|
Adopting a Tool-based
Approach to Achieve Improved Resilience and Increased Socio-economic
Benefits Rapid urbanisation necessitates a substantial amount of newly built environment to support dynamic urban activities. It comes at the cost of a large quantum of non-renewable resources and energy consumption, coupled with huge amounts of waste and emissions. At this point, it is crucial to understand the significance of adopting a tool-based approach to advance towards a sustainable construction sector. The term ‘tool’ here refers to passive1 and interactive2 instruments that can be used by the construction stakeholders at different stages of value chain to enable material efficiency, circularity and improved resilience of the construction industry. A tool-based approach aids in a better understanding of local conditions for identifying intervention areas, allowing for more informed and evidence-based decision-making, and in efficient designing of the transition strategy. While a wide range of tools are available for use at all stages of construction, a tool-based approach is most commonly used at planning, designing and modelling stages (for example, Primavera, Revit, AutoCAD, and BIM 360). In many nations, certification tools are also widely used. On the other hand, other stages of the construction value chain rarely adopt a tool-based approach. While all stages of the building value chain require equal attention to ensure the sector’s circularity and resilience, using a tool-based approach for policy formulation and related interventions can be a significant driver in the implementation of circular practices in the construction industry at the national and sub-national levels. The following are some of the tools that can be used by policymakers to achieve a sustainable construction system.
Capacity Assessment Tool for Infrastructure (CAT-I) is a tool that aids
governments in identifying gaps in their enabling environment's capacity
to plan, deliver and maintain infrastructure systems, allowing for more
efficient infrastructure development. Mainstreaming Sustainable Social Housing in India Project (MaS-Ship) is a decision-making tool that enables social housing developers to integrate environmental performance, affordability and social inclusion. It helps construction professionals, housing developers and politicians make well-informed decisions on materials, systems and design strategies to use in social housing projects. National Infrastructure System-of-systems Modelling Platform (NISMOD) is a set of open-source analysis tools that allows developing countries to develop and evaluate different infrastructure transition strategies in order to satisfy their long-term sustainable development goals. These tools are open source and globally applicable3. However, in many cases, construction stakeholders are hesitant to adopt them considering the associated costs, lack of technical capacity, data deficiency, informal nature of the sector and, in some cases, due to the lack of awareness. This necessitates educating and sensitising construction stakeholders, including policymakers, about the importance of using tools in policy formulation and other stages of the value chain. By enabling efficient policy formulation and assisting design change in existing policies to reduce resource consumption and environmental impacts, a tool-based approach facilitates in achieving the maximum possible socio-economic benefits, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient construction sector.■
Figure 1: The circular economy principle in
the construction
Figure 2: Cityscape of Jaipur with a crowded built environment. Source: PXFUEL Endnote:
References:
Sherine Thanduparakkal
|
