Understanding the advantages of earth construction in urban housing in the United Kingdom

Earth building material is beneficial in urban housing in the United Kingdom, particularly with regard to the promotion of environmental sustainability. Due to higher demand to achieve sustainable development around the world, researchers and innovators are increasingly turning their attention to efficient ways to address climate change and excessive CO 2 emissions. Contemporary earth construction certainly contributes to reducing current global CO 2 emissions and achieving environmental sustainability. Existing literature documents numerous benefits to constructing in earth, yet a critical review of the literature shows that, in many cases, these benefits are empirically unsubstantiated. Moreover, some benefits found in literature seemingly conflict and are often context and/or project specific. This paper aims to address some of these incongruities through an in-depth analysis of the advantages of earth construction in the development of UK urban housing. To achieve this aim, an interpretivist research philosophy was employed, including an up-to-date state of art literature review on the topic, and validation through the Delphi technique and in-depth interviews of construction professionals in the field of earth construction. The results show that earth building is very safe for the environment, it saves energy, promote self-help construction and significantly contribute achieving all aspects of environmental sustainability in the United Kingdom.