Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
In 2001, the CSIR was commissioned by
the National Housing Department to carry
out a study on the sustainability of human
settlements in South Africa (Du Plessis,
2003: 12-13). One of the chosen points of
departure for determining the sustainability of
existing human settlements was the quality
of life offered to each member of society. The
institutional determinants for the sustainability
of settlements were based on the issues of
financial capacity, institutional integration,
operational efficiency, technical capacity and
political will. The environmental indicators
were centered on the issues of resource use,
pollution and degradation, as well as protection
of the environment.
8.3 Sustainable building technology
One could simply say that sustainable
building technology is building technology
that contributes to the creation of sustainable
settlements. Though this is true, it does not
provide many practical indications of ways
in which to determine the sustainability of
proposed building materials and construction
techniques. For that purpose, it will be
necessary to look more closely at the ways
in which building materials and construction
techniques have an impact on the environment,
and how they affect sustainability in a broader
sense (e.g. in terms of socio-economic
factors). In addition, we will need to find ways
to compare the different factors, in order
to determine the total effect on sustainable
development.
8.4 Earth construction as a
sustainable alternative
The SANPAD project provided local
entrepreneurs with exposure to the production
of higher-quality blocks which could prove
to be more acceptable to consumers, and
which would also be more beneficial from an
environmental point of view. Earth construction
can justly be considered a sustainable
alternative. With earth, good-quality buildings
can be constructed, which are suited to the
local climate and which also provide a healthy
inner climate for the occupants.
The production of sun-dried bricks uses
up far less energy than, for instance, the
production of concrete or bricks fired in a kiln.
Manufacturing one fired brick consumes 2
kWh of energy, whereas the manufacture of
a cement-stabilised earth brick of the same
size consumes 0, 05 kWh. Producing 1 m³ of
concrete consumes 300-500 kWh, whereas
the same volume of raw earth for building
uses only 1% of this quantity of energy
(Gerneke, 1992b: 36). Furthermore, sundrying,
in contrast to baking, does not lead
to the emission of harmful substances into
the air (air pollution). Raw materials for the
creation of earth blocks can be extracted from
the production site, preventing the negative
impacts on the environment that are caused
by the transportation of materials to the site
by road. Earth construction can also help to
reduce the environmental impact caused by
building waste.
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