Abstract
As a new approach to construction practice, modular construction allows the building to be split into modular units and prefabricates them in factories, transports the units to the site, and assembles them into the whole construction through reliable connections. Whilst it is regarded to be the future direction in the development of the construction industry, Hong Kong and Singapore, amongst many other cities, both use modular constructions in public and private constructions. There have been many evaluations of the sustainability performance of a single construction using modular constructions, but the environmental impacts of implementing modular constructions on a city scale have been rarely explored. Few scholars have studied the impact of the application of this technology on the air quality on a small regional scale. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by comparing and analysing the modular construction policies in Hong Kong and Singapore and evaluating the impact of the policies on air quality in the two cities. By using OLS and DID analysis, we found that the air quality can be affected by modular construction, though the impact was found to be limited. The modular construction policies had a positive effect on sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in both cities, and a negative effect on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter < 10 μm (PM10) emissions. Meanwhile, greenhouse gases (GHG) and ozone (O3) varied between the two.
Highlights
Since the 1990s, the industrial sector including the construction sector has begun to pay attention to the environmental impact of its activities, and reforms are needed to reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector [1]
The results demonstrate that population density and the annual added value of industry were omitted, indicating that the impact of these two control variables on the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants can be ignored
This study explores the impact of modular construction practice on GHGs and air pollutant emissions in Hong Kong and Singapore through policy implementation
Summary
Since the 1990s, the industrial sector including the construction sector has begun to pay attention to the environmental impact of its activities, and reforms are needed to reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector [1]. Modular construction is one of the solutions for the construction sector to reduce its negative environmental impact because it is more environmentally friendly than traditional construction methods and can reduce the negative impact on air quality to a certain extent [3,4]. In the past two decades, Hong Kong and Singapore have both issued relevant policies on modular construction practices to promote the application of modular construction technology in the public and private sectors [5]. Many have evaluated the sustainability of a single construction project using modular construction technology, but the environmental consequences of implementing
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