An Empirical Framework for Sustainable Building Materials Selection in Residential Construction: Evidence from Tanzania

An Empirical Framework for Sustainable Building Materials Selection in Residential Construction: Evidence from Tanzania | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article An Empirical Framework for Sustainable Building Materials Selection in Residential Construction: Evidence from Tanzania Constant MAHAME, Geraldine J. KIKWASI, Modest M. Baruti, David O. Olukanni This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9264863/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Despite rapid urbanisation and mounting housing demand in Tanzania, material selection in residential construction remains guided by short-term cost and contractor familiarity rather than systematic sustainability evaluation. A prior systematic review identified nineteen critical factors influencing sustainable building material selection across environmental, economic, and social-cultural dimensions, but two gaps limited its practical utility. First, it could not determine which factors Tanzanian construction professionals actually prioritise or how local priorities compare with global patterns. Second, no operational tool translated those factors into structured guidance for early-stage material evaluation. This study addresses both gaps directly. A structured questionnaire survey was administered to 156 registered construction professionals, including architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors, with experience in residential construction across Tanzania. Factor importance was assessed using the Relative Importance Index, supported by descriptive analysis, within a triple-bottom-line evaluation structure covering environmental, economic, and social dimensions. Results show that environmental factors dominate professional priorities. Material environmental impact, ecosystem protection, and waste management ranked highest overall. Economic factors occupy intermediate positions, with life-cycle cost consistently prioritised over initial affordability, indicating growing attention to long-term value in material selection. Social and cultural factors ranked lower overall, with health and safety as the notable exception. These findings challenge the assumption that economic criteria dominate decision-making in developing-country construction contexts and demonstrate measurable alignment with environmental sustainability objectives among Tanzanian construction professionals. The resulting framework organises empirically derived factor priorities into a weighted evaluation matrix for early-stage material assessment, where detailed performance data is often limited. This supports more transparent and defensible sustainability-informed decisions in residential project delivery. Future research should apply multi-criteria decision-making techniques such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process and validate the framework through implementation-based case studies, enabling the development of computational decision-support tools. Civil Engineering Sustainable Building Materials (SBMs) Material Selection Framework Residential Building Projects Life-cycle Thinking Performance-based priorities Environmental Sustainability Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9264863","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":614461031,"identity":"9a135d0b-3c6c-4bed-bc11-5992d8d50775","order_by":0,"name":"Constant MAHAME","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHhSeDRAzNh4gUgszECekgbQ0kKTlMJiJV4tu+9mDn25U2MmZ858/+Lnwx3m7te2HgbbU2ETj0mJ2Ji9ZOudMsrHljGRm6RkJt5O3nUkEajmWltuAS8uBHAPp3LYDiRtuMDNI8wC1mB0AamFsOIxby/k3xr9z/wG1nD/M/Jsn4Vyy2fmHBLTcyDGTzm0AajmQzAa05YCd2Q1Cttx4Y2adcyzZ2OBGspk1T1pygtkNoC0J+PxyPsf4dk6NnZzB+YOPb/PY2NmbnU9/+OBDjQ1OLRggEawygVjlIGBPiuJRMApGwSgYGQAA6LNkf5zJe8oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Ardhi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Constant","middleName":"","lastName":"MAHAME","suffix":""},{"id":614461032,"identity":"5b9844e0-eccf-4432-83f5-9d79252890a1","order_by":1,"name":"Geraldine J. 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