Fostering Infrastructure Equity through Leveraging Envision Rating System among Civil Engineering and Construction Students

Rubaya Rahat; Mohamed Elzomor,

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: ASCE Liasion Committee Presents: All Things ASCE
Tagged Division: Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43745
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43745
Download Count: 198

Paper Authors

biography

Rubaya Rahat Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-5619

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Rubaya Rahat grew up in Bangladesh, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After graduating she worked for two years in a construction management company in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was involved in various residential and infrastructure projects. Rubaya now is a Ph.D. student at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Teaching/Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Florida International University. Her research interest includes Sustainable and resilient infrastructure, Engineering Education, and Sustainable transportation system.

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biography

Mohamed Elzomor, P.E. Florida International University orcid.org/0000-0002-7734-9601

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Dr. Mohamed ElZomor is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University (FIU), College of Engineering and Computing and teaches at the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Dr. ElZomor completed his doctorate at Arizona

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Abstract

The sustainability concept relies on the three pillars of the triple bottom line which include social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Although economic and environmental sustainability is widely implemented, social sustainability or social equity is yet to gain traction. As globalization increases, engineering professionals and stakeholders must prioritize and incorporate social equity for the construction of sustainable developments, particularly infrastructure systems as they are the critical component of a functioning community. However, civil engineering and construction (CEC) education hardly focuses on disseminating knowledge about social equity, particularly equity in infrastructure systems thus hindering the path of creating equitable and sustainable future developments. Therefore, it is critical to introduce and educate future engineering professionals about infrastructure inequity issues as well as train them to ensure equity for both new and existing infrastructure systems through effective techniques. This research investigates the existing awareness of infrastructure inequity issues among CEC students and proposes effective solutions to improve such knowledge and awareness as well as equip them with techniques to address the issue by leveraging Envision sustainability rating system. To achieve this objective, the study implemented a training/workshop in a cross-listed sustainability course about various critical concepts of infrastructure inequity as well as how to address this issue through utilizing the Envision rating system. At first, the study conducted a pre-survey to record pre-established knowledge of the participants about social inequity and the importance of equitable infrastructure systems. Then, during the training, the students were introduced to important topics that include social inequity, gentrification, infrastructure inequity, equitable access to infrastructure, sustainable infrastructure rating system, and various credits of Envision rating system that support equitable infrastructure. The study conducted a post-survey of the participants following the training. The pre and post-survey responses were analyzed using the McNemar test. The results indicated that guided training helped the students to understand infrastructure inequity concerns and can potentially nurture their knowledge to address and mitigate such issues through implementing the Envision rating system. Furthermore, the boxplots demonstrating the self-assessment of the students highlighted that the training was effective to improve awareness among the students regarding the necessity of equitable infrastructure systems. The findings of the study would be valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure inequity and facilitating the future construction workforce with the required knowledge to ensure an equitable infrastructure system.

Citation
Format

Rahat, R., & Elzomor,, M. (2023, June), Fostering Infrastructure Equity through Leveraging Envision Rating System among Civil Engineering and Construction Students Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43745

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The sustainability concept relies on the three pillars of the triple bottom line which include social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Although economic and environmental sustainability is widely implemented, social sustainability or social equity is yet to gain traction. As globalization increases, engineering professionals and stakeholders must prioritize and incorporate social equity for the construction of sustainable developments, particularly infrastructure systems as they are the critical component of a functioning community. However, civil engineering and construction (CEC) education hardly focuses on disseminating knowledge about social equity, particularly equity in infrastructure systems thus hindering the path of creating equitable and sustainable future developments. Therefore, it is critical to introduce and educate future engineering professionals about infrastructure inequity issues as well as train them to ensure equity for both new and existing infrastructure systems through effective techniques. This research investigates the existing awareness of infrastructure inequity issues among CEC students and proposes effective solutions to improve such knowledge and awareness as well as equip them with techniques to address the issue by leveraging Envision sustainability rating system. To achieve this objective, the study implemented a training/workshop in a cross-listed sustainability course about various critical concepts of infrastructure inequity as well as how to address this issue through utilizing the Envision rating system. At first, the study conducted a pre-survey to record pre-established knowledge of the participants about social inequity and the importance of equitable infrastructure systems. Then, during the training, the students were introduced to important topics that include social inequity, gentrification, infrastructure inequity, equitable access to infrastructure, sustainable infrastructure rating system, and various credits of Envision rating system that support equitable infrastructure. The study conducted a post-survey of the participants following the training. The pre and post-survey responses were analyzed using the McNemar test. The results indicated that guided training helped the students to understand infrastructure inequity concerns and can potentially nurture their knowledge to address and mitigate such issues through implementing the Envision rating system. Furthermore, the boxplots demonstrating the self-assessment of the students highlighted that the training was effective to improve awareness among the students regarding the necessity of equitable infrastructure systems. The findings of the study would be valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure inequity and facilitating the future construction workforce with the required knowledge to ensure an equitable infrastructure system.
AU  - Rubaya Rahat
AU  - Mohamed Elzomor, P.E.
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Fostering Infrastructure Equity through Leveraging Envision Rating System among Civil Engineering and Construction Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/43745
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--43745
ER  -