People, products and places (Research Report Summary) : Exploring sustainable-living practices in masterplanned communities

Abstract

This summary describes our research work to produce People, products and places: Exploring sustainable-living practices in masterplanned communities. The work is part of the ‘University of Hertfordshire Lafarge Tarmac Sustainable Living Partnership’ which began in 2010. Scholars at the Centre for Sustainable Communities at the University of Hertfordshire undertook the research in the United Kingdom and Australia over three years. The study has explored what motivates sustainable behaviour and what acts as barriers to it in masterplanned places that have sustainable features in their housing and wider built environments. In this research we have followed the UK Sustainable Development Commission’s definition: ‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’