Lifestyle adaptation and its implication on sustainable housing: a contextual study of Mysore, India

Basavapatna Kumaraswamy, Satish 2014. Lifestyle adaptation and its implication on sustainable housing: a contextual study of Mysore, India. Presented at: Innovative Engagement for Sustainable Development: the Edinburgh-India Story, Edinburgh India Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, 14-16 May 2014.

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Abstract

For developing nations the development of sustainable communities has to go hand in hand with the achievement of wider goals, where emphasis has to be given to the importance of lifestyle and social change. This inter-disciplinary research draws understanding from the social-cultural and economic studies to define the values and aspirations of the middle class demographic and its implications on the sustainable housing. One of the fastest growing economies in south Asia, India, has empowered a large and powerful consumer oriented middle class. These middle class mores are driven by aspiration aimed at achieving western living standard and moved away from a traditional communitarian social model. This research presents the results of extensive fieldwork research in the southern-Indian city of Mysore to define the values held by the emergent middle-class in respect of the built environment. Common areas and shared spaces have traditionally been very actively used and have played a crucial role in both passive cooling strategies and the maintenance of socially sustainable communities. Field work shows that the built environment is polarised between well-maintained and protected housing interiors and poorly organised and maintained external spaces and examines as how these transition spaces are used to reflect their values and concerns. The paper examines whether earlier traditions in sustainable building design in Mysore, India, have relevance in a contemporary context and the importance of understanding the changing preferences and values of a newly affluent demographic. This paper reflects the findings of the research exploring the sustainable housing strategies acknowledging the peoples aspirations. This bottom-up approach will be a useful tool for the architects to promote sustainable housing and will be appropriate, when the Government of India implements its national mission on ‘Sustainable Habitat’, one of the eight national missions, identified to tackle climate change.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Architecture
Date of Acceptance:	April 2014
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2025 11:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/180215

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