Kustova, I.; Hudenko, J.; Lace, N. A Systematic Review of Sustainability Criteria in Infrastructure Development. Sustainability2024, 16, 4564.
Kustova, I.; Hudenko, J.; Lace, N. A Systematic Review of Sustainability Criteria in Infrastructure Development. Sustainability 2024, 16, 4564.
Kustova, I.; Hudenko, J.; Lace, N. A Systematic Review of Sustainability Criteria in Infrastructure Development. Sustainability2024, 16, 4564.
Kustova, I.; Hudenko, J.; Lace, N. A Systematic Review of Sustainability Criteria in Infrastructure Development. Sustainability 2024, 16, 4564.
Abstract
This paper explores the urgent necessity for practical guidance of infrastructure stakeholders aimed to promote sustainable infrastructure development, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European Union (EU) regulations. Despite overarching definitions, there is a noticeable absence of a unified set of sustainability criteria, which delays the integration of sustainability principles into infrastructure planning, development, and operations. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis, this study seeks to clarify characteristics of sustainable infrastructure. Utilizing a content analysis of 124 sources, carefully selected through a structured exclusion process, the authors construct a comprehensive set of indicators. Subsequently, these indicators undergo rigorous evaluation by sector experts through structured focused group discussions on the relevance of the proposed sustainable infrastructure criteria to local planning contexts. The study's findings underscore the adequacy of the proposed criteria, albeit with variations in perceived importance. Additionally, focus group participants encourage for field-testing the criteria within a municipal setting before scaling up to national-level policy frameworks.
Keywords
criteria of sustainable infrastructure; sustainable infrastructure components; sustainable development goals and infrastructure planning; focus group
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Business and Management
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.