Green Building & Construction Economics最新文献

{"title":"Investigation of the Use of Drones by Construction Professionals in Addressing Built Environment Tasks","authors":"Wahab Akeem Bolaji, Ojegoke Taoreed Olatunde, Ngwoke Nwora Valentine, O. B. Fatai","doi":"10.37256/gbce.5120243819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.5120243819","url":null,"abstract":"An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also called a drone, has been gaining attention globally to solve different tasks. The aim of this study is to assess the awareness and level of adoption of these types of drones by building professionals and the factors limiting their use in the built environment. The study was carried out in Lagos State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Data for this research were collected from primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was obtained by administering a questionnaire to the selected building industry professionals, and the collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The results showed that structure inspection and photography are the most rated features of drones in addressing built environment tasks, with a mean score (MS) of 4.50, and security surveillance (MS = 3.86) is the least important feature. The level of adoption of drones in addressing built environment tasks was assessed among the professionals, and the results showed that the practice of an emergency response plan and a health and safety plan to reduce the risk of harm and ensure safety on site is considered to be the most important task. The study found that the fixed-wing hybrid drone with an MS of 1.97 is the most commonly used drone type. Lastly, the study showed that lack of public awareness (MS = 4.81) is rated as the most significant factor that limits its use. Few professionals have practically used drones to solve tasks faced in the building industry. Thus, there is a need to further sensitize built environment professionals to the benefits associated with its wider adoption and applications. Also, the importance of drones and their associated managerial and practical implications in solving relevant built environment tasks can be initiated by deepening their relevance in the curriculum of building industry programs at the professional and academic levels.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140455189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analytical Study for Assessment of the Green Urban Spaces, Ain Bouaroua Public Garden, Setif, Algeria","authors":"Safa Boudab, Abderrahmane Diafat, Said Madani","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4220232267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4220232267","url":null,"abstract":"Urban green space offers physical and sensory satisfaction, hence the importance of realizing that a simple wooded area, even randomly scattered, is not enough to provide an ideal urban setting. Developing and designing urban nature with designers and citizens is essential to being beneficial, relevant, and adapted to users’ needs. The state of urban green spaces in Algeria, particularly public parks, is currently a subject of debate. These areas have been neglected and significantly altered throughout the various phases of urbanization, resulting in their undervaluation and underappreciation. Public spaces are given less priority and are thus less developed than residential areas, leading to a need for more research, planning, and urban development initiatives focused on them. Rapid urbanization and the emphasis on housing needs have resulted in minimal production of public spaces, leading to a functional approach that needs to be more aware of their intended uses. This article sheds light on our case study, the public garden of Ain Bouaroua in Setif, Algeria. The research methodology combines historical and typo-morphological approaches with those of the users. In order to understand and identify the activities and behaviors of the users, questionnaires are distributed to various actors in the green spaces. The collection and processing of this information and data reveals the current uses and spatial practices while focusing on the evaluation of these green spaces. The results reveal that users’ motivations, proximity, and safety, and that the lack of facilities, the low density of vegetation, and the predominance of men are weak points. The proximity of educational facilities attracts schoolchildren. This work can contribute to developing the green network across the whole territory of Setif.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"177 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115180150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing the Streetscape of Sidewalks for Sustainability and Liveability in Shared Streets","authors":"Dalia Mohamed Fawzy Omar Ibrahim","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4220232244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4220232244","url":null,"abstract":"The urgent call for resilient, sustainable cities took place in promoting sustainable development to be achieved by 2030, especially in Egypt’s agenda, and meeting users’ needs through safe and affordable public spaces and inclusive and sustainable urbanization. Open public spaces in sustainable cities act as a source for enhancing interaction between users, including city and neighborhood streets and sidewalks, squares, parks, and other shared spaces such as private parks, in addition to enhancing well-being and good quality of life. In the last couple of years, the use of vehicles and transportation has become a burden for users to use sidewalks, access open spaces, and access outdoor areas, which need an urgent response by decision-makers and stakeholders. As a result, new approaches are currently taking place as a scheme for reforming sidewalks, especially in shared streets, in order to act as a public space for interaction, commuting, and new activities to increase its liveability. Sidewalks act as a place for safe socialization, communication, and commuting through walking and cycling. The research methodology focuses on three stages, including theoretical, analytical, and empirical studies. The theoretical phase presents a theoretical background for the topic. The analytical phase focuses on global cases and guidelines. The empirical phase tests the applicability of the suggested guidelines derived from the theoretical and analytical phases. Finally, the research’s main objective is to examine the applicability of achieving the liveability and sustainability of sidewalks in shared streets in cities as a quick and effective public space for wellness that can be adopted in megacities, with special reference to the Al-Khalifa neighborhood in Egypt.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131930511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards Net-Zero Energy Consumption with Near Net-Zero Initial Cost: A Case Study from Georgia, USA","authors":"H. Abaza, Amaal Al Shenawa","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4220232292","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4220232292","url":null,"abstract":"This research presents a case study of a single-family home in Georgia, United States, that achieves near net-zero energy costs for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system with near-zero additional capital investment. Building information modeling (BIM), energy analysis, and practical common construction practices were integrated to trade-off between design and construction alternatives to achieve these results. An accelerated number of publications addressed net-zero energy buildings (NZEB). Much of this research addresses means and methods to make buildings produce as much energy as they consume (net-zero site or building energy) or make buildings produce energy and sell it to offset the buildings’ energy bills (net-zero cost). However, NZEBs still constitute a small fraction of the building industry, which is mainly due to higher initial costs, significant deviations from common construction practices, or altering common building operations and comfort levels. In this research, a practical approach for achieving NZEB was tested and used in constructing a single-family home. BIM software that generates annual energy consumption with every design alternative was used during the design and construction phases of this home. The BIM model was also used to generate building materials quantities to estimate the initial construction cost. In this case study, the initial construction cost of the selected design was less than that of comparable homes in the same area. The post-occupancy evaluation showed that the annual energy consumption related to heating and cooling was 72% less than that of comparable homes in the same area. Energy consumption related to hot water consumption was 21% less, and energy consumption for lighting was reduced by 22%. In conclusion, general design guidelines and lessons learned are established to help the residential building industry adopt energy-efficient design and construction approaches to reduce energy consumption in homes without increasing the listed prices of homes.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128687694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainable Renewal of an Empty Block to Public Urban Space: Gentrification of the Railway Workers' Housing Estate and its Garden's Urban Interface, Sétif, Algeria","authors":"Toufik Nebbad, Abderrahmane Diafat, Said Madani","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232241","url":null,"abstract":"The contribution questions the prospective role of the recently rehabilitated garden of the railway workers' housing district, a.k.a. \"Cité des Cheminots\", in Sétif, Algeria, through its immediate environment and the multiple vocations of the district. In its current state, it highlights the imbalances of the Algerian urban fabric by reducing the urban space to the needs of easements, denoting its articulatory role as resulting from the urban planning of the traditional cities. From past to present, a multiscalar reading will deduce the consideration of the garden as an interface with its surroundings. Around a historical, sensitive, and urban renewal approach, the aim is to identify the potentiality of garden offers as an urban interface in the dynamics that led to the formation of the first railway workers' housing estate and its evolution towards the historic center of Sétif town and the spontaneous reshaping of the district in late 1990. This current observation will allow the garden of the \"Cité des Cheminots\" to be placed in a sustainable and well-thought-out urban renewal process as an urban space that articulates the scales of the city and the district, as well as the functional scales of the city center and the residential space.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116862018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Smart Tourism for Managing Climate Change Effects on Tourism Industry and Tourism Development in African Countries","authors":"David Mihigo, John Mpemba Lukenangula","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232299","url":null,"abstract":"The tourism sector is among the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy. Despite the significance of this sector in the global economy, the tourism industry is facing several climate change problems, such as wildfires, droughts, changes in water levels, and flooding, which disturb the sector’s development. Thus, a lack of advanced solutions to tackle these issues in the tourism industry decreases tourism revenue and biodiversity. This study examines the role of smart tourism in managing climate change effects in the tourism industry and its development in Africa, precisely to document climate change effects in the industry and explore people’s perspectives on smart tourism in managing climate change effects. A questionnaire of both closed and open questions was used to capture the views of 100 respondents (99 city residents and one expert from the urban economic development of Kigali City) on how intelligent tourism can assist in handling climate change problems linked with the tourism sector. Results show that digital technology in tourism can manage climate change effects and increase revenues, as mentioned by Kigali City’s expert in the urban economic development and 79% of the interviewed city residents. Additionally, the study has revealed that road cameras to monitor tourists’ security were distributed in the cities and towns of Rwanda. Also, there is a loss of species in the forests caused by wildland fires. Financial capacity to buy emerging technology-related equipment and qualified personnel to fix it were mentioned by 80% of the respondents as factors that delay smart tourism operations in African countries. Smart tourism must be taken into consideration to boost tourism and manage its climate change effects. This line-up includes early warning systems to alert heavy rain in touristic areas and sensors to detect fires occurring in touristic areas for future climate change related effects management.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131670390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the Impacts of Urban Microclimate on Building Thermal Performance in Present and Future Climatic Conditions: A Case of New Obour City, Egypt","authors":"Eman A. Saleh, Bassel Essam","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232287","url":null,"abstract":"Artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled urban planners to forecast microclimate conditions, allowing them to think smartly and optimise urban design. Coupled outdoor-indoor simulations were used to overcome the packages’ inability to handle both objectives in one tool because indoor simulation methods do not consider microclimatic interactions. To predict metrological climate conditions and carbon dioxide (CO2), ENVI-met V4.0 simulations (accounting for outdoor conditions) were combined with indoor simulations using DesignBuilder V4.2. This paper is based on a case study in New Obour City, Egypt, that begins by creating the neighbourhood using design specifications with several weather files (EPW, STAT, DDY, and Audit) to simulate and estimate future changes, then comparing the current and future in 2080. The findings highlight the significance of AI in architectural optimisation, adaptation, and prediction for long-term sustainable design. Moreover, the study presents the various flaws in the design that might be addressed to accommodate climate change. That was tackled by the active simulation for the two representative design days in the years 2023 and 2080 in the chosen neighbourhood to result in certain parameters influencing thermal comfort, including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, CO2, predicted mean vote (PMV), and physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The results of this study can serve as a reference for architects, urban designers, and planners in the early design stages to attain sustainable residential neighbourhoods.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115529025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Walkability, Adaptability, Accessibility and Parking in Rapidly Growing Cities: The Case of Kigali City","authors":"David Mihigo, John Mpemba Lukenangula","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232298","url":null,"abstract":"Walking, accessibility, and parking spaces are the major pressing challenges today in rapidly growing cities in the global south. Despite the fact that automobiles in these cities increase daily, many cities still have not coped with these changes due to various factors, such as a lack of appropriate technology to react to this. Therefore, this study aims to examine how walkability, accessibility, and parking spaces are taken into consideration in rapidly growing cities, using Kigali City as a specific case. Primary data were collected through observations and interviews that were conducted through the use of structured questions addressed to one administrative official in charge of road and bridge construction and maintenance in the infrastructure management unit at the district level. Secondary data were gathered from existing literature similar to this study. Moreover, 75 city residents from three districts (i.e., 25 residents from each district) were chosen randomly. Findings have revealed that pedestrian walkways are used 24/7 by people going to work, hospitals, buying commodities, and playing various games. In addition, the study has shown that the CHIC building parking yard can accommodate more than 400 cars when fully utilized, and the parking price is 200 Frw (0.2 USD) per minute. This parking space had the option to go in and out on both sides of the parking lot. Regarding accessibility, there is Kanombe International Airport, which makes the city accessible to international travelers, and Bugesera International Airport, which is 25 km south-east of Kigali and under construction. Additionally, the lack of smart parking and protected walkways against car accidents on commuters were highlighted by 77% of the respondents as the major emerging challenges that hold back walkability and parking in Kigali City. In conclusion, transformation in Kigali City is taking place, and the city is trying to cope with emerging technologies by making the city accessible, walkable, and parking spaces available in front of high-raised buildings as well as commercial areas. This goes hand in hand with the use of IOT and further emerging technologies to improve walkability in urban areas as well as adaptability, especially for rapidly developing cities like Kigali City.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124026796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Suitable Density of Vertical Greenery Systems on Office Buildings for Energy Saving","authors":"Aya Hassoun, Chirine Traboulsi, M. Rabea, Mary Felix","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232235","url":null,"abstract":"One of the more optimistic strategies to generate energy savings in buildings and help mitigate the effect of the urban heat island is to “green” the building envelopes. In general, a vertical greenery system (VGS) has excellent possibilities for cutting building energy use, particularly during cooling periods. One of the most important factors is the shadow effect factor, which is greatly affected by the plants. Simulating the facade foliar density using Revit energy analysis is one technique to describe the potential shadow effect of flora. This paper will analyse and investigate to answer the following question: Does the variation in density of the VGS affect the energy savings of the building? The VGS has several factors that affect the energy savings of the building, such as the types that thrive in each region, the facade’s direction, the thickness of the foliage, the presence of air layers in the context of green walls, and the makeup and thickness of the substrate layer. This paper will focus on one factor: the density of the green vertical system. The goal of this study is to develop a standard and simple method for calculating the leaf area index (LAI) and connecting it to the energy savings offered by VGS studies on the office building. Additionally, research was done on the energy savings made at the “Karim Centre”, an office building located in Tripoli, Lebanon. Moreover, the facade direction has many impacts on the indoor thermal system that affect energy savings using the VGS, including green walls and double-skin green facades. There is, however, a dearth of information on operating during the heating season as well as throughout the entire year. This paper will discuss the four evaluation variations of the density of VGS on the facade of the office building, resulting in the suitable density of VGS4, which saves 15.7% less energy with 50% green density on the facade.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124362451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Study of Mediterranean Courtyard Houses and the Bioclimate Impact on Their Design from Four Axes: Historical, Environmental, Social and Geometry","authors":"Carol Bassal, M. Rabea, Mary Felix","doi":"10.37256/gbce.4120232263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.37256/gbce.4120232263","url":null,"abstract":"As a result of the many efforts made in recent decades to implement bioclimatic criteria and passive house models in Mediterranean areas, traditional architectural typologies can play a role in the contemporary environmental architectural framework. The interactive and adaptive relationship between climate, site, and building is a fundamental rule in the climate-responsive approach to reducing environmental impacts. Lately, this idea has been extended to include protecting the cultural identities of places. Many cases in the Mediterranean Basin show that conventional courtyard houses can provide high adaptability, sustainability, and functionality. Mediterranean courtyard houses are founded on a set of adaptable and sustainable standards derived from a combination of active and passive design approaches. This paper presents a comparative study of courtyard houses in five Mediterranean countries: Spain, Türkiye, Greece, Libya, and Palestine, addressing four areas of interest: history, environment, society and geometry. Considering the bioclimatic approach as a critical component in reorienting the construction process, the study’s goal is to compare and evaluate the inner courtyards of these Mediterranean countries, analysing the most important constant factors and modification paths. The study concludes that the courtyard morphology is a shared human legacy with a past and future as it meets its inhabitants’ physical and sociocultural requirements. Furthermore, despite the differences in some aspects, courtyard houses were constructed throughout the Mediterranean with a common meaning of heaven on earth; this could imply that the courtyard garden is the world’s meaning.","PeriodicalId":268497,"journal":{"name":"Green Building & Construction Economics","volume":"254 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132826893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}