Research on Sustainable Infrastructure
Our built environment contributes significantly to environmental damages yet has not been the focus of concern or regulation. We consider how infrastructure systems, such as water delivery, electricity grids, telecommunications networks, or roadways, influence materials and energy consumption, waste generation, and product development.
Green design research has expanded from a concentration on individual products to an analysis of system wide impacts. We feel sustainable infrastructure to be a key area of research for the coming years. Examining entire systems and interactions will be essential to evaluating the full life cycle impacts of advances in telecommunications, computing, electricity, or goods delivery. Listed below are links to short one-page research summaries in PDF format.
On-going Projects
- Congestion Management to Promote Environmental Sustainability, Yeganeh Mashayekh, Chris Hendrickson, and Paulina Jaramillo
- Assessing the Environmental and Economic Effects from a Portfolio of Surface and Renewable Energy Technologies on Roof Real Estate - Amy Nagengast, Chris Hendrickson and H. Scott Matthews
- Assessing Brownfield Sustainability: Life Cycle Analysis and Carbon Footprinting -- Chris Hendrickson and Deborah Lange
Previous Research Summaries (no longer funded or being actively pursued)
- Planning energy Efficient and Eco-Sustainable Facilities: A Case Study of Telecommunications Networks-- Amy Nagengast and H. Scott Matthews
- Environmental Implications of E-Commerce, the Internet and the New Economy -- Chris Hendrickson and H. Scott Matthews
- MUSES: Material Use, Infrastructure Change, and Environmental Impacts for Alternative Fuels and Vehicles - C. Hendrickson, L. Lave, H. Scott Matthews and J. Michalek
- Estimation and Environmental Assessment of Transportation of US Goods and Services for Sustainability -- Anny Huang, Rachel Nealer, Chris Hendrickson, Scott Matthews and Chris Weber
- Green Construction Processes - H. Scott Matthews and Robert Ries (U. of Florida)
- The External Air Pollution Costs of Industrial Production -- H. Scott Matthews, Chris T. Hendrickson, and Lester Lave
- Mass Balance for Lead in the California South Coast Air Basin -- Rebecca Lankey, Cliff Davidson, and Francis McMichael
- Environmental Implications of Battery Powered Cars -- Lester B. Lave, Chris T. Hendrickson, and Francis McMichael
Photo Credit: (Left - Simon Bird/Birdw0rks - NYC N End Ave Green Roof Project; Right - Nanpu Bridge in Shanghai)