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Building Better with BehSci: Collaborating Toward Sustainable and Affordable Housing

Author headshotDean Plamenco
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Aug 20, 2024

The dream of owning a home is becoming increasingly out of reach for many, especially when considering the rising costs and environmental impact of traditional housing. According to Reuters, the average Canadian home price is expected to rise 1.2% this year, and climb another 3.3% in 2025.1 Meanwhile, traditional building with cement, steel, and concrete significantly contributes to the built environment sector's 37% share of global carbon emissions, with efforts to reduce their "embodied" carbon still lagging.2

The intersection between housing and sustainability is ripe for innovations to increase housing affordability. This opportunity has already been met with an all-hands approach from different stakeholders in the housing sector—buyers, builders, financiers, and regulators—each looking out for their own interests. However, there is still one missing player in the game: behavioral science.

Behavioral science, which provides insights into human actions and decisions, has already been extensively applied in the development sector, housing included.3 In this article, we’ll explore how taking a behavioral science lens can help deliver housing interventions that are both sustainable and affordable.

References

  1. Canada's home prices to rise again on stretched demand-supply gap: Reuters poll (2024). https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-home-prices-rise-again-stretched-demand-supply-gap-2024-02-28/
  2. Division, I. a. E., Dyson, A., Keena, N., Lokko, M., Reck, B. K., Ciardullo, C., Duwyn, J., Loran, S., Mohammed, M., Etman, M. A., Wildman, H., Manu, F. W., Acevedo-De-Los-Ríos, A., Raugei, M., Puurunen, E., Mboup, N., Niang, I., Rondinel-Oviedo, D. R., Sarmiento-Pastor, J. M., . . . Achnani, V. (2023, September 11). Building Materials and the climate: Constructing a new future. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/43293 
  3. Harnessing behavioural insights to tackle complex development challenges. (2024). In https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-05/policy_brief_2-_2024_-_harnessing_behavioural_insights_to_tackle_complex_development_challenges_final.pdf. United Nations Development Program. Retrieved June 16, 2024, from https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-05/policy_brief_2-_2024_-_harnessing_behavioural_insights_to_tackle_complex_development_challenges_final.pdf
  4. Golubchikov, O., Badyina, A., Claudio Acioly, Mohamed El-Sioufi, Channe Oguzhan, UN-Habitat, Helen Musoke, & Christina Power. (2012). SUSTAINABLE HOUSING FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES: a POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (Christophe Lalande, Matthew French, & Emma-Liisa Hannula, Eds.). https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-manager-files/Sustainable%20Housing%20for%20Sustainable%20Cities.pdf
  5. about-affordable-housing-in-canada. (2018, March 31). https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/industry-innovation-and-leadership/industry-expertise/affordable-housing/about-affordable-housing/affordable-housing-in-canada
  6. JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. (2023). THE STATE OF THE NATION’S HOUSING 2023. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2023.pdf
  7. Debrunner, G. (2024). The IRR Applied to Housing: Governing Densification for Socially Sustainable Housing Development. In: The Business of Densification. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49014-9_3 
  8. Addressing challenges to affordable housing in land use law: Recognizing affordable housing as a right. (2022). Harvard Law Review, 135(4) https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-135/addressing-challenges-to-affordable-housing-in-land-use-law/
  9. Starrs, T., Wenger, H., National Renewable Energy Laboratory, & California Energy Commission. (2003). A Consumer’s Guide: Get Your Power from the Sun [Book]. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35297.pdf
  10. Glover, E. (2024, July 31). Net metering: Learn all about net metering and how you can earn even more from your solar panels. Forbes Home. https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/solar/net-metering/ 
  11. Building Green—the business case. (n.d.). IFC. https://www.ifc.org/en/stories/2010/gb-business-case
  12. Dühr, S., Berry, S., & Moore, T. (2023). Sustainable housing at a neighbourhood scale (No. 396). Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited. https://doi.org/10.18408/ahuri3228101 
  13. Sheppard, E. (2023, September 8). Evaluating Canadian Interest: Energy-Efficient Homes in the Housing landscape. Abacus Data. https://abacusdata.ca/energy-efficient-homes-in-the-housing-landscape/ 
  14. ACEEE. (2020). Energy efficiency in real estate listings: a controlled experiment. In ACEEE Research Report [Report]. https://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/b2002.pdf
  15. Atalla, G., Mills, M., & McQueen, J. (2022, May 13). Six ways that governments can drive the green transition. EY Australia. https://www.ey.com/en_au/government-public-sector/six-ways-that-governments-can-drive-the-green-transition 
  16. Basis Social, London Economics, Cambridge University, & University College London. (2024). Green Home Finance: Expert Analysis from a Behavioural Perspective. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d5dc022197b200117fa760/green-home-finance-expert-analysis-from-a-behavioural-perspective.pdf 
  17. White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649
  18. Li, Q., Qian, T., Zhang, X., Long, R., Chen, H., Huang, H., Liu, L., Zhu, L., Jiang, H., & Zhu, H. (2023). How does stakeholder loss aversion affect the promotion of green housing? Economic Analysis and Policy, 80, 647–668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.09.015 
  19. Salazar, H. A., Oerlemans, L., & Van Stroe‐Biezen, S. (2012). Social influence on sustainable consumption: evidence from a behavioural experiment. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(2), 172–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2012.01110.x 
  20. Anthony, B. (2023). The role of community engagement in urban innovation towards the Co-Creation of smart Sustainable Cities. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01176-1 

About the Author

The image shows a man with short, dark hair, wearing a yellow collared shirt, smiling at the camera. He is standing outdoors near a road with a scenic background featuring trees, a fence, and a slightly cloudy sky.

Dean Plamenco

Dean holds a degree in civil engineering and a graduate diploma in project management and is finishing his master’s in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Dean has led and participated in projects related to climate resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation working with diverse groups of people from academia, nonprofits, and the private sector. Dean is also a licensed civil engineer and is interested to learn how behavioral science can help communities become more resilient and inclusive.

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I was blown away with their application and translation of behavioral science into practice. They took a very complex ecosystem and created a series of interventions using an innovative mix of the latest research and creative client co-creation. I was so impressed at the final product they created, which was hugely comprehensive despite the large scope of the client being of the world's most far-reaching and best known consumer brands. I'm excited to see what we can create together in the future.

Heather McKee

BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

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By launching a behavioral science practice at the core of the organization, we helped one of the largest insurers in North America realize $30M increase in annual revenue.

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By redesigning North America's first national digital platform for mental health, we achieved a 52% lift in monthly users and an 83% improvement on clinical assessment.

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By designing a new process and getting buy-in from the C-Suite team, we helped one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world reduce software design time by 75%.

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By implementing targeted nudges based on proactive interventions, we reduced drop-off rates for 450,000 clients belonging to USA's oldest debt consolidation organizations by 46%

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