Impact of Sustainability on Design and Construction of Civil Engineering Infrastructure

Sustainability is the avoidance of the depletion of natural
resources so as to preserve an ecological balance in an environment...

its conclusion; climate change is real and human activities are the main cause [4]. The government of London commenced Congestion Charging to lessen pollution in the city of London. But basic science explains that in photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is an input of plants production of energy [5]. A simple project to neutralize the effects of environmental carbon pollution will therefore be the afforestation of our urban areas. This simple principle must have informed the decision of the Lagos State Government of "one man one tree". With building performance during the event, and the adequacy of building codes and construction practices in place at the time" [7].

Hurricane Katrina has changed the way construction is done in New
Orleans. This paper evaluates the various ways that sustainability is impacting the design and construction of civil engineering infrastructure.

Review of Literature
Foster [8] stated that "Architecture is an expression of values -the way we build is a reflection of the way we live. This is why vernacular traditions and historical layers of a city are so fascinating, as every era produces its own vocabulary". Architecture has to shift, evolve and develop in parallel to its society, the lifestyle, economy and the technology available [9]. This is why glass, steel and concrete were the domineering building materials after the World War II. Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as sustainable or highperformance building [12]. According to Oyeyipo, Okoh, James [13],  Increasing commodity prices, especially for beef and soy, have further motivated forest destruction in the Amazon region [16]. The roles of green infrastructure -forest, savannah and parks in human settlements have been highlighted by scientists and researchers [17]. Wright [18] in National Parks and Protected Areas explored the roles that national parks play in preserving and understanding biodiversity and related ecosystem processes. According to Wright [18], "the gateway to the conservation effort, parks can no longer be viewed as distinct, separate entities. They must be understood and managed in the context of their surrounding ecological and cultural landscapes". Forested areas, parks and protected areas serves as the reasons why ecosystem management represents a functional model and serves as the supporting historical, political, ecological and legal bases for human communities.
Successfully, forests can be used to create sustainable regions and demarcate cities. This partition can create a distinct sense of belonging and healthy competition among cities. It reduces metropolis and makes management of transportation, electricity and water easier. Regional planners, for example have emphasized that human settlements should exist in a given ratio with plants.
Williams [19] challenges professionals to rethink architecture and to view their projects not as objects but as critical, connected pieces of the whole, important to human health as well as to regional economy and ecology. According to Bergman [20], "The rationale for ecodesign reach far beyond the singular goal of mitigating climate change to include setting the stage for the future -the sustaining -of our species and aspiring still further to a positive outcome: improving the quality of our lives. Our building of the future should include the way we think and do things so that building is not demolished and reconstructed regularly. Austria showcase one of the most developed sustainable construction markets with around 76,000 residences and one-family houses being approved for construction in Austria in 2018. Vienna alone has 24,000 units.
These buildings will be made of wood, natural interior materials and renewable energy [21]. According to Ramsey, Sleeper, Hedges [22], "Buildings and the built environment play a major role in the human impact on the natural environment and on the quality of life; sustainable design integrates consideration of resource and energy efficiency, healthy buildings and materials". Many people view the requirements of governments, local authorities, companies and clients to construct buildings and structures sustainably to be an optional extra, an additional burden on business, believing sustainable construction methods should only be adopted because of a need to comply with legislation or for financial reasons [23].

How sustainability is impacting the design and construction of civil engineering infrastructure
Around 40% of total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are directly due to construction and operation of buildings. The best way to reduce this impact is the use of green These waste management mechanism included: designing out waste; establishing benchmarks and targets for material wastage and recycling; setting contractual requirements on subcontractors and suppliers for waste production, handling and management; establishing take-back schemes with suppliers for specific material streams and using closed-loop recycling in the construction of 'green rooms'; using an on-site waste management contractor to coordinate the management of waste on site; and using off site waste management contractors to recover the segregated and mixed waste arising. Can we determine the "developments that meet our needs in relation to future generations' ability to manage their environmental challenges"? Some decades past, it was thought that some wastes could not be recycled. Zero-carbon projects, catalytic conversion and pyrolysis have made it possible to recycle all wastes. "All definitions of sustainable development require that we see the world as a system-a system that connects space; and a system that connects time" [31]. Sustainable development approach emphasises that we live now in a borrowed environment from future generations. The design and construction of civil engineering structures should lay emphasis on sustainability.

Sustainable development of civil engineering infrastructure
There is a later definition which stated that sustainable development is a "development that ensures a better quality of life for everyone now and for generations to come". This is comprehensive and adequate. It dictates that we should not compromise our ability to develop our environment now because of the future generations' capacity to develop theirs; instead, we should think of the future generations' quality of life in all our economic, social or environmental developmental projects. "The latter definition is better than the former in that it takes into consideration the fact that anything we are doing now, we assume we are doing it permanently and not to be re-done by the coming generations" [32]. Sustainable civil engineering development should integrate the design of balancing the eco-system so that we do not alter the heritage bestowed on us by our ancestors and leave a befitting heritage to our inheritors. The natural features of our environment should hence be our goal in our various development projects.