Measuring and optimizing the utilization of shared residential spaces

Residents in Sweden have access to more living space per capita than residents in almost every other country in Europe. At the same time, Sweden's population is growing and Swedes are more likely to move than residents of any other European country in a given year. Today, housing and construction account for 22% of the country's total carbon dioxide emissions and 40% of all waste generated in Sweden. Although carbon dioxide emissions per square metre of living space have decreased in recent years, total carbon dioxide emissions from buildings have continued to increase as the population lives in larger homes, often alone. It is clear that structural changes in the use of living space are needed to meet Sweden's ambitious goals for carbon neutrality (net zero by 2045) and for waste from the construction sector (collection of 70% of non-hazardous waste by 2025). In this project, we want to investigate how Sweden's housing needs can be met while reducing the physical expansion of housing. We want to do this by investigating the use of existing common living spaces, such as laundry rooms, entrances, courtyards, and recreation rooms. Developing and improving these spaces could be a way to reduce the demand for living space in existing and future residential buildings. There is little knowledge about how these spaces are used today and about the cost and consequences of increasing their use.

Our hypothesis is that increasing the functionality and utilization rate of public spaces that are currently underutilized, as well as finding creative solutions to encourage more sharing of spaces, can lead to a significant reduction in the need for new residential space in Sweden. The project consists of two main phases over a period of four years:

Phase 1 consists of benchmarking i) how often, ii) under what circumstances, iii) by whom, iv) for what purposes different types of shared spaces in residential buildings are used. This is done through two main data collections: The first looks at the big picture by conducting a national survey that asks a large and representative sample of Swedes how they use spaces such as lobbies, laundry rooms, courtyards, recreation rooms, and rooftop terraces. The survey will also follow participants if they move to a new home and observe whether individuals who currently have access to shared spaces are more or less likely to move to homes with shared spaces. In short, we want to know whether access to shared spaces in residential buildings reduces or increases the need for more private space for individuals and how factors such as income, age, and family situation affect their housing.

Phase 2 will use data collected during Phase 1 to create a vision for how shared spaces can be redesigned for optimal use in the future. Through discussions with property owners, we will investigate how shared spaces can be optimized to be both circular and profitable for builders and developers. We will also use life cycle analyses to understand how the optimized use of shared spaces affects environmental indicators, such as resource use and carbon dioxide emissions. Finally, we will develop new metrics and standards that can be used by architects and policymakers to effectively measure and communicate the benefits of shared spaces in existing residential buildings and future renovation projects.

This project is being carried out by an interdisciplinary group of researchers from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, with expertise in urban planning, consumption and climate psychology, property management and architecture, life cycle analysis, business economics, and circular business models. The project collaborates with a reference group consisting of Swedish architectural firms, interest groups for housing issues, and housing developers, who will be involved in several phases of the project, including the design of surveys, scenario building, and policy development.