Cement-based concrete has excellent properties as a construction material, and the raw materials of cement-rocks, and limestone and clay-are bountiful. Yet its production generates high quantities of CO2, making it a potentially unsustainable material. However, there are no alternatives to concrete and steel as basic methods for development of socioeconomic infrastructure at this time. Highlighting sustainability issues in the construction industry, The Sustainable Use of Concrete presents guidelines on how to move toward sustainable concrete construction. The book begins by clarifying the historic background and meaning of sustainability, after which it outlines areas that need to be considered in connection with sustainability in the concrete and construction field. It examines environmental, social and cultural, and economic aspects, then considers an evaluation system of sustainability. The authors include various tools and ISO standards, and then explore technologies for sustainability, with case studies and examples that promote understanding of current technologies. Although the construction sector, in the broadest sense, has come to recognize that infrastructure development over the past two centuries has been unsustainable, it has been slow to adjust. Comprehensive information and relevant practical guidance are very scarce. This book lays out a roadmap for creating a human-friendly and safe environment with low environmental burden.

Cement-based concrete has excellent properties as a construction material, and the raw materials of cement-rocks, and limestone and clay-are bountiful. Yet its production generates high quantities of CO2, making it a potentially unsustainable material. However, there are no alternatives to concrete and steel as basic methods for development of socioeconomic infrastructure at this time. Highlighting sustainability issues in the construction industry, The Sustainable Use of Concrete presents guidelines on how to move toward sustainable concrete construction.

The book begins by clarifying the historic background and meaning of sustainability, after which it outlines areas that need to be considered in connection with sustainability in the concrete and construction field. It examines environmental, social and cultural, and economic aspects, then considers an evaluation system of sustainability. The authors include various tools and ISO standards, and then explore technologies for sustainability, with case studies and examples that promote understanding of current technologies.

Although the construction sector, in the broadest sense, has come to recognize that infrastructure development over the past two centuries has been unsustainable, it has been slow to adjust. Comprehensive information and relevant practical guidance are very scarce. This book lays out a roadmap for creating a human-friendly and safe environment with low environmental burden.

While the development of material civilization and industrialization initiated by the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century made possible a more comfortable life for mankind, it caused a concentration of human resources and led to rapid urbanization around the world. Consequently, a multitude of environmental problems such as global warming, disruption of the e- system, depletion of natural resources, and the accumulation of waste have become international issues. Urbanization accelerated the construction of super high-rise buildings, huge complex facilities, and stacked-up networks of roads and railways. At the same time, however, it resulted in crowded city blocks that were fragile and vulnerable to natural disasters such as ear- quakes, tsunamis, and floods, and in historical structures becoming ruined and cultural urban space exhausted. Maintenance and repair of the amassed stock of structures are causing an economic burden today. Against this background, the Urban Stock Management Research Group in the Center for Sustainable Urban Regeneration (cSUR) at the University of Tokyo has conducted research to develop integrated methods to maintain existing urban assets and to conserve the cultural/social context of urban environments. Urban stock management, such as conservation, utilization, and renovation, is vital for simultaneously supporting urban history, culture, changing lifestyles, and other conflicting elements. Therefore, new en- neering for renovation and utilization of urban stock is urgently required to maintain safety, the environment, and continuing comfort as well as to save natural resources and reduce wastes.