Moussavi, S (2023) Integration of environmental sustainability and decision making: Case studies of civil infrastructure. PhD thesis, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, USA.
Abstract
Sustainable development is important in the planning and design of critical civil infrastructure systems. However, decision making related to these systems currently lacks meaningful sustainability considerations. To fill this gap, this research explores the life cycle impacts of wastewater and energy infrastructure using case studies, life cycle assessment methodologies, and stakeholder discussions. Environmental and economic impacts, which are more commonly quantified, as well as more difficult to quantify societal factors, are explored. The goal of this research is to help inform decision making and facilitate the consideration of the three pillars of sustainability (e.g., economic, environmental, and social) during the planning and design stages for critical civil infrastructure systems. The life cycle environmental impacts of construction and operations of small mechanical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) case studies were quantified to provide industry practitioners with suggestions for how they can improve a WWTP’s sustainability. Next, the life cycle environmental impacts of resilience and recovery infrastructure for case study WWTPs affected by flooding were quantified and compared. Economic and social tradeoffs of resilient infrastructure were considered as well, to highlight which factors drive decision making related to resilience for design engineers, funding agencies, and community leaders. In addition, the life cycle environmental impacts of a case study renewable energy system were quantified, and social tradeoffs were identified. The results of this study emphasize the potential benefits, beyond costs, of novel renewable energy designs, which is important to note as the renewable energy sector continues to grow. Next, stakeholder discussions were used to identify barriers and benefits of implementing irrigation lagoons. Testimonial videos and guidance documents were developed to help improve the information exchange between relevant stakeholders that are interested in irrigation lagoon systems. Lastly, a literature review was conducted to explore the current status of life cycle sustainability assessments of critical civil infrastructure systems to encourage stakeholders to address all three pillars of sustainability in decision making processes.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Dvorak, B I and Barutha, P J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | renewable energy; sustainability; decision making; funding; integration; irrigation; life cycle; sustainable development; case study; economic impact; environmental impact; stakeholder |
| Index terms: | funding, decision-making process, engineer, life cycle, recovery, renewable energy system, case study, agency, renewable energy, environmental sustainability, methodology, decision-making, integration, practitioner, documents, economic impact, environmental impact, design stage, sustainable development, literature review, life cycle assessment, flooding, tradeoff, information exchange, sustainability assessment |
| Subjects: | energy systems, data analysis and analytics, data science, profession, data collection methods, value management, organizational analysis, sociology, decision analysis, professional development, operations management, professional practice, economic analysis, environmental impact, practitioner, financial analysis, environmental hazards, sustainability assessment, research methods, health safety and environment |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Sustainability, Health and Safety, Project Management, Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here