Improving Living Conditions in Mass Housing of the Prefabrication Era: The User’s Point of View

Abstract

Maintenance of the housing stock of the mass prefabrication era poses a particular challenge due to the scale of the task. Prefabricated blocks of flats are the home of almost 50% of inhabitants of Polish cities - a home that is still in good technical condition and still desirable (good location, shortage of flats in the market). However, in the light of the present-day performance requirements, this housing stock calls for improvements, necessary to prevent loss of value and increase in maintenance cost. In the course of programming the estate modernization, the planner needs not only to select technically and economically justified measures, but also to assure they are approved by the owners of the apartments. The residents are rarely aware of what is technically possible in terms of retrofitting buildings and the estate infrastructure. Moreover, they may be unaware of what kind of long-term consequences are to be expected if improvements are implemented, and what if they are not. As observed in practice, a constructive dialogue between the housing estate management and the residents occurs rarely. Therefore, in order to examine the user’s point of view, the author designed and implemented an extensive survey project. The surveys are intended to be conducted every five years in consultation with the estate manager. They allow not only to passively observe the evolution of user preferences towards particular improvement proposals (changes in preferences caused by changing needs as well as a result of implemented modernization and renovation activities), but also to stimulate interest in upgrading the housing environment (e.g. improving accessibility, switching to renewable energy sources). The article presents the results and conclusions of two cycles of surveys in one of housing estates in Lublin, south-eastern Poland. Such results may provide the estate manager with useful input for retrofitting projects.