Managing Sustainability and Resilience of the Built Environment in Developing Communities

Abstract

Sustainable built environment has been the primary focus in academic and industrial fields in recent years. The major forces behind sustainable engineering are the rise in climate-related disasters, constant challenges in the energy sector, and a substantial shift in consumers’ consciousness toward conserving natural resources. Further, many professional bodies have developed guidelines and specifications to implement sustainable practices and rate their impacts. Regardless, promoting analytical procedures for creating a context-sensitive design requires professionals to become familiar with standard sustainable practices and feel comfortable implementing more innovative materials and techniques in civil engineering design. In addition, the socio-political environment and macro-economic culture interact with engineering decisions. Hence, these considerations are necessary to deploy these elements in developing communities through best management practices during the lifecycle of sustainable and resilient projects. This paper endeavors to review these practices using lessons learned from applied examples and existing literature. Discussions cover various aspects of project development, from planning to demolition. Recommendations address challenges and opportunities in the sustainable development of resilient built infrastructure in developing regions.