Achieving social justice and environmental justice in safe affordable housing through a materials-centered, multi-level, transdisciplinary approach

Abstract

Our world and society are facing contingent challenges, these being the need of dignified housing for the present and raising population, and immediate solutions in response to the climate crises. The two are critically intertwined, with the construction sectoring significantly impacting on the environmental crises. This is done at the expenses of the most vulnerable, embracing the informal population of the Global South. A reflection on this topic of environmental injustice is required in order to identify responsibilities and put the pressure for immediate actions onto the relevant stakeholders and entities. From a technical perspective, a diversity of options are available to accommodate a more safe, and sustainable building stock, with bio-based solutions and specifically fast-growing species being of tremendous interest due to their carbon storage capacity. While diversity within implementation strategies is key to achieve success at scale, bottlenecks still prevent reaching the rapid results needed to achieve the targeted transition towards a safe dignified habitat for all. The challenge is to be addressed with a systemic perspective, including enhanced normative frameworks and a trans-sectoral approach to facilitate engagement and benefits of all stakeholders. In line with such transdisciplinary approach, reflections on the positive contribution of construction-related projects to the socio-technical system of the informal city is presented, based on learnings from Nairobi, Cape Town, and Bangkok. The approach is operationalized into a Regenerative Framework with reference to the SDG Goals, of support within the planning and implementation of housing construction projects in the informal cities.