A central principle of sustainability is the recognition of the interdependence of economic, environmental, and equity issues. This interconnection is evidenced in the resurgence of sustainable housing types. However, in the sustainable housing literature most examples given are of collective housing, affordable housing, or, green-housing. Yet there are other emerging forms of sustainable housing, which are almost unreported in the literature. This paper discusses some of the socio-cultural issues at work in sustainable housing typology. It begins by retracing the key historical moments in the sustainable housing discourse in order to position the current popularity of the aforementioned three housing types. Then through an exploration of this typology and in case studies, it questions the predominance of the techno-centric models over other sustainable housing types, such as conjoined. Finally, it argues that attention must also be given to the practice of sharing as an added method of sustainability. Copyright © 2010 IAHS.
