Conceptualising the circular economy potential of construction and demolition waste : an integrative literature review

Traditionally, construction and demolition waste (CDW) materials have been considered to be unwanted, surplus, or wastage materials or materials with zero value. Such a conceptualisation only embraces a negative aspect, which underpins the disposal of reusable and recyclable CDW materials in landfills, thus damaging the circular economy and the environment. The scope of this research was to conceptualise the circular economy potential of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, which can be used as a resource for advancing the circular economy and sustainability in the built environment. Thus, the abbreviation ‘CEPCDR’ is used for this purpose. The study employs an integrative literature review to understand in depth whether the rationale in the existing CDW definitions advocates for the circular economy. Instead, the literature showed that the current definitions mainly support quantitative, economic, or classification needs, respectively. That is because they lack consideration of the dynamic nature of CDW materials, which embraces the spatial and temporal dimensions. The former involves the geographic context in which the CDW phenomenon eventuates, while the latter concerns the lifecycle of materials. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by conceptualising the CEPCDR using a holistic approach that includes five dimensions: the social, economic, environmental, spatial, and temporal perspectives. Furthermore, the study seeks to drive future research in measuring the CEPCDR

Propuesta metodológica para la identificación de tierras marginales mediante productos derivados de teledetección y datos auxiliares

[EN] The concept of marginal land (ML) is dynamic and depends on various factors related to the environment, climate, scale, culture, and economic sector. The current methods for identifying ML are diverse, they employ multiple parameters and variables derived from land use and land cover, and mostly reflect specific management purposes. A methodological approach for the identification of marginal lands using remote sensing and ancillary data products and validated on samples from four European countries (i.e., Germany, Spain, Greece, and Poland) is presented in this paper. The methodology proposed combines land use and land cover data sets as excluding indicators (forest, croplands, protected areas, impervious areas, land-use change, water bodies, and permanent snow areas) and environmental constraints information as marginality indicators: (i) physical soil properties, in terms of slope gradient, erosion, soil depth, soil texture, percentage of coarse soil texture fragments, etc.; (ii) climatic factors e.g. aridity index; (iii) chemical soil properties, including soil pH, cation exchange capacity, contaminants, and toxicity, among others. This provides a common vision of marginality that integrates a multidisciplinary approach. To determine the ML, we first analyzed the excluding indicators used to delimit the areas with defined land use. Then, thresholds were determined for each marginality indicator through which the land productivity progressively decreases. Finally, the marginality indicator layers were combined in Google Earth Engine. The result was categorized into 3 levels of productivity of ML: high productivity, low productivity, and potentially unsuitable land. The results obtained indicate that the percentage of marginal land per country is 11.64% in Germany, 19.96% in Spain, 18.76% in Greece, and 7.18% in Poland. The overall accuracies obtained per country were 60.61% for Germany, 88.87% for Spain, 71.52% for Greece, and 90.97% for Poland.[ES] El concepto de tierra marginal (ML) es dinámico y depende de factores relacionados con el entorno, el clima, la escala, la cultura y la economía. los métodos actuales de identificación de ML son también diversos y están basados en múltiples parámetros y variables derivados del uso y cobertura del suelo reflejando, en su mayoría, fines de gestión específicos. En este artículo se presenta una propuesta metodológica para la identificación de tierras marginales mediante el uso de productos derivados de teledetección y datos auxiliares, validándose sobre muestras obtenidas en cuatro países europeos: Alemania, España, Grecia y Polonia. La metodología combina datos de usos y coberturas del suelo como indicadores excluyentes (bosque, tierras de cultivo, áreas protegidas, áreas impermeables, cambios de usos del suelo, cuerpos de agua y áreas de nieve permanente) e información ambiental como indicadores de marginalidad, esto es, (i) propiedades físicas del suelo como la pendiente, profundidad de suelo, erosión del suelo, textura, porcentaje de fragmentos de textura gruesa del suelo, etc.; (ii) factores climáticos como el índice de aridez; (iii) propiedades químicas del suelo como pH, capacidad de intercambio catiónico, contaminantes y toxicidad, entre otros, con el objetivo de abordar una visión común de la marginalidad que integre un enfoque multidisciplinar. Para obtener las coberturas de ML primero se analizaron los indicadores excluyentes para delimitar las áreas con un uso del suelo establecido. En segundo lugar, se determinaron los umbrales para cada indicador de marginalidad a través de los cuales el suelo se transforma, disminuyendo progresivamente su aprovechamiento productivo. Finalmente, la superposición de las capas de indicadores de marginalidad se llevó a cabo con la herramienta Google Earth Engine. El resultado final se categorizó en 3 niveles de ML con diferente productividad: alta, baja y tierras potencialmente inadecuadas. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el porcentaje de tierras marginales sobre la extensión total de cada país analizado es de 11,64% en Alemania, 19,96% en España, 18,76% en Grecia y 7,18% en Polonia. La precisión global obtenida por país fue del 60,61% para Alemania, del 88,87% para España, del 71,52% para Grecia y del 90,97% para Polonia.This research has been funded by the European Commission through the H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018 MAIL project (grant 823805) and by the Fondo de Garantía Juvenil en I+D+i from the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.Torralba, J.; Ruiz, L.; Georgiadis, C.; Patias, P.; Gómez-Conejo, R.; Verde, N.; Tassapoulou, M.... (2021). Methodological proposal for the identification of marginal lands with remote sensing-derived products and ancillary data. En Proceedings 3rd Congress in Geomatics Engineering. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 248-257. https://doi.org/10.4995/CiGeo2021.2021.12729OCS24825

Smart Eye: An Application for 'In Situ' Accessibility to “Invisible” Heritage Sites

The Smart Eye Application is an augmented reality app for mobile devices that enables the in-situ 3D visualization of underground and inaccessible to the public archaeological sites and monuments. Accessibility to excavated archaeological sites and monuments is often hindered for reasons of preservation or urban development. Portable finds are transferred and, in some cases, exhibited in local museums, but the non-portable remains of ancient structures become eventually effaced from the landscape and the collective memory of local communities. The Smart Eye app provides an “x-ray” type view of excavation sites that have been backfilled and are now invisible. While common practice in heritage sites’ digital dissemination to the general public uses 2D or 3D reconstructions in augmented or virtual reality environments, the Smart Eye app presents archaeological remains in the shape and form they were found in by archaeologists supplemented with augmented reality markers that provide simplified textual and visual information aimed toward a non-scholarly public. The aim is to re-instate these heritage sites into the interactive relationship that people have with their landscape and their history. The present paper discusses the chaîne-opératoire of developing the app, from the acquisition of primary documentation data of the excavation sites to the methodology used for the production of the 3D models of the archaeological sites and the development of the app itself and the technical equipment used. Finally, we discuss the results of the preliminary evaluation of the application and future steps to improve it before final testing by the local communities where the archaeological sites are located

Integration of heritage buildings and sites in their surroundings - Public report

This public report provides an overview of the problems raised by the management of heritage buildings and sites (HBs/sites) in their surroundings. A multidisciplinary team comprising conservation professionals, art historians, archaeologists, architects, biologists, civil engineers and information technology experts have joined forces within the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology1 Action TD1406 - i2MHB (Innovation in Intelligent Management of Heritage Buildings) to provide their expertise and experience on the risks to which HBs/ sites are exposed (urban development, infrastructure works, demographical changes, natural and technological hazards, bio-deterioration, lack of cultural heritage education and technical knowledge and skills, etc.). Traditional and new approaches to manage the principal risks are then developed. Nine representative European HBs/sites are used to illustrate the different problems raised and to offer possible solutions. The report ends with a number of recommendations to better integrate HBs/sites in their surroundings. This report is addressed to policy makers at the local, regional and national governments; economical and industrial players; research and education stakeholders; and, the public to the preservation and valorisation of HBs/sites in their surroundings. We hope that readers will find tentative answers to their question(s) on the difficulties encountered by the management of HBs/sites in their surroundings. Further reading is available through the references and the online literature provided

Integration of heritage buildings and sites in their surroundings - Public report

This public report provides an overview of the problems raised by the management of heritage buildings and sites (HBs/sites) in their surroundings. A multidisciplinary team comprising conservation professionals, art historians, archaeologists, architects, biologists, civil engineers and information technology experts have joined forces within the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology1 Action TD1406 - i2MHB (Innovation in Intelligent Management of Heritage Buildings) to provide their expertise and experience on the risks to which HBs/ sites are exposed (urban development, infrastructure works, demographical changes, natural and technological hazards, bio-deterioration, lack of cultural heritage education and technical knowledge and skills, etc.). Traditional and new approaches to manage the principal risks are then developed. Nine representative European HBs/sites are used to illustrate the different problems raised and to offer possible solutions. The report ends with a number of recommendations to better integrate HBs/sites in their surroundings. This report is addressed to policy makers at the local, regional and national governments; economical and industrial players; research and education stakeholders; and, the public to the preservation and valorisation of HBs/sites in their surroundings. We hope that readers will find tentative answers to their question(s) on the difficulties encountered by the management of HBs/sites in their surroundings. Further reading is available through the references and the online literature provided

Editorial

Editoria

Proceedings of the Colloquium “Trends in Photogrammetry”

Proceedings of the Colloquium “Trends in Photogrammetry