Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction

Modular construction (MC) is a promising concept with the potential to revolutionize the construction industry (CI). The sustainability aspects of MC, among its other encouraging facets, have garnered escalated interest and acclaim among the research community, especially in the context of climate c...

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Main Authors: Zeerak Waryam Sajid, Fahim Ullah, Siddra Qayyum, Rehan Masood
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-02-01
Series:Smart Cities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/7/1/23
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author Zeerak Waryam Sajid
Fahim Ullah
Siddra Qayyum
Rehan Masood
author_facet Zeerak Waryam Sajid
Fahim Ullah
Siddra Qayyum
Rehan Masood
author_sort Zeerak Waryam Sajid
collection DOAJ
description Modular construction (MC) is a promising concept with the potential to revolutionize the construction industry (CI). The sustainability aspects of MC, among its other encouraging facets, have garnered escalated interest and acclaim among the research community, especially in the context of climate change (CC) mitigation efforts. Despite numerous scholarly studies contributing to the understanding of MC, a holistic review of the prevailing literature that systematically documents the impact of utilizing MC on CC mitigation remains scarce. The study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) of the pertinent literature retrieved from the Scopus repository to explore the relationship between MC and CC mitigation. Employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, the SLR was conducted on 31 shortlisted articles published between 2010 and 2023. The findings of the study reveal that MC can mitigate the climate crisis by reducing GHG emissions, curtailing resource intensiveness by enabling a circular economy (CE), fomenting energy efficiency, and fostering resourceful land use and management in the CI. A conceptual framework based on the findings of the previous literature is proposed in this study, which outlines several strategies for CC mitigation that can be implemented by the adoption of MC in the CI. The current study is a humble effort to review various offerings of MC to help mitigate CC in the era of striving for global sustainability. For industry practitioners and policymakers, this study highlights the viability of leveraging MC for CC mitigation, aiming to inspire better decision making for sustainable development in the CI. Similarly, for researchers, it presents MC as a potential tool for CC mitigation that can be further explored in terms of its associated factors, and focused frameworks can be developed.
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spelling doaj.art-1be5677071a0426180bcd8ea1265ed512024-02-23T15:34:26ZengMDPI AGSmart Cities2624-65112024-02-017156659610.3390/smartcities7010023Climate Change Mitigation through Modular ConstructionZeerak Waryam Sajid0Fahim Ullah1Siddra Qayyum2Rehan Masood3NUST Institute of Civil Engineering (NICE), National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12, Islamabad 44000, PakistanSchool of Surveying and Built Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4300, AustraliaSchool of Surveying and Built Environment, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4300, AustraliaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New ZealandModular construction (MC) is a promising concept with the potential to revolutionize the construction industry (CI). The sustainability aspects of MC, among its other encouraging facets, have garnered escalated interest and acclaim among the research community, especially in the context of climate change (CC) mitigation efforts. Despite numerous scholarly studies contributing to the understanding of MC, a holistic review of the prevailing literature that systematically documents the impact of utilizing MC on CC mitigation remains scarce. The study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) of the pertinent literature retrieved from the Scopus repository to explore the relationship between MC and CC mitigation. Employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, the SLR was conducted on 31 shortlisted articles published between 2010 and 2023. The findings of the study reveal that MC can mitigate the climate crisis by reducing GHG emissions, curtailing resource intensiveness by enabling a circular economy (CE), fomenting energy efficiency, and fostering resourceful land use and management in the CI. A conceptual framework based on the findings of the previous literature is proposed in this study, which outlines several strategies for CC mitigation that can be implemented by the adoption of MC in the CI. The current study is a humble effort to review various offerings of MC to help mitigate CC in the era of striving for global sustainability. For industry practitioners and policymakers, this study highlights the viability of leveraging MC for CC mitigation, aiming to inspire better decision making for sustainable development in the CI. Similarly, for researchers, it presents MC as a potential tool for CC mitigation that can be further explored in terms of its associated factors, and focused frameworks can be developed.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/7/1/23climate changeclimate mitigationconstruction industryliterature reviewmodular construction
spellingShingle Zeerak Waryam Sajid
Fahim Ullah
Siddra Qayyum
Rehan Masood
Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
Smart Cities
climate change
climate mitigation
construction industry
literature review
modular construction
title Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
title_full Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
title_fullStr Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
title_full_unstemmed Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
title_short Climate Change Mitigation through Modular Construction
title_sort climate change mitigation through modular construction
topic climate change
climate mitigation
construction industry
literature review
modular construction
url https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/7/1/23
work_keys_str_mv AT zeerakwaryamsajid climatechangemitigationthroughmodularconstruction
AT fahimullah climatechangemitigationthroughmodularconstruction
AT siddraqayyum climatechangemitigationthroughmodularconstruction
AT rehanmasood climatechangemitigationthroughmodularconstruction