Greener homes: Factors underpinning Europeans' intention to live in multi-storey wooden buildings

Climate policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions embodied in the built environment support the wider implementation of multi-storey wooden buildings. A body of research on public perceptions toward wood as a structural building material is emerging, but close examination of behavioral factors underpinning prospective dwelling is scarce. We used contextualized constructs from the theory of planned behavior to quantify and compare the roles of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on intentions to dwell in multi-storey wooden buildings. Structural equation models were fitted to survey data from seven European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom; n = 7056). We found that attitudes consistently explain intention to dwell in multi-storey wooden buildings. We also found a varied pattern of relationships between factors underpinning intention across countries. An implication of our results is that national-level policies aimed at promoting social acceptability of dwelling in multi-storey wooden buildings should universally address attitudes toward such novel buildings. But in some countries policies might in addition be tailored to emphasize citizens' subjective norms or perceived behavioral controls.

Reference:
 D. Kim, F. Franzini, B.J. Thorsen, S. Berghäll, F.X. Aguilar (2023) Greener homes: Factors underpinning Europeans' intention to live in multi-storey wooden buildings. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 39(373-381). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.05.030