Living Alone CONsumption ImpAct

Project Information

LACONIA

Grant agreement ID: 891223

DOI

10.3030/891223

Project closed

EC signature date 6 March 2020

Start date 1 September 2020

End date 9 August 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 219 312,00

EU contribution

€ 219 312,00

Coordinated by

AALBORG UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LACONIA (Living Alone CONsumption ImpAct)

Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

LACONIA (Living Alone CONsumption ImpAct) explores the impact of the growing trend of people living alone on sustainability. As single-person and small households are becoming more common worldwide, understanding how these changes affect resource use and carbon emissions is increasingly urgent for sustainability science, climate policy and urban planning. Through extensive research in Denmark, LACONIA demonstrates that small households account for the largest share of residential carbon emissions, mainly due to higher per capita energy and material consumption compared to sharing households.

The project combines quantitative analysis of national data with qualitative interviews and storytelling to identify the pathways, drivers and consequences of solo living. By documenting both the social and environmental impacts, LACONIA highlights the need for innovative housing solutions and greater sharing to reduce emissions and promote well being. The research also analyses emerging alternatives and obstacles to shared living, offering practical insights for policy makers. Overall, LACONIA concludes that addressing the rising number of people living alone is essential for sustainability, and that targeted interventions to support low-impact and communal living arrangements can deliver significant social and environmental benefits.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

From the start of LACONIA in September 2020 through August 2025, the project investigated how the rise in solo living affects environmental sustainability, using Denmark as a case study and linking findings to broader European contexts. The research combined in-depth quantitative analysis of national data with qualitative in-home interviews, systematically examining carbon footprints across household types, and identifying social drivers, obstacles, and emerging low-impact alternatives to living alone.

Key results show that one- and two-person households account for 77% of residential carbon emissions in Denmark, with higher per capita impacts among single occupants and wealthier individuals. The project integrated statistical data with narrative vignettes to humanize quantitative findings, illuminating the roles of gender, income, age, and urban context in household energy usage.

Research outputs include five scholarly publications. Main findings have been disseminated broadly, through half-day workshops involving policy makers in Sweden and Denmark, public seminar events, direct engagement with national climate councils, and accessible articles in The Conversation and Buildings & Cities. The project's insights are actively exploited to inform policy development around sustainable housing, urban planning, and inclusivity. The results are also integrated into academic curricula and continue to underpin new research initiatives funded by national and European agencies.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LACONIA has advanced understanding of the environmental and social consequences of solo living beyond previous research, offering the first detailed qualitative understandings of why and how people end up living alone. This marks a substantial step past earlier studies, which typically overlooked the nuanced roles of income, age, gender, and housing arrangements in shaping resource use and sustainability outcomes.

The project’s innovative integration of robust data analysis with qualitative interviews and human-centered narratives has strengthened established new methods for connecting statistical trends to everyday life, making complex sustainability challenges accessible to policy makers and the wider public. By highlighting key obstacles and emerging low-impact living arrangements, LACONIA offers actionable pathways for more inclusive, socially resilient housing policy and urban design.

LACONIA has moved beyond standard quantitative approaches by critically examining how measurement tools, such as carbon calculators and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), shape our understanding of sustainability in everyday life. The project highlights that these metrics often obscure important social realities and ethical dilemmas, especially regarding solo living and gender. By developing and applying feminist LCAs, LACONIA challenges the boundaries, priorities, and assumptions of conventional impact assessment, demonstrating the need for context-sensitive, ethically attuned, and more inclusive forms of environmental measurement and analysis.