Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010 Methods Green design Green procurement Green roof technologies Lean construction Waste management Description This calls for the identification of suitable methods of construction at the design and tendering stages (Ekanayake and Ofori, 2000: 5) Green procurement systems have been promoted to mitigate construction waste and to achieve better performance (Ekanayake and Ofori, 2000: 5; Rwelamila et al., 2000: 49) Nelms et al. (2007: 239) introduced a methodology for assessing green roof technologies Engineered-to-order methodologies are being explored to see what techniques can help reduce construction times, and achieve other performances that increase customer and stakeholder value while minimising waste. Prefabrication is one such technique - it reduces construction waste on site and other construction activities (Kistan and van Wyk, 2007: 10) Reducing construction waste has become a key issue in promoting sustainability in the construction industry. It aims at reducing the remains of the materials delivered on site after being used in construction work (Ekanayake and Ofori, 2000: 5; Poon, 2007: 1715; Tam et la., 2007: 1470) 4.5 Sustainable building con struction technologies Construction technology has been identified as one of the key methods for promoting sustainability in the construction industry by the application of green technologies in production and construction methods and waste management. This is because of the potential benefits across the economic, environmental and social spectrums. It is through technology that we extract natural resources, to modify them for human purposes, and to adapt our man-made living space. DuBose et al. (1995: 5) defines green/ sustainable technology as “the technology that promotes a societal move toward sustainability, a technology that fits well with the goals of sustainable development”. These are practical solutions for achieving economic development and human satisfaction in harmony with the environment. Such technologies serve to contribute, support or advance sustainable development by, for example, reducing risk, enhancing cost-effectiveness, improving process efficiency, and creating processes, products or services that are environmentally beneficial or benign while benefiting humans (DuBose et al., 1995: 5). Technologies adopted in the building construction can therefore be used to address social and economic needs and concerns and, depending on how they are structured, to facilitate the economic empowerment of marginalised sectors of society while minimising negative impacts on the environment. To qualify as a sustainable technology, such solutions, in addition to meeting preexisting requirements and constraints (e.g. technical viability), must have the following 68
Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010 characteristics (DuBose et al., 1995: 5): • minimise the use of non-renewable energy and natural resources • satisfy human needs and aspirations (economic, social, political) with sensitivity to the cultural context • minimise negative impacts on the earth’s ecosystems. Bowen and Hill (1997: 229) state that minimising consumption of both materials and energy is necessary because overconsumption inherently involves increasing the disorder and rendering them of lower utility for future use. Therefore, consuming as little material and energy as possible, or doing more with less, is a fundamental objective of sustainable technology. Sustainable technology must also meet the needs of the population it is intended to serve. Such needs may include economic, social and political. In fulfilling these needs the technology must account for human preferences and cultural differences. In some cases these preferences may conflict with environmental objectives and a compromise will have to be reached. This does not mean that human preferences should be ignored; fulfilment of our desires means the difference between surviving and living. Causing minimal negative environmental impact (as well as maximising positive inputs) is an important objective of sustainability since the environment consists of ecosystems of which the ongoing health is essential for human survival on earth (DuBose et al., 1995: 5; Du Plessis, 2002: 6). Sustainability of the human race requires that ecosystems be protected and preserved in a reasonable state of health through maintaining biodiversity, adequate habitat, and the ecosystem. Further scrutiny of the definition and characteristics of sustainable technology reveals that it is not a new concept. It is similar to the theory of “appropriate technology” that evolved in the 1970s. “Appropriate technology” was defined then as the technology that is designed with special consideration to the environment, ethical, cultural, social and economic aspects of the community it is intended for (Eckaus, 1977: 10). It has only taken on increased importance as the negative impacts of human activities on a planetary scale became apparent. 4.6 Assessment of sustainability One of the many questions that have surfaced as a result of the discourse on sustainable development is “how can we assess sustainability”. As a result, several types of assessment methodologies of sustainability have been put forward that can be categorised in three groups on the basis of their methodological foundations (Adinyira et al., 2007: 3). These are environmental in general, life cycle assessment methods and sustainability indicator assessment methods. 4.6.1 Environmental in general Environmental methods in general methodologies mainly focus on issues relating to preserving natural resources and ecosystems on which we and future generations depend such as wise resource consumption, curbing pollution and looking 69
Page 1 and 2:
Human Settlements Review VOLUME 1,
Page 3 and 4:
CONTENT Page FOREWORD i Design inst
Page 5 and 6:
Human Settlements Review, Volume 1,
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22: Human Settlements Review, Volume 1,
Page 35 and 36: Dictionary.com. 2010. alternative t
Page 71: Human Settlements Review, Volume 1,
Page 79 and 80: Table 4: Building technology - Soci
Page 105 and 106: ABSTRACT Human Settlements Review,
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
UNDP, 2005. Investing in Developmen
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Abstract Human Settlements Review,
Page 223 and 224:
Figure 1 Per Capita energy use and
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Figure 3 Model validation and resul
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
show all

Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?