The Challenges of Sustainable Affordable Housing Construction During the Sri Lankan Economic Crisis

The present Sri Lankan economic crisis has severely impacted various sectors including the industry of construction. Hence, the construction of affordable housing has become an extremely significant factor in response to the circumstances of the economic downfall. Although affordable housing projects are one of the best resolutions for the need for shelter during economic breakdowns, sustainably commencing, implementing, and maintaining such projects are also highly challenging in the present. Therefore, the present study examines the challenges of commencing, implementing, and maintaining sustainable affordable housing projects in Sri Lanka under the impacts of the contemporary economic crisis. The methodology of this research is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It has cooperated the primary data gathered from the study sample; construction professionals of Sri Lankan affordable housing projects via semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys and also the secondary data sources such as research paper publications, periodicals, journals, and books. The data received from the questionnaire survey was analyzed by a Frequency Index after forming them on a ‘Likert Scale’ to examine the degree of application of each respondent. The data gathered by interviews were evaluated in reference to a content analysis. The overall study findings reveal various limitations of affordable housing projects in Sri Lanka during the current economic crisis. It also suggests adopting new strategies and measures to enforce the defined field of studybyprioritizing the degree of impact of each factor.