Sustainable built environments and construction activity through dynamic research agendas

There is a growing consensus that appropriate strategies and actions are needed todevelop sustainable built environments and construction activity. This thesiscontextualises this consensus within the broader sustainable development literature.First, the review of the literature culminates in the development of the HolographicDynamic PSR (pressure, state, response) model as a holistic, system-orientatedframework to better understand the focus of, and interaction between, stakeholders'worldviews and actions to progress sustainable development. Second, five systemicallylinked hypotheses are articulated to test the argument that the current body of researchknowledge is not sufficiently focused and integrated to support progressive, significantand balanced sustainable development.The hypotheses are tested using built environment and construction activity specificliterature, through a 'nested' research methodology comprising an interpretativephilosophy, a soft systems research approach and literature review and synthesisresearch techniques.The thesis substantially supports the overall argument mapped out by the hypotheses,and proposes both a generic dynamic research agenda framework to progress sustainabledevelopment in general; and a UK prioritised research agenda for sustainable builtenvironments and construction activity