The development of smart living housing in Malaysia, despite its 'people-centric' concept that focuses on resident well-being, faces implementation challenges. Notably, uncertainties related to the monetary implications of integrating smart living features into conventional houses. Consequently, such a situation highlights the need for a decision-making tool – a cost model, to address these uncertainties during feasibility studies. Thus, this chapter proposes the research methodology through a PRISMA-guided literature review to develop the cost model per se. By employing the interpretivism constructivism paradigm, the study utilizes a sequential explanatory mix-method. Quantitatively, an open-ended questionnaire survey identifies the cost drivers, while qualitatively a case studies document survey gathers the cost data. The content analysis legitimizes the claims of both findings for cost modeling development. The research establishes relationships between the cost drivers and cost data, facilitating a monetary implication study to manage uncertainties in Smart Living development.
TopIntroduction To Smart Living Housing Development In Smart City
Smart City is an innovative concept of sustainable town planning initiated through Agenda 2023 Decade of Action (Sharifi et al., 2024). It consists of 6 elements – Smart Governance, Smart Economy, Smart Mobility, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Social, and Smart Living (Giffinger & Gudrun, 2010). Each of the elements carries its roles and complements one another in promoting Smart City. Among the elements, the Smart Living deem to be more important as it focuses in building a shelter that prioritizes in accommodating residents’ well-being (Ministry of Housing & Local Government, 2019; Visutsak & Daoudi, 2017) and comply to the fundamental Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs (Trivedi & Mehta, 2014). Interestingly, Smart Living concept houses are proposed to cater national issues like aging population and empty nest syndrome (B & B, 2023; Creaney et al., 2021; Khazanah Research Institute, 2021; Leeraphong et al., 2015; Visutsak & Daoudi, 2017a). The initiative deems relevant as the example of Smart Living houses that adhere to the well-being are equipped with assisted washrooms in universal design, water-saving sanitary fittings and motion sensor detectors that allows elderly convenience independence. Unlike the Green buildings, Smart Living concept covers all social, economic, and environmental as the 3 pillars of sustainability. Thus, it is desirable to develop Smart houses as more than just shelters capable of meeting the safety, tranquility, contentment, and well-being of the occupants compared to what can be provided by conventional houses (Wu et al., 2023).