Towards sustainable housing for Vietnam

Economic development in Vietnam has led to the spontaneous development of new housing in many parts of Vietnam without consideration of environmental protection, cultural suitability, or resource reduction. The transition of Vietnamese housing into a sustainable industry is both an opportunity and challenge. Vietnam has to satisfy a growing demand for housing while confronting the issues of climate change, extreme weather events, nature conservation and cultural heritage. To that end, model green building guidelines are being developed to facilitate Vietnam’s adoption of sustainable development principles and practices. This paper presents the results of a survey and interviews carried out in Vietnam to ensure that model green guidelines align with the cultural and consumer preferences of the Vietnamese people.

Social infrastructure planning and sustainable community : example from south east Queensland, Australia

Social infrastructure and sustainable development represent two distinct but interlinked concepts bounded by a geographic location. For those involved in the planning of a residential development, the notion of social infrastructure is crucial to the building of a healthy community and sustainable environment. This is because social infrastructure is provided in response to the basic needs of communities and to enhance the quality of life, equity, stability and social well being. It also acts as the building block to the enhancement of human and social capital. While acknowledging the different levels of social infrastructure provision from neighbourhood, local, district and sub-regional levels, past evidence has shown that the provision at neighbourhood and local level and are affecting well-being of residents and the community sustainability. With intense physical development taking place in Australia's South East Queensland (SEQ) region, local councils are under immense pressure to provide adequate social and community facilities for their residents. This paper shows how participation-oriented, need-sensitive Integrated Social Infrastructure Planning Guideline is used to offer a solution for the efficient planning and provision of multi-level social infrastructure for the SEQ region. The paper points out to the successful implementation of the guideline for social infrastructure planning in multiple levels of spatial jurisdictions of Australia's fastest growing region.

Green buildings : a framework for social sustainability

Despite the ongoing debate surrounding climate change, sustainability is increasingly a key consideration for building owners and tenants with the ‘triple bottom line’ as desired outcomes. The triangulated social, economic and environmental goals of sustainability are now the mantra of many businesses. While much has been written of the benefits of green buildings to its occupants, comparatively fewer studies have been devoted to investigating the perceived drawbacks and measures to improve the social sustainability factor, i.e., user satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to consider the impacts of green buildings on its occupants by drawing together past empirical findings and summarizing the results. In addition, the paper will also present a case study of the Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture, which is Australia’s first 6-green star, rated educational building. Through these methods, the paper will identify gaps between green building performance and user satisfaction. Thereafter, it will introduce a social sustainability framework that seeks to improve the social performance of green buildings. The 6-P model is a holistic framework targeting the following factors that can influence user satisfaction of green buildings. These factors are: public perception, price, policies, psychological, physical and personal.

Engineering sustainable solutions program : critical literacies for engineers portfolio

Purpose While a number of universities in Australia have embraced concepts such as project/problem‐based learning and design of innovative learning environments for engineering education, there has been a lack of national guidance on including sustainability as a “critical literacy” into all engineering streams. This paper was presented at the 2004 International Conference on Engineering Education in Sustainable Development (EESD) in Barcelona, Spain, outlining a current initiative that is seeking to address the “critical literacy” dilemma. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the positive steps taken by Australia's peak engineering body, the Institution of Engineers Australia (EA), in considering accreditation requirements for university engineering courses and its responsibility to ensure the inclusion of sustainability education material. It then describes a current initiative called the “Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program – Critical Literacies for Engineers Portfolio” (ESSP‐CL), which is being developed by The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) in partnership with EA and Unesco. Findings Content for the module was gathered from around the world, drawing on research from the publication The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation, and Governance in the Twenty‐first Century. Parts of the first draft of the ESSP‐CL have been trialled at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia with first year environmental engineering students, in May 2004. Further trials are now proceeding with a number of other universities and organisations nationally and internationally. Practical implications It is intended that ESSP‐CL will be a valuable resource to universities, professional development activities or other education facilities nationally and internationally. Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified information/resources need.

Development of the rural statistical sustainability framework tool

It is important to promote a sustainable development approach to ensure that economic, environmental and social developments are maintained in balance. Sustainable development and its implications are not just a global concern, it also affects Australia. In particular, rural Australian communities are facing various economic, environmental and social challenges. Thus, the need for sustainable development in rural regions is becoming increasingly important. To promote sustainable development, proper frameworks along with the associated tools optimised for the specific regions, need to be developed. This will ensure that the decisions made for sustainable development are evidence based, instead of subjective opinions. To address these issues, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), through an Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage grant, has initiated research into the development of a Rural Statistical Sustainability Framework (RSSF) to aid sustainable decision making in rural Queensland. This particular branch of the research developed a decision support tool that will become the integrating component of the RSSF. This tool is developed on the web-based platform to allow easy dissemination, quick maintenance and to minimise compatibility issues. The tool is developed based on MapGuide Open Source and it follows the three-tier architecture: Client tier, Web tier and the Server tier. The developed tool is interactive and behaves similar to a familiar desktop-based application. It has the capability to handle and display vector-based spatial data and can give further visual outputs using charts and tables. The data used in this tool is obtained from the QUT research team. Overall the tool implements four tasks to help in the decision-making process. These are the Locality Classification, Trend Display, Impact Assessment and Data Entry and Update. The developed tool utilises open source and freely available software and accounts for easy extensibility and long-term sustainability.

Developing sustainable housing through building utilities and transport innovation

Sustainability concerns every citizen. Housing affordability and sustainable solutions are being highlighted in research and practice in many parts of the world. This paper discusses the development of a Commuter Energy and Building Utilities System (CEBUS) in sustainable housing projects as a means of bridging the gap between current median house pricing and target affordable house pricing for low income earners. Similar scales of sustainable housing development cannot be achieved through independent application of current best practice methods in ecologically sustainable development strategies or transit oriented development master plans. This paper presents the initial stage of research on first capital and ongoing utilities and transport cost savings available from these sustainable design methods. It also outlines further research and development of a CEBUS Dynamic Simulation Model and Conceptual Framework for the Australian property development and construction industry.

Social infrastructure planning and sustainable communities : Example from South East Queensland, Australia

From its early birth through to the twenty-first century, the planning for social infrastructure has been viewed as a crucial element in promoting the development of healthy communities. The existence of good social infrastructure in every level of human settlement (i.e. neighbourhoods, districts, regions etc.) is vital because it is considered to be an element that impacts positively and meaningfully on the quality of life for members of the targeted community. The increasing importance of the sustainable development agenda in human settlements has prompted concerns over the cost of the government’s failure to provide for adequate social infrastructure for their communities. Part of this failure is attributed to the inconsistent outcome from the use of traditional planning standards that are based on population-to-facility ratios. This paper explores the literature discussion on social infrastructure for sustainable communities. It examines how a participation-oriented, need-sensitive approach in the planning and provision of social infrastructure is used as an alternative to the traditional standards that are based on population-to-facility ratios. It does this by giving an overview of its application in the planning and provision of social infrastructure for Australia’s fastest growing region of South-East Queensland.

Sustainable retirement living : what matters

There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees’ understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees’ awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.

Sustainable retirement living : what matters

There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees’ understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current and potential residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees’ awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.

Green business process management: towards the sustainable enterprise

- Preface by Richard T. Watson - Discusses the emerging challenges of designing “green” business processes - Presents tools and methods that organizations can use in order to design and implement environmentally sustainable processes - Provides insights from cases where organizations successfully engaged in more sustainable business practices Green Business Process Management – Towards the Sustainable Enterprise" consolidates the global state-of-the-art knowledge about how business processes can be managed and improved in light of sustainability objectives. Business organizations, a dominant part of our society, have always been a major contributor to the degradation of our natural environment, through the resource consumption, greenhouse emissions, and wastage production associated with their business processes. In order to lessen their impact on the natural environment, organizations must design and implement environmentally sustainable business processes. Finding solutions to this organizational design problem is the key challenge of Green Business Process Management. This book discusses the emerging challenges of designing “green” business processes, presents tools and methods that organizations can use in order to design and implement environmentally sustainable processes, and provides insights from cases where organizations successfully engaged in more sustainable business practices. The book is of relevance to both practitioners and academics who are interested in understanding, designing, and implementing “green” business processes. It also constitutes a valuable resource for students and lecturers in the fields of information systems, management, and sustainable development.

Sustainable road infrastructure procurement in Australia

According to Tan et al. (2011), the establishment of a clear sustainability policy in the construction industry is paramount, if only as a statement of the commitment of the top management to protecting the environment and enhancing social responsibility. The resulting policies should then translate into proactive strategies and action plans that improve the sustainability performance of contractors and provide a competitive advantage by integrating “long-run profitability” with sustainable development efforts. The strategies should also take into account climatic protection issues through greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) monitoring and reduction initiatives (Stocker & Luptacik, 2009)...

Sustainable urban stormwater management : water sensitive urban design perceptions, drivers and barriers

Stormwater has been recognised as one of the main culprits of aquatic ecosystem pollution and as a significant threat to the goal of ecological sustainable development. Water sensitive urban design is one of the key responses to the need to better manage urban stormwater runoff, the objectives of which go beyond rapid and efficient conveyance. Underpinned by the concepts of sustainable urban development, water sensitive urban design has proven to be an efficient and environmentally-friendly approach to urban stormwater management, with the necessary technical know-how and skills already available. However, large-scale implementation of water sensitive urban design is still lacking in Australia due to significant impediments and negative perceptions. Identification of the issues, barriers and drivers that affect sustainability outcomes of urban stormwater management is one of the first steps towards encouraging the wide-scale uptake of water sensitive urban design features which integrate sustainable urban stormwater management. This chapter investigates key water sensitive urban design perceptions, drivers and barriers in order to improve sustainable urban stormwater management efforts.

Learning processes in creative industries initiatives in developing countries : an examination of policy and practice

What does a dance group in Benin that mixes contemporary and ethnic dancing have in common with Mongolian felt producers that want to enter the design market in Europe? These are both examples of learning processes in Creative Industries initiatives in developing countries. Following the concept of sustainable development, I argue that the challenge for developing countries in contemporary society is to meet the very real need of people for economic development and opportunities for income generation, while at the same time avoiding unintended and unwanted consequences of economic development and globalisation. The concept of the Creative Industries may be a way to promote a development that is sustainable and avoids social exclusion of groups-at-risk. In line with this, I argue that the Creative Industries sector could, in fact, link economic development and the continuation and evolution of local traditions and cultural heritage. A pressing question then is: how can education and learning contribute to creating a context in which talent can flourish? This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem of this thesis: what elements are conducive for individual learning processes in creative development initiatives? In this, I argue that it is crucial to determine what ingredients and characteristics contribute to making these initiatives successful, that is, to meet their specific goals, in a developing context. This is explored through a staged analysis: an overview of quantitative data, an inventory and comparative case studies and, finally, the description and analysis of two in-depth case studies – felt design in Mongolia (Asia) and dance in Benin (Africa), in which I was an observer of the action phase of the local interventions. The analysis culminates in practice-related outcomes related to the operation of creative development initiatives, as well as the contribution to the academic debate on issues like the cultural gap between developed and developing countries, transformative learning and the connection of learning spaces.

Responding to national curriculum goals for English language learners : enhancing reading strategies in high school content areas

The official need for content teachers to teach the language features of their fields has never been greater in Australia than now. In 2012, the recently formed national curriculum board announced that all teachers are responsible for the English language development of students whose first language or dialect is not Standard Australian English (SAE). This formal endorsement is an important juncture regarding the way expertise might be developed, perceived and exchanged between content and language teachers through collaboration, in order for the goals of English language learners in content areas to be realised. To that end, we conducted an action research project to explore and extend the reading strategies pedagogy of one English language teacher who teaches English language learners in a parallel junior high school Geography program. Such pedagogy will be valuable for all teachers as they seek to contribute to English language development goals as outlined in national curricula.