Housing retrofit: the household-inclusive way? Perspectives from China and the Netherlands

Summary:

This social-scientific thesis focuses on the organised interactions between retrofit providers (constructors, installers, landlords and government officials) and householders in apartment building improvements for energy saving in housing retrofit in China and the Netherlands. This thesis concludes that including householders and their practices in phases of design, construction and operation could contribute to housing retrofit quality and to help realise the energy saving. The empirical findings from Beijing and Mianyang and Amsterdam show that the relevance of householders is exemplified by their role in suggestions on preliminary plans during the retrofit design, their quality control during the retrofit construction phase and pro-active education during the retrofit operation. Finally, it helps to understand that householders may only be called upon to ‘do their bit’ when provisioning practices and retrofit practices of intermediation are organised in ways that fit their domestic practices. Thus, a crucial step to strengthen future retrofit policies in China and the Netherlands is to focus on how retrofit interventions are socially ‘made available’ to householders. This could drive beyond the artificial production-consumption division, engage chain collaboration and mutual trust for inclusive housing retrofit policies in China and the Netherlands.