Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering

Evaluating the Impact of Government Policies on Circular Economy Adoption in the Construction Sector

Carol Emilly Hoareau — 2024-10-19

The construction sector is both essential for global economic progress and one of the largest contributors to pollution, resource depletion, and energy consumption. Given the urgent need to adopt more sustainable practices, governments in developed countries have introduced policies aimed at fostering a circular economy in this sector. These policies emphasize the use of green materials to reduce resource consumption, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with global sustainability goals. The waste hierarchy further governs these policies, prioritizing waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. This study analyzes the effectiveness of these government policies in promoting circular economy principles, particularly the adoption of green materials in the construction industry. Our findings reveal that while these policies have led to measurable reductions in energy consumption and emissions, the extent of green material adoption varies significantly across countries. Key factors influencing this variation include economic incentives, regulatory enforcement, and the level of industry acceptance of green technologies. One of the most important results of this study is the identification of significant gaps between policy intent and actual industry practices. In many cases, green materials, despite their favorable characteristics, have not been widely implemented due to economic, technical, and market barriers. These findings underscore the need for stronger government incentives and more consistent policy enforcement to drive broader adoption of sustainable practices. Future studies should focus on overcoming these barriers, exploring the long-term economic impacts of green material adoption, and evaluating how policy frameworks can be optimized to ensure more widespread.

Environmental Management Practices and Sustainable Green Concrete Use in Malaysia's Construction Industry: Challenges, Benefits, and Future Directions

John Lim — 2024-11-16

This review examines the environmental management practices (EMPs) employed within Malaysia's construction sector, with a particular focus on sustainable practices and the adoption of green concrete, including fly ash, rice husk ash, and palm oil fuel ash varieties. The study identifies key challenges, such as low awareness, high costs, weak legal enforcement, and the underdevelopment of green materials in the country. To address these issues, the report proposes solutions such as capacity-building programs, government incentives like tax breaks and grants, regular site inspections, and investment in research and development of green materials. The review also assesses the advantages and limitations of different green concrete types used in Malaysia. The aim of this study is to enhance sustainability efforts and reduce the environmental impact of construction activities through greater awareness, stronger regulatory support, and commitment from all stakeholders. Implementing greener concrete and EMPs is expected to not only mitigate environmental concerns but also yield long-term economic benefits for Malaysia.

The Impact of Urban Roughness on Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Hot Arid Climate

Susan Abed Hassan — 2024-10-07

The proportion of the world's population living in cities is rapidly increasing, presenting new challenges to the urban environment and quality of life. Among these challenges is the urban environment's impact on residents' outdoor thermal comfort, which can affect their health and well-being. Urban roughness, which includes building and street heights, has a significant impact on the thermal environment of urban areas. Changes in these factors cause variations in temperature distribution, wind speed, and humidity, which affect how people perceive thermal conditions. The research problem is the effect of urban roughness on outdoor thermal comfort in hot arid climate, specifically the height of buildings and the density, for a case study in (Al-Bab Al-Sharqi) in Baghdad city. Measurement method that employed the computer programs (Rino8 and Grasshopper) to calculate the thermal comfort index (UTCI) and its impact on various climatic variables. The findings revealed that the thermal comfort index and the climatic factors associated with it vary depending on the configuration of buildings.