Sustainability of stone materials in the built environment of rural regions: a review

Abstract

Stones has been used from pre-historical times with different purposes and this historical use can be seen as an extended record of its sustainability, regarding extraction procedures and consequences, uses in building and maintenance to overcome decay. We discuss in this paper conceptual considerations on the sustainability of local use of rocks in a small scale (what will be assumed to define a “rural” scope), covering both in situ uses, mostly as cave housing, and extracted materials for creation of structures. Our discussion will develop around two main axes: resources consumption (including the rocks themselves and rock wastes resulting from other activities) and pollution impacts (on the surrounding environment and in the users of the rock structures). It will be seen that the main concerns will be related to specific spots wi th enhanced environmental or cultural value (where small changes can have enormous impacts). Other issues have minimal impact or can be dealt by design options. We consider also possible positive impacts resulting from the use of rock materials, namely in the social and economic components, including the use of rock wastes as resources and the touristic potential of rock quarries, structures and human-made landscapes.