Kohler, N (2006) A European perspective on the Pearce report; policy and research. Building Research & Information, 34(3), pp. 287-294. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
The Social and Economic Value of Construction (2003), also known as the Pearce Report after its author, has been extensively discussed in the UK, but has not yet attracted the attention of the European construction industry and the wider international research and development community. The international significance of the Pearce Report is that it provides a general methodology that differs substantially from other attempts to describe the construction industry and its contribution to sustainable development. Using capital theory, it provides a conceptual framework for relating the different dimensions of value (or wealth) as ecological (physical), economic, social and cultural capitals; it explores how these dimensions interact; and it examines the possibilities of substituting one capital for another. The Pearce Report also stresses the importance of maintaining and improving value over time in the sense of a sustainable development. This Forum discusses the theoretical framework, compares this with other approaches within the European Union, considers these aspects mainly in the field of social, human and cultural capital, and proposes additional research directions that should be tackled internationally.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | assets; building stock; capital theory; construction value; environmental capital; human capital; man-made capital; public policy; research agenda; social capital; sustainable development |
| Index terms: | public policy, construction industry, conceptual framework, dimension, methodology, research and development, building stock, sustainable development, European Union, social capital, research agenda, human capital |
| Subjects: | public policy, health monitoring assessment and metrics, asset management, sociology, research management, industry analysis, research methods, economics, physical geography and landforms, theoretical framing, health safety and environment |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Governance, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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