Community-Led Climate-Responsive Social Infrastructure: Reframing Low-Carbon Construction in the Global South

Abstract

The construction sector accounts for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet many low-carbon building approaches remain inaccessible in resource-constrained settings because they depend on capital-intensive technologies and formal supply chains. This study examines how community-led construction can contribute to climate-responsive infrastructure through the integration of material reuse, passive environmental design and collective action. Using a qualitative case study of the Ulwazi Educare Centre in Delft, Cape Town, the research draws on 45 semi-structured interviews, field observations, project documents and photographs to explore the environmental, social and institutional dimensions of an alternative construction approach. The findings show that discarded tyres and other locally available materials were reconfigured into durable community infrastructure through participatory construction. Participants consistently associated the building with improved thermal comfort, reduced reliance on mechanical heating and cooling, opportunities for skills development, employment and collective ownership. The study interprets these findings through the lens of post-natural building, an analytical framework that explains how climate-responsive infrastructure can emerge from the interaction of material reuse, passive environmental design, and collective labour in resource-constrained contexts. The study also identifies important constraints to the wider adoption of community-led climate-responsive infrastructure. While participants perceived environmental and social benefits, scaling such approaches depends on organisational capacity, professional expertise and institutional legitimacy. The findings are based on qualitative evidence and do not quantify thermal performance or embodied carbon, highlighting the need for complementary engineering assessments. By integrating environmental, social and institutional dimensions, the study contributes a socio-technical perspective on low-carbon construction and expands debates on climate-responsive infrastructure in the Global South.