Public's attitudes towards greener buildings and infrastructure within the Maltese built environment and public spaces

Abstract

In Malta, as development and construction rates grow and the threat of climate change soars, integrating green construction concepts within the national legislative agenda is crucial. This is intended to reverse the impact of development and develop in a manner that mimics nature. Consequently, the construction sector can push forward a positive movement that will address the significant depletion of non-renewable resources and enhance people's quality of life. This will need to be underpinned by a strong policy and regulatory framework that considers the knowledge and perceptions of all actors involved. This dissertation aims at understanding the public's attitudes toward greener buildings and infrastructure within the Maltese-built environment and lays the groundwork for pro-green policy formulation. This was carried out by administering a comprehensive questionnaire which was analysed using 3 statistical tools: descriptive statistics, Chi Square of Independence with Monte Carlo Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test and Ordinal Logistic Regression, which were used to assess and analyse the collected data. The different methods of analysis presented distinct observations, forming the basis for formulating a reliable policy framework. The study revealed that current green open spaces distribution was insufficient; however, participants still acknowledge the importance of green infrastructure within the Maltese built environment. The public demanded the inclusion of more green infrastructure within the urban built environment but lacked initiative due to the issue of cost. Additionally, among the 278 respondents, c.75% were willing to pay or tolerate longer construction time for a green building. Therefore, the government is encouraged to set an example by conducting more green projects. Respondents agreed that guidelines and a green policy framework are required to generate widespread support for more green infrastructure. Consequently, standards should complement one another, so that target groups do not receive inconsistent messages about their expected behaviour. Thus, participants positively voted for either a new governmental entity or mandating the existing Planning Authority with the responsibility to enforce greener construction in buildings. Eventually, educational level was observed as an underpinning concept that can remarkably change the local attitude toward greener construction. In sum, findings enable city planners and policymakers to provide a system that eases green infrastructure's introduction while incorporating the public realm within the equation. The study has built on previous local research that primarily focused on principal industry-related key players in the construction sector, leaving the public's perspective out of the equation. Therefore, by putting the public's perception into the equation, the study can be considered a pioneer in a Maltese context.