Meeting human needs is considered as fundamental to sustainable human settlement. However, in micro level developments particularly in respect of a housing unit, for example, an…
Abstract
Meeting human needs is considered as fundamental to sustainable human settlement. However, in micro level developments particularly in respect of a housing unit, for example, an operational definition of sustainability which will be useful in its practical implementation, has yet to be developed. To address this, the author posits that theories on the relationship between the environment and the person can be taken as a conceptual frame of reference. One of them is the theory of Person-Environment Congruence (PEC). This theory conceptualizes “congruence” as the favourable outcome of the person-environment relationship. Achieving PEC is considered as the most important criteria that supports the concept of housing sustainability. In the context of housing, the author considers that PEC is achieved when the dwelling place can offer its inhabitants a place which meets their basic needs. In order to operationalize this concept in terms of housing unit design, the author propagates the use of the Means-End Chain (MEC) research model to explore the relationship between a person and his or her environment. The combination of the two concepts facilitates the identification of those housing attributes emphasized in the home-making process, together with the users' perceptual orientation towards those attributes. To experiment with the application of the MEC research model in respect of exploring the concept of PEC, a case study was conducted on 15 renovated and personalized houses in a mass housing scheme in Malaysia. The traditional MEC methods were maintained with some modifications to accommodate the various housing characteristics. The results suggest that the MEC research model is able to link the relevant housing unit attributes to user values, and it is potentially applicable in the design of a housing unit. The results also indicated that user participation is essential in home making process, in order to achieve and maintain sustainability.
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Sayyed Javad Asad Poor Zavei and Mahmud Bin Mohd Jusan
Providing operational approach to end-users' motivational tendencies in housing facilitates user-centered approach enhancing person-environment congruence. The operational…
Abstract
Providing operational approach to end-users' motivational tendencies in housing facilitates user-centered approach enhancing person-environment congruence. The operational approach is highly critical in case of inaccessibility of end-users in decision making, i.e. mass housing. Therefore, this study aims at explaining end-users' housing motivations from their housing attributes preferences, through a theoretical framework developed based on Maslow's theory. The investigation was carried out by using a self-administered questionnaire conducted on 127 Iranian postgraduate students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and their spouse who lived alongside them. They were selected from those who lived more than one year in mass housing apartments in Malaysia. Using exploratory factor analysis, the housing attributes preferences were analyzed to underlie the latent structure and relations among them; the extracted factors were also labeled based on the different level of needs. Then, conducting one sample t-test hierarchical tendencies among the different motivational factors were identified. Referring to Maslow's theory to explain the concept and characteristics of housing needs results in identification of two different categories of housing attributes in association with the different level of needs. Accordingly, primary levels of needs that associate with relatively tangible and concrete attributes are more likely to be content-specific and predictable. The higher levels of needs that associate with relatively complicated and abstract attributes are more likely to be problematical, confusing, and non-predictable.
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Vahid Moghimi and Mahmud Bin Mohd Jusan
The purpose of this paper is to unveil how Johor Bahru resident’s conceptions are affected by various structural housing attributes. The determination of an appropriate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to unveil how Johor Bahru resident’s conceptions are affected by various structural housing attributes. The determination of an appropriate combination of housing preferences requires a great deal of involvement to balance a complex interplay of factors. This is attributable to this fact that housing preferences involve multiple-criteria decision-making, as each element has its own perceived relative importance. Accordingly, this study examines the resident housing preferences of Johor Bahru located in southern Malaysia with specific emphasis on the priority of structural attributes of housing preferences.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data collected through the theoretical and conceptual framework of non-structural fuzzy decision support system (NSFDSS) applied to facilitate the priority setting process.
Findings
Priority lists of preferences for structural housing attributes showing the contribution of each factor within their respective level and not the contribution of that factor toward the overall housing preferences were established.
Practical implications
By providing primary information about how potential buyers of a new house prioritize the different elements of a house design, the obtained results can make a useful contribution to the knowledge of individuals engaged in the housing development industry.
Originality/value
While in examining consumers’ housing choice and preferences, most studies use the hedonic price framework studying the issue from several aspects, this is first study dedicated to establish a priority of housing attribute using NSFDSS.