Our goal for sustainable structures and infrastructures

We recognise the transformative power of sustainable engineering, design and building practices in creating a world where our planet and its inhabitants can thrive. We are passionate about supporting researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in their efforts to minimise the environmental impact of structures and infrastructures through decarbonisation, harnessing data and technology for procurement, ethical supply chains, water, sanitisation and clean energy that promotes health, wellbeing and protects biodiversity.

Our aim is to help research influence real world change by supporting the work of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and bridging the gap that can exist between research and practice and different disciplines.

You may be an author in sustainable engineering looking to publish your work and thinking about how to maximise the reach and impact of your research, or perhaps you are just beginning your career in engineering research and striving to make connections with stakeholders in your field. Wherever you are in your career journey or research stage, if you’re passionate about making a difference to the real world, we would love to hear from you. Let’s explore how we can support you in publishing and sharing your research and connecting to a wide and relevant audience.

Rebecca Torr, Publishing Development Manager, sustainable structures and infrastructures

Our goals: Fairer society | Healthier lives | Responsible management | Quality education for all | Sustainable structures and infrastructures

If you’d like to find out how we can help your research contribute to sustainable engineering or other ways we can work together to make a difference, please get in touch.

Our goal for sustainable structures and infrastructures

We champion engineering research that can contribute to creating a fairer and more sustainable society.

An introduction to sustainable structures and infrastructures

Discover more about why we need structures and infrastructures that are not just sustainable, but also smart and resilient, and how you can help further research and debate on this topic, in this introduction from Goal Advisor Professor Chimay Anumba.

mission

Can we build a future we can't predict? Rethinking infrastructure in an age of deep uncertainty

In this mission, we explore how adaptive design, resilience thinking, scenario planning, and nature-based solutions are being embraced to prepare the built environment for a future of uncertainty.

More on this mission

USS cover
A fully open access journal

Introducing Urbanization, Sustainability and Society

Aligned to UN SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities, this fully open access journal addresses the sustainable development of cities across the globe. Edited by Dr Amirhosein Ghaffarianhoseini, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, the journal welcomes research that focuses on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Find out more

Related journal articles & book chapters

A selection of our sustainable structures and infrastructures articles.

Chapter 1: Definitions and context of blue-green infrastructure
ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure
28/09/2023
Towards self-healing in water infrastructure systems
Smart Infrastructure and Construction
16/06/2022
Pandemic response in the energy sector and impacts for infrastructure resilience management
Engineering Sustainability
06/06/2022
A new behavioural approach for the sustainable design of the built environment
Civil Engineering
21/06/2023
Effects of reinforcing granular columns with fibres generated from plastic bottle waste
Geotechnical Research
01/09/2022
Numerical investigation of h-Darrieus wind turbine aerodynamics at different tip speed ratios
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
02/03/2023
Carbon risk real estate monitor: making decarbonisation in the real estate sector measurable
Journal of European Real Estate Research
24/07/2020
Rethinking life cycle cost drivers for sustainable office buildings in Denmark
Facilities
11/10/2018
Impact of circular economy network building: resilience strategy to climate action
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
04/04/2023
Greenwashing: a rapid escape from sustainability or a slow transition?
LBS Journal of Management & Research
14/02/2023
Integrating lean construction with BIM and sustainability: a comparative study of challenges, enablers, techniques, and benefits
Construction Innovation
15/08/2023
Asset Information Requirements for Blockchain-based Digital Twins: A Data-driven Predictive Analytics Perspective
Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
15/08/2023
The potential of 3D printing inbuilding pathology: rehabilitation of cultural heritage
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
15/08/2023

Sustainable cities open access content

About the research

Explore freely available research to read, download and share. This content focuses on how we can create resilient, sustainable, healthy and inclusive cities and communities for all.

Explore the content

Opinions & blogs

We welcome contributions from academics, policymakers and professionals about key issues in their area of work. If you have a blog you would like to share, let us know.

Sustainable structures and infrastructures

Opinion: The next infrastructure waves behind AI data centres

Read this blog that explores how AI data centre growth is no longer driven by compute alone, but by the fundamental constraints of interconnect, memory, and power, with emerging solutions like silicon photonics and hydrogen fuel cells reshaping the infrastructure needed to scale.
29/04/2026
Sustainable structures and infrastructures

Can we build a future we can’t predict? Designing regenerative resilience through participatory Living Labs

Read this blog that explores how regenerative resilience can be designed through participatory Living Labs.
22/04/2026
Sustainable structures and infrastructures

Building future cities in times of uncertainty: Co-creating resilient infrastructure

Read this blog that outlines the built environment strategies that can make a difference during times of uncertainty and crisis.
28/01/2026
Fairer society
Real impact

What has the Open Lab learned this year?

When we introduced ourselves earlier this year, Emerald’s Open Lab committed to sharing our insights with the wider community. After all, many of us are joined in the goal of achieving sustainable and equitable open access (OA) all while serving the needs of diverse communities and stakeholders.
21/10/2025
Sustainable structures and infrastructures

Planning for the unknown: Why water networks are like home renovations

Read this blog as Prof Dragan Savic explores why water industry professionals must balance cost, resilience & uncertainty to avoid costly mistakes.
01/10/2025
Sustainable structures and infrastructures

Underground transport in an uncertain climate

Read this blog as Roberto Pantoja Porro, Zili Li and John O’Donovan examine infrastructure design in an age of uncertainty.
01/10/2025

News & press

Below we have a collection of news articles centred around having a real impact on society.

Real impact

Emerald Publishing — Joining Wiley Frequently Asked Questions

Emerald Publishing has been acquired by Wiley . Below you'll find answers to questions you may have — whether you're a researcher, author, editor...
02/06/2026
Real impact

Wiley Acquires Emerald, Expanding Research Scale and Deepening Proprietary Content Across the AI-Driven Knowledge Economy

Meaningfully expands Wiley’s journal portfolio to ~2,500 titles and establishes category leadership across economics, business, finance, and the...
02/06/2026
Real impact

Emerald Publishing recognised as an Inspiring Workplace for the third consecutive year

Emerald Publishing has been named one of the UK & Ireland’s Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces for 2026, marking the third consecutive year the organisation has been recognised by the Inspiring Workplaces Group.
27/05/2026
Real impact

Emerald Publishing launches new Responsible Publishing Report

The report details 2025 actions on academic freedom, inclusion, sustainability and widening access to knowledge.
08/04/2026
Real impact

Celebrating Emerald’s High Usage Awards 2026

Emerald Publishing has announced the recipients of its High Usage Awards 2026, recognising the global academic institutions with the highest usage of Emerald eJournal content over the past year.
18/03/2026
Real impact

Emerald Publishing and PRME announce collaboration to launch two new journals

Emerald Publishing has announced a strategic collaboration with the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact, leading the global movement to embed ethics, sustainability and social responsibility into business and management education.
10/03/2026

Other resources

Browse our other offerings below.

Case studies

Global teaching materials to engage and inspire. Students can test their assumptions and decision-making skills about real world problems.

Explore cases on Emerald Insight >

Your publishing development team

Rebecca Torr photo

Rebecca Torr

Hello! Welcome to the sustainable structures and infrastructures goal page. As the Publishing Development Manager for this goal, I work with authors and organisations in engineering subjects such as civil engineering and materials science to further the impact of research in the real world. I’m also a host on the Emerald Podcast Series, featuring experts who use research to create real impact. There are many ways we can work together to support mission-led research and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Let’s connect and explore!

Get in touch

Professor Chimay J Anumba

Professor Chimay J Anumba – Goal Advisor

Chimay Anumba is a Professor and Dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Leeds, UK; a higher doctorate – D.Sc. (Doctor of Science) – from Loughborough University, UK; and an Honorary Doctorate (Dr.h.c.) from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. He has over 500 scientific publications, including 22 books and over 200 archival journal papers on aspects of construction engineering and informatics. His work has received over $150M in support from a variety of sources. He has also supervised more than 56 doctoral candidates to completion and mentored over 25 postdoctoral researchers. Chimay is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, FREng, and a member of the US National Academy of Construction. He is also a past recipient of the ASCE Computing in Civil Engineering Award.