Innovative Models for Sustainable Development in Emerging African Countries

Springer Nature

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Abstract: Over the years, the concept and practices of a sustainable built environment keep evolving. One aspect that is being increasingly acknowledged is that theory and practice should be expanded beyond individual buildings and spread to the scale of the entire community. Sustainable community design and practices request complex interactions between cultural, social, economic and environmental factors in order to meet sustainable development objectives. Cities of developing countries in tropical regions, particularly in Africa, are characterized by a staggering urban population growth, a rocketing increase in energy request and consumption, and by equally fast-growing environmental issues. In this scenario, active strategies and building energy optimizations are strongly recommended and should be accompanied by the elaboration of new and innovative housing models. The following section describes objectives and results of some research projects aiming at offering practical and sustainable solutions. The main issue, hovering above the discussion, is the necessity to integrate tradition and progress, both at the social and at the technical level, in order to design a sustainable path towards an efficient development.