Routledge Handbook on Labour in Construction and Human Settlements by Werna, Edmundo; Ofori, George;

Short description:

This Handbook presents a detailed and comprehensive examination of the relationship between labour and the built environment, with their connections to human settlements. It synergises these critical focus areas in innovative ways.

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Long description:

Routledge Handbook on Labour in Construction and Human Settlements presents a detailed and comprehensive examination of the relationship between labour and the built environment, and synergises these critical focus areas in innovative ways. This unrivalled edited collection of chapters analyses problems and presents possible solutions related to the employment and conditions of workers in the construction industry. It provides comprehensive coverage of the relationship between the global workforce and the built environment and is divided into four topical areas: how labour and the built environment relate to development; employment generation in the built environment; quality of employment in the built environment; and the impact of the built environment on labour in other sectors.

Underpinning the entire book is the premise that the way the built environment is produced, and its main products – buildings, cities and towns – have an impact on large numbers of workers. At the same time, the quality of the built environment requires construction workers who are well trained and with good working conditions. While cities and towns are the engines of economic growth, they will not be able to fulfil their economic potential if poverty in the workforce is not addressed. Those who are unemployed, underemployed or work in unfavourable conditions cannot fully contribute to production, and at the same time are limited in their ability to purchase goods and services – therefore limiting economic growth and restricting improvements in their living standards. In addition, investments in infrastructure, housing and inner-city redevelopment cannot be sustainable if labour issues – i.e., poverty – are not addressed. This book aims at analysing this complex set of issues comprehensively and will be essential reading to a wide range of researchers across the interdisciplinary intersections of construction, business and management, economic development, urban studies, sociology, political science and project management.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Introducing the Routledge Handbook on Labour in Construction and Human Settlements: The Built Environment at Work

Chapter 2

The built environment, construction, development and their implications for labour

Chapter 3

Characteristics of the construction industry and construction process, and implications for labour policies and practices

Chapter 4

Employment generation in the construction sector: Volatility and prospects

Chapter 5

Differing approaches to embedding low energy construction and climate literacy into vocational education and training

Chapter 6

Green jobs and climate justice in the built environment: Lessons from American cities

Chapter 7

Labour contracting, migration and wage theft in the construction industry in Qatar, China, India, US and the EU

Chapter 8

The precariat of the built environment: Decent work and the myth of Sisyphus

Chapter 9

Human resource management and development in construction: Strategic considerations

Chapter 10

Culture in construction: A driver as well as a barrier for the improvement of labour situations within construction industry

Chapter 11

Gender, construction work, and organisation

Chapter 12

Mistreatment of migrant construction workers: Trajectory from the past to the present and into the future

Chapter 13

The smart city as the factory of the twenty-first century? How urban platforms reshape the nexus between the built environment, livelihoods, and labor

Chapter 14

Housing markets and labour markets: Towards a new research agenda for the Global South

Chapter 15

Social innovation of workplaces in the built environment: How public spaces have become central workplaces – Lessons from Kampala City, Uganda

Chapter 16

Building resilient workplaces: Prioritizing safety and disaster risk reduction for the global workforce

Chapter 18

Labour, the Built Environment and Human Settlements: Lessons from the book