Environment

Making sure constructions are environmentally friendly is forever on the rise. If you would like to focus on this within your dissertation but are not sure where to begin, these examples may help:

Example environment dissertation topic 1:

Reinvigorating the housing market through compulsory green construction

Government-backed schemes relating to the insulation of loft space and cavity walls have been hugely successful. Building upon such green initiatives and in order to act as a fillip to the construction industry, this paper outlines a case for making it compulsory that the construction of new homes within England and Wales must include solar panels covering at least three quarters of available roof space. This paper addresses three primary issues within its hypothesis. First, such a development would empower the construction industry and help it through this recessionary period. Secondly, the knock-on effect of lowering the price of solar panels (due to supply and demand) would result in a further boost for the construction industry as existing householders sought to benefit from solar energy. Thirdly, the compulsory construction of housing with solar panels would enable the UK construction to more than exceed its environmental targets by 2020.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Banfill, P.F.G. and Peacock, A.D. (2007). ‘Energy-efficient new housing – the UK reaches for sustainability’, Building Research and Information, Vol. 35(4), pp. 426-436.
• Fthenakis, V., Mason, J.E. and Zweibel, K. (2009). ‘The technical, geographical, and economic feasibility for solar energy to supply the energy needs of the US’, Energy Policy, Vol. 37(2), pp. 387-389.
• Mendonça, M. (2011). ‘The UK feed-in tariff: A user survey’, Working Paper, Birkbeck Institute of Environment. London: Birkbeck University.