Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

In promoting occupants’ psychological wellbeing, scholarship has focused largely on either the impact of macro-level neighborhood quality indices, or micro-level characteristics of housing units on occupants’ psychological well-being; less attention is paid to the intermediate-level building features, in particular to the health impact of shared spaces in collective housing. The intensifying problem of resource allocation and housing inequality make identifying how and to what extent communal spaces relate to the psychological well-being of low-income urban dwellers an increasingly critical design and policy question. This study critically reviews a decade of literature on healthy collective housing and identifies main themes and research gaps. The paper discusses the pathways through which the design features, management practices, and structural organization of common areas may impact psychological well-being outcomes of residents and provides a framework for conducting further empirical studies on the topic.