Browsing by Author "Salheen, Mohamed A."

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Open Access
Factors affecting the social acceptance of agricultural and solar energy systems : the case of new cities in Egypt
(2024) Marzouk, Mai A.; Fischer, Leonie K.; Salheen, Mohamed A.
Can the building sector become productive and, in parallel, help create livable spaces? Agricultural and solar energy systems can contribute to the building sector’s transformation; however, research on these systems has mostly focused on technological development and achieved gains, while overlooking a key driver of success, which is social acceptance. Only recently has the discussion on social acceptance of the systems gained momentum revealing that their adoption, especially in residential sectors, is bound to end users. Therefore, using a quantitative, survey-based, case study approach, we investigated what influences the social acceptance of end users, i.e., the residents of residential buildings in Egyptian new cities. Based on UTAUT - a Technology Acceptance theory - seven underlying factors were tackled using a statistical contingency analysis (SPSS, n = 274) to test their association with (a) social acceptance of agricultural and solar energy systems and (b) the sociocultural background of the residents. Results revealed that social acceptance of the systems was associated with factors like the expected effort for implementation, concerns and anxieties about the systems, external supporting conditions, and social influences – while surprisingly, it was not associated with the expected performance of the systems, their perceived costs, and the need for financial support. Most studied factors showed associations with the sociocultural aspects, except for the expected effort and perceived cost of solar systems and financial facilitations of both systems, which proved to be completely independent of the sociocultural background of the residents. The conducted analysis and concluded insights about the underlying factors behind social acceptance have not been previously covered in detail for the two systems in comparison, especially for the case of new Egyptian residences. The study findings can support relevant stakeholders such as policymakers, suppliers, engineers, etc. in triggering the social acceptance of the systems in Egypt and contexts of similar settings.
Open Access
Functionalizing building envelopes for greening and solar energy : between theory and the practice in Egypt
(2022) Marzouk, Mai A.; Salheen, Mohamed A.; Fischer, Leonie K.
The building sector is one of the most resource-intensive industries. In Egypt, buildings consume 60% of electricity, produce 8% of CO2 emissions, and anthropize agricultural land, peri-urban and urban landscapes. To compensate for these consumption patterns, building envelopes can become productive in terms of greening and energy production. This encompasses the implementation of productive building systems that include (a) greening systems such as building-integrated vegetation and agriculture systems and (b) solar energy systems such as building-applied and integrated photovoltaics. For Egypt, the transformation toward more productive buildings still lacks a holistic understanding of their status and implementation requirements. This paper undergoes a comprehensive analysis of the two systems’ classifications, benefits, challenges, and implementation aspects based on a thorough assessment of 121 studies and 20 reports addressing them. This is coupled with a contextual analysis using questionnaires (n = 35) and semi-structured interviews (n = 13) with Egyptian experts and suppliers. Results showed that a large variety of systems is studied in literature and exists in the local market. Among the most purchased productive building systems in the Egyptian market, according to experts, are hydroponics (selected by 75% of respondents), planter boxes/pots (50%), roof-mounted photovoltaic panels (95%), and solar water heaters (55%). The main benefits of greening and solar energy systems are identified as enjoying the greenery view (95%) and reducing energy expenses (100%), respectively. The high initial cost was considered the main barrier for both systems. Multiple commonalities between the two systems in terms of spatial and environmental applicability aspects (e.g., accessibility and safety, net useable area, sun exposure, wind exposure) and environmental performance aspects (e.g., energy demand and emissions reduction, heat flow reduction) were identified. Lastly, we highlight the importance of analyzing integrated solutions that make use of the identified synergies between the systems and maximize the production potentials.
Open Access
Perceptions of building-integrated nature-based solutions by suppliers versus consumers in Egypt
(2024) Marzouk, Mai A.; Salheen, Mohamed A.; Fischer, Leonie K.
Can Building-Integrated Nature-based Solutions (BI-NbS) reach their full potential in the Global South? In the Egyptian context, BI-NbS are relatively new with an identified gap between the high potential in theory and low implementation rates in practice. To bridge this gap, the study conducts an in-depth investigation of BI-NbS market conditions to reveal the current trends in the residential buildings market in Egypt. It also identifies the gaps and overlaps in the perceptions of the suppliers and consumers of BI-NbS. Results reveal that the residential sector sales mainly target high-income groups yet very limited and dominated by rooftop systems. Suppliers advocate for high-tech systems over low-tech systems, whereas consumers prefer the latter. The perceptions of suppliers and consumers mostly align regarding the basic aspects such as the production and operation preferences as well as the anxieties and concerns about the relatively new BI-NbS in this regional context. However, they diverge in key aspects affecting market penetration such as implementation conditions, aims, and barriers. Accordingly, the study identified the gap between suppliers and consumers, and outlined recommendations, directed to suppliers and policymakers, for improved market development and local implementation of BI-NbS in emerging markets of the Global South, such as Egypt.
Open Access
Towards sustainable urbanization in new cities : social acceptance and preferences of agricultural and solar energy systems
(2024) Marzouk, Mai A.; Salheen, Mohamed A.; Fischer, Leonie K.
Social acceptance of end users is indispensable for the implementation of agricultural and solar energy systems to create a more sustainable and productive residential building sector. Thus, the main aim of this study is to investigate the social acceptance level of the two systems and the implementation preferences of Egyptian end users, i.e., residents, in relation to their different sociocultural backgrounds. Given that most of the construction in Egypt is taking place in new cities, the acceptance of such systems strongly relates to societal implications for urban sustainability. An online survey was therefore disseminated to the residents of new cities in the Greater Cairo Region in Egypt (n = 274). A contingency analysis was conducted using the SPSS tool, calculating the Chisquared and Fisher tests to identify significant associations between the variables. Results indicated a high level of social acceptance of both the agricultural (71 %) and solar energy (64 %) systems. The attitude of residents towards the systems and their experience using them were the variables exhibiting the highest association with social acceptance of agricultural systems (p < 0.001 for attitude and experience) and solar energy systems (p = 0.04 for attitude and p = 0.002 for experience). The most preferred system types were the horizontal planters on hand railings and roof-mounted photovoltaics. Responses showed that production was the main aim for agricultural systems, while economic returns were the main aim for solar systems. However, both systems faced the same barriers, especially in relation to economic barriers. Out of the 12 sociocultural variables tested, respondents’ age had the most significant impact on the implementation preferences of both systems followed by gender, residence type, and access to shared facilities. Our study addressed a knowledge gap by comparing the two systems to identify the common or different reasons behind the disparity between their high theoretical potential versus low on-ground implementation. Future research could investigate other underlying factors behind social acceptance beyond the analyzed sociocultural aspects and tackle the types of each system in detail.