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Compact living helps reach climate targets

Portrait
What is a reasonable size of a home if we are to be in line with climate goals? Sustainability researcher Pernilla Hagbert will investigate this in a study (Photo: Josefin Backman)
Published Jan 29, 2025

Swedes should live smaller - for the sake of the climate. But how cramped are we willing to live? Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology will investigate this in a study on the limits of our consumption.

The average Swede lives in just over 40 square metres, an area that needs to be halved if we are to meet international climate targets. This issue is the focus of a newly launched research project that examines how a radical climate transition could be achieved.

The project uses the concept of a ‘consumption corridor’ to show where the boundaries are for sustainable consumption, in this case housing. In addition to the ecological limit, there is a lower limit, a kind of minimum housing standard so that all social groups have their basic needs met.

“Staying within this corridor is about sufficiency. The question is what we really need and how we can get it in a smaller area,” says Pernilla Hagbert, project manager and researcher in regional and urban studies at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

In workshops consisting of representatives from business, civil society, the public sector and various social groups and household types, participants will discuss how sustainable consumption corridors for housing and transport can look.

Visualising conflicts

“The aim is for each workshop to come up with a proposal that has been ‘negotiated’ after balancing different interests. It's about visualising the different conflicts that can arise, and working through them.”

Housing issues can be particularly delicate, according to Hagbert, who has a long research background in the field. ‘Talking about the size of our homes and how we allocate space evokes emotions and is something we have strong opinions about. Housing is a central part of our lives, and many people don't like others interfering with it.

“We want to find new ways to talk about this, so that it has impact and is effective.”

Justice perspective

According to Hagbert, the justice perspective plays a crucial role in achieving a long-term stable and sustainable solution.

“There is a lot of talk about acceptance of the climate transition. But it's about including different perspectives on both the processes, what a transition can look like, and the outcome, so that people don't feel that they are being disadvantaged.”

Is it reasonable to believe that a limit of 20 square metres can be accepted?

“The point is not to stare blindly at a number. We will need to organise this in different ways in society, through a variety of solutions. And this process needs to be part of the democratic debate, not something that researchers can determine.”

Based in part on the results of the workshops, the researchers will sketch out possible policies aimed at achieving a transition in practice. These could include different types of economic instruments, such as taxing overconsumption.

The research project may also come up with policy proposals in the field of urban planning, such as restrictions on building permits and land use.

Text: Christer Gummeson (gummeson@kth.se)

The research project in brief

  • ‘Negotiating pathways to achieve the Paris Agreement’ is funded by Formas and led by IVL with participating researchers from KTH, Chalmers and Uppsala University. The main question is: To what extent can a radical climate transition be achieved through different forms of societal transformation, and what does this mean for different groups in society? Hagbert and Sofia Wiberg from KTH are participating.
  • In the field of sustainable housing, the researchers take a holistic approach to emissions that includes everything from construction to housing. This includes materials, heating and cooling, maintenance, renovation and interior design. The aim is to cover all consumption-based emissions.
  • Previous research on consumption corridors suggests between seven and 15 square metres as the minimum area for housing and between 20 and 35 square metres as the maximum. Much depends on how you define basic needs. Other research, including Hagbert's, suggests that around 20 square metres on average per person is in line with the climate target. This does not mean that everyone should live in small 20 square metre apartments, but that a four-person household, for example, could be accommodated in a three-room apartment of 80 square metres.
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Last changed: Jan 29, 2025