With the strong support of government and the increasing level of public awareness, sustainable housing construction has become a hot topic which triggers debate in the academic worlds over the last decades. As a result, the body of knowledge seems to be well developed based on a series of analytical and empirical studies. However, whether the conceptual frameworks or analytical models, which are established by a certain kinds of conditions, constrains and assumptions, are really rational for practical application, still needs to be further examined. In addition, it is not unusual that a gap exists between ‘what needs to be done’ and ‘what is really done’ due to complex reasons. Therefore, the voice of practitioners, particularly in a specific project scenario, should be addressed carefully. In order to highlight the gap between research and practice on sustainable housing construction and to build a bridge there of, this study aims to conclude the laws and regulations as well as mainstream of sustainable housing construction in the past two decades in China and clarify the main obstacles and challenges for the implementation of sustainable housing construction. Through semi-structure interview, four crucial factors have been highlighted which includes detail incentive policies and promotion activities, sound and systematic standards, additional regulations on continuous inspections, integrated support from other industrial sectors and etc. Accordingly, we have proposed the issues which need to be addressed in future research and practice. The findings of this research provide a reference to governments, companies as well as academics to start the new journey for the next generations of sustainable housing construction. Copyright © 2012 IAHS.
