Sustainable Construction and Language Mediation in Advancing Environmental Sustainability in Developing Nations

Sustainable construction has emerged as a critical pathway for addressing environmental degradation in developing nations experiencing rapid urbanisation, housing deficits, and resource constraints. This paper presents a narrative integrative review and conceptual synthesis of sustainable construction practices and language mediation as complementary drivers of environmental sustainability. Drawing exclusively on a literature-based review of 45 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2013 and 2025, the study synthesises scholarship from architecture, construction studies, linguistics, and environmental communication. The review examines low-carbon construction materials, climate-responsive design strategies, and language-based processes, such as framing, discourse, and multimodal communication, that shape public perception, policy legitimacy, and social acceptance. The synthesis reveals that while eco-friendly materials such as stabilised earth blocks, bamboo, and agro-waste composites offer substantial environmental and economic benefits, their adoption is strongly mediated by linguistic framing and communicative practices. The paper contributes conceptually by demonstrating that sustainable construction operates as a socio-technical process in which technical performance and language mediation are mutually reinforcing. By positioning architects and linguists as collaborative agents, the study advances an interdisciplinary framework for promoting environmentally sustainable and socially accepted development in developing nations.