Sustainability concepts in global high-rise residential buildings: a scientometric and systematic review

PurposeSustainability has been the subject of several scientific investigations. Many researchers in the construction industry have also examined a range of sustainability-related studies. However, few studies have thoroughly reviewed implementing sustainability concepts in high-rise residential buildings (HRRBs).Design/methodology/approachBy adopting scientometrics and systematic review (SR), this study seeks to map out recent sustainability trends and concepts in the design, development and operation of HRRBs worldwide and in Hong Kong. With a focus on bibliographic records from the Web of Science (WoS) database, 1,395 journal articles from 2013 to 2022 were analysed. Furthermore, thirteen studies were systematically reviewed.FindingsThe SR indicated that sustainable practices in developing Hong Kong's HRRBs emphasised zero-carbon buildings, reduced energy usage and energy-efficient retrofitting. Likewise, terms such as BIM, urban density, life cycle assessment and system dynamics are strongly connected with clusters that include “residential buildings”, “high-rise buildings” and “high-rise residential buildings”. The study identified significant themes in establishing HRRBs by combining sustainable practices, emphasising urban governance and policy management, building performance and thermal comfort, energy and design optimisation, occupant behaviour and sensitivity analysis. Core sustainability ideas have improved resource management, air quality management and knowledge of user behaviour in HRRBs.Originality/valueThe study allows researchers and practitioners to explore future research directions in the built environment per the application of sustainable concepts in the development of HRRBs from design, construction and post-construction phases

Assessing the environmental sustainability of the urban ecosystem using Material Flow Analysis: the case of Riyadh housing stock

In 2018, 55% of the global population resided in urban areas, and it is predicted that by 2050 this percentage will reach 68%. The consumption of materials, energy, and water resources is an inextricable consequence of population growth. This is especially apparent in urban areas, where there are significant investments in infrastructure to support urban development. Cities experiencing rapid growth face tremendous challenges, not only in providing the services required, but also to assure that development is sustainable. Urban material flow analysis (MFA) is becoming a popular framework. It links the interaction between urban activities and the environment, by quantifying the material flows that go into the urban system and the impacts of the use of resources, such as air pollution, and solid waste. To date, MFA has primarily focused on accounting for the annual direct mass and energy flows throughout the city. Therefore, it does not form a proper basis for assessing environmental sustainability within an urban system. Contrary to the MFA methodology, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology not only examines mass, direct material and energy exchanges with the environment, but also provides a cradle-to-grave assessment of resource use and environmental impacts from a life cycle perspective. With high rate of urban population growth, massive investments in infrastructure are needed and proposed to support urban development. Unfortunately, integrative, systemlevel tools are lacking for urban planners and decision-makers to assess the environmental sustainability of urban development. This thesis proposes an expanded MFA framework synthesizing additional critical urban indicators; including biophysical (i.e., land use) and socio-economic indicators. The aim being to extend MFA beyond an accounting framework, and towards a strategic planning framework. It also outlines the role of LCA in assessing urban flows, and in the evaluation of urban development scenarios, as significant changes currently being made to support 2050 urban infrastructure. The proposed framework involved three consecutive stages. The first stage evaluated the potential use of MFA to assess the sustainability of urban systems. It involved a systemic review to evaluate how MFA can offer system-based perspectives from which to understand the interaction between the urban system and the surrounding environment. After this, MFA was applied to the domestic sector of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on a set of indicators suggested by the literature. The years selected for analysis were 1996, 2006, and 2016 due to data availability. Temporal trends of resource consumption were established and results reported as gross values and on a per capita basis, to create clarity of understanding around the trends. The embodied energy and environmental impact of each MFA component was assessed using the LCA v method. The environmental impacts were classified into five categories: climate change, particulate matter formation, freshwater ecotoxicity, water consumption potential, and fossil fuel potential. The second stage was motivated by studying the long-term impact of the built environment. A dynamic model of the in-use stock based on MFA was developed in this stage, thereby extending the model to include in-use services. The foundation of the analysis was the floor area devoted to housing stock. The input parameters of the model were based on socioeconomic indicators, and intensity factors (e.g., floor area per capita, energy use intensity). Then, LCA was introduced to the model to assess GHG emissions associated with energy (stationary/mobile) and water demands. The rationale was that with a clearer understanding of the impacts associated with resource demand, wellinformed decisions can be made to address any increases in GHG emissions. The third stage extended the scope of the analysis to include assessment of climate change mitigation policies. Initially, it reviewed current initiatives in Saudi Arabia to address the issue of climate change. Then, a set of mitigation policies were identified, and the impact of each policy investigated, and results reported against a base-scenario. The results at each stage helped provide insights into the impact of the built environment in the context of Saudi Arabia. They also demonstrated that the proposed integrative approach can be used to quantify and assess urban flows, while conceptualizing the social and economic characteristics of the city. The findings emphasised that the framework combining stock dynamic and LCA can play a significant role in assisting the formulation of policies related to urban sustainability and climate change mitigation. Although the assessment was limited in its scope, the results afford a strong foundation for future holistic assessmen

Social Ecology State of the Art and Future Prospects

The book ‘Social Ecology. State of the Art and Future Prospects’ is published by ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Frankfurt am Main and the Vienna Institute of Social Ecology (SEC). Both institutes have made defining contributions to the field of social ecology. How the complex relations between society and nature can be theoretically captured, empirically investigated and sustainably shaped is a focal question for both institutes. This book provides an overview of the current state of social-ecological research. It contains 11 contributions from 29 scientists, edited by Johanna Kramm and Martin Zimmermann (ISOE) and Melanie Pichler and Anke Schaffartzik (SEC). Topics range from the conceptional and theoretical foundations of social ecology to empirical case studies and research frontiers. The peer-reviewed essays highlight the role of social ecology as a critical, transdisciplinary science, discussing the current challenges for social-ecological transformations. Key concepts for sustainability research like ecosystem services, societal metabolism, risk, or extractive economies are applied and advanced

An aesthetic for sustainable interactions in product-service systems?

Copyright @ 2012 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because its implementation and diffusion is hindered by several barriers (cultural, corporate and regulative ones). The paper investigates the barriers that affect the attractiveness and acceptation of eco-efficient PSS alternatives, and opens the debate on the aesthetic of eco-efficient PSS, and the way in which aesthetic could enhance some specific inner qualities of this kinds of innovations. Integrating insights from semiotics, the paper outlines some first research hypothesis on how the aesthetic elements of an eco-efficient PSS could facilitate user attraction, acceptation and satisfaction

Management of freshwater resources in Israel and Lebanon

This thesis explores the larger number of issues that underpin the allocation of water, water rights, and conflict over water. After specifying the weak points in the existing relevant legal instruments, this thesis take into consideration the inclusion of economic, culture-religion and political contextual precepts as a remedy to the legal deficiency. The aim is to discover patterns of cooperation among the riparian adversaries, to generate a working hypothesis on cooperation over water issues. This thesis argues that no single set of actors holds the key to effectively addressing the challenge of equitable and sustainable management of precious water resources. It is also important to realize that it is not enough just to seek to increase the availability and usability of water. However, it is also the case that the private sector, non-governmental organizations, international agencies and national agencies can play a major role both as investors and as managers of utilities. In fact, many would agree that it is the common responsibility of all actors in society: businesses, governments, scholars, researchers and individuals, to contribute to the elaboration of numerous solutions. In addition to learning from their efforts and efforts in other regions, interested parties can promote a new water and environmental ethic, educate the broad population and facilitate discussion

A framework for overall sustainability assessment of local small-scale energy production - demonstration of an approach

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New and enhanced policy measures for the sustainable use of natural resources in agriculture and forestry

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SUSTAINABLE FUTURES IN A CHANGING CLIMATE : Proceedings of the Conference “Sustainable Futures in a Changing Climate”, 11–12 June 2014, Helsinki, Finland

How does climate change influence our understanding of the future? How can we contribute to creating desirable but possible futures in the era of climate change? The Finland Futures Research Centre’s 16th Annual International Conference ‘Sustainable Futures in a Changing Climate’ focused on presenting current future-oriented research on different aspects of climate change, and thus, the conference contributed to the global field of knowledge sharing concerning climate change. This conference gathered together 140 participants from 21 different countries. During the two days, altogether 67 presentations were held in 11 thematic working groups dealing with various topics. This conference proceedings collects some of the full conference papers presented in the thematic working groups. The articles in this publication are divided to chapters according to the themes of the working groups. Each article in this conference proceedings has gone through a peer review process. We thank all the authors of the articles and the anonymous referees for their valuable contribution to this publication