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This paper is conceptual and theoretical and should be seen as an extended hypothesis. I begin by pointing out that reasons for seeking to preserve traditional environments are rarely explicit (although they should be), however some of the reasons can be inferred. One of these is ‘culture,’¹ in terms of cultural identity and continuity. I then argue that ‘culture’ can also be seen as possibly the major obstacle to preservation.

I restate my position that ‘culture’ is both too broad and too abstract to be usable, and apply a specific approach which I have used for other aspects of Environment-Behaviour Relations. I suggest that it is also useful in this connection, so that the method becomes even more general. This involves dismantling ‘culture’ into a set of more concrete expressions and more specific components. These, and changes in them are used to understand the problem with trying to preserve traditional environments. These problems result from disagreements among a variety of groups about environments, especially about the components of environmental quality, which I describe by means of profiles. I then discuss some of the interactions among the different aspects of culture identified and some selected components of environmental quality.

I conclude by discussing a different form of preservation – of the principles and lessons present in traditional environments, rather than the environments themselves. These, it is suggested, may be of use in designing better new environments. I also suggest that the approach used not only begins to explain the issues and problems, but may also begin to suggest solutions.

The courtyard form of the traditional African house responds to people's culture and traditions. Nevertheless, in the era of globalization, the private open space (POS) is fast disappearing in African homes due to neglect and lack of awareness of its value. This study, thus, aims to explore how culture relates to open space design in traditional houses of three major ethnic groups (Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo) in Nigeria. This is with a view to encouraging planners and designers to create open spaces in housing developments according to people's cultural values and needs.

This study is based on qualitative and quantitative research approaches involving a literature review, focus group discussions and a questionnaire survey. The quantitative survey was designed based on the literature review of the concept of culture and the use of space in traditional courtyard houses. Focus group discussions were conducted to identify the specific cultural components that dictated the use of the courtyard as a POS in the Nigerian context. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was carried out to determine the importance of each cultural component in the outdoor sociospatial design. Through systematic sampling, one of every five traditional houses in the study area was selected to determine where respondents were surveyed.

The results reveal that the cultural components that influenced the design and use of the open space were gender and privacy, family and social relations, religious practice and belief, and status and lifestyle. However, the importance attached to each of the cultural components varied from one culture to another in Nigeria. The findings also showed that the open space is used for a variety of purposes, such as ancestral worship, family gatherings and reunions, small-scale ceremonies, and leisure activities.

This study offers professional planners and designers helpful insights to protect culture in housing development and improve daily living in residential environments.

Based on Amos Rapoport's theoretical framework, this study dismantles the concept of “culture” into different components and examines how they affect outdoor sociospatial design in a developing country. The study also provides researchers with ideas and inspiration to study the culture of POSs in traditional housing.

In Latin American cities a great part of the urban environment has grown through self-help processes leading to informal settlements. In the Mexican context, informal settlements are called “colonias populares” which means people’s or popular neighbourhoods. In the late 1960s Turner (1969) argued that popular neighbourhoods should be reconsidered as environments which are socially and culturally responsive to the needs of the inhabitants, as the architecture produced by low-income settlers is based on a system responsive to the changing needs and demands of the users. In these settlements the built environment is the result of the freedom available to inhabitants to take decisions and shape their own environment. This in turn gives place to a myriad of spatial expressions in which culture, identity and popular character are imprinted in both the private and public spaces. This paper explores these issues in the spaces between the dwellings in the public realm.

THE CODE OF THE CITY: STANDARDS AND THE HIDDEN LANGUAGE OF PLACE MAKING

CULTURE, ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

In recent decades, Iranian vernacular architecture has defined the local architectural identity by demonstrating distinctive characteristics. Defining such a critical role for vernacular studies has led to different approaches in the design of the contemporary architecture of Iran. The first approach of integrating vernacular and contemporary designs has focused on local people, their needs, local construction, and building materials. The revival of vernacular architectural design and building elements has been at the forefront of this approach in Iran. However, recent use in Iran has concentrated on the symbolic/abstract reuse of vernacular building forms. Vernacular architecture is known to merely provide for the functional requirements of buildings, and not for aesthetic purposes. Conversely, in the second approach, vernacular building elements are considered to be symbols of local identity. This paper will argue that although the symbolic reuse of vernacular features may not uphold the functional expectations of the vernacular form, this reuse is useful in reviving architectural identity. In addition, underscoring such a different role for vernacular building features in contemporary architecture might help to expand the realm of vernacular studies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the conversion of vernacular architecture in Iran by focusing on the instance of wind-catchers. Wind-catchers typically were used in residential buildings and are considered potent symbols of climate adaptation. In contemporary architecture, however, a form of wind-catcher has been used as a symbol for local architectural identity. Through this transformation, the essential nature of the wind-catcher has found new life in the contemporary architecture of Iran.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a Coasian interpretation of a model of sustainable development for Hong Kong that incorporates three segments, namely economy, society, and environment.

The approach is analytical, using concepts of property rights informed by Coasian neo‐institutional economics and Yu's ideas on the Schumpeterian process in innovation.

First, the sustainable development criteria must be non‐dictatorial, decentralized, and compatible with market economics. The emphasis is contractarian rather than legislative or administrative. Second, the essence of segment cooperation is to create a win‐win situation rather than an “integrated” rent seeking game, which will likely result in more values being created. Third, the requirement that it be progressive over time implies that programs and policies that are duplicative need to be avoided, and innovations are to be encouraged. Fourth, the requirement of satisfying only two aspects of the three segments of cooperation implies a less stringent standard of making stepwise improvements, and thus makes entrepreneurial efforts more likely. Last, the three segments of cooperation, if practiced simultaneously and improved over time, can achieve most, if not all, the principles in the Rio Declaration without aiming at a specific principle in the Declaration.

This paper should focus on a “win‐win” rather than a mutually exploitative approach to public participation in sustainable development promotion.

This paper should assist policymakers and politicians in understanding how sustainable development may be conceptually modelled.

The paper is the first paper that defines for Hong Kong a model of sustainable development on the basis of Coasian economics, and contrasts it with other proposed models.

The aim of this paper is to present an approach for comprehending affordable housing. The approach is based on a new paradigm of research: trans-disciplinarity; a form of inquiry that crosses the boundaries of different disciplines. An argument on the impact of trans-disciplinary thinking on understanding affordable housing is developed, then is placed within the perspective of how lifestyle theories and their underlying concepts can be integrated into a comprehensive investigatory process. In turn, a framework of inquiry is developed while reflected on affordable housing knowledge types. An interpretation of the framework into a survey tool is conceptualized. The tool is introduced in the form of a questionnaire to be implemented in different contexts. The testing of the questionnaire as a tool of inquiry reveals its validity, corroborates the value of integrating trans-disciplinary knowledge into affordable housing research, and accentuates the value of introducing lifestyle theories as a new form of knowledge necessary for future inquiry on affordable housing.

This study aims at understanding the reasons causing the decline in the practice of traditional, regional architectural methods of creating house forms in the Khasia Punji at Jaflong, Sylhet area.

Two main types of traditional and modern house forms were identified and studied in order to document and analyze the aspects of changes in the construction method and material uses, while the interviews together with observational, qualitative and descriptive study formed an insight into the changing socio-cultural dynamics and evolving lifestyle of the tribe. Apart from physical surveys, the primary data on settlement patterns over twenty years' time were reviewed through satellite imaging while the characteristics of local house forms were also collected from tourist photographs through time recorded in Google database.

The findings of this research have pointed out that in the case of the Khasi tribe, the shift in temporal context, accompanied by a shift in technological, socio-cultural and economic aspects, is fueling the transformation in the formal expression, material and methods of the house building.

Limitations were posed in setting up more constructive and informative interview sessions with the Khasi people due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation which limited the survey outcomes in general.

The scope of this study is to understand the changes and advances in socio-cultural, technological aspects of a society and their impact on the intricate patterns of life and customs that are evidently reflected in the transformation of built environments.

This research attempts to understand the causes behind the transformation of vernacular house forms, taking place in the Khasi village of Jaflong, Sylhet.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and show why post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of public apartment buildings in Ghana as a product of design is important.

By design the paper is descriptive. It uses a literature review as a method to summarize, synthesize and show the gaps in the existing knowledge on public apartment buildings in general and Ghana in particular. These arguments are brought together in a conceptual framework for approaching POE studies.

This paper finds that gaps exist in the existing POE research knowledge regarding public apartment buildings in Ghana not only as residential settings but also as designed artifacts intended for use.

There is a need for scientific research which focus on the design and use of public apartment buildings in Ghana to provide empirical basis for design, policy and research decision-making.

This paper shows that occupants’ feedback information is important, as it can benefits government, designers and builders, building regulators and managers, as well as end users.

The paper contributes a conceptual framework based on which POE studies can be designed.