Rejuvenating the Market for Earth-Based Building Construction Materials in a Developing Economy

Abstract

Earth-based materials are useful in building and engineering construction projects globally, but they have largely remained unextracted and wasted, and their use has been limited to rural areas and avoided in modern buildings in the cities. The sustainability market in developing countries is still largely unsaturated and undertapped. This situation is blamed on lack of knowledge of the potential, benefits, and characteristics of green and sustainable building materials. This study aimed at determining the benefits of earth-based materials that could lead to the rejuvenation of the market for their adoption in building construction projects in the urban areas of a developing economy. The study adopted a structured questionnaire administered via electronic means to construction experts using the snowball sampling technique in Nigeria. With a response rate of 62.94% and a reliability index of over 0.90, the gathered data were analysed using frequency, percentage, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The study revealed that the main clusters of benefits of earth-based materials that can stimulate the market for these materials in urban areas are "cost and pollution-related benefits," "emissions and environmental benefits," "waste and workability benefits," "sound and fire-related benefits," and "thermal insulation and resource efficiency." The study recommended that housing investors, clients, and stakeholders should capitalise on the availability of large quantities of earthen materials to improve the quantity of housing provisions in cities and urban areas.

Assessment of critical claims and their impacts on the construction industry of Nigeria

“…The questionnaire was developed following a critical review of extant studies. The instruments for data collection (e.g., questionnaire) are formed after relevant literature that borders on the main subject of a study are reviewed [5]. Quantity Surveyors (QSs) are critical in the delivery of construction projects; this is because they are involved across the entire production and supply chains of the projects.…”

“…The construction sector influences and accelerates economic growth and development, and thus, is described as the 'prime mover' and 'mainstay' of countries [1][2]. The construction industry is one of the core economic engine sectors that drive the economy, create jobs, promote new investment, and contribute to GDP and national economies globally [3][4][5]. However, construction projects globally are hardly completed on schedule and budget because of conflicts arising from the divergent goals and expectations of the clients, consultants, contractors, and subcontractors in the construction business environment [6][7]3].…”

Inhibitors to Earth-based Materials Adoption in Urban Housing Construction: The View of Design Experts

“…The use of these materials in housing production for the economically disadvantage earners in society has dropped in the last decades owing to advances in technology and client sophistication [14]. Furthermore, according to [12], the use of laterite has been relegated to the background, and the few ones that exist in rural areas are less recognised.…”

“…Despite the efforts of the public and private sectors to meet the demand of lowincome earners in Nigeria, the use of technology and overreliance on imported conventional building materials have made the delivery of house building expensive and less economical for low-income earners [15]. The advantages of Earthen materials over conventional materials include being 100% natural, affordable, readily available in substantial quantities, zero waste, detoxifying role, fire resistance, humidity control, very low carbon footprint, low cost of excavation and easy workability [1,14]. Thus, there is an increasing call for the use of these alternative building materials in the production of residential houses [15].…”

“…In the long run, they can be reused and recycled, thus putting them into a continuous use that does not put pressure on nature's resources. Environmentally, they are equally pollution-free and minimise the quantity of cement used in buildings, and this has a reduced impact on CO2 emissions, thus offering protection to the environment and a safe and healthy living space for occupants [14]. A "universal access to adequate housing" and "maximising the use of local materials in construction" are well captured in SDG 11.…”