The impact of the housing project on the environment throughout their lifecycle

This is the fifth workshop from a series of workshop on Sustainable Innovative Affordable Housing (SIAH) for Africa, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering's Frontiers Champion Project. The way in which housing is built, maintained and used has a significant and immediate impact on the environment. Housing is one of the largest exploiters of both renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Housing projects in Africa relies heavily on the natural environment for the supply of raw materials such as timber, sand and aggregates for the building process. Therefore, there is an emerging consensus that a more housing sustainable approach to the environment is required. This workshop aims to identify the major impact of housing projects on the environment throughout their lifecycle and discuss possible ways of minimizing the impacts.