Title: Assessing urban residents' perceptions of barriers and drivers to sustainable affordable housing in Indore

Authors: Vivek Garg; Bimal Chandra Roy

Addresses: Department of Architecture and Planning, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra Ranchi – 835215, Jharkhand, India ' Department of Architecture and Planning, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra Ranchi – 835215, Jharkhand, India

Abstract: This study investigates the key barriers and drivers influencing sustainable affordable housing (SAH) in Indore, India, a rapidly urbanising city. The research identifies factors affecting the adoption of sustainable housing. An initial list of 37 barriers and drivers, derived from literature and surveys, was subjected to the first Delphi validation, narrowing them to 18 critical factors. To assess their local relevance, interviews were conducted with 584 randomly selected residents. Using an integrated methodology of literature review, expert consultations, thematic analysis, and Delphi validation, these factors were classified across four domains: professional and technical, societal and cultural, economic, and environmental-infrastructural. In the second Delphi round, eight barriers and drivers emerged as most significant. Consensus was achieved through a two-round Delphi survey, with Kendall's coefficient of concordance at 0.78.

Keywords: built environment; Delphi technique; Indore housing; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2026.152603

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2026 Vol.20 No.2, pp.167 - 199

Received: 02 Oct 2025
Accepted: 27 Oct 2025
Published online: 30 Mar 2026 *

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