Living greener with wood

The building and maintenance of buildings in the residential sector account for six percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Related emissions must be halved by 2030 and be net zero by 2050 in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Technological developments in the use of timber for multi-storey structural construction have created appealing pathways to simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and add value to limited but renewable forest resources. Yet, a challenge with multi-storey wooden buildings is its very novelty and do Europeans want to live in a multi-storey wooden building?

Three recommendations

Researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, European Forest Institute and the Universities of Helsinki and Copenhagen delved into what determines individuals’ intention to live in multi-storey wooden buildings. Specifically, they studied people’s attitudes, social pressure, and whether or not they felt they could afford and find multi-storey buildings.

— The results show that all these factors have a positive influence on the peoples intention to live in a multi-storey building, says Dohun Kim, doctoral student who led data analyses. 

Based on the three factors, researchers offer three specific recommendations to policy-makers:

1. Devise information campaigns targeting common misconceptions regarding multi-storey wooden buildings. Particularly important to respond to concerns over fire safety, structural durability, and environmental sustainability. Accurate and current information on these important aspects could trigger more favorable attitudes toward living in multi-storey wooden buildings.
2. Engage influential people such as real-estate agents to widen current knowledge on multi-storey wooden buildings how to communicate positively about them with clients. One likely needs to be prepared to face negative norms regarding multi-storey wooden buildings.
3. Create accessible platforms for citizens to share wooden construction information. Subjective perceptions are significant barriers to the decision to live in a multi-storey wooden building. From safety, to affordability, or market accessibility of these buildings, citizens looking for a place to live should be aware if multi-storey wooden buildings are an available option. Limited information can be a major constraint on the housing decision making process.
4.  

— We can see that there is a difference between the countries regarding which strategies they should choose. However the exact reason behind why for instance Sweden and UK need all three measures we can only speculate, says Dohun Kim, doctoral student who led data analyses.