Review and analysis of tools for the implementation and assessment of sustainable urban development (original) (raw)
Related papers
Tools for evaluating the sustainability of urban design: a review
2013
The present policy objective of sustainable urban development has created the need for methods of ex ante evaluation of local area development projects that assess the contribution of alternative solutions to the general sustainability goals. For this reason, we have seen the evolution of building energy assessment methods into sustainable neighbourhood assessment methods that are more integrative and contextual to accommodate the complexities of the urban scale. This article identifies and reviews a selection of sustainable urban development evaluation tools that are applicable to the early stages of urban design projects, to provide a clearer picture of the state of play to those needing to use such tools and those wanting to develop new ones. The review follows an analytical framework covering the format, structure, content and output of the tools, based on the recommendations of planning evaluation theory and the requirements of urban design practice. Since no single tool stands out from the review, the choice is not simple and there is scope both to further improve existing tools and develop new ones. The paper concludes proposing a strategy for the development of robust and compatible sustainable urban development evaluation methods based on four goals: collaboration, compatibility, customisation and combination.
Critical overview of urban sustainability assessment tools
2016
Sustainability assessment has been promoted by several institutions and organizations in order to encourage sustainable practices in the building sector. The scope of the first assessment tools was on buildings and building solutions. Research within this field of knowledge is already well established. But very recently, there has been a progressive development of tools aiming at broader scales such as neighborhoods, urban districts and larger urban areas. These assessment tools borrowed strategies that were used in their predecessors (aiming at the building scale) that bring some problems when assessing sustainability in urban areas. In this article, several sustainability assessment tools for urban areas were analyzed in several criteria. The analysis showed that all existing assessment tools share some issues regardless of having different approaches. It is argued that sustainability assessment tools need to evolve in the sense of becoming more similar regarding their assessment framework and scoring methods.
A critical review of environmental assessment tools for sustainable urban design
2015
Cities are responsible for the depletion of natural resources and agricultural lands, and 70% of global CO2 emissions. There are significant risks to cities fromthe impacts of climate change in addition to existing vulnerabilities, primarily because of rapid urbanization. Urban design and development are generally considered as the instrument to shape the future of the city and they determine the pattern of a city's resource usage and resilience to change, from climate or otherwise. Cities are inherently dynamic and require the participation and engagement of their diverse stakeholders for the effective management of change, which enables wider stakeholder involvement and buy-in at various stages of the development process. Sustainability assessment of urban design and development is increasingly being seen as indispensable for informed decision-making. A sustainability assessment tool also acts as a driver for the uptake of sustainable pathways by recognizing excellence through their rating systemand by creating a market demand for sustainable products and processes. This research reviews sixwidely used sustainability assessment tools for urban design and development: BREEAM Communities, LEED-ND, CASBEE-UD, SBToolPT–UP, Pearl Community Rating System(PCRS) and GSAS/QSAS, to identify, compare and contrast the aim, structure, assessment methodology, scoring, weighting and suitability for application in different geographical contexts. Strengths and weaknesses of each tool are critically discussed. The study highlights the disparity in local and international contexts for global sustainability assessment tools. Despite their similarities in aimon environmental aspects, differences exist in the relative importance and share of mandatory vs optional indicators in both environmental and social dimensions. PCRS and GSAS/QSAS are new incarnations, but have widely varying shares of mandatory indicators, at 45.4% and 11.36% respectively, compared to 30% in BREEAM Community. Considerations of economic and cultural aspects are only marginal in the reviewed sustainability assessment tools. However, the newly developed sustainability assessment tools such as GSAS/QSAS and PCRS diverge from their predecessors in their consideration of cultural aspects.
The Evolution of the Sustainability Assessment Tool : From Buildings to the Built Environment
The Scientific World Journal, 2014
This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years from the launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population's well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBTool PT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to be developed in Portugal, the SBTool PT -UP. The application of the methodology to three case studies will demonstrate its feasibility; at the same time this will identify the best practices which will serve as reference for new projects, thereby assisting the development of the tool.
Local Environment, 2006
Market transformation' of the significant urban development industry towards more sustainable practices is not moving at great pace. Design and assessment systems that may promote uptake of more sustainable urban design and development are reviewed briefly followed by a comparison between building and neighbourhood scales. For the latter there is a dearth of design and assessment tools for the residential built environment and of indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable development. Local authorities increasingly require an integrated approach to data collection and inclusion of infrastructure service providers in design, assessment and monitoring of urban development and associated environmental effects.
Urban Sustainability Audits and Ratings of the Built Environment
Energies, 2019
Buildings and the built environment in cities are seen as both a source of, and solution to, today’s economic, environmental and social challenges. The audit process to collect data and rate their sustainability levels is a demanding process given the complexity of the issues involved. Stakeholders often lack advanced knowledge on the sustainability issues involved, access to practical tools that match the local priorities and the overall resources to diagnose and evaluate the current state, analyse, assess and rank different scenarios, and monitor implementation and progress towards meeting sustainable development goals and local priorities. A new multicriteria European built environment assessment method that is supported by practical tools was developed in a transnational collaborative effort to support the assessment, planning, monitoring and overall decision-making process for rating the sustainability at the building or neighbourhood scale. The assessment system addresses the ...
Briefing: Holistic assessment of sustainable urban development
Proceedings of the ICE - Urban Design and Planning, 2010
Introducing the SUE-MoT (metrics, models and toolkits for whole-life sustainable urban development) series, this paper highlights some of the barriers that need to be addressed if the vision for holistic assessment is to be realised. The complexities of sustainability assessment raised in this paper will be further discussed in detail in the SUE-MoT series of papers that will be published in forthcoming issues of this journal. This paper highlights the priorities to address when assessment tools are presented to decision makers of urban development projects. This discussion is limited to the issues, values and solutions in the UK context.
2014
This paper analyses the current trends in sustainability assessment. After about 15 years fromthe launch of sustainability assessment tools, focused on buildings evaluation, the paradigm of sustainability assessment tools is changing from the building scale to the built environment scale. Currently European cities and cities around the world are concerned with sustainable development, as well as its evolution. Cities seek a way to adapt to contemporary changes, in order to meet the required needs and ensure population’s well-being. Considering this, the new generations of sustainability assessment tools are being developed to be used to guide and help cities and urban areas to become more sustainable. Following the trend of the most important sustainability assessment tools, the sustainability assessment tool SBToolPT is also developing its version for assessing the sustainability of the built environment, namely, the urban planning projects and the urban regeneration projects, to b...
Environment Design Guide: A summary of urban assessment tools for application in Australia
With increasing world population, urbanization, and climatic changes impacting liveability there is a growing awareness of the urgent need for more sustainable and ecological approaches to urban settlements, city planning and infrastructure. This has led to the evolution of urban assessment tools that are visionary, holistic and designed to address complex issues facing global communities and cities today. This paper provides an overview of international urban rating tools developed to assist with the regeneration of existing and new sustainable communities and cities, particularly those supported for use in Australia. The article covers the structure, themes and output of the tools, as well as the use and uptake in Australia. The summary is designed to provide awareness of the range of urban assessment tools available for use in Australia and to assist in an appropriate selection.