Economic benefits of contemporary earth construction in low-cost urban housing – State-of-the-art review

Abstract

Most cities and towns in developing countries are experiencing a massive influx of population from rural areas. The majority of the rural population migrates to urban areas hoping to find a job and a higher income for their survival. This large influx creates a high demand for urban housing and infrastructure, which the majority of the migrants cannot afford. Moreover, the insufficient use of low-cost traditional building materials and construction techniques in residential construction has resulted in expensive housing stock for the majority of the poor. There is therefore an urgent need to assess alternative building materials and techniques that are both affordable and sustainable. Stabilised earth is an alternative building material that is significantly cheaper than using conventional brick and concrete, and is also environmentally sustainable. Earth has been used as a construction material on every continent and in every age. This article reviews and argues the economic benefits of using earth as a building material, and describes the associated construction techniques for urban housing provision in developing countries. A critical literature review method was adopted in this article to investigate the economic benefit of contemporary earth construction in low-cost urban housing compared to conventional brick and concrete construction.