Responding to sustainability challenge and cost implications in highway construction projects

Highway construction often requires a significant capital input; therefore it often causes serious financial implications for developers, owners and operators. The recent industry-wide focus on sustainability has added a new dimension to the evaluation of highway projects, particularly on the economical scale of ‘going green’. Comprehensive analysis of the whole-of-life highway development that responds to sustainability challenges is one of the primary concerns for stakeholders. Principles of engineering economics and life cycle costing have been used to determine the incremental capacity investments for highway projects. However, the consideration of costs and issues associated with sustainability is still very limited in current studies on highway projects. Previous studies have identified that highway project investments are primarily concerned with direct market costs that can be quantified through life cycle costing analysis (LCCA). But they tend to ignore costs that are difficult to calculate, as those related to environmental and social elements. On a more positive note, these studies proved that the inclusion of such costs is an essential part of the overall development investment and a primary concern for decision making by the stakeholders. This paper discusses a research attempt to identify and categorise sustainability cost elements for highway projects. Through questionnaire survey, a set of sustainability cost elements on highway projects has been proposed. These cost elements are incorporated into the extension of some of the existing Life Cycle Costing Analysis (LCCA) models in order to produce a holistic financial picture of the highway project. It is expected that a new LCCA model will be established to serve as a suitable tool for decision making for highway project stakeholders.

Developing a life-cycle costing analysis model for sustainability enhancement in road infrastructure project

With increasing pressure to provide environmentally responsible infrastructure products and services, stakeholders are putting significant foci on the early identification of financial viability and outcome of infrastructure projects. Traditionally, there has been an imbalance between sustainable measures and project budget. On one hand, the industry tends to employ the first-cost mentality and approach to developing infrastructure projects. On the other, environmental experts and technology innovators often push for the ultimately green products and systems without much of a concern for cost. This situation is being quickly changed as the industry is under pressure to continue to return profit, while better adapting to current and emerging global issues of sustainability. For the infrastructure sector to contribute to sustainable development, it will need to increase value and efficiency. Thus, there is a great need for tools that will enable decision makers evaluate competing initiatives and identify the most sustainable approaches to procuring infrastructure projects. In order to ensure that these objectives are achieved, the concept of life-cycle costing analysis (LCCA) will play significant roles in the economics of an infrastructure project. Recently, a few research initiatives have applied the LCCA models for road infrastructure that focused on the traditional economics of a project. There is little coverage of life-cycle costing as a method to evaluate the criteria and assess the economic implications of pursuing sustainability in road infrastructure projects. To rectify this problem, this paper reviews the theoretical basis of previous LCCA models before discussing their inability to determinate the sustainability indicators in road infrastructure project. It then introduces an on-going research aimed at developing a new model to integrate the various new cost elements based on the sustainability indicators with the traditional and proven LCCA approach. It is expected that the research will generate a working model for sustainability based life-cycle cost analysis.

Incorporating sustainability measures in life-cycle financial decision making for highway construction

Public awareness and the nature of highway construction works demand that sustainability measures are first on the development agenda. However, in the current economic climate, individual volition and enthusiasm for such high capital investments do not present as strong cases for decision making as the financial pictures of pursuing sustainability. Some stakeholders consider sustainability to be extra work that costs additional money. Though, stakeholders realised its importance in infrastructure development. They are keen to identify the available alternatives and financial implications on a lifecycle basis. Highway infrastructure development is a complex rocess which requires expertise and tools to evaluate investment options, such as environmentally sustainable features for road and highway development. Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a valuable approach for investment decision making for construction works. However, LCCA applications in highway development are still limited. Current models, for example focus on economic issues alone and do not deal with sustainability factors, which are more difficult to quantify and encapsulate in estimation modules. This paper reports the research which identifies sustainability related factors in highway construction projects, in quantitative and qualitative forms of a multi-criteria analysis. These factors are then incorporated into past and proven LCCA models to produce a new long term decision support model. The research via questionnaire, model building, analytical hierarchy processes (AHP) and case studies have identified, evaluated and then processed highway sustainability related cost elements. These cost elements need to be verified by industry before being integrated for further development of the model. Then the Australian construction industry will have a practical tool to evaluate investment decisions which provide an optimum balance between financial viability and sustainability deliverables.

Contesting ‘sustainability’ in infrastructure planning : The debate of the public interest in Brisbane’s Boggo Road Busway development

Sustainable infrastructure demands that declared principles of sustainability are enacted in the processes of its implementation. However, a problem arises if the concept of sustainability is not thoroughly scrutinised in the planning process. The public interest could be undermined when the rhetoric of sustainability is used to substantiate a proposed plan. This chapter analyses the manifestation of sustainable development in the Boggo Road Busway Plan in Brisbane, Australia against the sustainability agenda set in the South East Queensland Regional and Transport Plans. Although the construction of the Busway was intended to improve public transport access in the region, its implementation drew significant environmental concerns. Local community groups contested the ‘sustainability’ concept deployed in Queensland’s infrastructure planning. Their challenges resulted in important concessions in the delivery of the Busway plan. This case demonstrates that principles of sustainable infrastructure should be measurable and that local communities be better informed in order to fulfil the public interest in regional planning.

Assessing the sustainability of urban ecosystems : an innovative approach

At the turn of the millennium, the Earth’s human population has reached unprecedented levels and its natural resources are being pushed to the limit. Thus, cities are focused on sustainable development and they have begun to develop new strategies for improving the built environment. Sustainable development provides the best outcomes for the human and natural environments by improving the quality of life that protects and balances the ecological, social and economic values. This brings us to the main point: to build a sustainable built environment, cities need to redesign many of their technologies and planning policies within the context of ecological principles. As an environmental sustainability index model, ASSURE is developed to investigate the present environmental situation of an urban area by assessing the impacts of development pressure on natural resources. It is an innovative approach to provide the resilience and function of urban ecosystems secure against the environmental degradation for now and the future. This paper aims to underline the importance of the model (ASSURE) in preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems in the built environment and investigate its role in delivering long-term urban planning policies.

Towards sustainable urban futures : evaluating urban sustainability performance of the Gold coast, Australia

Creating sustainable urban environments is one of the challenging issues that need a clear vision and implementation strategies involving changes in governmental values and decision making process for local governments. Particularly, internalisation of environmental externalities of daily urban activities (e.g. manufacturing, transportation and so on) has immense importance for which local policies are formulated to provide better living conditions for the people inhabiting urban areas. Even if environmental problems are defined succinctly by various stakeholders, complicated nature of sustainability issues demand a structured evaluation strategy and well-defined sustainability parameters for efficient and effective policy making. Following this reasoning, this study involves assessment of sustainability performance of urban settings mainly focusing on environmental problems caused by rapid urban expansion and transformation. By taking into account land-use and transportation interaction, it tries to reveal how future urban developments would alter daily urban travel behaviour of people and affect the urban and natural environments. The paper introduces a grid-based indexing method developed for this research and trailed as a GIS-based decision support tool to analyse and model selected spatial and aspatial indicators of sustainability in the Gold Coast. This process reveals parameters of site specific relationship among selected indicators that are used to evaluate index-based performance characteristics of the area. The evaluation is made through an embedded decision support module by assigning relative weights to indicators. Resolution of selected grid-based unit of analysis provides insights about service level of projected urban development proposals at a disaggregate level, such as accessibility to transportation and urban services, and pollution. The paper concludes by discussing the findings including the capacity of the decision support system to assist decision-makers in determining problematic areas and developing intervention policies for sustainable outcomes of future developments.

Generalised self-efficacy in relation to the life transitions of adult learners in a university setting : towards a narrative constructivist model of self-regulation

This paper demonstrates a model of self-regulation based on a qualitative research project with adult learners undertaking an undergraduate degree. The narrative about the participant’s life transitions, co-constructed with the researcher, yielded data about their generalised self-efficacy and resulted in a unique self-efficacy narrative for each participant. A model of self-regulation is proposed with potential applications for coaching, counselling and psychotherapy. A narrative method was employed to construct narratives about an individual’s self-efficacy in relation to their experience of learning and life transitions. The method involved a cyclical and iterative process using qualitative interviews to collect life history data from participants. In addition, research participants completed reflective homework tasks, and this data was included in the participant’s narratives. A highly collaborative method entailed narratives being co-constructed by researcher and research participants as the participants were guided in reflecting on their experience in relation to learning and life transitions; the reflection focused on behaviour, cognitions and emotions that constitute a sense of self-efficacy. The analytic process used was narrative analysis, in which life is viewed as constructed and experienced through the telling and retelling of stories and hence the analysis is the creation of a coherent and resonant story. The method of constructing self-efficacy narratives was applied to a sample of mature aged students starting an undergraduate degree. The research outcomes confirmed a three-factor model of self-efficacy, comprising three interrelated stages: initiating action, applying effort, and persistence in overcoming difficulties. Evaluation of the research process by participants suggested that they had gained an enhanced understanding of self-efficacy from their participation in the research process, and would be able to apply this understanding to their studies and other endeavours in the future. A model of self-regulation is proposed as a means for coaches, counsellors and psychotherapists working from a narrative constructivist perspective to assist clients facing life transitions by helping them generate selfefficacious cognitions, emotions and behaviour.

Measuring costs of sustainability issues in highway infrastructure : perception of stakeholders in Australia

With increasing pressure to deliver environmentally friendly and socially responsible highway infrastructure projects, stakeholders are also putting significant focus on the early identification of financial viability and outcomes for these projects. Infrastructure development typically requires major capital input, which may cause serious financial constraints for investors. The push for sustainability has added new dimensions to the evaluation of highway projects, particularly on the cost front. Comprehensive analysis of the cost implications of implementing place sustainable measures in highway infrastructure throughout its lifespan is highly desirable and will become an essential part of the highway development process and a primary concern for decision makers. This paper discusses an ongoing research which seeks to identify cost elements and issues related to sustainable measures for highway infrastructure projects. Through life-cycle costing analysis (LCCA), financial implications of pursuing sustainability, which are highly concerned by the construction stakeholders, have been assessed to aid the decision making when contemplating the design, development and operation of highway infrastructure. An extensive literature review and evaluation of project reports from previous Australian highway projects was first conducted to reveal all potential cost elements. This provided the foundation for a questionnaire survey, which helped identify those specific issues and related costs that project stakeholders consider to be most critical in the Australian industry context. Through the survey, three key stakeholders in highway infrastructure development, namely consultants, contractors and government agencies, provided their views on the specific selection and priority ranking of the various categories. Findings of the survey are being integrated into proven LCCA models for further enhancement. A new LCCA model will be developed to assist the stakeholders to evaluate costs and investment decisions and reach optimum balance between financial viability and sustainability deliverables.

Transitions

Transitions represents a selection of works presented by 3rd year QUT design students undertaken as part of their coursework entitled "Environments in Transitions". The work focuses upon the migration of ideas and aesthetics from East to West, with particular consideration for the influence of Japanese woodblock prints, Wabi-Sabi themes and decorative motifs upon European design during the turn of the 19th century. The works exhibited included design artifacts of various themes, and associated print work which informed the design process. A small exhibition publication accompanied the exhibition and talk.

Education-to-work transitions of aspiring creatives

Despite some segments of the creative industries in Australia performing better than other segments in terms of earnings and employment growth, they all rely on highly skilled workers and face similar workforce challenges. Workers typically experience multiple entry attempts, spells of unemployment, short-term contracts, high degrees of mobility, casual/part-time employment within and outside the creative industries, and pressure to ensure their skills remain relevant. Skills shortages and gaps, an insufficient supply of high quality industry-ready graduates, difficulties in predicting demand for skills, weak linkages between industry and education providers, reliance on overseas talent in some segments, limited opportunities for workers to engage in skill development, and pressure on workers to keep abreast of technological developments are ongoing issues in the creative industries workforce. In response to these concerns, the Australian Research Council, three State Governments, industry, and a large vocational education and training (VET) provider funded Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to conduct the 60Sox project. This three-year project investigated the education, training, and work experiences of aspiring creatives defined as new entrants, recent graduates, and students enrolled in creative industries courses. It involved the largest survey of aspiring creatives ever undertaken in Australia, attracting 507 respondents, and a survey of 50 employers. Using the framework proposed by Hannan, Raffe, and Smyth (1996), this article presents findings from an analysis of the macro and micro labour market outcomes of aspiring creatives using data from the two 60Sox project surveys and publicly available sources. The analysis confirmed that many graduates of creative industries courses who participated in the 60Sox survey and the national surveys for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and Graduate Careers Australia were struggling to make a successful transition from education to work. This article also discusses the causes of this key finding and possible solutions to address transition issues.

Sustainability performance of construction : conceptual models of satisfaction levels in construction projects

In general, the performance of construction projects, including their sustainability performance, does not meet optimal expectations. One aspect of this is the performance of the participants who are independent and make a significance impact on overall project outcomes. Of these participants, the client is traditionally the owner of the project, the architect or engineer is engaged as the lead designer and a contractor is selected to construct the facilities. Generally, the performance of the participants is gauged by considering three main factors, namely, time, cost and quality. As the level of satisfaction is a subjective issue, it is rarely used in the performance evaluation of construction work. Recently, various approaches to the measurement of satisfaction have been made in an attempt to determine the performance of construction project outcomes - for instance, client satisfaction, customer satisfaction, contractor satisfaction, occupant satisfaction and home buyer satisfaction. These not only identify the performance of the construction project but are also used to improve and maintain relationships. In addition, these assessments are necessary for the continuous improvement and enhanced cooperation of participants. The measurement of satisfaction levels primarily involves expectations and perceptions. An expectation can be regarded as a comparative standard of different needs, motives and beliefs, while a perception is a subjective interpretation that is influenced by moods, experiences and values. This suggests that the disparity between perceptions and expectations may possibly be used to represent different levels of satisfaction. However, this concept is rather new and in need of further investigation. This chapter examines the methods commonly practised in measuring satisfaction levels today and the advantages of promoting these methods. The results provide a preliminary review of the advantages of satisfaction measurement in the construction industry and recommendations are made concerning the most appropriate methods to use in identifying the performance of project outcomes.

Developing a sustainability assessment model : the sustainable infrastructure, land-use, environment and transport model

Measuring the comparative sustainability levels of cities, regions, institutions and projects is an essential procedure in creating sustainable urban futures. This paper introduces a new urban sustainability assessment model: “The Sustainable Infrastructure, Land-use, Environment and Transport Model (SILENT)”. The SILENT Model is an advanced geographic information system and indicator-based comparative urban sustainability indexing model. The model aims to assist planners and policy makers in their daily tasks in sustainable urban planning and development by providing an integrated sustainability assessment framework. The paper gives an overview of the conceptual framework and components of the model and discusses the theoretical constructs, methodological procedures, and future development of this promising urban sustainability assessment model.