Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability
Bridges carrying railways, roads, and pedestrians in rural and urban regions have tremendous characteristics. The case of urban bridges is quite typical for a visual view of the complexity of the characteristics of urban Ethiopia. The existing urban environment in Ethiopia demands great attention re...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/1211492 |
| _version_ | 1811175575030595584 |
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| author | Leule M. Hailemariam Denamo A. Nuramo |
| author_facet | Leule M. Hailemariam Denamo A. Nuramo |
| author_sort | Leule M. Hailemariam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bridges carrying railways, roads, and pedestrians in rural and urban regions have tremendous characteristics. The case of urban bridges is quite typical for a visual view of the complexity of the characteristics of urban Ethiopia. The existing urban environment in Ethiopia demands great attention regarding bridge infrastructure. The dynamism of urbanity depends on multiple factors such as institutional capabilities for commissioning, monitoring, and decommissioning; professional competence; and culture. The provision of urban bridges should be viewed holistically, beginning with planning and design and continuing through construction. The approach so far has been single-handed, and this creates an unbalanced delivery of the infrastructure. This article explores the existential trends and practices of urban bridge design and identifies the main challenges of practicing sustainability in the design process in Ethiopia. The research is methodically based on a qualitative approach to identify the expert opinions of professionals and designers who are currently participating in urban infrastructure design. The data were gathered through interviews, and the findings show that the practice of sustainable urban bridge design is still in its infancy, and even the concept is unclear to many professionals in the field. While the study emphasizes the importance of sustainable urban bridge provision, it also highlights challenges such as lack of awareness, weak institutional capacity and culture, and lack of mandatory sustainable codes and standards. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:39:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b111ec915190482398ba3999cb56f780 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1687-8094 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:39:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Hindawi Limited |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-b111ec915190482398ba3999cb56f7802023-01-30T00:11:28ZengHindawi LimitedAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80942023-01-01202310.1155/2023/1211492Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards SustainabilityLeule M. Hailemariam0Denamo A. Nuramo1Chair of Appropriate Building TechnologyChair of Construction Materials and Engineering DesignBridges carrying railways, roads, and pedestrians in rural and urban regions have tremendous characteristics. The case of urban bridges is quite typical for a visual view of the complexity of the characteristics of urban Ethiopia. The existing urban environment in Ethiopia demands great attention regarding bridge infrastructure. The dynamism of urbanity depends on multiple factors such as institutional capabilities for commissioning, monitoring, and decommissioning; professional competence; and culture. The provision of urban bridges should be viewed holistically, beginning with planning and design and continuing through construction. The approach so far has been single-handed, and this creates an unbalanced delivery of the infrastructure. This article explores the existential trends and practices of urban bridge design and identifies the main challenges of practicing sustainability in the design process in Ethiopia. The research is methodically based on a qualitative approach to identify the expert opinions of professionals and designers who are currently participating in urban infrastructure design. The data were gathered through interviews, and the findings show that the practice of sustainable urban bridge design is still in its infancy, and even the concept is unclear to many professionals in the field. While the study emphasizes the importance of sustainable urban bridge provision, it also highlights challenges such as lack of awareness, weak institutional capacity and culture, and lack of mandatory sustainable codes and standards.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/1211492 |
| spellingShingle | Leule M. Hailemariam Denamo A. Nuramo Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability Advances in Civil Engineering |
| title | Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability |
| title_full | Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability |
| title_short | Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability |
| title_sort | exploring the design practice trends and gaps of urban bridges in ethiopia towards sustainability |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/1211492 |
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