Dweller Preferences for Wood as a Load-Bearing Material in Residential Buildings

Francisco Aguilar, Anders Roos, Antti Haapala, Katja Lähtinen, Matleena Kniivilä and Hans Fredrik Hoen

Journal of Forest Economics, 2023, vol. 38, issue 1, 77-111

Abstract: The wider use of wood as a load-bearing framing material can advance climate action by storing carbon in long-lived products. Substitution of traditional materials such as brick, concrete, and steel will be partly determined by dweller preferences. Unknown preferences allowed, we elicited stated choices for the following load-bearing materials in residential construction: (i) primarily wood and (ii) wood in combination with other materials, over the use of (iii) traditional (e.g., brick, concrete, steel). Stated choices with an opt-out option gathered from over 7,000 adults residing across seven European nations were modelled using a weighted multinomial logistic regression. Among our explanatory variables, past experience and knowledge dominated higher preferences toward wood over traditional materials. Negative attitudes related to wood harvesting had a strong inverse effect. Preferences show that primarily wood and wood in combination with other materials were perceived as two distinct load-bearing products. A concerted effort to better inform the public on the green credentials and performance features of wood might be necessary to increase its use in European residential load-bearing framing.

Keywords: Multi-storey building; wood; structural construction; stated preferences; multinomial logistic regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:now:jnljfe:112.00000537

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