Towards Sustainable Infrastructure Development: Drivers, Barriers, Strategies, and Coping Mechanisms

Brenda Mutanu Munyasya and Nicholas Chileshe
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Brenda Mutanu Munyasya: School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Nicholas Chileshe: School of Natural and Built Environments, Centre for Natural and Built Environment (NBERC), University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Despite the advent of the new Sustainable Development Goals, and noted benefits around the social, economic, and environmental aspects, the sustainable infrastructure development (SID) implementation process faces a number of challenges. Moreover, while there is a plethora of studies around sustainable infrastructure, there are limited studies undertaken on the influencing drivers and barriers particularly within the South Australian construction industry. This paper is aimed at filling that knowledge gap by identifying and ranking the drivers and barriers of SID implementation in South Australian construction organizations. A sequential mixed methods approach comprising questionnaires and interviews was conducted among construction professionals. The highly ranked drivers were identified as innovation, standardization of the word ‘sustainability’ (knowledge improvement), and close interaction of all involved stakeholders. “Lack of steering mechanism”, “multi-disciplinary nature of the word “sustainability”, and “lack of cooperation and networking” were the critical barriers. Suggested strategies and coping mechanisms for overcoming these barriers include instilling sustainability awareness, sustainability specifications, and governance frameworks. Strong and positive relationships were evident amongst all the drivers. This paper provides further insights into the knowledge and awareness of these drivers, which are cardinal to increased uptake of SID by the stakeholders, and barriers to overcome.

Keywords: drivers; barriers; implementation; coping mechanisms; correlation analysis; sustainable infrastructure; South Australia; construction industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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