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Sustainability (Switzerland)Volume 15, Issue 5, March 2023, Article number 4080

Socio-Economic Analysis of the Construction and Building Materials’ Usage—Ecological Awareness in the Case of Serbia(Article)(Open Access)

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  • aLaboratory for Building Ceramics, Institute for Testing of Materials IMS, Bulevar Vojvode Mišića 43, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
  • bSchool of Energy and Environment, Thapar Institute of Engineering Technology, Patiala, 147004, India
  • cDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, 781039, India
  • dInstitute for Testing of Materials IMS, Bulevar Vojvode Mišića 43, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
  • eDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, Novi Sad, 21000, Serbia
  • fDepartment of Thermal Engineering and Energy, ‘‘VINČA” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, 11001, Serbia
  • gInstitute of General and Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

Abstract

The main idea of the present study was to investigate the impact of the ongoing world crisis on the socio-economic issues in Serbia concerning building materials usage and purchase. This research fills in the gaps in the literature and contributes to the comprehension of how the crisis has affected salaries, market pricing, and materials consumption in the building sector. The data are gathered through a questionnaire and analyzed using a statistical methodology (frequencies, descriptive statistics, and Spearman’s correlations). Most of the former studies investigated the surveys conducted on specialists in the field, while this study analyzed the perspectives of random people. Socio-demographic issues are analyzed along with materials consumption before and after the crisis. A special emphasis is given to ecological awareness and novel materials usage. Additionally, it captures a broad shift in the economy and ecological consciousness in a developing country. The majority of respondents are open to using novel building materials and products, but their choice would largely be influenced by cost, the amount of effort involved, and their understanding of the advantages. Statistical approaches revealed that the crisis has a considerable impact on the markets for construction and building supplies, altering consumers’ decisions when purchasing. This contribution lays the groundwork for developing countries in the modern world to improve sustainability and adopt circular thinking. Professionals in Serbia need to have a more eco-aware mindset and enhance how they provide pertinent information to potential clients. This study is limited by the number of respondents. For future mathematical modeling and forecasting, more answerers are needed. © 2023 by the authors.

Author keywords

construction and building materialsdeveloping countrygreen materialsSerbiasocio-economic surveystatistical analysissustainabilityworld crisis

Indexed keywords

GEOBASE Subject Index:construction materialdeveloping worldmarket conditionssocioeconomic conditionssustainability
Regional Index:Serbia

Funding details

Funding sponsor Funding number Acronym
Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja200017,451-03-47/2023-01/200017,451-03-47/2023-01/200051,451-03-68/2022-14/200012MPNTR
  • 1

    This research was funded by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, Contracts No. 451-03-68/2022-14/200012, 451-03-47/2023-01/200017, and 451-03-47/2023-01/200051.

  • ISSN: 20711050
  • Source Type: Journal
  • Original language: English
  • DOI: 10.3390/su15054080
  • Document Type: Article
  • Publisher: MDPI

  Vasić, M.V.; Laboratory for Building Ceramics, Institute for Testing of Materials IMS, Bulevar Vojvode Mišića 43, Belgrade, Serbia;
© Copyright 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Cited by 5 documents

Vidak Vasić, M. , Muñoz Velasco, P. , Bueno-Rodríguez, S.
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Dubale, M. , Vasić, M.V. , Goel, G.
The recycling of demolition roof tile waste as a resource in the manufacturing of fired bricks: A scale-up to the industry
(2024) Construction and Building Materials
Joshi, R. , Vashishtha, K. , Tripathi, S.
Application of the theory of planned behaviour to assess the impact of the intention of architects, designers, and engineers regarding the usage of sustainable construction materials (SCM) in India
(2024) IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
View details of all 5 citations
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