Infrastructure development is key to the achievement of sustainable development goals. Its impact on economic growth as a direct contributor to GDP and as a catalyst for development is well acknowledged. The recent outbreaks of pandemics such as COVID-19 have highlighted the need for efficient infrastructure, including water and sanitation, transportation and healthcare facilities, among others. Both developed and developing countries continue to make significant increases in investment in infrastructure projects. It is critical that as nations strive to plug the infrastructure gap, projects should meet sustainability and resilience standards that integrate environmental, social, economic and governance aspects into a project’s planning, building and operation while ensuring resilience in the face of economic and climate-related shocks. Despite widespread recognition of the importance of sustainable and resilient infrastructure (SRI), the delivery of such projects continues to face persistent difficulties. Infrastructure projects frequently experience cost overruns, schedule delays, performance shortfalls and governance failures, undermining their long-term value and societal benefits (Flyvbjerg, 2014; Love et al., 2019). One contributing factor is the tendency to treat design, technology, engineering and management as discrete domains, leading to fragmented decision-making across project stages and organisational boundaries. Professionals from different disciplines and backgrounds contribute to the delivery of infrastructure. However, the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industry is fragmented, resulting in inefficient project delivery and the formulation of sustainable practices for infrastructure delivery that focuses on discipline contexts. This fragmentation is also evident in the research on SRI as it tends to focus on one issue at the expense of the other contexts. This special issue brings together research on SRI under one umbrella and seeks to unravel the nexus between design, technology, engineering and management issues in SRI delivery within the social-economic-environmental context.The delivery of SRI delivery can be considered as a socio-technical challenge. In this special issue we considered four thematic areas that have framed the research on the delivery of SRI, including design, technology, engineering and management issues. The importance of the design stage of infrastructure is critical in setting the parameters for SRI. The design stage enables the early integration of sustainability and resilience in infrastructure development. On the other hand, the use of technology, such as building information modelling (BIM) and artificial intelligence are seen to be enable the maximisation of sustainability and resilience of infrastructure throughout its lifecycle. There is also a focus on SRI as an engineering solution. This perspective is critical to ensures the performance, robustness and adaptability of infrastructure projects. Management issues are also critical to delivering infrastructure projects. Issues such as procurement processes, stakeholder engagement, resource allocation, governance and project management are crucial in ensuring the successful delivery of SRI. Crucially, however, there is a need to consider these issues as interdependent.In this special collection of papers on the nexus between design, technology, engineering and management, the research presented is grouped into four research areas. The first group of papers focuses on climate resilience and infrastructure adaptation. Two of the papers under this theme focused on construction materials and methods. The first paper by Kaushik et al. (2026) empirically assessed the validity of wind profile data from predictive methods on a high-rise building to highlight the necessity of site-specific empirical wind data for reliable natural ventilation design in tall buildings. The study shows how accurate empirical vertical wind profile data is essential for delivering sustainable and resilient high-rise infrastructure by highlighting the limitations of traditional theoretical predictive tools. The paper by Asamoah et al. (2026) was a systematic review of literature on the role of nature-based solutions (NbS) in housing delivery in Africa. The study reviews extant literature to assess NbS which can be integrated into housing delivery in Africa to promote environmental sustainability and resilience. The study shows how NbS contribute to environmental sustainability and resilience by improving energy efficiency and ecosystem restoration. Two other papers concerned engineering solutions to the impact of climate change. They both focused on flood mitigation. Tanko et al. (2026) sought to establish perceptions of construction professionals about whether stilt housing is a cost-effective flood-mitigation solution using 5D BIM cost modelling. The study demonstrates that BIM-based 5D modelling can contribute to flood-resilient housing that balances cost, feasibility and stakeholder acceptance. The study by Shahrin et al. (2026) revisited project success and evaluated visitor perspectives in the Sungai Melaka flood mitigation project. The study assessed the cultural, social and experiential impacts of the Melaka flood mitigation project using a cultural ecosystem services framework. The study reframes the issue of flood-mitigation as a social technical system and demonstrates that community-centred and socially informed metrices are important to sustainable resilience.The second group of papers focused on management: workforce health, safety and productivity. The theme comprised three papers. The first paper, authored by Mwemezi et al. (2026), developed a validated framework for health and safety risk management in informal construction sites in Tanzania. The study noted that several people who work in informal construction sites are unlicensed, unprotected and unregulated individuals who supply labour and make other contributions to the finished product (Wells, 2007). Their working conditions are not ideal. The suggested framework provides practical solutions and reduces the extent of health and safety problems identified as impeding the provision of good health and safety and welfare of workers in informal construction sites in developing countries. The second paper in this theme, Raliile et al. (2026), highlighted the key areas of concern regarding various coping strategies used by the South African construction workforce and how they affect workers’ wellbeing. Since the construction industry relies on a healthy and active workforce, it is important to address workers’ mental health, especially at work, where they spend the majority of their time. The last paper under this theme, Adebowale and Agumba (2026), investigated sustainable building materials (SBMs) utilisation in construction operations and the potential impact they could have on labour productivity. The study concluded that while SBMs can support environmental sustainability and improve productivity, economic, social and institutional challenges hinder their effective use. There is a need for further research to address these challenges.The third group of papers addressed digitalisation and smart Construction Technologies, as a key enabler of effective SRI. Three papers focused on this issue. Ohueri et al. (2026) acknowledged that BIM methodology can be a beneficial tool to enhance the sustainable building design process. They focused on establishing the critical components of effective green BIM implementation for collaborative design within multidiscipline teams. The authors evaluated the potential of BIM methodology for successful sustainable building design collaboration. They focused on critical components for effective BIM methodology implementation. Meanwhile, Addy et al. (2026) explored the factors influencing e-procurement acceptance in the public sector of Ghana’s construction industry, using the technology acceptance model as a lens for evaluation. On the other hand, the study by Swan et al. (2024) presented results from a review of literature of remote monitoring systems for water infrastructure in the Global South. The paper highlighted some of the water monitoring technologies. In addition, they argue that the potential and need for the use of water monitoring technologies, goes beyond the Sub-Saharan Africa, but many other counties in the global south.The fourth research area focuses on sustainable and green construction practices. The first paper in this theme, by Moyo et al. (2026) identified a set of overlapping indicators that can be used to benchmark sustainable construction performance among construction organisations in a developing economy such as Zimbabwe. The study highlighted several indicators, including economic, environmental and social. Their integration facilitates prioritised implementation and promotes sustainable construction practices. The second paper, authored by Kapatsa et al. (2026), reviewed and identified sustainability assessment indicators of road infrastructure. A total of 22 indicators were reported and the study emphasised the importance of considering all three sustainability dimensions to achieve sustainable infrastructure, reinforcing the findings of Moyo et al. (2026). Arogundade et al. (2026) discussed carbon reduction drivers in the construction industry. And focused on understanding of the dynamic interrelationships between the drivers from a system perspective. They conducted a systematic reviews and meta-analyses and adopted interpretive structural modelling to analyse and prioritise the drivers. In their study, they identified eighteen drivers which they grouped into five – policy instruments, bid-related, cost and risk, education and training and reward and penalty drivers. The study contributed to the understanding of key decarbonisation drivers. The paper by Adebowale and Agumba (2026) reviewed literature to identify SBMs, their implications of on construction productivity and challenges in adopting these materials. The study demonstrates how SBMs contribute to the nexus with environmental sustainability in the built environment. The paper further highlights challenges with adopting these materials notwithstanding their relevance to the environmental sustainability of the built environment. The final paper in this theme by Li et al. (2026) developed an evaluation model for assessing the greenness of construction technologies. The study concluded that plastic formwork provides substantial environmental benefits, cost savings and reduced labour intensity, demonstrating its potential to enhance sustainability and productivity in construction.The special issue has demonstrated the need for consideration of interconnected issues required to deliver sustainable infrastructure. These issues, while in many cases have been examined in isolation, the location of papers in one issue, but addressing a diverse range of issues affecting the delivery of SRI, is a necessary platform if we are to move on from the sillored thinking. The papers demonstrate that issues affecting sustainable infrastructure delivery are multifaceted. With this in mind, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research that seeks to unravel the nexus between design, technology, engineering and management issues in SRI delivery within the social-economic-environmental context should be encouraged for future research.
Zulu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.