Energy Efficiency in Housing: Implementing Gender-Targeted Strategies for a Sustainable Future (Part 2)
In a groundbreaking three-part series, we delve into the intricate relationship between various fields and their potential to drive significant energy savings in the future. Our focus for this article is the extension of the transport example, shedding light on how interdependent fields can work together to promote energy efficiency.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of architecture that caters to diverse human needs, including pandemic preventative measures. Yet, it is not just health considerations that should be at the forefront of architectural design. Gender, too, plays a crucial role in shaping our living spaces.
A striking fact is that women are twice to ten times more likely than men to perform unpaid household and reproductive tasks. This principle, often overlooked, attributes energy usage to the person who starts an appliance, regardless of whether it's for themselves or others in the household. This unintentional discrimination often results in energy usage data referring mostly to women in multi-person households.
This disparity is further exacerbated by economic discrimination and wage gaps, which often limit the financial means to invest in energy-saving products. However, the expression "the personal is political" highlights the connections between social and political structures, underscoring the need for change.
One such change is the implementation of gender-responsive approaches in housing policies. A prime example is Vienna, Austria, which built a new residential complex using sex-disaggregated data to better address the specific needs of residents, particularly women. The mixed-use approach of the Vienna complex integrates basic needs like transport, supermarkets, doctors, and kindergartens, reducing the need for extensive mobility and saving energy within transport.
This approach is a testament to responsive architecture, which considers specific needs, as demonstrated in the construction of a new housing complex in Vienna in 1993. By addressing the unique needs of its residents, this complex has contributed to energy savings and improved living conditions.
Care work, strongly connected with energy-usage, including cooking, cleaning, and washing, also contributes to an estimated 9% of the global GDP. Ignoring existing differences in housing conditions contributes to energy inefficiency. To address this issue, the United Nations implemented the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in 2016 to highlight the relevance of gender within the housing sector worldwide.
However, housing has become a scarce resource due to urbanization and growing economic inequalities. Discrimination in the housing market disproportionately affects women, LGBTQI+, Black people, People of Color, and people with disabilities, who often end up in poorly insulated buildings. Older devices and badly insulated buildings require more electricity, leading to increased energy usage.
Access to energy-efficient buildings and energy-saving appliances plays a significant role in evaluating energy usage. The "who presses the button" principle, used to determine energy consumption data, can lead to biased data if we don't account for the hidden energy consumption in care work. By addressing these issues, we can strive for a more equitable and energy-efficient future.
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