Developing multi-dimensional framework for evaluating the sustainability of residential sub-districts in urban China

Sustainable housing is an emerging topic nowadays around the world and the issue is of particular importance in modern China. In recent decades, China has undertaken massive housing reform with a market oriented housing supply system gradually replacing welfare oriented supply. The “residential sub-district (RSD)” or “Xiaoqu” is becoming the basic form of the new planning regime in urban China. It is a planned neighbourhood containing architecturally similar high-density residential buildings (often dozens) which are integrated with communal facilities. The RSD is a unique residential type which is not just a group of residential buildings. It is positioned between the scale of the single building and the living neighbourhood, and plays a useful linking role between the two scales of development. However, developing an appropriate framework to measure the degree of sustainability achieved in housing in China is still a subject requiring in-depth study.The ultimate goal of sustainable housing is to provide the occupant with a healthy, productive and safe way of living. Current literature and the mainstream sustainable rating tools ignore residents’ perceptions about the built environment. This research focuses on developing a Multi-dimensional Framework (MDF) to analyse existing RSD projects. The MDF combines both the objective results from measuring physical sustainability criteria, with the results of the subjective evaluation of residents’ perceptions. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches provides a more comprehensive and holistic framework for assessing the sustainability of existing RSDs in urban China. The post-occupancy evaluation (POE) method is adopted to encourage the combination of subjective and objective approaches into a practical measure of sustainability. The MDF covers the three pillars (environmental, social and economic) of sustainability with two indicator sets from both physical measurement and the residents’ perception survey. The hierarchy structure and indicators sets are identified and weighted by integrating the Delphi and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) the data for which are derived from an experts’ and a residents panel. Finally, two typical RSDs are selected as case studies for carrying out a comparative study by applying the MDF. The real world case studies test the usability and suitability of the MDF, and identify the opportunities for improving decision-making through detailed case data analysis in the sustainable development of the RSD in Urban China