Minimizing the Social Impact of Construction Work on Mobility: A Decision-Making Method

Maria del Mar Casanovas-Rubio, Gonzalo Ramos and Jaume Armengou
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Maria del Mar Casanovas-Rubio: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 1-3 Jordi Girona, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Gonzalo Ramos: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 1-3 Jordi Girona, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Jaume Armengou: Managerial Decision Department, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, 21 Pearson Av., 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Minimising the impacts of construction work on mobility, especially in urban areas, is a major issue for local authorities and construction planners that has not been sufficiently studied. This paper proposes a deterministic decision-making method for quantifying the impacts of construction work on mobility, including emergency vehicles, mass transit, individual transport, bicycles, and pedestrians. The method is based on multi-attribute utility theory, interviews with experts representing various stakeholders in construction, and a review of the literature and legislation. The practical use is illustrated with a real case study in which two shaft-construction processes (diaphragm wall excavated using a hydromill and vertical shaft sinking machine) are compared and ranked. The sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the results. The resulting Mobility Impact Index can easily be integrated with other social, economic, and environmental criteria, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternatives from a multi-criteria perspective, e.g., in tender processes. The method could be useful to public authorities and design and construction companies and is being piloted in construction projects of the city of Barcelona. It has implications for corporate social responsibility, social/sustainable procurement, and social/sustainable impact assessment in construction.

Keywords: mobility; construction work; multi-criteria decision-making; multi-attribute utility theory; social impact assessment; emergency vehicles; mass transit; individual transport; bicycles; pedestrians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:1183-:d:317497

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