Renovation for personalization: A development arm for sustainable housing

Abstract

Renovation is a common phenomenon in mass housing schemes in Malaysia. It is a personalization process aiming at establishing household's meanings of home and expected affordances. It turns the unsuitable housing unit design provided by the developers into a more liveable residential environment for the dwellers. However, the practice despite being regarded as a Malaysian culture, has not received sufficient assistance from building actors, including the government sectors. Studies in the field are also scarce. This book attempts to explain the practice from the point of view of sustainable housing development. It highlights the central contribution of user participation in the creation of environment that fit the users. The practice is argued as a housing development arm, probably equivalent if not more important than the formal mode of housing provision in creating sustainable housing. The book also suggests various aspects to be considered in developing the personalization programme for practical implementation.