Perceptions of Thermal Comfort and Housing Quality: Exploring the Microgeographies of Energy Poverty in Stakhanov, Ukraine. (May 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Petrova, Saska; Gentile, Michael; Mäkinen, Ilkka Henrik; Bouzarovski, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Environment and planning. Volume 45:Number 5(2013)
• Page Start: 1240
• Page End: 1257
• Publication Date: 2013-05
• Subjects: energy poverty -- housing -- thermal comfort -- cross-sectional studies -- Ukraine; City planning -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Periodicals; City planning; Regional planning; Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1068/a45132
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-518X

Abstract

The growing recognition of the importance of indoor environments as 'active political–ecological spaces' has rarely been followed up by a systematic empirical engagement with the constituent dynamics and conceptual issues associated with infrastructural deprivation in this domain, particularly in non-Western contexts. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between self-reported perceptions of thermal comfort in the home, on the one hand, and a range of sociodemographic, housing, and health-related variables, on the other, via a quantitative analysis of a large-scale survey undertaken in the Eastern Ukrainian town of Stakhanov. Using the perceived level of thermal comfort as a starting point for its empirical explorations, we estimate the number and type of households who feel that they are receiving inadequate energy services in the home. Special attention is paid to the role of buildings in shaping the perceptions of thermal comfort.