Making eco-homes more affordable: Jenny Pickerill
Making eco-homes more affordable: Jenny Pickerill
Author
Introduction
Home energy consumption is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions in the UK and therefore a significant factor for climate change. One response to this is the development of eco-homes, which reduce resource and energy use in how they are built and run, but these are often aimed at high-earners and remain unaffordable for people on lower incomes.
“The Fellowship gave me an invaluable international perspective on eco-homes." - Jenny Pickerill, Fellow
Professor Jenny Pickerill (CF 2010) has been exploring ways to create more affordable eco-home options in the UK. Following her Fellowship, Jenny set up the Green Building Blog and published a book in 2016 called Eco-Homes: People, Place and Politics. The book features 30 case studies from Jenny’s Fellowship, offering international perspectives on this issue. Jenny has shared these widely in her teaching at Sheffield University and talks at universities around the country, as well as in articles she has written for professional publications such as Communities Magazine and Permaculture Magazine, alongside media appearances for the BBC amongst others.
In addition to raising awareness of this issue, Jenny has supported several planning applications to build eco-homes in Wales and England, acting as an expert advisor in the process. Eco-homes are on the rise in the UK and commercial interest is increasing, but they remain expensive. This work has also led Jenny to expand her interests into the broader area of justice and the environment and how the UK tackles climate change in a way that is fair for all.
Jenny’s Fellowship to Argentina, Spain, Thailand and the USA explored different models of affordable eco-homes.
Jenny says, “The Fellowship gave me an invaluable international perspective on eco-homes, which enabled me to understand that the way we build homes in the UK is limited by our cultural heritage. Seeing so many examples of affordable eco-homes elsewhere in the world helped me work out ways we can build better in the UK.”
“The Fellowship gave me an invaluable international perspective on eco-homes." - Jenny Pickerill, Fellow
Professor Jenny Pickerill (CF 2010) has been exploring ways to create more affordable eco-home options in the UK. Following her Fellowship, Jenny set up the Green Building Blog and published a book in 2016 called Eco-Homes: People, Place and Politics. The book features 30 case studies from Jenny’s Fellowship, offering international perspectives on this issue. Jenny has shared these widely in her teaching at Sheffield University and talks at universities around the country, as well as in articles she has written for professional publications such as Communities Magazine and Permaculture Magazine, alongside media appearances for the BBC amongst others.
In addition to raising awareness of this issue, Jenny has supported several planning applications to build eco-homes in Wales and England, acting as an expert advisor in the process. Eco-homes are on the rise in the UK and commercial interest is increasing, but they remain expensive. This work has also led Jenny to expand her interests into the broader area of justice and the environment and how the UK tackles climate change in a way that is fair for all.
Jenny’s Fellowship to Argentina, Spain, Thailand and the USA explored different models of affordable eco-homes.
Jenny says, “The Fellowship gave me an invaluable international perspective on eco-homes, which enabled me to understand that the way we build homes in the UK is limited by our cultural heritage. Seeing so many examples of affordable eco-homes elsewhere in the world helped me work out ways we can build better in the UK.”