Abstract
Within the dynamic and fragile context of developing countries, often characterized by social, political and economic uncertainty, the present chapter proposes a methodology for assessing and selecting appropriate building technologies for affordable housing, including a method for the systematic classification of building components. The aim is to investigate possible sustainable construction technologies and materials, taking a holistic perspective that allows overcoming the mere economic assessment. Hence, the chapter highlights possible perspectives for the improvement of current building solutions and practices in Mogadishu toward industrialization of construction, use of local raw materials and enhancement of construction quality through training.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This scarcity and precariousness is comparable to housing conditions in slums or refugee camps. In particular, according to Bonnet et al. (2020): “In 2017, over 480 of these settlements were spread across Mogadishu. Most of them are located in the northwestern part (e.g. Hodan and Daynile Districts), though there are also some in the centre (e.g. Shangani) and southwest (e.g. Kaxda). Living conditions in these settlements are dire. Housing consists predominantly of corrugated metal sheet shacks or so-called bulls, temporary shelters made of sticks, plastic and fabric” (Bonnet et al. 2020).
- 2.
The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of People, Planet and Profit, term coined by Elkington in 1997 (Loviscek 2020), is currently a widespread method that encompasses social, environmental and economic aspects, supporting the set up of long-term strategies for companies (Correia 2019). The transition toward sustainability is, indeed, based on three important dimensions of the sustainable development (Loviscek 2020): environmental quality, social equity and economic benefits (Correia 2019).
- 3.
Finishing components and furniture, together with structural elements, play a significant role in the definition of the final selling price of the building, having a high economic impact on the costs in overall terms (Atta et al. 2021).
- 4.
The process of analysing of the technological solutions currently used in the construction practice in Mogadishu has been based on a strong interaction with local stakeholders. Interviews, questionnaires, and focus-groups with local construction companies and professionals in the field have been carried out in order to gain insights on construction processes and technologies, with particular reference to the commonly used products and materials, supply chain configurations, building site organization, construction machineries and employed workforce. Moreover, the performed analysis was also supported by documents provided by the interviewed companies, including pictures of construction phases and construction techniques, bills of quantities and cost estimations.
- 5.
In particular, the OmniClass “Construction Classification System” (ICS 2021) is adopted to define a common taxonomy, a hierarchical structure and a coding system useful to uniquely identify the set of building components, thus creating a reference framework able to describe in a clear and unambiguous way by using a shared language the technological solutions constituting a building asset. Particularly, the OmniClass system consists of a set of inter-related tables, not meant to be utilized all at once but allowing the selection of the ones more significant for the purposes of the analysis. In this way, it enables the creation of ad-hoc Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) (ICS 2021), tailored to the specific case. Moreover, the standard is particularly instrumental as it employs the nomenclature commonly used in construction practice within digital tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), providing a standardized basis for classifying information created and used by the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. In particular, the proposed hierarchical framework of building classification based on OmniClass is created by combining three different OmniClass Tables, i.e., Elements (Table 21), Products (Table 23) and Materials (Table 41).
- 6.
The alternative technologies identified in Table 2 are characterized by three levels (low-medium-high) which differ in terms of innovation, of both materials and construction processes compared to current practices. It is important to stress that while identifying alternative solutions for the specific application context of Mogadishu, it is necessary to consider the related underlying implications, both in procedural and organizational terms (including logistic, production, supply chain, training, timing, etc.).
- 7.
The propose tool can be integrated within an IT system or developed as a simplified Excel file, according to the level of complexity and digital maturity of the particular context of application.
References
Akhanova G, Nadeem A, Kim JR, Azhar S (2020) A multi-criteria decision-making framework for building sustainability assessment in Kazakhstan. Sustain Cities Soc 52:101842
Atta N, Dalla VA, Campioli A, Chiaroni D, Talamo C (2021) Construction technologies for sustainable affordable housing within fragile contexts: proposal of a decision support tool. Sustainability 13(11):5928
Avwunudiogba A, Dung EJ (2021) The spatial distribution of internally displaced persons (idps) in africa. In: The challenges of refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa, pp 17–43. Springer, Cham
Baker E, Pham NTA, Daniel L, Bentley R (2020) New evidence on mental health and housing affordability in cities: a quantile regression approach. Cities 96:102455
Bakonyi J (2021) The political economy of displacement: rent seeking, dispossessions and precarious mobility in Somali cities. Glob Policy 12:10–22
Bellini OE, Campioli A, Del Pero C, Talamo C, Atta N, Dalla Valle A (2020) BECOMe—Business ECOsystem design for sustainable settlements in Mogadishu. In: Innovative models for sustainable development in emerging African countries, pp 3–12. Springer, Cham
Bonisile N, Kajimo-Shakantu K, Opawole A (2019) Assessment of alternative building technologies (ABT) for pre-tertiary school infrastructure delivery in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Manag Environ Qual: Int J
Bonnet C, Bryld E, Kamau C, Mohamud M, Farah F (2020) Inclusive shelter provision in Mogadishu. Environ Urban 32(2):447–462
Bryld E, Kamau C, Mohamoud MA (2020) Using an adaptive approach to making gatekeepers accountable to internally displaced persons in Mogadishu, Somalia. Dev Pract 30(8):982–993
CAHF - Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (2018) Housing finance in Africa. A review of Africa’s housing finance markets
CAHF - Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (2020) Headline indicators framework, indicators and definitions. CAHF Author: Chris Garbers. http://housingfinanceafrica.org/app/uploads/Headline-Indicators-Framework-and-Definitions-March-2020.pdf
Correia MS (2019) Sustainability: an overview of the triple bottom line and sustainability implementation. Int J Strat Eng (IJoSE) 2(1):29–38
Dahie AM (2019) Role of nongovernmental organizations on poverty reduction: empirical study from local NGOs in Mogadishu-Somalia. Eur J Res Soc Sci 7(1)
Development Initiatives (2016) Somalia: an overview of poverty, vulnerability and financing. http://www.devinit.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Somalia-an-overview-of-poverty-vulnerability-and-financing.pdf
Dewita Y, Yen BT, Burke M (2018) The effect of transport cost on housing affordability: experiences from the Bandung Metropolitan Area, Indonesia. Land Use Policy 79:507–519
Didiza S (2018) Market intelligence report: Built environment. https://www.green-cape.co.za/assets/Uploads/GreenCape-MIR-Built-Environment.pdf
FGS - Federal Government of Somalia (2017) The Somalia National Development Plan (SNDP) – towards recovery, democracy and prosperity 2017 – 2019. http://mop.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/NDP-2017-2019-1.pdf
FSG - Federal Government of Somalia (2019) The Somalia National Development Plan. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5b4315554.pdf
Ganiyu BO (2016) Strategy to enhance sustainability in affordable housing construction in South Africa. Doctoral dissertation, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Grady B, Muzila D, O’Neill K, Tanner A, Belz M, Tshiguvho T, Gumede D (2019) Alternative building technologies for low-income housing in Cape Town, South Africa. Doctoral dissertation, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Grijalva-Eternod CS, Jelle M, Haghparast-Bidgoli H, Colbourn T, Golden K, King S, Cox CL, Morrison J, Skordis-Worrall J, Fottrell E, Seal AJ (2018) A cash-based intervention and the risk of acute malnutrition in children aged 6–59 months living in internally displaced persons camps in Mogadishu, Somalia: a non-randomised cluster trial. PLoS Med 15(10):e1002684
Grubert E (2017) The need for a preference-based multicriteria prioritization framework in life cycle sustainability assessment. J Ind Ecol 21(6):1522–1535
Holmberg J, Sandbrook R (2019) Sustainable development: what is to be done?. In: Policies for a small planet, pp. 19–38. Routledge
IIED - International Institute for Environment and Development (2019) Accessing land and shelter in Mogadishu: a city governed by an uneven mix of formal and informal practices, January 2019
IOM - International Organization for Migration (2019) Strategic plan 2019–2021. https://www.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl486/files/country/docs/somalia/1-iomsomaliamissionstrategy2019-2021.pdf
Janjua SY, Sarker PK, Biswas WK (2020) Development of triple bottom line indicators for life cycle sustainability assessment of residential bulidings. J Environ Manag 264:110476
Khan I, Kabir Z (2020) Waste-to-energy generation technologies and the developing economies: a multi-criteria analysis for sustainability assessment. Renew Energy 150:320–333
Leal Filho W, Azeiteiro U, Alves F, Pace P, Mifsud M, Brandli L, Caeiro SS, Disterheft A (2018) Reinvigorating the sustainable development research agenda: the role of the sustainable development goals (SDG). Int J Sust Dev World 25(2):131–142
Loviscek V (2020) Triple bottom line toward a holistic framework for sustainability: a systematic review. Revista de Administração Contemporânea 25
Marut JJ, Anigbogu NA, Daniel MM (2020) Alternative Building Materials (ABM): towards adoption of common terminology and definitions
Mitlin D (2020) The politics of shelter: understanding outcomes in three African cities
Mohamed MM, Isak NN, Roble DH (2019) Private sector developments in Somalia: analysis ON SOME MAJOR SECTORS. Int J Econ Commerce Manag VII(12)
Mwau B, Sverdlik A, Makau J (2020) Urban transformation and the politics of shelter
National Concrete Masonry Association – NCMA (2021). https://ncma.org/
NationMaster - Maps of Somalia (2021). http://maps.nationmaster.com/country/so/1
Nor MI, Masron TA (2019) Investigating the informal mode of financing utilized for construction financing in Somalia: Some evidence. Afr J Sci Technol Innov Dev 11(2):223–233
Odongo EW (2019) Acceptance criteria of alternative building materials and technologies for walling: a case study of Nairobi City County. Doctoral dissertation, UoN
OEC – Somalia (2021) Exports, imports, and trade partners. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/som
Proença R, Mattos Souza F, Lisboa Bastos M, Caetano R, Braga JU, Faerstein E, Trajman A (2020) Active and latent tuberculosis in refugees and asylum seekers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 20:1–17
Pullen S, Arman M, Zillante G, Zuo J, Chileshe N, Wilson L (2010) Developing an assessment framework for affordable and sustainable housing. Australasian J Constr Econ Build 10(1/2):60–76
Purvis B, Mao Y, Robinson D (2019) Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins. Sustain Sci 14(3):681–695
Ren J, Ren X, Dong L, Manzardo A, He C, Pan M (2018) Multifactor multicriteria decision making for life cycle sustainability assessment under uncertainties. AIChE J 64(6):2103–2112
Rometa (2021) Block making machines. Batching plants. https://www.concrete-machinery.com/
Rycroft T, Wood M, Zemba V, Kennedy A, Weiss C Jr, Desmet D, Ali R, Linkov I (2019) Assessing the sustainability of advanced materials using multicriteria decision analysis and the triple bottom line. Integr Environ Assess Manag 15(6):1021–1028
SAHIF - South African Housing & Infrastructure Fund (2020) Alternative building technologies. Thought Paper. https://www.sahiffund.co.za/documents/SAHIF_THOUGHT_PAPER_Alternative_Building_Technologies_NOVEMBER_2020.pdf
Shama ZS, Motlak JB (2019) Indicators for Sustainable housing. In: IOP conference series: materials science and engineering, vol 518, no 2, p 022009. IOP Publishing
Silvestre BS, Ţîrcă DM (2019) Innovations for sustainable development: Moving toward a sustainable future. J Clean Prod 208:325–332
Stephen Ezennia I, Hoskara SO (2019) Methodological weaknesses in the measurement approaches and concept of housing affordability used in housing research: a qualitative study. PLoS ONE 14(8):e0221246
Streimikiene D, Skulskis V, Balezentis T, Agnusdei GP (2020) Uncertain multi-criteria sustainability assessment of green building insulation materials. Energy Build 219:110021
Tupenaite L, Lill I, Geipele I, Naimaviciene J (2017) Ranking of sustainability indicators for assessment of the new housing development projects: case of the Baltic States. Resources 6(4):55
UN (2014) The millennium development goals report. https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20English%20web.pdf
UN Habitat (2019a) Towards Mogadishu. Spatial strategic plan. Urban analyses/urban development challenges/urban strategic planning. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-manager-files/Mogadishu_Report_reprint.pdf
UN Habitat (2019b) The urban SDG monitoring series. Monitoring SDG indicator 11.1.1 global monitoring of slums remains a key concern for achieving the right to adequate housing. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/06/the_urban_sdg_monitoring_series_monitoring_sdg_indicator_11.1.1.pdf
UN Habitat (2020) Facilitating durable solutions in Somalia. Experiences from midnimo-I and the application of human security. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/10/202010_midnimo_handbook.pdf
United Nations (2017) UN strategic framework 2017–2020 Somalia. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/un_strategic_framework_2017-2020_somalia.pdf
Wallbaum H, Ostermeyer Y, Salzer C, Escamilla EZ (2012) Indicator based sustainability assessment tool for affordable housing construction technologies. Ecol Ind 18:353–364
Wetzstein S (2017) The global urban housing affordability crisis. Urban Stud 54(14):3159–3177
World Bank Group – WBG (2019) Somali Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment : Findings from Wave 2 of the Somali High Frequency Survey. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/32323
World Bank IMF - International Monetary Fund (2020) The federal republic of Somalia. Joint IDA-IMF staff advisory note on the ninth national development plan (2020–24). https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/103021585361084021/pdf/Somalia-Joint-IDA-IMF-Staff-Advisory-Note-on-the-Ninth-National-Development-Plan-2020-24.pdf
Wu J, Wu T (2012) Sustainability indicators and indices: an overview. Handb Sustain Manag 65–86
Yager TR (2011) The mineral industry of Ethiopia. Minerals Yearbook Area Reports: International Review, 2009, Africa and the Middle East, 13
Yager TR, Bermúdez-Lugo O, Mobbs PM, Newman HR, Taib M, Wallace GJ, Wilburn DR (2010) The mineral industries of Africa. Minerals Yearbook 3
Websites
ICS (Construction Specifications Institute) website (2021). https://www.csiresources.org. Accessed October 2021
UNI (Ente Italiano di Normazione) website (2021). http://store.uni.com. Accessed October 2021
UNIFORMAT website (2021). https://www.uniformat.com. Accessed October 2021
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bellini, O.E., Campioli, A., Chiaroni, D., Talamo, C.M.L., Atta, N., Dalla Valle, A. (2022). Construction Technologies and Materials for Sustainable Affordable Housing. In: Bellini, O.E., et al. Innovative Approach for the Development of Sustainable Settlements in East Africa. Research for Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00284-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00284-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-00283-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-00284-7
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)