest redistribution
between the rich and poor, a proposition that some neoliberal economists might find contestable. The
Brundtland definition has also been critiqued as being as passive as it is vague and failing to define
the needs or identify the mechanisms required to achieve an environmentally sustainable society
(Norgaard; Redclift; Solow; cited in Castro 2004 p.196).
At the other end of the ideological spectrum, often referred to as strong sustainability, is the argument
for maintaining natural capital stocks. The World Conservation Strategy (IUCN 1980) provides an
example of an ecological emphasis to sustainability. It offers a strategy that aims to achieve
sustainable development through the conservation of living resources. The objectives of the strategy
included the preservation of essential ecological processes and life support systems, and genetic,
species and ecosystems diversity (Clapp and Dauvergne 2005).
How sustainability is understood tends to influence the outcome of plans, policies and regulations
directed at achieving sustainability.
Sustainable housing
There are multiple conceptualisations of sustainability which seek to resolve the ambiguity about what
actions should occur to achieve sustainable outcomes. The triple-bottom-line (TBL) approach is a
widely used model in government and corporate circles that seeks to understand sustainability in
terms of its economic, social and environmental attributes (Kates et al. 2005). McManus (2005)
portrays the TBL as a hierarchical model, whereby economic development has social constraints
limited by ecological capacity. TBL has been applied to the analysis of the sustainability of housing in
studies by Chiu (2004) and Blair et al. (2004).
In these studies the Brundtland definition has been modified to suggest that sustainable housing is:
Development that meets the housing needs and demands of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and
demands (Chiu 2004, p.65; See also Priemus 2005 p.6)
This definition is ambiguous in terms of what physical development form is envisaged. In this sense
Neumayer argues that development is economically sustainable “if it does not decrease the capacity to
provide non-declining per capita utility for infinity”, whereby current and future utility is provided by
a stock known as capital, whether it be natural capital, human capital or man-made capital (Neumayer
2003 p.7). Development is sustainable when the capacity to provide utility, rather than the utility
itself, is maintained. Thus, the importance lies in maintaining the capital for future generations, which
will in turn provide their utility. It is noteworthy that it is a highly anthropocentric definition, in that
nature has no value independent of human value (Neumayer 2003).
In studying economic sustainability in the context of intergenerational equality, Yates et al. (2007)
suggest that housing is sustainable when future generations can enjoy, and therefore afford, the same
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