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Through a consultative process with stakeholders and the CSIR Built Environment Research Advisory Panel, this CSIR unit's research agenda has been focused on a number of key projects, including the following:
- Advanced road pavement design platform: A research programme to improve the performance of South Africa's road networks by developing a new, advanced road pavement design platform addressing materials design, road pavement structural design as well as accelerated pavement testing
- Improving service delivery in urban systems: A project aimed at enhancing service delivery in urban systems by bringing together a trans-disciplinary, cross-institutional team and a package of tools and methodologies in a numerical modelling and simulation capability that looks at cities and regions as complex, socio-ecological systems
- Science for new technologies in construction: Development of an advanced construction technology platform to solve the science-based problems impeding the take-up of new technologies in the construction sector, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of these technologies in enhancing construction performance
- Intelligent systems for high-performance transport systems: Developing intelligent systems and supporting skills, capabilities and products that will facilitate delivery of a high-performance transport system
- Sound ports operations: Development of a technology platform to enhance the sustainable planning and development of South Africa's ports and their safe, efficient and environmentally sound operation
- Energy for rural development: A project to support rural socio-economic development through the provision of safe, affordable and clean forms of energy, while also ensuring the efficient use of energy
- Identifying optimal locations for additional offices for the Department of Home Affairs
- Country-wide housing location: Contributing to the development of the Housing Atlas 2005, the second in a planned series that aims to provide a spatial interpretation of current policy as it relates to human settlement and housing locality at the national scale
- Evaluating thin concrete pavements as a pavement rehabilitation option
- Preparing sustainable development guidelines for the Commonwealth Association of Architects
- Architectural research into complex structures, innovation and modelling (ARCSIM), aimed at developing scientifically proven resources, guidelines and tools to address the architectural challenges currently facing designers and managers of infrastructure projects in South Africa
- Introducing self-regulation to South Africa's heavy vehicle transport industry, with the aim of reducing overloading practice and improving road safety
- Publishing the second State of Logistics Survey for South Africa, which addresses macro-economic issues as well as supply chain challenges and innovations of the chemicals, processed foods and logistics service provider industries.
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