As the world tackles climate change, it faces a seemingly intractable problem. Mitigating climate-disaster will require more resilient construction—and yet the building sector already comprises nearly 40% of global emissions.
The plan prioritizes the procurement & innovation of
low-impact construction materials
—including concrete—
which the nation will need to build resiliently
How can we build the RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE we need, while eliminating the carbon footprint of construction?
At first glance, it might appear that the easiest solution is to do nothing at all … Limiting the development of new construction, for instance, would reduce building sector emissions while slowing humanity’s encroachment on hazard-prone regions. But, of course “doing nothing at all” is as lacking in foresight as it is impossible. Over the next 50 years, the number of city dwellers worldwide will increase from 5 billion to 7 billion. Ensuring that these new residents in some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions have access to sanitary, safe buildings is crucial— and will require extensive, resilient construction. Even here in the U.S., the need for new infrastructure is growing.
What can we do to manage the impacts of this inevitable development?
Build wisely, but a more important, SUSTAINABILITY and RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION ARE TOTALLY COMPATIBLE! This becomes clear when we actually DEFINE these two ubiquitous terms:
—“SUSTAINABILITY” means designing systems to last in the face of stresses—that can sustain the planet, society and the economy
—”RESILIENCE” means encompassing far more than “rugged” design—it means designing to resist and, most important: rapidly recover from a disaster
—2 concepts of resilience and sustainability have the SAME GOAL:
Ensuring long-term viability in the face of challenges.
IN PRACTICE, their alignment becomes even more clear. A resilient structure, for instance, can withstand many hazards over its life, significantly mitigating the costs associated with hazard repair. The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) found that investments in resilient construction pay for themselves in just a couple of years in hazard-prone regions. These investments can be as straightforward as storm shutters and stronger roof-to-wall connections or as stringent as elevated structures, concrete walls, and fireproof materials. Given the massive losses hazards will likely inflict in the coming century, resilient construction makes clear financial sense.
But it also makes ENVIRONMENTAL SENSE. In the aftermath of a disaster, poorly built infrastructure leads to immense amounts of, often toxic, waste—as well as a large demand for resources and reconstruction that will only increase the environmental impacts of the building sector. Consequently, to build resiliently is also to build sustainably, limiting unnecessary construction and waste.
Resilient construction can also be INHERENTLY SUSTAINABLE:
—New construction is more energy-efficient, and that’s especially the case with resilient materials
—Resilient construction can have about 5% to 10% lower lifetime impacts due to energy efficiency—despite having up to a 30% greater initial impact from materials and construction.
The same is true for INFRASTRUCTURE:
• Durable, PAVING MATERIALS such as CONCRETE can:
– Reduce vehicle emissions
– Mitigate hazards like the urban heat island effect when implemented in the right context
• Designing road networks to endure future risks like price and budget changes—and hazards— over the long term, allows agencies to
– Reduce their emissions
– Lower costs
– Improve performance
• Construction of a resilient built environment does not conflict with sustainability
• These two goals are more than harmonious—they are synergistic
But, we still need to use the lowest emitting materials
To ensure that this happens, governments, industries and academia must collaborate. We can:
• Reimagine how governments procure sustainable materials.
• Compare the environmental impacts of construction products with tools that were never intended to facilitate comparisons—currently used by governments
• Create a better standard, so it will be easier for governments to select the greenest materials—and for manufacturers to compete to lower their impacts.
Long-term, strategic approach inherently tends to produce resilient and sustainable outcomes:
Along with competitive, transparent markets, the development of innovative materials will also require a comprehensive array of investments, particularly around carbon capture, which is currently prohibitively expensive. In the case of CONCRETE—a ubiquitous, affordable and resilient construction material—carbon capture will be essential to eliminating emissions. The latest proposal from the current president administration acknowledges these needs. In addition to investing tens of billions of dollars towards resilient construction, the plan aims to improve the nation’s infrastructure by “fixing it right”.
The RESEARCH by Randolph Kirchain, Ph.D., Co-Director-CSHub and Franz-Josef Ulm, Ph.D., Faculty Director-CSHub found that this kind of long-term, strategic approach inherently tends to produce resilient and sustainable outcomes by managing risk and minimizing construction actions. Research from the MIT CSHub is sponsored by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the RMC Research and Education Foundation (RMC-REF)
• Kirchain‘s research focuses on the environmental and economic implications of materials selection and deals with the development of methods to model the cost of manufacture and the sustainability of current and emerging materials systems.
• Ulm‘s research interests are in the mechanics and structures of materials. His research investigates the nano- and micromechanics of porous materials, such as concrete, rocks and bones and the durability mechanics of engineering materials and structures.
Balancing resilient construction and environmental sustainability can seem daunting as the world experiences unprecedented growth, but,
• Solutions to climate change can be cumulative, not zero-sum—especially with resilience and sustainability.
• A better future must be built
• With the right investments, it can be both resilient and sustainable
LINKS:
• The Hill online Magazine article titled “Climate resilience is the new sustainability”: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/556094-climate-resilience-is-the-new-sustainability
• Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-status-report-for-buildings-and-construction-2019
• The World Bank Urban Development Website: www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview
• World Resources Institute: www.wri.org/insights/what-vulnerable-countries-need-cop26-climate-summit
• Brookings (Research, Policy Making, & Public Policy Research & Analysis Group): www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2020/02/21/to-move-the-needle-on-ending-extreme-poverty-focus-on-rural-areas/
• Springer article “The role of clean technology research in disaster debris management”: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10098-019-01712-1
• CSHub “Research Summary: Life-cycle costs hazard-resistant buildings”: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/research-summary-life-cycle-costs-hazard-resistant-buildings
• CSHub “Research Summary: Quantifying building life cycle environmental impacts”: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/research-summary-quantifying-building-life-cycle-environmental-impacts
• CSHub “Mitigating climate change with reflective pavements”: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/topic-summary-mitigating-climate-change-reflective-pavements
• MIT News article: “Improving pavement networks by predicting the future”: https://news.mit.edu/2020/improving-pavement-networks-predicting-future-0205
• CSHub “Topic Summary: Network Asset Management”: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/topic-summary-network-asset-management
• CSHub “Topic Summary: Adding Environmental Impacts into the Procurement of Building Products”: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/topic-summary-adding-environmental-impacts-procurement-building-products
ISCP ARTICLES—Concrete Pavements offer resilience & sustainability in challenging weather/flooding:
“States Taking Note: CRCP Roadways Proven Resilient After Record Hurricane Flooding in Texas”: www.concretepavements.org/2018/05/10/states-taking-note-crcp-roadways-proved-resilient-after-record-category-4-hurricane-harvey-flooded-texas/
“85% of Americans Support Spending More for Flood-Ready Infrastructure + ISCP ’18 Article: TxDOT Freeways’ Survival After Floods”: www.concretepavements.org/2020/03/24/85-of-americans-support-spending-more-for-flood-ready-infrastructure-iscp-18-article-txdot-freeways-survival-after-floods/
“Permeable Concrete Prevents Water Runoff, while Solving Carbon Fiber Waste Problem & Increasing Durability/Strength”: www.concretepavements.org/2018/03/05/permeable-concrete-prevents-water-runoff-while-solving-carbon-fiber-waste-problem/
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