Project description
Assessing construction materials’ impacts in the Global South
Construction materials have significant global environmental impacts, especially in the Global South or the rest of the world (RoW). However, research is limited, resulting in unknown construction materials’ impacts. The ERC-funded Materials-GRoWL project aims to evaluate the use of construction materials in human settlements of the Global South. The project will develop new methods to gather high-resolution data on construction materials in the Global South and link them to social services and human needs. It will also forecast material usage trends up to 2070 under different scenarios, identify potential environmental and socioeconomic risks associated with the accumulation of construction materials, and establish an exchange framework for cross-transfer material use knowledge.
Objective
This project, Materials-GRoWL, will assess the current and future construction material uses that compose human settlements of the Global South, which is sometimes indiscreetly aggregated as the Rest of the World (RoW) in global studies. This is crucial, because construction materials have global environmental impacts: half of yearly consumption of all raw materials, significant shares of carbon emissions, and major contributors to land use change. Most of their future demands and thus environmental and societal impacts will occur in the global south. This is also challenging, because understanding the lifecycles of construction materials – how many and which materials, where are they used, to what ends, and with which impacts – has been daunting due to limited data and research frameworks. The Global South has been neglected so far, and the little understanding we have is incomplete, uncertain, and incoherent. Thus the environmental and socioeconomic risks related to construction material use in the RoW countries now and in upcoming decades are only generically studied or remain unknown.
Materials-GRoWL will: 1. Develop novel methodologies to produce high-resolution construction material data in the Global South and link these to the societal services and human needs they provide; 2. Compare future material use developments to 2070 under a suite of different socioeconomic and wellbeing pathways; 3. Identify environmental and socioeconomic risks imposed on and by construction material accumulation; and 4. Form an exchange framework for cross-transfer of material use knowledge. Materials-GRoWL will overcome the severe data and methodological challenges that held back the study of construction material use in the Global South. It will provide data and methods crucial for addressing the SDGs and material prerequisites of decent living standards. The results will link the development of the built environment with its impacts to inform further research, policy and action
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.