Mahmoud Alsaeed
ESR5

Mahmoud is one of the directors of the Housing Studies Association in the UK and a PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield. He previously worked as a practising architect and urban planner with several years of professional experience in the consulting engineering industry in one of the leading firms in the Middle East and North Africa.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering from Al-Ahliyya Amman University in Jordan, a Master of Science in Urban Planning and Design from Qatar University and a Master of Social Science in International Cooperation in Urban Planning from Grenoble University. He is also certified as a Green Associate by the United States Green Building Council, a Certified Green Professional by the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development and an International Associate by the American Institute of Architects.
Mahmoud's current research project focuses on the environmental sustainability of social housing in the UK at the University of Sheffield. His research interests include sustainable design and planning, sustainability in housing, and social housing policy and planning.
August, 22, 2023
March, 17, 2022
September, 17, 2021
Environmental Sustainability of Future Social Housing
Environmental sustainability and social housing are important issues that are intertwined and hindered by unsustainable practices in the design, construction and operation of housing. Social housing is an important aspect in the UK, forming 18 per cent of the total housing stock, which accounts for 6.6 per cent of national energy consumption and contributes to 4.4 per cent of carbon emissions. To address these complex and interlinked issues, the UK government has launched multi-faceted strategies, including the ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and a decarbonised housing sector by 2030. At the same time, mandatory and voluntary sustainability standards and a reformed housing policy have been adopted to support the achievement of these targets. However, critical assessments in recent Environment Committee reports have shown that progress towards these national targets has been very slow. This lethargic progress is attributed to several challenges. These include complicated and fragmented regulations and procedures, a pervasive lack of clarity among industry professionals on environmentally sustainable social housing, and a vague path towards energy efficiency and carbon neutrality.
The core aim of this research project lies in the overarching intention to challenge and subsequently reform existing paradigms of practice that are perceived as ineffective due to their complicated and fragmented nature. The need for an innovative, realistic and simple framework for the development of sustainable social housing is, therefore, a key element in addressing the current challenges. This objective is guided by a series of critical questions, such as What standards for environmentally sustainable social housing are needed to promote simple and effective practices? What is the current perception and structure of housing and sustainability practices? How do we define and measure the environmental sustainability of housing? What tools can be used to achieve an efficient and environmentally sustainable housing sector?
A qualitative study forms the methodological basis of this project, serving as a foundation for the primary conceptualisation of sustainability and housing policies, their development paths, as well as the contemporary methods for measuring environmental sustainability in social housing. This investigation is complemented by various methods, such as semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including housing associations, sustainability specialists and architects. These interviews provide important insights into prevailing practices in the field. And informing the in-depth analysis of three case studies on sustainable social housing practices. The findings are then validated through focus groups, which are an important tool to test the credibility of the study findings and the proposed framework.
The planned outcome of this project is aimed at housing developers and planners in the form of a policy and practice framework that addresses the environmental sustainability of social housing and provides practical design and planning guidance for achieving an environmentally sustainable social housing sector in the UK. This framework will be significant for its potential to trigger nationwide change, support practical developments in housing sustainability and encourage future studies into achieving sustainable social housing through simplified and effective codes and standards.
Keywords: social housing, environmental sustainability, sustainability practices, sustainable social housing.
Reference documents
Environmental sustainability of future social housing
Excessive resource consumption and other unsustainable practices have in recent decades contributed to the current global climate emergency. Unsustainable practices are especially prevalent in housing design, construction and operation equally in new and retrofit projects. In the UK, the social housing sector forms up to 18 per cent of the entire housing stock (4.2 million units in 2021), consumes up to 5.3 per cent of the country’s energy and causes 3.6 per cent of its carbon dioxide emissions. To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and build a decarbonised housing sector with a minimum C rating on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) across all homes by 2030, the UK government has developed several initiatives (decarbonisation fund), policies and procedures (among many, the Code of Sustainable Homes, Energy white paper, and the National Design Guide are most notable). However, in 2019, 48 per cent of UK housing providers thought that government sustainability policies and target objectives were unclear. These unclear expectations, complex and fragmented sustainability codes and standards, widespread misperception of environmental sustainability tools and concepts, and a vague energy-efficiency transition pathway have also hindered UK sustainability progress.
This project challenges existing methodological practices, which the project argues are ineffective due to the practice policy’s complexity and fragmentation. The project assesses methodological and practice policy effectiveness in terms of their roles and effect on social housing sustainability in the UK (both retrofit and new construct). The project aims to answer the following questions: (1) what is the current perception and structure of housing and sustainability practices?; (2) how do we define and measure housing sustainability?; (3) what tools can be used to achieve an efficient decarbonised housing sector?; and (4) what should the standards for future homes look like to promote simple and effective practices?
The first of this project’s three aims is to identify sustainability and housing policies, codes and standards and determine their development timelines and impacts on the investigated topics. Its second objective is to develop a comprehensive understanding of sustainable social housing practices and the emerging concept of decarbonisation by investigating housing and sustainability policies, definitions, principles and theories. The third objective is to examine and map the landscape of current sustainability tools, codes and guidelines in the UK.
To accomplish its aims, this project adopts a mixed-methods approach. The project conducts a qualitative investigation to form a theoretical base and establish definitions, principles and policy timelines. The project’s qualitative instruments include desk study, focus group discussions with experts in the field, and semi-structured interviews with housing practitioners. The project’s quantitative approach aims to map the current-practices landscape and measure how effectively current practices meet environmental sustainability targets. The project’s quantitative tools include questionnaires (end-users and practitioners) during the planned secondments, and analysis of decarbonisation progress using statistics.
This project’s expected outcome is a policy and practice framework that addresses the environmental sustainability of social housing and provides practical design and planning guidelines for achieving a ‘decarbonised’ housing sector in the UK. This framework will be significant due to its potential to trigger a national wide change, support practical developments in housing sustainability and to prompt future studies on achieving sustainable social housing through simplified and effective codes and standards.
Keywords: UK social housing, sustainability tools, sustainability practices, construction codes, housing decarbonisation.
Reference documents
Environmental Sustainability of Future Social Housing
Environmental sustainability and resource efficiency are vital concepts to improve and protect our planet. Both concepts are also relevant to housing design, construction and use. With the support of local housing communities, the UK social housing sector is set to increase rapidly. In the UK, housing accounts for 30 per cent of the total energy use, 27 per cent of UK carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time, social housing forms up to 18 per cent of total housing stock. Therefore, we must reconsider new ways of building sustainable and affordable homes that improve the quality of the built environment and create better places for people to live.
This project addresses two challenges. On the one hand, it establishes a clearer conceptual understanding of low-cost sustainable housing by investigating the definitions, principles, and theories associated with its construction. On the other hand, it examines sustainability practices currently in use by looking at the sustainability tools, guidelines, codes, and standards for achieving low-carbon homes. Consequently, this project will answer the following questions in the UK context: how do we define and measure housing sustainability? What tools can be used to achieve low-carbon housing? How do we achieve a decarbonized housing sector?
A mixed methods research design will be used. Qualitative instruments, including a literature review and case studies analysis, will identify current sustainability definitions, meanings and methods of practice. Meanwhile, quantitative instruments focused on statistical reports and sustainability codes aim to review the existing assessment methods and develop a comprehensive understanding of sustainability assessment principles.
The planned outcome of this project is to develop a comprehensive framework that promotes the sustainability of social housing. This framework will be developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including local social housing communities. It will include a theoretical database that defines the theories and principles of “low-carbon design and planning of housing”; at the same, it will form a clear, practical guideline for achieving “decarbonized housing” by improving current standards and codes of practice, therefore bridging the gap between theories of housing sustainability and actual practices of housing construction in the UK.

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Posted on 01-12-2023
Conferences, Reflections
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Do we truly need a framework?
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Workshops, Reflections
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The fallacy of “sustainability”
Posted on 20-06-2023
Reflections
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North Wingfield Road social housing complex.
Created on 25-11-2022

Deben Fields (Garrison Lane)
Created on 15-11-2023
Building Decarbonisation
Participatory Approaches
Social Housing
Sustainability Built Environment
Area: Design, planning and building
Created on 06-11-2023
Read more ->Area: Community participation
Created on 17-02-2022
Read more ->Area: Policy and financing
Created on 17-06-2023
Read more ->Area: Design, planning and building
Created on 24-06-2022
Read more ->Alsaeed, M., & Hadjri, K. (2022, August). Environmental sustainability of future social housing. In New Housing Researchers Colloquium (NHRC) at the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) Conference 2022, Barcelona, Spain.
Posted on 30-08-2022
Conference
Read more ->Alsaeed, M., Hadjri, K., & Nawratek, K. (2024, March). A comparative analysis of UK sustainable housing standards. In 7th Residential Building Design & Construction Conference, Pennsylvania, USA.
Posted on 11-12-2023
Conference
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