Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Green Building Development in China

Can carbon reduction policies promote sustainable construction development? Evidence from China's green building market

Carbon emissions have become a global challenge, and China, as the world's largest developing country, has a serious emissions problem. Developing green buildings is an important way of reducing carbon emissions. China's low-carbon city pilot policy may be an effective way of promoting green building development and reducing these emissions. This study uses the low carbon city pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employs the staggered difference-in-differences method to investigate its impact on green building development. The results show that the low-carbon city pilot policy promotes green building development, and this policy promotes it by enhancing regional green innovation capacity, improving green total factor productivity at the firm and regional levels, and reducing the financing constraints of firms in the construction and real estate sectors. In addition, the promotion effect of the policy on green building development is stronger in western and non-resource-based regions and large-scale cities in China. This study contributes to the literature related to environmental policy, green building, and carbon emissions and supports the promotion of green building development and the reduction of carbon emissions.

The Outlook of Green Building Development in China during the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan" Period

To achieve the "Double Carbon" target, China is paying increasing attention to green building development. Thus, this study selected 26 regional green building development planning documents that have been put into practice since the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and analyzed different development goals and common development barriers and paths presented in regional documents by conducting qualitative research. After the analysis of common goals and goals with regional characteristics, this study verified that spatial imbalances did exist in the development targets of green building in each region during the "14th Five-Year Plan", and the development priorities also varied from region to region. Due to the relation between development goals and the current situation, this study can also illustrate the spatial imbalances of the development situation between different regions. The results of this study can assist regional governments in gaining a clear self-positioning to judge whether they keep pace with the national development level of green buildings and encourage them to take measures to guarantee the stable development of green buildings.

Evolutionary Game Theory and the Simulation of Green Building Development Based on Dynamic Government Subsidies

The carbon emissions of the construction industry pose a significant challenge to implementing China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. This study considered how to promote stable green building (GB) development. First, evolutionary game theory (EGT) was applied to examine the interaction mechanism of complex behaviors between governments and developers, constructing two scenarios of static and dynamic subsidies. Second, we proposed the ideal state where the government does not give funding subsidies and developers take the initiative to build GBs. On this basis, the simulation method was used to verify the game models and primary conclusions. Finally, a detailed sensitivity analysis of selected parameters was undertaken. The results demonstrated that subsidy policy phase-outs could help in the development of GBs; the probability of an ideal state was positively correlated with government supervision and punishment, and it was negatively correlated with government funding subsidies. The research results can be used as a reference for the government to improve incentive measures and decision support for stakeholders to adjust their strategies.

Geographic Distribution and Influencing Factor Analysis of Green Residential Buildings in China

Green residential buildings (GRBs) are an important part of the concept of green building. Although green buildings are well studied for geographic distribution and influencing factors, GRBs have not been fully explored or widely noted by parties involved in the building sectors. In this paper, we study the geographic distribution and influencing factors of 2134 GRBs that met the Green Building Evaluation Standard and obtained a green building logo in 2008–2016 in China. First, we analyze the geographic distribution and spatial correlation of GRBs with different star ratings at the provincial and municipal levels by natural break-point method and Moran’s index. Second, we study the aggregation degree of medium- and high-star GRBs in each province by development concentration index and define 42 leading cities with more favorable levels of GRB development. Third, we analyze the correlation between the GRBs’ number and 18 influencing factors covering the social economy and real estate market in the 42 leading cities. According to the analysis, this paper shows that (1) there are differences in the geographical distribution characteristics of different star green buildings in China. (2) The differences in geographical distribution and the spatial correlation of GRBs are more obvious in the study of municipal administrative division levels. (3) The local commercial residential building prices and the local residents’ economic and social statuses, education levels, and living standards are significantly positively correlated with the grade of GRBs.

Exploring Residents' Purchase Intention of Green Housings in China: An Extended Perspective of Perceived Value

The promotion of green housings (GHs) is considered a potentially effective way to save energy, reduce air pollution, and promote industrial upgrading. However, the low level of public acceptance of GHs leads to insufficient GH market penetration in China. Thus, it is significant to explore GH purchase decisions to understand and enhance the market demand for GHs effectively. From an extended perspective of perceived value, this study proposes a comprehensive research model that integrates residents’ perceptions and personal traits to examine the influencing mechanism of residents’ intention to purchase GHs. The proposed model is empirically tested using data collected from 728 urban residents in China. The results reveal that perceived value is a crucial predictor of GH purchase intention. All dimensions of perceived benefits—including perceived functional benefits, perceived emotional benefits, perceived green benefits, and perceived social benefits—have a positive influence on perceived value, while perceived performance risks have a negative influence on perceived value. Two types of personal traits, namely, environmental concern and social trust, significantly affect residents’ perceived benefits and perceived risks. The findings contribute to a more in-depth analysis of the effects of residents’ perceptions and personal traits on GH purchase behavior. Furthermore, suggestions for policymakers and developers on popularizing GHs are proposed.

Risk Factors Impacting the Project Value Created by Green Buildings in Saudi Arabia

Green buildings are playing a pivotal role in sustainable urban development around the world, including Saudi Arabia. Green buildings subject to various sources of risk that influence the potential outcomes of the investments or services added in their design. The present study developed a structured framework to examine various risks that may lead to green buildings’ value destruction in Saudi Arabia. The framework initiates with identification of 66 potential risk factors from reported literature. A questionnaire compiling a list of identified risk factors was hand-delivered to 300 practitioners (managers, engineers, and architects) having knowledge of value engineering in the construction industry, and an overall response rate of 29.7% was achieved. Subsequently, descriptive statistics ranked the risk factors based on scores given by the respondents. The principal component analysis extracted 16 components, based on the likelihood of risk factors impacting the value created by green building design. Finally, the factor analysis grouped the 35 most significant risk factors in 5 clusters—i.e., 8 in functional risk, 13 in financial risk, 3 in operational risk, 3 in environmental risk, and 8 in management risk cluster. The study enhances the understanding of the importance of the risk factors’ impact on value creation. Based on the results, the value management (or engineering) teams and the top-level management can identify, manage, and control the risk factors that have a significant impact on the project value created by green building design.