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The impact of niche green developments in transforming the building sector: The case study of Lochiel Park

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  • Berry, Stephen
  • Davidson, Kathryn
  • Saman, Wasim

Abstract

Energy use in residential buildings is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions. The South Australian Government responded to concern for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by creating a model development of near zero energy homes in a near zero carbon impact estate. The creation of the Lochiel Park Green Village challenged a collective of industry experts and policy makers to set objectives, performance targets and regulatory guidelines outside existing institutional and professional norms. Literature suggests that the creation of niche events can help the transition away from dominant technologies, practices and beliefs, and lead to organisations embracing new tools, construction practices, technologies, standards and policies. By applying a multi-level socio-technical framework, and utilising evidence collected from a series of interviews with key government and industry leaders, this paper examines how, under the influence of landscape pressures, structural change at the regime level can come from the incubation of ideas and experiences at the niche level. The available evidence finds that the creation of the Lochiel Park Green Village has allowed many individuals and organisations to gain a more detailed and practical understanding of sustainable housing, and has given organisations the confidence to change industry practices, government policies, and regulatory standards.

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  • Berry, Stephen & Davidson, Kathryn & Saman, Wasim, 2013. "The impact of niche green developments in transforming the building sector: The case study of Lochiel Park," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 646-655.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:62:y:2013:i:c:p:646-655
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.067
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    1. Ning Huang & Libiao Bai & Hailing Wang & Qiang Du & Long Shao & Jingtao Li, 2018. "Social Network Analysis of Factors Influencing Green Building Development in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Trivess Moore & Andréanne Doyon, 2018. "The Uncommon Nightingale: Sustainable Housing Innovation in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Peter W. Newton & Briony C. Rogers, 2020. "Transforming Built Environments: Towards Carbon Neutral and Blue-Green Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-25, June.
    4. Joshua Byrne & Mark Taylor & Tom Wheeler & Jessica K. Breadsell, 2020. "WGV: Quantifying Mains Water Savings in a Medium Density Infill Residential Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Joshua Byrne & Mike Mouritz & Mark Taylor & Jessica K. Breadsell, 2020. "East Village at Knutsford: A Case Study in Sustainable Urbanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-17, August.
    6. Xin Yao & Yuanyuan Cheng & Li Zhou & Malin Song, 2022. "Green efficiency performance analysis of the logistics industry in China: based on a kind of machine learning methods," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 308(1), pages 727-752, January.
    7. Zhang, Li & Wu, Jing & Liu, Hongyu, 2018. "Policies to enhance the drivers of green housing development in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 225-235.
    8. Berry, Stephen & Davidson, Kathryn, 2015. "Zero energy homes – Are they economically viable?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 12-21.
    9. Hilde Nykamp, 2020. "Policy Mix for a Transition to Sustainability: Green Buildings in Norway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    10. Hillman, Joanne & Axon, Stephen & Morrissey, John, 2018. "Social enterprise as a potential niche innovation breakout for low carbon transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 445-456.
    11. Berry, Stephen & Whaley, David & Davidson, Kathryn & Saman, Wasim, 2014. "Near zero energy homes – What do users think?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 127-137.
    12. Carina Anderson & Robert Passey & Jeremy De Valck & Rakibuzzaman Shah, 2019. "Towards Zero Emissions Noosa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-17, August.
    13. Luis Felipe Cândido & Jose Carlos Lazaro & Adriano Olivier de Freitas e Silva & José de Paula Barros Neto, 2023. "Sustainability Transitions in the Construction Sector: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-26, August.

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