Environmental atmosphere of outdoor residential areas in southern Sweden: A comparison of experts and residents

• The purpose of this project was to help bridge the gap between developers and residents by creating a design criteria checklist for outdoor residential areas and to validate the checklist by means of a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) carried out by the residents in six housing areas. Items addressed in the checklist covered general layout, complexity and coherence, identity and affection, construction materials, greenery, climate, pollution and noise, ecological sustainability, meeting areas, privacy, security and traffic control, and maintenance. The reliability of the expert form amounted to r =. 71 and each expert showed significant positive correlations with the other experts. The agreement between experts was consistently higher for some areas than for others. Based on 406 individuals, a factor analysis was carried out for the POE data, which rendered the following factors: Attachment, Outdoor Enjoyment, Aesthetics, Sustainability, and Social Interaction. The assessments by experts and residents were compared in terms governed by the structure of the factor analysis. The validation showed that POE Attachment was predicted by the total score of the expert form and that specific clusters of expert items predicted Outdoor Enjoyment and Aesthetics. It was not possible by means of the expert form to predict Sustainability and Social Interaction. We suggest that this tool will be useful for design education, for designing new residential areas, and for the assessment of existing residential areas. Copyright (C) 2004, Locke Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Husbyggnad (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Building Technologies (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)