Community Perceptions of Engagement in Sustainable Building Design/Construction in Rural Context

Sustainability discourse in the context of the built environment rarely discusses rural areas. Further, sustainable development (SD) strategies in place for the built environment in developing countries hardly consider the rural communities’ perceptions, which are crucial to attain true rural sustainable development. Thus, gaining a deeper understanding of community values and needs in their local living conditions could thereby result in a sustainable design/construction that can address not only the material aspects of building but also change values and behaviours. Hence, investigation of the perception of rural communities with respect to their involvement (engagement) in design/construction is vital towards rural SD. In this research, the Integral Sustainable Design (ISD) theory was used as the platform to identify the perspectives of rural communities. Three (3) focus groups were conducted covering fifteen (15) representatives from the community of Ampara, Sri Lanka. Findings underscored the importance of community engagement in SD by highlighting the numerous benefits that could be gained through participatory approaches. Ultimately, outcomes would be useful to guide decision makers to rethink sustainable design as an integral and participatory process that allows for construction and operation to be synergetic with the lifestyles, cultural views, values and systems of rural communities.