A Systematic Review of Sustainability Criteria in Infrastructure Development

Ieva Kustova, Justina Hudenko and Natalja Lace ()
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Ieva Kustova: Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, 6 Kalnciema, 1048 Riga, Latvia
Justina Hudenko: Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, 6 Kalnciema, 1048 Riga, Latvia
Natalja Lace: Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, 6 Kalnciema, 1048 Riga, Latvia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: This paper explores the immediate need of infrastructure stakeholders for practical guidance promoting sustainable infrastructure development that aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European Union (EU) regulations. Despite overarching definitions, there is a noticeable absence of a uniform set of sustainability criteria, which delays the integration of sustainability principles into infrastructure planning, development, and operations. Through a targeted content analysis of the systematically selected literature from the Web of Science, this study seeks to clarify the characteristics of sustainable infrastructure. In the systematic review of 106 sources, carefully selected through a structured exclusion process described in the Open Science Framework register, the authors construct a comprehensive set of 43 sustainable infrastructure characteristics. Subsequently, these indicators undergo evaluation by sector experts through focus group discussions on the relevance of the proposed sustainable infrastructure criteria to local planning contexts. The focus group’s results demonstrate the adequacy of the proposed criteria, albeit with variations in perceived importance. Additionally, participants in the focus group suggest conducting field tests of the criteria in a municipal setting before scaling up to national policy frameworks.

Keywords: criteria of sustainable infrastructure; sustainable infrastructure components; Sustainable Development Goals and infrastructure planning; focus group (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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