Zum Thema “Nachhaltigkeit” in der Stahlbauindustrie

Assessment of sustainability in the steel construction industry. The requirement for sustainability in construction results from deficits that currently exist in buildings in view of climate protection and energy efficiency. Systems for the assessment of sustainability will have a great impact on the competitiveness of construction and engineering services and on the real estate market. The new German assessment system gives clear quantitative reproducible sustainability criteria and is competitive in relation to other existing assessment systems. As energy efficiency is the dominant sustainability criterion for buildings, the paper demonstrates with examples from steel structures, how new innovative solutions for products and prefabricated components develop from integrating different aspects as structural resistance, serviceability and energy efficiency in the design. This leads to the concept of integrated design. Sustainable construction opens new fields for technology, markets, research and development in the steel construction field.     

The Houston Growth Coalition In “Boom” and “Bust”

ABSTRACT: Although growth machine theory emphasizes the coalition's tactics and organization, it neglects adjustment to changing economic conditions. This article explores the changes in the strategy and organization of Houston's growth coalition during the peak growth of the 1970s and the decline of the 1980s. During the boom, the coalition focused not on additional growth but on easing the city's infrastructure problems. The coalition underwent several major changes during decline as it struggled to compete aggressively with other cities for various enterprises and to devise strategies for diversifying the economy. A growth coalition has the opportunity to establish the economic basis for future growth when the city's dominant industries reach maturity and decline.