The impact of Chinese economic reforms upon the construction industry

The increase in economic activity in China has generated and will continue to generate a heavy demand upon the construction sector. The author studies the impact of the economic reforms upon the construction industry and the consequences of fulfilling an overheating demand. The new types of construction companies and ventures in China are identified and analysed. Both local and international private sector construction companies are needed to tackle the burgeoning demand. L'essor des activites economiques en Chine a suscite et continuera a susciter une forte demande dans le secteur du batiment. L'auteur etudie l'impact des reformes economiques dans le secteur du batiment et les consequences d'une reponse a une demande animee. Les nouveaux types de societe de construction et d'association en participation en Chine sont identifies et analyses. Des societes de construction du secteur prive, tant locales qu'internationales, sont necessaires pour repondre a une demande bourgeonnante.     

Sustainability: Reviewing Australia's progress, 1992-2002

In late 2002, nations will meet for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and review a decade of progress since the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in 1992. This anniversary also presents an opportunity to review domestic policy progress, such as that of Australia in the ten years since its 1992 National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). This paper reviews the past decade of environmental policy and progress to ESD in Australia, noting some globally significant advances as well as under-achievement. The paper identifies two reasons for under-achievement: the unprecedented nature and difficulty of sustainability problems, and the lack of suitable policy processes and institutional arrangements to address these, and suggests policy and institutional reforms.     

The evolution of the Chinese construction industry

The evolution of the governance of China's construction industry is examined. The reasons for uncertainty in governmental management along with its impact on industry performance are considered. Recent changes arising after the 9th National People's Congress, including a series of restructuring of government bodies and changes in responsibilities are discussed. Government intervention is being simplified and reduced, leading to increased stability for the construction industry.     

Sustainable energy policy for small-island developing state: Mauritius

Small-island states face a unique challenge. Their natural beauty, an asset as a tourist attraction, hides the fact that they have fragile ecosystems, vulnerable to climate change. They often rely on imported fossil fuel, even if they may have a potential for renewable energy. High population density may be an additional burden. A new paradigm for their development is necessary. The case of Mauritius as a sustainable island (Maurice Ile Durable or MID) is analyzed with focus on energy, considering intrinsically-related engineering, economic, environmental and ethico-socio-political dimensions. A holistic action plan is proposed for a transition towards a sustainable future.     

Sustainable construction in China: status quo and trends

The structural challenges facing China's construction industry are reviewed here. China's current practical intitatives, barriers and problems in moving towards sustainable development are considered: demonstration ecological villages, innovative walling materials, research on passive solar buildings and the improvement of earth buildings.     

A Dutch public-private strategy for innovation in sustainable construction

Influenced by the sustainable construction policy of the authorities, organizations in The Netherlands are developing, designing and building sustainable areas and objects. The actions of the authorities, authority-related organizations and commercial organizations in the Dutch construction industry and the interaction between them contribute to the realization of goals that fit with the sustainability policy of the government. Research in the house building sector of the Dutch construction industry, covering a 10-year period, has found that action by and interaction between public and private organizations directed towards innovation in sustainable construction is part of a sector-wide strategy. In this strategy public and private organizations interactively develop and adopt sustainable construction innovations.     

Public policy and construction innovation

The particular roles played by governments through their policies and programmes are considered within a comparative context in order to gain an understanding of construction innovation systems and processes. The analysis of this question is grounded in a framework which develops: a typology of construction related activities, a precise definition of innovation, the measurement of innovation, and models linking R&D and innovation. Comparative findings suggest that the political and social structures of individual countries do not create radical differences in their national approaches to innovation. However, government structure, the type of national innovation system and the nature of construction institutions influence the choice of specific policy instruments. A summary of findings from a task group is presented which reviews various national policies towards innovation in construction. Country specific observations are drawn from case studies of 15 countries in Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Japan. Often public policy instruments in support of innovation have not been of real benefit to the construction industry. Recommendations are made to improve the focus and utility of future policy initiatives for innovation, including: the creation of collaborative arrangements with industry initiated research and emphasis on performance and sustainability. Dans cet article, les auteurs comparent les rôles particuliers joués par les gouvernements au travers leurs politiques et leurs programmes afin de mieux faire connaître les nouveaux systèmes et procédés de construction. L'analyse de cette question se fait dans un cadre qui propose une typologie des activités liées à la construction, une définition précise de l'innovation, la mesure de l'innovation et des modèles qui lient la R&D et innovation. Des résultats comparatifs laissent à penser que les structures politiques et sociales de chaque pays ne créent pas de différences radicales entre les approches nationales en matière d'innovation. En revanche, les structures gouvernementales, le type de système national propre à l'innovation et la nature des institutions du domaine de la construction ont une influence sur le choix d'instruments d'intervention spécifiques. On trouvera la synthèse des résultats des travaux d'un groupe d'étude accompagnée d'une présentation de diverses politiques nationales en matière d'innovation dans le secteur de la construction. Des observations spécifiques par pays sont extraites d'études de cas provenant de 15 pays d'Europe, d'Amérique du nord et du sud, l'Afrique du sud et le Japon. On constate que les moyens publics d'intervention en faveur de l'innovation n'apportent pas toujours de réels avantages à l'industrie de la construction. Des recommandations sont faites pour améliorer la portée et l'utilité des futures initiatives politiques en faveur de l'innovation; il faudrait notamment élaborer des formules de coopération dans le cadre d'actions de recherche engagées par l'industrie et faire en sorte qu'une plus grande importance soit accordée aux performances et on développement durable.     

The UK's changing research base for construction: the impact of recent government policy

Recent government policy on construction R&D in the UK is presented as having been a contradictory amalgam involving, simultaneously, government intervention and disengagement. Confusingly, both parts of the policy appear to have been aimed at the same purpose - increasing the responsiveness of the sector's R&D activities to market forces. Given the noted reluctance of the UK's private sector to assume responsibility for such activities over the past two decades, there is little to suggest that this policy will prove successful. A more likely outcome, in the short to medium term at least, is that the speed and extent of apparent government retreat from funding could, in combination with other current changes, destabilize both the capacity and the capability of Britain's construction R&D base. De l'avis de l'auteur, la politique recemment menee par le Gouvernement du Royaume-Uni en matiere de R&D dans le secteur du batiment est un amalgame contradictoire qui met en presence simultanement l'intervention du Gouvernement et son desengagement. Entrangement, ces deux facettes de la politique semblent orientees vers le meme objectif, a savoir, mieux sensibiliser les activites de R&D de ce secteur aux forces du marche. Compte tenu du pen d'enthousiasme du secteur prive du Royanne-Uni a assumer des responsabilites vis-a-vis de telles activites au cours des vingt dernieres annees, rien ne laisse presager que cette politique sera couronnee de succes. En revanche, il est plus probable, a court ou a moyen terme au moins, que la celerite du Gouvernement a se retirer de facon importante du financement, combinee a autres changements qui se produisent actuellement, aura pour effet de destabiliser les capacites et les aptitudes de la base de R&D de la construction au Royanne-Uni.     

Globalization and construction industry development: implications of recent developments in the construction sector in Asia

Recent developments in the construction sector in the Asian region demonstrate three trends: (1) larger private sector participation in infrastructure projects, (2) increasing vertical integration in the packaging of construction projects, and (3) increased foreign participation in domestic construction. This paper attributes the trends to the globalization and deregulation of markets necessitated by fiscal, technological and managerial constraints. Although these trends present intra-Asian opportunities, there are also areas of concern. The trends have helped polarize the financial and technical superiority of the developed countries and the corresponding inferiority of the developed countries in the region of the developing ones. In the long term, this gap could be filled through technology transfer. In the short term, however, there are concerns that imported construction services could grow at the expense of the indigenous sectors of the developing countries. This paper illustrates this dilemma with the case of Japan as a world leader in international construction services. Its dominance has apparently come through the orchestration of industrial and corporate policies, implemented in a highly regulated and protected domestic market. However, construction industries in other Asian economies (such as China) will have to leapfrog in technology, finance and management know-how (e.g. through joint ventures with developed countries' construction companies) before they can become formidable powers in an environment that has become much more global, more de-regulated, more open and more competitive than before.     

紧凑城市的可持续性与评价方法评述

文章介绍了紧凑城市的内涵,分析了紧凑城市在社会、经济、环境以及实施方面对促进可持续发展的优点及不足,指出紧凑城市无论在环境保护、节约耕地还是增强城市活力方面都有相当大的优势,对于城市紧凑与可持续之间的关系关键在于紧凑度的把握。通过对紧凑城市评价方法的思考,研究认为城市合理的紧凑度应该是在考虑居民可接受性等社会因素条件下对紧凑度的衡量指标和变量因子进行研究。同时下一步的研究应该首先集中于可以具体测度的因子和紧凑度指标之间的关系,并且紧凑城市的发展理念应该贯穿规划的全过程。     

Impact of ISO 14000 on construction enterprises in Singapore

As construction activity has a significant impact on the environment it is vital to consider how to improve the environmental performance of organizations in the construction industry. The ISO 14000 series of standards on environmental management provides construction enterprises with the tool to address in a structured manner the adverse impacts of their operations and to attain sustainable construction. In this study, a survey was conducted to ascertain the perceptions of construction enterprises in Singapore on the impact of the implementation of ISO 14000 on their operations. Major problems were identified, and recommendations are made for the future development of environmental management systems (EMS) in the Singapore construction industry.     

住区售楼处的回顾与展望

本文通过对改革开放后房地产行业发展阶段的分析,总结出住区售楼处的发展趋势。同时分析比较了展览建筑和商业建筑与售楼处的异同点,紧扣售楼处建筑的本质特征,并结合实际案例,初步探讨了售楼处的几种可持续利用途径。     

生态园林与城市可持续发展

通过介绍生态园林的概念、特征以及城市可持续发展的进展,阐述城市生态园林建设与城市可持续发展之间的辩证关系,提出了生态园林的构建策略,最终使园林、城市、人三者之间相互依存、融为一体,实现城市的可持续发展。     

Globalization and construction industry development: research opportunities

Raftery, J., Pasadilla, B., Chiang, Y. H., Hui, E. C. M. and Tang, B. S. (1998) Construction Management and Economics, 16, 729–37 review recent developments in the construction industries in Asia. They discuss the main causes and effects of key trends in globalization and their impact on the industries. This paper considers some of the points raised by Raftery et al. It starts with an overall review of their paper. It then considers construction industry development in general, technology transfer and joint ventures, and the impact of policy reform on the industries. It suggests additional relevant issues, and highlights some areas where further research would be appropriate.