Building environment assessment methods and social studies of rural villages in Yunnan and urban development in Chongqing City, Southwest China

Recent urbanization processes and corresponding government policies in China have highlighted the need for much greater understanding of sustainable development and the requirements for sustainability in settings that are very different in rural and urban regions. This paper examines practice and knowledge linked to typical vernacular houses constructed since 1950 in Yunnan Province and regional buildings in Chongqing City in Southwest China. Both areas have played crucial roles in contributing to regional architectural design since the beginning of the 20th Century because of the diversity arising from numerous ethnic groups and various climate types and topography features in the region. The study explores how academic and end-user knowledge accumulated and developed, and how this has revealed social, cultural and political influences on how designers and consumers were motivated towards sustainable design over the same time period. It is argued that locally shared knowledge bases should be considered important for informing governmental policies, planning strategy and consumers’ preferences, as well as influencing actions and social acceptance in relation to sustainable development. Furthermore, sustainable design should not be regarded as a contemporary new idea, but one that has its roots in the historical changes in built environment design and practice.