Methodology to Identify and Prioritise the Social Aspects to Be Considered in the Design of More

17 Pages·2017·0.42 MB·English

buildings
Article
Methodology to Identify and Prioritise the Social
Aspects to Be Considered in the Design of More
Sustainable Residential Buildings—Application to a
Developing Country
NisreenArdda1,RicardoMateus2,* andLuísBragança2
1 CTACResearchCentre,UniversityofMinho,4800-058Guimarães,Portugal;[email protected]
2 DepartmentofCivilEngineeringandCTACResearchCentre,UniversityofMinho,4800-058Guimarães,
Portugal;[email protected]
* Correspondence:[email protected]
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:1)
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)
Received:26July2018;Accepted:18September2018;Published:21September2018
Abstract:Theprioritiesinthedesignofmoresustainablebuildingsarequitedependentonthespecific
socialcontext. Indevelopingcountries,thesustainabilityconceptandprioritiesintheresidential
buildings sector are quite different from the ones of the developed countries, since there are still
basicneedstoanswer. Therefore,thisresearchisaimedatcontributingtoabetterunderstanding
oftheconceptofsocialsustainabilityintheresidentialbuildingsectorofthedevelopingcountries.
Amethodologytodefineandprioritisethesocialsustainabilityindicatorsisproposedandapplied
inthecontextofPalestine. Thepresentedmethodologyisbasedonthesustainabilityindicatorsof
internationalstandards,onthemostwellknowbuildingsustainabilityassessmentmethodsandin
theanalysisoftheirapplicationtoaspecificcontext. Itincludesamethodologytoprioritisethelistof
socialindicators,byconsideringtheexpectationsoftwogroupsofbuildingstakeholders: designers
andbuildingusers. Attheend, thisresearchproposesaframeworkofsocialaspectstoconsider
inthedesignofmoresustainableresidentialbuildingsinWestBank,Palestinethatiscomposedof
twenty-oneindicators,distributedamongsixsustainabilitycategoriesandrankedaccordingtotheir
weightintheoverallofsustainabilitylevel.
Keywords: social sustainability; sustainability indicators; social priorities; residential buildings;
BuildingSustainabilityAssessmentToolforWestBank(WB-BSATool)
1. Introduction
Sustainability or sustainable development can be identified as a holistic approach that seeks
an appropriate balance between the three essential pillars of development (environment, society,
andeconomy)atlocal,national,regionalandgloballevels,coveringalleconomysectors[1]. Peopleare
at the heart of sustainable development, and therefore the artificial environment must be, at first,
designedtomeettheirneedsandexpectations. Althoughthesustainabledevelopmentconceptisnot
new,stilltherearenocommonagreementsontheprioritiestoconsiderateachpillar,especiallyatthe
sociallevel[2]. McKeown[3]clarifiedthatsustainabledevelopmentisahardtermtodefinebecause,
ononehand,societyhasdifficultiestodefinethelimitsforthesustainablegrowthattheglobalscale
andontheotherhand,therearetheever-changinghumanneedsandperceptionsofthemeaningof
importantconcepts. Forinstance,trulyimportantconceptsforthehumanity,suchasfreedomand
justice,aredifficulttodefineandvaryoverthetime.
Asustainableresidentialbuildingcanbedefinedasaprivatespacethatprovidesthebasicneeds
for the family life without putting more pressure on the environment [4]. Hence, the sustainable
Buildings2018,8,130;doi:10.3390/buildings8100130 www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings
Buildings2018,8,130 2of17
housing is about ensuring a better quality of life for occupants and promoting a better balance
betweentheindividualneedsandcomfort(socialdimension)andtheenvironmentalandeconomic
dimensionsofthesustainabledevelopment[5]. Therefore,sustainablehousingdesignneedsarbitrator
planningtomakeahouseacosyandcomfortableplacewithahighqualityandgoodeconomicand
ecologicalperformances. Theeffortstowardssustainablehousingrequirewellunderstandingofthe
socialsustainabilitybecauseitplaysakeyfactorinhousingdesignandisapriorityinadeveloping
country [6]. Aesthetics and structural aspects should not be the only basic considerations when
designingahouseandatleastotheraspectsrelatedtotheoccupant’sexpectationsandthecultural,
socialandeconomicvaluesofasocietymustbeconsidered. Astudy[7]showsthathousingdesign
failsifnotconsideringtheoccupant.
Homesstronglyreflecttheidentityofacommunityandareaformtocommunicatesociocultural
values [4]. Among others, the sociocultural values of a community can be seen in its daily life,
beliefs,characteristicsoftheresidentialbuildings,typesofjobsandgastronomy[8,9]. Authorsdefine
social sustainability in different ways, but most of them agreed that is “the positive condition
within communities and the process to achieve it”. They also proposed a variety of issues and
criteriasupportingthesocialsustainabilityasameasurableconditionashealth,participation,safety,
accessibilitytoeducation,identity,jobopportunity,andsecurity[4,10].
AccordingtoDikmen,thefactorsthatshapethesocioculturalfactorsinhousingdesignare[11]:
FamilyStructureandSize,Safety,Privacy,andReligion. Hall[7]statedthatthereareninecategories
thatareconsideredapriorityfromthepointofviewofmostresidents. Theyarethegoodqualityliving
environment;availablegoodschools;safeenvironment;cleanandfriendlyneighbourhoods;pre-school
childcare;well-integratedsocialhousing;carefulinteragencyplanning;communityoutreachworkers;
neighbourhoodamenitiesandsecurity. InthepointofviewofthestandardISO21929-1[12],thecore
sustainabilityindicatorsthatcanbedirectlyrelatedtotheassessmentofthesocialsustainabilityare:
accesstoservicesbytype(i.e.,topublicandprivatemodesoftransportation,greenandopenareasand
user-relevantbasicservices);accessibility;indoorconditionsandairquality;adaptability(changeof
useoruserneeds);safety;andaestheticquality. Therefore,itispossibletoconcludethattherearesome
differencesbetweenthebuildingoccupants’socialexpectationsandthosedefinedbypolicy-makers,
sustainabilityexpertsandotherstakeholdersinthedevelopmentofthestandards.
Sustainabilityassessmentratingtoolsandguidesareconsideredasoneofthemosteffectiveways
forpushingbuildingsandconstructionsectorintosustainability[13]. Regardingresidentialbuildings,
it is possible to list some tools in the market, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design(LEED)forHomes,ITACAProtocol,CodeforSustainableHomesandSustainableBuilding
Tool for Portuguese Housing Buildings (SBToolPT-H) [13,14]. These methods aim at minimizing
the impacts of residential buildings on the natural environment while maximizing the social and
economic performance of them, without ignoring the importance of the harmony between nature
andhumans[15]. Theassessmentsystemsaredirectlyusedtoevaluatethebuildingandindirectly
theyprovideabetterinsightintothesustainabledevelopment,throughtheanalysisandvaluation
of information and comparison of results [16]. Other studies [17,18] concluded that a building
sustainability assessment method works as a guide, helping to collect and report information to
support decision making during the different stages of the building life-cycle, from the cradle to
grave,andallowingtheevaluationoftheoverallbuildingperformance. Theseauthorsalsoagreethat
thesemethodscanpromotethesustainabledevelopmentnotonlybyguidingthestakeholdersinthe
principlestoconsidertomaximisetheperformanceatthelevelofthethreeprimarysustainability
developmentdimensions(environment,societyandeconomic)butalsoinsatisfyingtherequirements
forimprovingthefunctionalandtechnicalperformancesofbuildings.
Energy,siteconsiderations,water,materialinput,andindoorandoutdoorenvironmentsarethe
typicalcategoriesincludedintheassessmentmethods.However,thenumberandtypeofsustainability
indicators, the way they are organised in the method (e.g., into categories), how each indicator is
assessed,andhowtheyareaggregatedtoassesstheglobalbuildingsustainabilityscorearethemain
Buildings2018,8,130 3of17
differencesfoundinthecomparisonoftheassessmentmethods[19].Thecomparativeanalysisbetween
differentmethodsisalreadypublishedbysomeresearcherssuchas[14,19–21].
In fact, despite the rapid growth of the building sustainability assessment methods over the
lastyears,theystillfacesomedifficulties. Inmostofthesesystems,thereisalackofaholisticview
of social sustainability [22]. Hall [7] stated that the main reason for that is that there is no shared
understanding and agreement about the concept of “social sustainability” itself. Each society has
itsownbeliefs,languageandsociallifestylewhatmakesachallengetotheinteractionandsharing
ofthelogicfromonecommunitytoanother. Moreover,socialsustainabilityishardtomeasuredue
tothedifficultiesofenrollingthecommunityneedsinpractice. Therefore,inmanycases,thesocial
sustainabilityisrestrictedtothehealthandcomfortsincetheseparameterscanbemorestraightforward
measurable[23].
Analysingthestate-of-the-artpresentedabove,itispossibletohighlighttheeffortthathasbeen
madeinternationallybythestandardizationbodiesandotherinstitutionsinthedevelopmentofa
moreconsensualdefinitionofthesustainableconstructionconcept.Thisworkhasbeenveryimportant,
mainlyinthedefinitionofthesustainabilitycategories(macroindicators),i.e.,theprioritiesthatshould
beconsideredinthedesign,maintenanceandmanagementofamoresustainablebuiltenvironment.
Yet,thereisnotabroadconsensusonthelistofindicatorsthatshouldbeconsideredinevaluatingthe
performanceofabuildingatthelevelofeachspecificsustainabilitycategoryandontheweightthat
eachindicatorshouldhaveintheassessmentoftheglobalsustainability. Asaresultofthissituation,
therearearoundtheworldmyriadsofdifferentBuildingSustainabilityAssessmentmethods(BSA).
Themainreasonforthislackofconsensusistheexistenceofdifferentenvironmental,economicand
socialprioritiesindifferentpartsoftheglobe. Forexample,insomeunderdevelopedcountries,the
main concern of the population is the right to housing, and the reduction of energy consumption
inbuildingsisnotapriority,asitisalreadylowduetothelackofinfrastructureand/oreconomic
capacityofthepopulation. Inothers,energyresourcesabound,butpotablewatersuppliesarescarce,
andthereforetheefficientuseofthisresourceisoneofthemainprioritiesofthesesocieties.
Itshouldalsobenotedthatthedevelopmentofthelistofsustainabilityindicatorsismainlybased
ontheknowledgeofsustainabilityexpertsand/orontheopinionofrepresentativesfromdifferent
stakeholdersandthat,therefore,asignificantpartoftherealbuildingoccupant’sexpectationsmight
notbeconsidered.
Based on the aforementioned context, this research is a part of an ongoing research for the
developmentofaBSAmethodtobeusedinthespecificcontextofadevelopingcountry(Palestine),
whichhasasocialcontextverydifferentfromtheonethatexistsinothercountries. Thisisapioneer
study in the Palestinian reality since, so far, no similar studies were developed in that country.
Additionally,byconsideringtheopinionofdifferentstakeholdersbothinthedefinitionofthelistof
sustainabilityindicatorsandinthedevelopmentofthesystemofweights,i.e.,bypresentingadifferent
approach to the common methodologies used so far, it also contributes to the development of the
currentstate-of-art.
Due to the broad scope of ongoing research, this work is focused on the presentation of the
methodologyusedforthedevelopmentandrankingofthelistofsocialindicators. Inthemethodology
used,itwasconsidered,alongwiththeopinionofasetofsustainabilityexperts,theexpectationsof
twoimportantgroupsofdecision-makersinthecontextofthebuildings: designersandoccupants.
Theresultsshowtheexistenceofsignificantdifferencesbetweenthesocialprioritiesobtainedforthe
PalestinianresidentialbuildingsandtheonesdefinedbythethreeanalysedBSAmethods.
2. ChallengesinthePathtotheSustainableDesigninWestBank,Palestine
ThesustainableandgreenbuildingdesignisnotanewideainthePalestinianconstructionsector.
Manyarchitects,engineers,andinstitutionssuchasthePalestineHigherGreenBuildingCounciland
theRwraqCentreforArchitecturalConservation,areworkinghardtoimprovethebuildingsector
andtoturnthesustainabilityconceptasacommonpractice. However,mostofthesolutionsinthe
Buildings2018,8,130 4of17
Palestinianmarketfellonthesustainabilitytrapwhiletheyemployedstrategiesthatdonotfitthe
regionallevel. Forinstance,thePalestinianMuseumisasustainabilitycertifiedbuildingbasedona
foreignmethodanditiscriticisedbyhavingaperformancelowertotheonethatwasexpected[24],
whichisacriticalissueconnectedwiththesuccessofthesustainabilityraceinthecountry. Thatmeans
inonewayorinanotherthatthereisclearlyalackofaframeworktopromotesustainabledesign
inPalestine.
Palestineisasmallgeographiclocatedinthesouth-westofAsiaattheheartoftheMiddleEast,
ontheeasterncoastoftheMediterraneanSea. Totheeast,itisborderedbyJordanandSyria,tothe
northbyLebanon,andtothesouthwestbyEgypt. TheOccupiedPalestinianTerritories(OPT)has
twogeographicaldistricts,GazaStripandWestBank(WB),andtheyareseparatedbythestateof
Israel[25]. However,thispaperisfocusedontheWestBankregionduetotherestrictedmovement
betweentheGazaStripandtheWestBank, whereitisdifficultfortheresearcherstoaccesstothe
GazaStrip.
WBPalestinegeographyconsistsoffourvariedregions. Thecentralhighlands,wheremostof
thepopulationlives; thesemi-arideasternslopes; thearidriftvalleyandthecoastalplains, inthe
northandwest[26]. AccordingtoKoppen-Geiger’sclassification,theOccupiedPalestinianTerritory
belongstothehot-summerMediterraneanclimate(Csa)[27]. TheWestBankhasatemperateclimate
withalonghotdrysummerandcoolrainywinter. Thesummertemperaturesreach35◦Candthe
temperature may drop to zero during the winter. The rainfall is limited to the winter and spring
months,betweenNovemberandMay. Theannualrainfallisrangingfrom100to600mmanddepends
onthelocation[25].
The culture of WB, Palestine is closely related to the culture of the rest of the Levantine area.
Hardworker,collaborator,friendlyandhospitalityarethemainfeaturesofthePalestiniancommunity,
despitethehardlifeduetooccupation,thehighratesofpovertyandunemployment[28]. Inspiteof
thefactthatPalestineisthoughttobeavarioussociety,mostofthepopulationareMuslims,witha
strongChristianpresenceaswell. Therefore, itisnotsurprisingthatIslamshapedthePalestinian
communityandaffectedeverysideofthecitizen’slife[9].
WB Palestine is not just a part of a developing country that needs an urgent application of
sustainable construction to improve its construction sector but is also a special case due to the
occupation since 1967. West Bank faces many serious challenges and changes. The first and the
mostimportantproblemisthedepletionanddestructionoftheenvironmentalresources,especially
waterandenergy[29]. Thesecondproblemisthehighgrowthrateofpopulation,around3–3.5%,
whichishigherthantheprojectedrateoftheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica. Finally,theaccumulation
ofthecarbondioxideemissionsintheatmospherewhichcausestheriskofclimatechange[26].
TheconstructionsectorisoneofthemainactivitiesthathaveasignificantimpactonthePalestinian
economy, and it can grow or shrink but will never disappear from the Palestinian economic map.
ItwasthesecondcontributorinGrossDomesticProduct(GDP)withabout13%ofthetotalGDPinthe
Palestinianeconomyin2014,anditplaysavitalroleincreatingjobopportunity,byemployingaround
11–15%ofthePalestinian’slabourforce[30].
TheresidentialbuildingstakethemajorityofthedevelopedPalestinianlandandtheyareconsidered
thehighestconsumersofnaturalresourcesintheconstructionsector.Moreover,Palestiniansspendalong
periodoftheirlifewithinthem[31]. Indeed,Palestinianhousingproblemsaremorepersistentthan
ever.Theaverageannualpriceoftheapartmentsisincreasingatarateof10%,mainlyduetothelimited
landandthestrongriseofthedemandforapartmentsbecauseoftherapidincreaseofpopulation[31].
Inaddition,themethodofhousingdesigninPalestineisshiftedfromtheendusertothedevelopers,
whofocusonthecostreduction[28].
Successfulhousedesign,regardlessofitstypeandsize,istheonethatmeetstheexpectationsof
theenduser. Itisexpectedthatthearchitectcreatesabriefthatmeetstheexpectationsoftheowner.
However,northemethodofhousingdesigninPalestineneitherthemunicipalitiescodessupportthe
expectationsoftheenduserorthenecessaryapproachestoprotecttheenvironment[24].
Buildings2018,8,130 5of17
In the context of Palestine, keeping attention to the housing sector and repairing the
country’sinfrastructuresisessentialtocreateadequateeconomically,sociallyandenvironmentally
conditions and to improve the living standards of the Palestinian people. BSA is one of the
applications that provide a proof that a building design succeeded to achieve a certain level of
sustainability[23]. Moreover,itsupportsdecision-makingtowardstheimplementationofsustainable
designprinciples[17]. Therefore,developingabuildingsustainabilityassessmentratingmethodcan
contributetosolvingsomeoftheWestBankresidentialbuildingproblems.
Basedonthedefinitionofasustainablebuilding,thedimensionsofsustainabilitycanbedivided
intothefollowingmainsustainabilitydimensions: environment,society,andeconomy. Inthiscase
study,theproposedmethodislimitedtothesocietydimensionbecause,asarguedbefore,thisisan
immergingissueinwhatrespectstotheWestBank’sresidentialsector[4,32]andthereisalackofa
commonunderstandingregardingthemainprioritiestoconsiderinthedesignofaresidentialbuilding
thatmeetstheexpectationsofitsinhabitants.
3. Objectives
Thisstudyisintendedtopresentamethodologytodefinethelistofsocialsustainabilityindicators
andtheirrelativeweightstobeusedinafuturemethodtoassessthesustainabilityofneworretrofitted
residentialbuildingsinWBPalestine. Besidesthat,itisaimedtoassesstherelativeweightofthesocial
indicatorsincomparisontotheweightoftheothertwosustainabilitydimensions(Environmentand
Economy)intheassessmentofthesustainabilitylevelofaresidentialbuilding. Thus,thisresearchhas
threemainobjectivesthatareaimedatfillingthegapidentifiedinthestateoftheart:
• Todevelopthelistofsocialindicatorsofthe“WB-BSATool”BuildingSustainabilityAssessment
method adapted to the WB Palestine context. The list of indicators should be based on
standardization,generalsustainabilityindicatorsrecognisedbythemostwell-knowninternational
BSAmethodsandsuitthelocalcontext;
• Todevelopamethodtodefinetherelativeimportanceofeachindicatorandsustainabilitydimension;
• Toranktheimportanceofeachsocialindicatorandsustainabilitydimension,accordingtothe
expectationsofbothlocalbuildingdesignersandinhabitants;
• TocomparetheresultswiththelistofindicatorsandsystemofweightsofotherBSAmethods,
inordertohighlightthespecificitiesoftheWBPalestinecontext.
4. Methodology
Social sustainability is the most connected dimension with the human needs. Max-Neef [33],
stressed that to solve the most important human problems in a sustained way, people should be
themainfocusinfindingoutthesolutionsandalternativesfortheseissues. Therefore,integrating
people’sopinioninthedevelopmentofalistofprioritiestobeconsideredinthedesignofasustainable
building,improvesthepeople’sparticipatorydecision-making,allowingabetterconnectionbetween
thehumanneedsandthenewstrategiestosatisfythem. Inthiscontext,thequestionnaireisconsidered
asaneffectivetoolfordatacollectioninmasscommunicationresearch[34].
The used methodology is based on quantitative and qualitative methods, which are aimed
to analyse the most common sustainable building assessment methods, to define the list of social
indicators and the importance that each one should have in the decision-making process when
designingabuildinginWBPalestine.
Regardingtheboundariesofanassessmentmethod,theyaregenerallydividedintospatialand
timeboundaries. AccordingtoKang[23],thebuildingsustainabilityassessmentmethodshaveamore
objectiveresult,whenthespatialboundaryislimitedtothebuilding,wherewiderscalesneedalarge
amount of data which is waste of time and resources. Therefore, this study is concentrated in the
residentialbuildingscaleand,inadditiontoit,somewideraspectsareconsideredimportanttoassess
thesocialsustainability,suchastheaccessibilitytothepublictransport.
Buildings2018,8,130 6of17
Intermsoftimeboundary,thebuildingisconsideredasaproductandthereforetheperiodof
theassessmentmethodcoversthewholebuildinglifecycle,fromtheconstructionphasethroughout
operationuntil,thedemolitionphase.
Sustainability is a relatively new concept in WB Palestine’s construction industry. Therefore,
definingthesustainabilityindicatorsatmicro-levelisstillahardtask. Ding[35]stressedthatone
solutiontosolvethisproblemistoconsiderthemainprioritiesoftheinternationalstandardsasbeing
alsothemainissuesofaparticularcontext,asafirststepfordevelopinganewbuildingsustainability
assessmentforaparticularlocation.
In the context of building sustainability assessment, indicators can be defined as worthy
information regarding the impact of each building design scenario on the environment, society
andeconomy[8]. Theyhelptoprovidedifferentsolutionsfortheprojectandtheyalsodescribethe
relationshipbetweencause-and-effect.
Threetoolswereusedtodefineandselectthesocialindicatorsinthisstudy: literaturesurvey,
interviewsandquestionnaires. Theliteraturesurveycoveredthefieldsofinternationalstandardsfor
socialsustainability,thelistofsocialindicatorscoveredbythemostcommonbuildingsustainable
assessmentmethodsandratingsystemsandthelocalresidentialbuildingregulations. Thisapproach
providesanopportunitytodeterminetheinitialsetofindicators.
Asasecondstep,severalinterviewswerecarriedoutwithsomeprivateandacademicPalestinian
key sustainability actors. These interviews allowed to gather the opinion of experts about each
indicator of the preliminary list defined in the first step. The interviewees were asked to rank the
applicabilityandmeasurabilityofeachindicatorinPalestine. Asaresult,alistofsocialindicators,
organisedinsustainabilitycategories,wasdeveloped.
Thethirdstepwasthedevelopmentoftwoquestionnaires,basedonthelistofsocialindicators
developedinthelaststep. Onequestionnairewasorientedtoresidentialbuildingdesignersandthe
othertohouseresidents. Thisstepallowedthecollectionofinformationtodeveloptheweighting
systemoftheWBPalestinian’ssocialindicatorsandtocomparedifferentperspectives.
Afterdefiningthesocialindicators,thefinalstepwasthedevelopmentoftheweightingsystem,
whichallowedtorankeachindicatoraccordingtoitsimportancetothesocialsustainabilityoftheWB
Palestinianresidentialbuildingsector.
Themethodologyusedinthisresearchissimilartotheoneusedinsimilarstudies,suchas[4,8,23,32]
andfurtherdetailsarepresentedbelow.
4.1. DevelopmentoftheListofIndicatorsandQuestionnaire
Thedefinitionofthepreliminarysetofsocialsustainabilityindicatorswasbasedonliterature
surveyandanalysisofthefollowingdata:
• TheinternationalsustainabilityindicatorsdefinedinISO21929-1[12];
• The list of indicators of the global Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool) method, considered
internationally as the most comprehensive general framework to assess the sustainability of
buildings,whichsystemofweightsandbenchmarkscanbeadaptedtolocalcontexts[36];
• Twoofthemostusedbuildingsustainabilityassessmentmethodsused,atinternationallevel,to
assessthesustainabilityofresidentialbuildings,namely: CodeforSustainableHomesVersion
2[37]andLEEDv4forHomesDesignandConstruction[38];
• ThelistofindicatorsofamethodthatresultedfromtheadaptationoftheglobalSBTooltothe
assessmentofresidentialbuildingsofaparticularcountry,namelytheSBToolPT-H[17].
Thepreliminarysetofsocialindicatorsincludedalldifferentsocialindicatorsidentifiedinthe
BSAmethodsmentionedbefore. Thisapproachissimilartotheoneusedbyotherauthors,e.g.,[17,39]
inthedevelopmentofBSAmethodsforspecificcontexts.
After defining the preliminary list of indicators, the West Bank municipality’s codes and the
regulations of the Engineers Association were analysed in order to check if there are mandatory
Buildings2018,8,130 7of17
requirements, related to social aspects that were not covered by the list. From this analysis, two
additionalindicatorswereadded: firesafetyandearthquakesafety.
Regardingtheinterviews,invitationemailsweresenttoten(10)sustainabilityexpertsfromthe
privatesectorandacademiatovoluntarilyparticipateintheseinterviews. Atotalofsix(6)experts
agreedtoparticipateandasaresult,asetofvoicecallinterviewswerecarriedoutbetween15and30
ofJanuaryof2017withfourarchitects,onecivilengineer,andoneresearcher. Aninterviewguideline
wasdevelopedandsentinadvancetoeachintervieweebyemail.
As a result, the interviews allowed the definition of the list of social sustainability categories
andrelatedindicators. Fromthesediscussions,someindicatorsthatwereconsideredasapriority
were added and others that were considered as not relevant to the Palestinian context or very
difficulttoevaluateaccordingtotheavailabledataweresubtractedfromtheinitialsetofindicators.
Table1presentstheindicatorsaddedandsubtractedfromtheinitialsetofindicatorsandthemain
justificationspresentedbytheinterviewees.
Table1.Indicatorsthatwereaddedorsubtractedfromthepreliminarylistofindicators.
AddedIndicators Justification
Accessibilitytothework ThemovementandaccessrestrictionintheWestBank
SubtractedIndicators
Safetyfromflooding WestBankrainyseasonisnotaseasonofheavyrains
BicyclingisnotahabitamongWestBankresidentsandtherearenourbancycling
Accesstobicycletraffic
pathstoconnectwith
Theefficiencyofmechanical
Residentialbuildingsmostlyrelyonnaturalventilation
ventilation
Duetotheclimateconditions,Palestinianpeopleusuallyuseanopenspace
Providedryingspace
outdoors(e.g.,rooforbalcony)todrytheclothes
Duetothelimitedareaforthemainfunctionsinthehousedesign,adedicated
Providehomeoffice
spaceforahomeofficeisnotapriority
Itisnoteasytoevaluateandthereforenotsuitabletotakepartinthefirstsetof
Spatialefficiency
indicatorsdevelopedforthePalestiniancontext
Itisnoteasytoevaluateandthereforenotsuitabletotakepartinthefirstsetof
Functionalityoflayout
indicatorsdevelopedforthePalestiniancontext
Theassessmentboundaryislimitedtothebuildingandthereforethisindicatoris
Universalaccesstothesiteand
outofscope.Anindicatortopromotetheeasyaccessfordisabledpersonswithin
withinthebuilding
thebuildingwasaddedtothepreliminarylistofindicators
Theintervieweesalsorecommendedthatsomeindicatorsshouldbechangedtoaccommodate
theWBPalestine’sresidentialcontext. Table2liststheindicatorsthatweremodifiedaccordingto
expert’sopinionandtherelatedjustification. Theexpertsalsoarguedthatalonglistofindicators
justforonesustainabilitydimensionwouldhinderthepracticalapplicationofthenewWB-BSATool
andthereforethoseindicatorsthatwerejudged(inthequestionnaires)tohavelittleimportanceinthe
overallbuildingsustainabilityshouldbeexcludedfromthislist. Thisrecommendationcanalsobe
foundintheconclusionofotherstudiesinthefieldofthedevelopmentofBSAmethods,suchas[8].
Table2.Modifiedindicatorsasrequestedbytheexperts.
InitialIndicator SuggestedIndicator Justification
Duetothelimitedareaforthe
Freesmokingarea Non-smokingarea
mainfunctionsinthehousedesign
Provideadedicatedspace Installingaliftisnotalwaysamandatory
Theefficiencyofverticalsystems inthehousedesignfor requirement,accordingtothelocalbuildingcode
futureinstallationofalift andconventionalbuildingpractice
Goodairqualityand
Indoorairqualityandventilation Toencouragethepassivedesign
naturalventilation
Buildings2018,8,130 8of17
Asaresultofthisstage,alistoftwenty-nine(29)indicatorsorganisedintoseven(7)sustainability
categories(C1. Cultural;C2. Heritage;C3. Indoorenvironmentquality;C4. Healthandwell-being;
C5. Safetyandservicequality;C6. Accessibility;andC7. Functional)wasdeveloped(Table3)and
includedinthequestionnaires.
Table3.Listofsustainabilitycategoriesandrespectiveindicatorsincludedinthequestionnaire.
Category Indicators(In)
1. Visualprivacy
2. Accesstoprivateopenspace
C1.Cultural
3. Easyaccessfordisabledpeople
4. Externalviews
5. Respecttheculturalvalueandthesurroundingcontext
C2.Heritage 6. Useoftraditionallocalmaterialsandtechniques
7. Maintenanceoftheheritagevalueofanexistingfacility
8. Airtemperatureandrelativehumidity
9. Appropriatedaylight
10. Appropriatelightontheenvironment
C3.Indoorenvironmentquality
11. Goodairqualityandnaturalventilation
12. Outdoornoisereduction
13. Indoornoisereduction
14. Installationofmechanicalextractionventilationinthekitchenandbathrooms
15. Reducetheexposuretoairbornechemicalcontaminants
C4.Healthandwell-being
16. Reducetheexposuretotoxicfinishingmaterials
17. Non-smokingarea
18. Safetyfromfire
19. Safetyfromearthquake
C5.Safetyandservicequality 20. Regulatedbuildingmaintenance
21. Securityofthehouse
22. Securityoftheneighbourhood
23. Accessibilitytothepublictransport
24. Accessibilitytotheworkplace
C6.Accessibility
25. Accessibilitytopublicservices
26. Accessibilitytooutdoorpublicspaces
27. Availabilityofausermanual
C7.Functional 28. Providefixedspaceforinstallinganelevatorinthedesign
29. Possibilitytomodifythehouseconstruction
Regarding the questionnaires to the building designers and building users, a descriptive
methodologywasused. Descriptiveresearchinvolvesgatheringdatathatdescribeeventsandthen
thesedataareorganised,recordedandanalysed[32].
Thequestionnairestothebuildingdesignersandtothebuildingusershadthesamestructure
andconsistedof32questions,organisedintosevensections. Thefirstsectionwasacoverletterthat
explainedthegoalsoftheresearchandstatedtheprivacypoliciesofthecollecteddata.
The next five parts consisted of questions focusing on the importance of the several social
indicators. Respondents were asked to answer their opinion, regarding the importance of each
indicator,usingtheLikertscale. Thescalewasorganisedintofivelevelsofimportance: notimportant
atall(1);oflittleimportance(2);important(3);veryimportant(4);andextremelyimportant(5).
Thefinalpartofthequestionnairewasaboutpersonaldata,namelythegender,age,education
andtheaveragemonthlyincome. Thepersonalinformationtookplaceattheendofthequestionnaire
toavoidinfluencingtheparticipants’answers.
4.2. SamplingProcess
ThesamplingprocesswasbasedonafocusgroupformNablusGovernorate,whichisoneofthe
largestWestBankgovernorates. Thisfocusgroupwassubdividedintotwomaingroups:
Buildings2018,8,130 9of17
• The professionals (designers) registered in the Engineers Association of Nablus. An online
questionnairewassentto50persons,between15and25ofFebruary2017,byemail. Thestudy
samplewasselectedamongprofessionalswhohadabackgroundinsustainabledevelopment
andresidentialbuildingindustry,coveringthefieldsofarchitecture,civil,electricalormechanical
engineering,urbanplanning,andbuildingengineering. 49answerswerereceived,corresponding
toaresponserateof98%.
• ResidentialbuildingoccupantsinthemainthreeareasoftheNablusGovernorate: city,villages
andtheoldcityofNablusintheageboundaryof20to60yearsold. Thestudysampleofthis
groupwasselectedrandomlyandtheoccupants’responseswerecollectedviaaninternet-based
questionnaire,inArabic,between4and21ofMarch2017. Onehundredandthree(103)from
a universe of one hundred fifty answered the questionnaire. The respondent rate was 68%,
and answers were collected from the three areas of the Nablus Governorate according to the
distributionpresentedinTable4.
Table4.DistributionofanswersamongthethreeareasoftheNablusGovernorate.
Area City Village OldCity Total
Numberofanswers(n) 59 38 6 103
Percentageofanswers(%) 57.3% 36.9% 5.8% 100%
4.3. DevelopmentoftheWeightingSystem
Therearedifferentapproachestodevelopaweightingsystemforsustainabilityindicators,based
onmonetaryornon-monetaryweightingmethodologies. FromtheanalysisofdifferentBSAmethods,
suchasSBToolPT-H,LEED,andBuildingResearchEstablishmentEnvironmentalAssessmentMethod
(BREEM), it is possible to conclude that the non-monetary weighting methodology is used by all
of them. The reason for that might be the subjectivity to associate an economic value for every
sustainabilityindicator.
Panelweighingisconsideredasthemostaccuratemethodfordefiningtheweightingsystemofa
BSAmethod,wherethelargerandmorerepresentativethepanelis,moreaccurateistheresult[40].
Therefore,inthisstudy,theAnalyticalHierarchyProcess(AHP)panellist’smethodwasappliedto
evaluate the relative weight of each indicator. AHP is an organizing and analysing mathematical
methodforcomplexprioritiesanddecisions. Itwasdevelopedinthe1970sandsincethat,itisusedas
amethodologytoprioritisehumandecisionmakingindifferentfieldssuchasgovernment,business,
projectselection,healthcareandeducation[41].
AHPisconsideredasasimpletechniquethatisabletotranslatetheevaluationsofbothqualitative
andquantitativedatamadebythedecisionmakerintomulti-criteriaranking. Inaddition,theAHP
includesausefultoolforcheckingtheconsistencyofthedecisionmaker’sevaluations,thusreducing
thebiasinthedecision-makingprocess[32].
AHPinvolvesthefollowingstepstohierarchisetheprioritiesofaproject[41]:
• Modeltheproblemasahierarchycontainingthedecisiongoal,thealternativesforreachingit,
andthecriteriaforevaluatingthealternatives;
• Establishprioritiesamongtheelementsofthehierarchybymakingaseriesofjudgmentsbased
onpairwisecomparisonsoftheelements;
• Synthesisethesejudgmentstoyieldasetofoverallprioritiesforthehierarchy;
• Checktheconsistencyofthejudgments;
• Cometoafinaldecisionbasedontheresultsofthisprocess.
Boththeprofessionalsandthebuildingoccupantswereaskedtoprovidetheiropinionabout:
(1)theimportanceofeachofthethreesustainabilitydimensions(environmental,socialandeconomic)
intheoverallbuildingsustainabilitylevel;(2)theimportanceofeachofthesevensocialsustainability
Buildings2018,8,130 10of17
categories in the assessment of the social performance; and (3) the weight of each indicator in the
evaluationoftheperformanceoftherespectivesustainabilitycategory.
Based on the recommendation of the interviewed experts and in the methodology of other
research, e.g., [17], for the practical use of the method under development, the final list of social
indicatorsshouldbeascompactaspossibleandatthesametimeincludethemostimportantindicators.
Therefore,thelaststepofthemethodologywasthereductionofthelistofindicators,subtractingthose
thataccordingtotheresultshaveaverylowcontributiontothesocialperformance.
Intheanalysisofthestate-of-artofart,aspecificmethodtodefinethecut-offruleofindicatorsthat
havelittleimportancetothesustainabilitylevelofabuildingwasnotfound. Therefore,itwasdecided
toidentifyintheanalysedBSAmethodsthelowestweightconsideredinthesystemofweightsofthe
socialindicatorsandtoexcludefromthefinallistofindicatorseveryindicatorwithalowerweight
thanthatthreshold. FromtheanalysisofTable5,itwaspossibletoconcludethat,amongthepresented
BSAmethods,theconsideredindicatorwiththelowestweighthasaweightof0.4%intheoverall
score. Ithappensforthe“Potentialoftheconditionsofthebuildinginpromotingtheseparationof
solidwaste”and“Watersealingindex”indicators,intheSBToolPT-H.Therefore,alistconsideringonly
theindicatorsthatcontribute0.4%ormoretotheoverallsustainabilitylevelisproposed,whichmeans
thatthelistpresentedinTable3wasreducedto21indicators. Inthisprocess,thefollowingindicators
wereexcludedfromthefinallist: Externalviews;useoftraditionallocalmaterialsandtechniques;
availabilityofausermanual;provideadedicatedspaceinthehousedesignforfutureinstallation
ofalift; possibilitytomodifytheconstructionofthehouse; indoornoisereduction; installationof
mechanicalextractionventilationinthekitchenandbathrooms;andaccessibilitytooutdoorpublic
spaces. SinceallindicatorsoftheFunctional(C7)categorywereexcluded,thenumberofsustainability
categorieswasreducedto6inthefinallistofindicators. BasedontheAHPmethod,theweightsofthe
finallistofindicatorswerecalculated.
Table5.LowestweightoftheindicatorsintheanalysedBSAmethodsweightingsystems.
BSAMethods LowestWeight(%)
CodeforSustainableHomes 0.70
LEEDforhomes 0.90
SBToolPT-H 0.40
5. PresentationofResultsandDiscussion
Basedontheresultsofthequestionnaireandontheweightingmethodpresentedabove,itwas
possible to obtain thefinal weight for each sustainability dimension (Table 6), social category and
socialindicator(Table6).
Table6.Therelativeweightofeachsustainabilitydimensionintheassessmentofthesustainabilitylevel.
Dimension BuildingDesigners’Weight(%) BuildingOccupants’Weight(%) AverageWeight(%)
D.1 Environmental 62.0% 55.0% 58.5%
D.2 Social 14.0% 24.0% 19.0%
D.3 Economic 24.0% 21.0% 22.5%
Amongthethreesustainabilitydimensions,thesocialonewasranked,onaverage,astheleast
importantdimensionwithaweightof19%. Nevertheless,thereisadifferenceintheanswersofthe
twogroupsofrespondentssincewhilethebuildingdesignersrankthesocialdimensionastheleast
important,buildingoccupantsrankitasbeingthesecond-mostimportant.
Table7presentstheresultsfromtheapplicationoftheAHPintheevaluationoftheweightof
eachsocialcategory. Analysingthistable,itispossibletoconcludethatthedistributionoftheweights
amongthecategorieswasmorebalancedinthebuildingoccupants’valuationthaninthebuilding
designers’one. Avastmajorityofprofessionalsreportedthatindoorhousequalityissues(C3)arethe
mostimportantinthedesignofahouse. Thebuildingoccupantsreportedthecultural(C1)andsafety