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The drive towards environmentally friendly buildings and infrastructure has led to a growing interest in providing design solutions underpinned by the core principles of sustainability to balance economic, social and environmental factors. Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of sustainability on project evaluation presents new directions, reflecting the need to recognise the impact of climate change and the importance of sustainability in project evaluation. The aim is to provide a new approach to understanding design economics in the context of the changing policy environment, legislative and regulatory framework, and increasing economic, environmental and social pressure as result of the sustainability agenda. The book follows a structured approach from theories and principles in the earlier chapters, to the practical applications and emerging techniques focusing on value and social, economic and environmental considerations in making design decisions. It starts with the policy context, building on various theories and principles such as, capital cost, value of design and resource-based theories, the new rules of measurement (NRM) to explore cost planning, the relationship between height and costs, key socio-economic and environmental variables for design appraisal, eco-cost/value ratio (EVR), whole life theory and the treatment of carbon emission as external costs, productivity and efficiency, fiscal drivers and legal framework for carbon reduction, procurement and allocation of risks in contracts. Case studies, practical examples and frameworks throughout reinforce theories and principles and relate them to current practice. The book is essential reading for postgraduate students in architecture, building and quantity surveying and is also a valuable resource for academics, consultants and policy-makers in the built environment.

Since 1990, approximately 420 million hectares of forest have been lost worldwide due to land conversion for various uses, including agriculture, infrastructure development, urbanization, and other human activities. This study aims to investigate the critical drivers contributing to deforestation and forest degradation (DFD) in Ondo State, Nigeria, thereby identifying areas where REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) interventions could be most effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), which is released through forest loss and degradation. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from construction professionals such as architects, engineers, builders, quantity surveyors, and project managers. Collected data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages to report the background information of professionals, Mean Item Scores (MIS) to rank critical drivers of DFD, and Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation (FSE) to identify the most critical drivers. FSE analysis revealed that DFD is primarily motivated by agricultural expansion (including cattle ranching and shifting cultivation) and infrastructure extension (particularly transportation networks and market and service infrastructure) among the proximate drivers. The analysis also identified demographic, economic, and policy and institutional factors as the most significant underlying drivers. The emphasis on agricultural expansion and infrastructure extension suggests that targeted interventions in these areas could significantly mitigate DFD in the study site under consideration. This may involve implementing stricter regulations and incentives to promote sustainable land use practices among farmers and landowners. Additionally, integrating environmental impact assessments into infrastructure projects can help minimize forest loss associated with road construction and urban expansion. This study introduces an innovative approach by applying the Geist and Lambin conceptual framework of ‘proximate causes and underlying driving forces’. It is among the pioneering studies conducted in the study area to comprehensively analyze the drivers contributing to DFD using these frameworks. Although conducted in Ondo State, Nigeria, the findings can be extrapolated to similar regions facing similar challenges of DFD worldwide.

Unforeseen additional costs are major sources of cost overruns for the UK’s highway projects. General contractors normally allocate cost contingencies in their tender prices to cover these costs, primarily based on the judgements of their cost estimators. However, cost contingencies allocated to the same risk by different cost estimators can vary significantly. Although objective factors influencing the estimation of cost contingencies have been extensively investigated, subjective factors remain underexplored. Therefore, this paper aims to address this gap by investigating the subjective factors influencing cost estimators’ judgements through a qualitative study. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced cost estimators working for general contractors in the UK’s construction industry. A follow-up focus group study was also conducted with seven experienced cost estimators in the UK’s construction industry to validate the interview results. The findings reveal that there are thirteen influencing factors affecting cost estimators’ judgements on cost contingencies in highway construction projects. Seven of them, namely cost estimators’ ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders, self-reflection on previous practice, open-mindedness to project uniqueness, previous project experiences, risk attitude, assumption of the controllability of risks, and perceived quality of tender documents were identified as critical ones. They were grouped into two categories, including expertise-related factors and personal factors. The findings contribute to the lack of research on the subjective factors influencing cost estimators’ judgement-making process in highway construction projects in developed countries. The results also provide new practical insights for general contractors to develop more focused strategies and training programs to enhance the reliability of cost estimators’ judgements on cost contingencies, which can effectively reduce the probability of cost overruns.

The debate about project economic sustainability evaluation from a life cycle perspective focused on the conventional Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Despite the potentialities of the approach for evaluating design options at different scales (building/system/component/material), some limits emerge due to the neoclassical nature of the economic principles on which it is founded. The most important aspect of this debate is the necessity to clarify how to deal with environmental costs in the calculation, particularly in the case of public/PPP interventions. Two research topics emerge for strengthening the capability of LCC to deal with environmental components: (1) the LCC and environmental quantitative analysis (using Life Cycle Assessment) joint application; (2) the integration of the environmental dimension into the microeconomic approach, using appropriate discount rates. As known, these last are particularly relevant for public projects, in which the time value of money issue becomes crucial in presence of long lifespan analyses and economic objectives. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore alternative discounting modalities, for identifying the preferable one, towards an “environmental LCC model”. The research domain is therefore on the limits of LCC in dealing with environmental cost components, at the time being poorly studied by the scientific literature: this point represents the missing link which form the basis for the research problem to be addressed. The research design is focused on the investigation of environmental hurdle rate technique and the escalation rate approach, as alternatives to the standard “time preference” (financial) one. The LCC and the global cost are selected as the main tool for the analysis, which is founded on an empirical research methodology. The results, obtained by simulations on a case study (two alternative technological components), confirm the relevance of the discount rate effect on the Global Cost calculation by modelling some of the potential impacts of building components on the environment, e.g., the expectations of technological development over time. By the environmental hurdle rate, the results can even change the final preferability ranking obtained using financial rates. The value of the work consists of growing the debate on the topic and supporting environmentally responsible investment decisions in the building construction sector (new-build/retrofit of existing assets).

Today, sustainability, sustainable development and clean environment come to the fore worldwide. Consequently, the concept of sustainability has been introduced in project management. Sustainability issues have gained particular attention in the real estate sector. However, despite the fact that this sector has a huge impact on the environment and society, real estate projects are most commonly chosen taking into account only their risk and return, and a very limited number of indices and methods are available to assess their sustainability. Moreover, all of the existing indices and models for assessing the sustainability of an investment project take into account only three dimensions of sustainability—environmental, social and economic. Therefore, the novelty of this work lies in constructing a real estate sustainability index (RESI) relying on an additional sustainability aspect—i.e., a technological dimension. The developed sustainability index could be useful in evaluating and comparing real estate projects. It would also promote technological progress and investments in new technologies within projects as sustainability is also considered in a new, technological dimension. A research study was carried out between September 2020 and December 2020. Following an analysis of the literature and different sustainability-related standards relevant for the real estate industry, sustainability criteria were chosen and then grouped into four (environmental, social, economic and technological) categories. The selection and ranking of the most relevant sustainability criteria were performed through a survey. The index was compiled by applying multi-criteria decision making methods.

Coastal land reclamation (CLR), particularly port reclamation, is a common approach to alleviating land shortages. However, the spatial extent, percentages, and processes of these newly reclaimed ports are largely unknown. The Bohai Sea is the most concentrated area of port reclamation worldwide. Thus, this study addresses the changes in the different coastline types and port reclamation process in the area. The reclamation area of the 13 ports in the Bohai Sea in 2002–2018 was 2,300 km 2 , which decreased the area of the sea by 3%. The natural coastline length in Tianjin decreased by 47.5 km, whereas the artificial coastline length increased by 46.6 km. Based on the port boundary, however, only 26.3% of the reclaimed areas have been used for port construction, which concentrates in the Tianjin and Tangshan ports. The ratio of built-up area within the ports is only 32.5%, and approximately 48.3% of the reclaimed areas have no construction projects. The port land reclamation in the Bohai Sea has been undergoing periods of acceleration, peak, deceleration, and stagnation since 2002. Hence, future port reclamation should not be totally prohibited, and fine management should be conducted based on the optimization of the reclaimed port area. The innovation of this research is its analysis of the port internal land use pattern, the percentage of built-up area in the ports, and the sustainability of port reclamation policies. The findings have vital implications for scientifically regulating the spatial pattern and exploring the utility of port reclamation.

Construction projects play a vital role in shaping the built environment and have a significant impact on the natural environment and economies around the world. The decisions made during the planning and execution stages of a project can have long-lasting implications for its environmental and economic performance. It is, therefore, essential to consider these factors carefully and make informed decisions that align with sustainable development goals. One way to achieve this is by using metaheuristic algorithms and artificial intelligence tools to optimize and reconcile sustainable development and economic parameters in construction project scheduling. By doing so, one can improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the construction process, while also contributing to the well-being of the communities in which these projects are located. In this article, authors propose a new ecological indicator that can be used to evaluate the sustainability of construction projects and provide a case study to illustrate its application. The authors’ findings and conclusions highlight the importance of using advanced analytical techniques to optimize the sustainability and economic performance of construction projects and suggest potential avenues for future research.

Huge amounts of energy and resources will be consumed, and a large quantity of environmental pollutants will be produced during the construction process of large-scale hydropower projects. As a core link of green supply chain in hydropower projects, green construction is particularly critical. To objectively evaluate the green construction level of large-scale hydropower projects, an evaluation indicator system was constructed in the study. The evaluation system consisted of 30 quantitative indicators and 7 qualitative indicators from the perspectives of environmental protection, resource saving and comprehensive management on the basis of the construction characteristics of large-scale hydropower projects. The quantitative and qualitative evaluation standards were proposed by combining with relevant laws and regulations, specifications and standards, and the environmental management maturity model. Furthermore, taking the second quarter of 2018 in Wudongde Hydropower Station on the Jinsha River, China, as an example, green construction level was assessed by the analytic hierarchy process fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (AHP-FCE) method. The calculation results indicated that the evaluation value of green construction in Wudongde Hydropower Station was 3.697, at “Good” level. The evaluation values of environmental protection, resource saving, and comprehensive management were 3.681, 3.473, and 3.965, respectively, within the range of 3 to 4, so they were all evaluated to be “Good”. To further improve the green construction level, it was necessary to supervise some aspects of construction process, i.e., treatment of waste slag in construction, economical and intensive utilization of land, publicity and training, soil erosion control, and saving water resources. In particular, management of soil erosion control should be strengthened. The proposed green construction evaluation system is relatively reliable and practical for professionals in the green hydropower industry, and can provide a reference for other large-scale hydropower projects.

Establishing a mechanism for ecological product value realizing (EPVR) is a critical component of China’s ecological civilization strategy, aimed at translating the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” into actionable economic policies. Although central government investments in the form of project for EPVR have increased significantly, surpassing CNY 700 billion by 2024, studies rarely focus on these projects and how to evaluate them. Evaluating the performance of EPVR projects is essential for optimizing resource allocation, enhancing project accountability, and ensuring the sustainable realization of ecological, economic, and social values. This study innovatively defines the conceptual connotation of EPVR projects and constructs a comprehensive performance evaluation system based on a “benefit-cost” analysis, comprising a multi-dimensional indicator system, quantifiable calculation methods, and explicit evaluation criteria. As water source protection projects are typical EPVR projects, the comprehensive water environment management project of Hongfeng Lake is selected for an in-depth empirical study. The results reveal that (1) the total annual benefits amount to CNY 923.66 million, dominated by ecological benefits (84.04%); (2) with an investment of CNY 1194.66 million, the project yields a net loss and a moderate performance index (PCPI = 0.77); (3) the project performance is primarily affected by weak economic value conversion stemming from restrictive zoning policies and underdeveloped market mechanisms for ecological services; and (4) integrated development pathways—such as ecotourism, eco-aquaculture, and ecological branding—are proposed to enhance the long-term sustainability of the project. The Hongfeng Lake case establishes a replicable framework for global assessment of analogous projects and delivers actionable insights for enhancing benefit–cost ratios in public ecological initiatives, with costs confined to data collection, modeling, and validation. Therefore, this study contributes a quantifiable and reproducible tool for the full lifecycle management of EPVR projects, thereby facilitating more informed government decision-making. Key findings reveal the following: (1) A comprehensive “Benefit-Cost” performance evaluation framework, pioneered in this study and tailored specifically for individual EPVR projects, surpasses regional-scale accounting methodologies like Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP). (2) A novel consolidated metric (PCPI) is introduced to integrate ecological, economic, and social dimensions with cost input, thus enabling direct cross-project comparison and classification. (3) The framework operationalizes evaluation by providing a detailed, adaptable indicator system with explicit monetization methods for 26 distinct benefits, thereby bridging the gap between theoretical value accounting and practical project assessment. (4) The empirical application to a drinking water source protection project addresses a critical yet understudied category of EPVR projects, offering insights into “protection-oriented” models.