Nguyen, T.T.T.; Waibel, M. Promoting Urban Health through the Green Building Movement in Vietnam: An Intersectoral Perspective. Sustainability2023, 15, 10296.
Nguyen, T.T.T.; Waibel, M. Promoting Urban Health through the Green Building Movement in Vietnam: An Intersectoral Perspective. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10296.
Nguyen, T.T.T.; Waibel, M. Promoting Urban Health through the Green Building Movement in Vietnam: An Intersectoral Perspective. Sustainability2023, 15, 10296.
Nguyen, T.T.T.; Waibel, M. Promoting Urban Health through the Green Building Movement in Vietnam: An Intersectoral Perspective. Sustainability 2023, 15, 10296.
Abstract
The health of urban citizens is defined by how their living environments are planned, built, and operated. These complex relations between health and the characteristics of built environments require system-orientated thinking and transdisciplinary interventions, yet have mainly been addressed using conventionally narrow sector-based approaches. This paper investigates the opportunities and challenges of the Vietnamese Green Building Movement (GBM) based on a transdisciplinary approach, with attention to additional health benefits of green buildings that are currently under-researched, while highlighting building users’ perspectives. Focusing on the perspectives of high-rise building residents, the paper examines transdisciplinary insights collected from six thematic webinars, expert interviews, and, in particular, from a household survey conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Among other findings on opportunities and challenges for the Vietnamese GBM, the paper points out a challenging mismatch between the high importance homebuyers place on green building health benefits, and the focus of GBM stakeholders on GB energy-saving benefits- which are not necessarily homebuyers’ most pressing concerns. With this evidence-based inquiry, the paper concludes that improved health and well-being should be considered co-benefits of green buildings, along with energy efficiency. Importantly, this paper also brings attention to the necessity of a systemic and transdisciplinary approach in both academic and practical efforts toward the implementation of SDG3- to “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all ages”- and SDG 11- “to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
Keywords
Green building certification; green building movement; health co-benefits; sustainable buildings; transdisciplinary approach; users’ perspectives; urban health; Vietnam
Subject
Social Sciences, Geography, Planning and Development
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
