People’s
Preference for Place: The Intersection of Sustainable Site Design
and User Preference |
The objective of this study is to insert social sustainability into the discourse of sustainable site design. The study evaluates the potential relationships between the sustainable site design guidelines and user’s preferences and values of outdoor space using post occupancy evaluation. Responding to the user’s needs and values, not the designer’s creates successful and socially sustainable places (Hester, 1995). Designed spaces affect people in profound ways. A post occupancy evaluation can facilitate the understanding of the implications of designs, needs and values of people (Marcus, 1995). Through a post occupancy evaluation survey this study explored user’s needs and preferences of private and public outdoor space in two affordable homeownership housing developments in Oakland, California. In the survey, the study considers three aspects of site design: open space, permeable surface/parking and the building footprint. The post occupancy survey is comprised of three components: an owner given tour of their private and neighborhood outdoor space, a rating and prioritization of outdoor space and a trade-off question section. The goal of the survey is to understand the homeowner’s needs and preferences as well as their priorities for outdoor space. The results of the survey are compared to sustainable site design guidelines compiled from local organizations and industries. This analysis produces an alternative perspective as well as a set of sustainable site design guidelines, which better respond to user’s needs. These guidelines encapsulate both green site design and social sustainability. This analysis provides a context for designers and architects to consider sustainable site design more critically. In this way, the classic works of Clare Cooper Marcus and Henry Sanoff on user’s needs and post occupancy research are extended to understand sustainable site development. Full text [PDF] (1.6mb) |