Neighborhood Scale Research Articles

Do Vibrant Places Promote Active Living? Analyzing Local Vibrancy, Running Activity, and Real Estate Prices in Beijing

Although extensive research has investigated urban vibrancy as a critical indicator for spatial planning, urban design, and economic development, the unclear relationship between local vibrancy and active living needs to be clarified and requires more in-depth analysis. This study localizes urban vibrancy at both hyper-local and neighborhood scales by integrating high-resolution, large-scale, and heterogeneous urban datasets and analyzing interactions among variables representing vibrancy's environmental, economic, and social aspects. We utilize publicly available urban open data, Points of Interest requested from API, and leisure running trajectories acquired through data mining to investigate the spatial distribution of various vibrancy indicators and how they interact with physical activity at the local scale. Based on these variables, we then construct linear regression models and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to test and estimate how local vibrancy and physical activity relate to residential real estate characteristics. The results reveal the strong impact of urban form on local vibrancy but not physical activeness. At the neighborhood level, all vibrancy factors are statistically significant to local residential real estate prices but with different interactions based on location. Our study highlights the importance of accounting for locality and different physical, environmental, social, and economic factors when analyzing and interpreting urban vibrancy at a granular scale within a city.

A Neighborhood-Based Urban Water Carrying Capacity Assessment: Analysis of the Relationship between Spatial-Demographic Factors and Water Consumption Patterns in Tehran, Iran

The upward trajectory of urbanization, coupled with the ever-growing demand for more water resources, has led to increased pressure on limited water resources, particularly in cities with dry climates such as Tehran. Since the balance of Tehran’s water ecosystems has been disturbed, and the quality and quantity of water resources have been affected in recent years, conducting an assessment of water environment carrying capacity (WECC) seemed vital for this city. WECC was used as the basis of water supply sustainability evaluation concerning Tehran’s land use and demographic characteristics on a neighborhood scale. Therefore, the effect size and correlation of 12 types of land use and six variables derived from the literature with water consumption patterns were examined in warm and cold seasons. The results show that land use, population density, percentage of deteriorated area, percentage of buildings over 30 years old, residential–commercial land use, and green spaces correlate significantly with water consumption. The percentage of deteriorated areas and buildings over 30 years old has a negative, and the rest has a positive impact on water consumption. It is also recommended to use the research findings to improve Tehran’s water environment carrying capacity and apply the proposed evaluation procedure to other cities. The results of this research can be used in planning large and densely populated cities with a neighborhood-oriented approach, in which local institutions play an essential role in attracting people’s participation and inclusive urban planning.

Supporting sustainability projects at neighbourhood scale: Green visions for the San Salvario district in Turin guided by a combined assessment framework

A resilient city includes multiple energy carriers, high-efficiency infrastructure, lower resource demand to decarbonize and sustain the urban system in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the various recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve these goals, a key role is played by all urban sectors, which can reduce environmental impacts and accelerate the green transition at larger scale. Intervening on a district scale obviously requires the evaluation of different aspects, taking into account both economic and non-economic criteria, as well as different points of view, involving all stakeholders. This paper proposes a multi-step evaluation procedure that extends the European manual-based Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to include the extra-economic benefits and the stakeholders’ opinion in the evaluation, according to the COmpoSIte Model for Assessment (COSIMA) method. This is the first application of COSIMA in the urban design sectors (i.e. buildings, water, public lighting, transportation and waste management) where different sustainable measures for a real case study located in Turin (Italy) were compared to define the most suitable transformation scenario according to multiple criteria. The results have shown how invasive scenarios allow achieving the greatest benefits, despite the huge initial costs of realization.

Trajectory big data reveals spatial disparity of healthcare accessibility at the residential neighborhood scale

Quantifying spatial disparities of accessibility to basic services is fundamentally important for achieving the SDGs goal of universal access to these services. Trajectory big data shows great potential to address such disparities, but we know little about its efficacy. Here, taking patients from residential neighborhoods to healthcare in Beijing, China, as an example, we tested the efficacy of applying taxi data on the patients' travel behavior and thereby the potential of measuring accessibility at the residential neighborhood scale. Our results showed that the taxi data quantified a decreased healthcare-seeking behavior with increased distance from hospitals and identified hospitals' catchment areas. Meanwhile, the exponential function provided a more accurate estimation of the decay distance of patients to healthcare than the Gaussian and Power functions. Additionally, results showed that using taxi data had great potential to quantify the accessibility to hospitals, and more importantly, to reveal the spatial disparity of accessibility at a finer scale than blocks or subdistricts. The approach developed in this study can improve our understanding of accessibility and its spatial disparity and provide fundamental data for the increasing interest in the 15-min community life circle planning worldwide, and to address local healthcare inequality.

Rethinking greening the building façade under extreme climate: Attributes consideration for typo-morphological green envelope retrofit

• There is a need for a systematic approach to greening the built habitat. • Concepts co-relating health and green infrastructure are included in the framework. • We developed a systemic dimensional thinking for green-health-wellbeing in community. • The criteria comprise within the environment-social factors. • The systemic framework can be used for urban planning and assessment. Overpopulated cities have practiced trading available land for the necessary livelihood resources, depleting accessible green assets in the densely developed urban habitat. Facing climate change as a risk multiplier, cities must reckon for alternative mitigation strategies. This study ascertains that green has proven to increase one's psychological well-being, it is also one of the most important factors to intercede the effects of air pollution and temperature. For communities necessitating viable green resources, the addition of vertical greening retrofit on building façade can satisfy the need as an intermediary media to engage meaningful interaction with the urban green-scape. Thus, proper urban planning must re-think how to incorporate these measures for public health consideration. The assessment of these criteria is important to accomplish the planning of vertical green to enhance the residents’ well-being state. A central focus is placed on the benefits to health and wellbeing and the increase in physical activity and social interaction at the neighborhood scale. This article presents the systemic analysis to vertical green-scape attainment in central Taipei, allowing the locality and place to be incorporated into the exploration framework. The case studies presented in this paper focuses on analytical exploration of vertical green-scape attainment framework with the sub-tropic Taipei in mind. The attributes assessment framework is established; the research concludes that: (1) in line with human-nature connection and raising its priority level within both design research and design practice should consider the environmental, social, economic and spatial criteria for the design thinking exploration; (2) the analysis confirmed that desired green-scape could be attained either indoor or outdoor, with tissue, support, and infill attributes as a probable solution suited for the locality; (3) integration with urban context is highly capable in encouraging the social well-being for the urban system.

Blue-Green Infrastructure: An Opportunity for New Natural Heritage in Zwolle


 
 
 Living with water is an essential part of the cultural heritage of the city of Zwolle, NL. The historic development of the city within its water systems has been recognized as an inspiration for climate adaptation. In July 2019, the city of Zwolle presented its Adaptation Strategy. Building on its water heritage, a cohesive blue-green network (city scale) in the city can develop and expand, with room for urban sponges (neighborhood scale) that will combat heat stress. This will create a new natural heritage that is recognized and supported by the community. In this plan, various components are interconnected and will strengthen the blue-green network as the physical basis of an adaptation strategy to make Zwolle and its surroundings climate proof and adaptive. Zwolle’s blue-green transformation aims at achieving SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” and has the potential to fulfill targets regarding climate action (SDG13), the protection of water quality (SDG 6) and the restoration of biodiversity (SDG 14 and 15).
 
 

City building knowledge from neighbourhoods in Asia Pacific

AbstractNeighbourhoods are places of social encounters on a daily basis, but they are getting insufficient attention from policy makers and urban studies in conceptualising the city. While the city is often the unit of analysis and boundaries of data collection, social constructions of the city are mostly from neighbourhoods. By shifting the analysis to the neighbourhood scale, we are moving scholarship and research on two fronts. First, we need to think about city building knowledge at a pedagogical and methodological level. Second, we want to examine processes and amenity creation at the neighbourhood scale and make visible the ways these add to city politics, economy, and culture. Articles in this special issue contribute to urban scholarship in the following ways: (i) neighbourhood as a method of urban studies; (ii) understanding urban politics and government; (iii) the role of urban informality and small businesses; and (iv) the role of traditional neighbourhood institutions in the social life of the city. Neighbourhoods can be poorly resourced and inward‐looking, but in many cases localised interests, relationships and organisations are capable of collective action, networking beyond their localities, and inspiring its residents with aspirations of the city's future directions.

Neighborhood scale traffic pollutant dispersion subject to different wind-buoyancy ratios: A LES case study in Singapore

This study explores the buoyancy effect on traffic pollutant dispersion at neighborhood scale, in which a wide range of wind-buoyancy ratios is examined. Pollutant dispersion is solved using a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model, where realistic urban morphology and historical traffic pollutant emission data are adopted. For no incoming wind condition, thermal plumes develop and entrain horizontal flow near ground level. This neighborhood scale buoyancy-driven flow leads to air pollutant dispersion, which is as strong as wind-driven dispersion in the target area. As a result, urban air pollutant accumulation is limited due to buoyancy, regardless of ambient wind conditions. A light incoming wind can flush upward thermal plumes downstream when the Richardson number (Ri) reaches 25.5. The interplay of the approaching wind and upward plumes from urban surfaces leads to an oscillatory flow, which intensifies local turbulence and enhances the pollutant removal rate. At the pedestrian level, the neighborhood scale average NO2 concentration due to the traffic emission ranges from 4.1μg/m3 to 4.8μg/m3. The minimum value is found for a weak incoming wind condition, (coupling with buoyancy, Ri = 25.5) and the maximum value is observed for the no incoming wind condition (Ri = ∞). The modelling result analysis clarifies how buoyancy-related dispersion, emission location, surrounding urban density, and incoming wind affect local pollutant concentrations. The research outputs highlight the importance of these coupling effects in the air pollutant dispersion evaluation in real urban areas.

A comprehensive assessment of fungal communities in various habitats from an ice-free area of maritime Antarctica: diversity, distribution, and ecological trait

BackgroundIn the ice-free area of maritime Antarctica, fungi are the essential functioning group in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Until now, no study has been conducted to comprehensively assess fungal communities in various habitats in Antarctica. We aimed to characterize fungal communities in the eleven habitats (i.e., soil, seawater, vascular plant, dung, moss, marine alga, lichen, green alga, freshwater, feather) in the Fildes Region (maritime Antarctica) using next-generation sequencing.ResultsA total of 12 known phyla, 37 known classes, 85 known orders, 164 known families, 313 known genera, and 320 known species were detected. Habitat specificity rather than habitat overlap determined the composition of fungal communities, suggesting that, although fungal communities were connected by dispersal at the local scale, the environmental filter is a key factor driving fungal assemblages in the ice-free Antarctica. Furthermore, 20 fungal guilds and 6 growth forms were detected. Many significant differences in the functional guild (e.g., lichenized, algal parasite, litter saprotroph) and growth form (e.g., yeast, filamentous mycelium, thallus photosynthetic) existed among different habitat types.ConclusionThe present study reveals the high diversity of fungal communities in the eleven ice-free Antarctic habitats and elucidates the ecological traits of fungal communities in this unique ice-free area of maritime Antarctica. The findings will help advance our understanding of fungal diversity and their ecological roles with respect to habitats on a neighbourhood scale in the ice-free area of maritime Antarctica.

Equity Study on Urban Park Accessibility Based on Improved 2SFCA Method in Zhengzhou, China

The distribution of urban parks is closely related to the opportunities of daily use by residents as well as the performance of the park system. The question as to whether parks are distributed equitably within cities is therefore becoming the focus of attention. However, only a few studies have explored a comprehensive and systematic procedure for urban park accessibility analysis and equity evaluation. In this study, by applying an improved two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method and K-means cluster analysis, based on the application of multi-source data, we provide insights into an equity study on park accessibility at the neighborhood scale and urban ring scale in the central urban area of Zhengzhou. These results suggest that the spatial access to parks in Zhengzhou is generally unevenly distributed among neighborhoods, and both the mean and standard deviation of accessibility show an increase from the center to the periphery. The cluster analysis reveals a set of four types of neighborhoods, including a high-supply medium-demand medium-accessibility type (HMM), a low-supply medium-demand low-accessibility type (LML), a high-supply low-demand high-accessibility type (HLH), and a medium-supply high-demand low-accessibility type (MHL), each with different characteristics and causes. The spatial distribution of the accessibility types exhibits both similarities and differences between the urban rings. The findings of this study could serve as a tool for identifying areas in which parks are underserved and the ways in which they differ from other areas, which can guide urban planning to address specific inequities.

Simulation framework for early design guidance of urban streets to improve outdoor thermal comfort and building energy efficiency in summer

Global warming and the urban heat island effect have led to the deterioration of the outdoor thermal environment and the rise of building cooling demand, calling for urban design with high environmental quality. However, little has been changed in the practice of urban street design. This paper bridges this gap by developing a framework of parametric simulation for design guidance of urban streets with an advanced urban canopy model that can simulate the interactive indoor-outdoor environment. Case studies are conducted at the neighborhood scale for six cities to improve outdoor thermal comfort and building energy efficiency in summer. The influence of street and building design parameters has been investigated based on 31104 simulations. Results reveal the conflict between optimizing outdoor thermal comfort and optimizing building energy efficiency. In the majority of the investigated cities, window-to-wall ratio, window type, and street orientation are the most influential parameters. Strategies by adjusting these parameters can significantly improve outdoor thermal comfort, as quantified by thermal stress hours, at a cost of increasing the building cooling load. Planting bigger and denser roadside trees always moderately reduces the thermal stress hours and building cooling load. These results demonstrate the potential of this framework to identify the design trade-offs between thermal comfort and building energy efficiency. The framework can be extended to various cities to help designers and policymakers at the early design stage.

Prescribed Fire First-Order Effects on Oak and Maple Reproduction in Frequently Burned Upland Oak–Hickory Forests of the Arkansas Ozarks

Alteration of the fire regime in upland oak–hickory (Quercus L. spp.–Carya Nutt. spp.) forests of the Central Hardwood Region is a major factor for the current shifts in species’ composition and oak recruitment and regeneration failures. The reintroduction of fire into these ecosystems requires a better understanding of fire effects on oak and co-occurring competitors. First-order (i.e., during and immediately after) fire effects on oak and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) topkill and resprouting at neighborhood scales were evaluated in frequently burned upland oak–hickory forests. A groundline threshold of 5 cm provided oaks with high (60%) survival probability (p < 0.001). White (Quercus alba L.) and post (Quercus stellata Wangenh.) oak survival odds were 21 and 14 times higher than that of red maple (p = 0.01 and 0.03), respectively. Three and twelve months after burn, oaks had three to six times more sprouts per clump than red maple. Frequent fires may continue to topkill the maples, while maintaining oak dominance in the reproduction pool and, thus, providing higher recruitment potential into the overstory. Burns with fire behavior that is very low to low in these frequently burned systems may provide greater control in favoring oaks and selecting against red maple, especially if groundline diameter thresholds are considered.

Participatory mapping to address neighborhood level data deficiencies for food security assessment in Southeastern Virginia, USA

BackgroundFood is not equitably available. Deficiencies and generalizations limit national datasets, food security assessments, and interventions. Additional neighborhood level studies are needed to develop a scalable and transferable process to complement national and internationally comparative data sets with timely, granular, nuanced data. Participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) offer a means to address these issues by digitizing local knowledge.MethodsThe objectives of this study were two-fold: (i) identify granular locations missing from food source and risk datasets and (ii) examine the relation between the spatial, socio-economic, and agency contributors to food security. Twenty-nine subject matter experts from three cities in Southeastern Virginia with backgrounds in food distribution, nutrition management, human services, and associated research engaged in a participatory mapping process.ResultsResults show that publicly available and other national datasets are not inclusive of non-traditional food sources or updated frequently enough to reflect changes associated with closures, expansion, or new programs. Almost 6 percent of food sources were missing from publicly available and national datasets. Food pantries, community gardens and fridges, farmers markets, child and adult care programs, and meals served in community centers and homeless shelters were not well represented. Over 24 km2 of participant identified need was outside United States Department of Agriculture low income, low access areas. Economic, physical, and social barriers to food security were interconnected with transportation limitations. Recommendations address an international call from development agencies, countries, and world regions for intervention methods that include systemic and generational issues with poverty, incorporate non-traditional spaces into food distribution systems, incentivize or regulate healthy food options in stores, improve educational opportunities, increase data sharing.ConclusionsLeveraging city and regional agency as appropriate to capitalize upon synergistic activities was seen as critical to achieve these goals, particularly for non-traditional partnership building. To address neighborhood scale food security needs in Southeastern Virginia, data collection and assessment should address both environment and utilization issues from consumer and producer perspectives including availability, proximity, accessibility, awareness, affordability, cooking capacity, and preference. The PGIS process utilized to facilitate information sharing about neighborhood level contributors to food insecurity and translate those contributors to intervention strategies through discussion with local subject matter experts and contextualization within larger scale food systems dynamics is transferable.

Analysis of spatially varying relationships between urban environment factors and land surface temperature in Mashhad city, Iran

Land Surface Temperature (LST), particularly for the urban environment, is a crucial indicator of urban heat emission, urban climate, global environmental change, and human-environment interactions. In the present study, the spatial distribution of the mean LST was evaluated in association with the 16 explanatory indices at the neighbourhood's level in Mashhad City, Iran. To identify the main variables contributing to the LST variations, Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models were employed to explore the spatially varying relationships and identify the model's efficiency at the neighborhood's scale. Our findings showed the five most important components contributing to LST variances, explaining 86.2 % of the variability. The most negative relationship was observed between LST and the morphological features of neighborhoods (PC3). In contrast, the landscape configuration of the green patches (PC5) exhibited the lowest negative impacts on LST changes. Moreover, road and traffic density characteristics of the neighborhoods (PC4) were the only effective components to alert the average LST positively. With R2 = 0.687, AICc = 1545.848, and Moran's I = 0.021, the results revealed that the GWR model had better efficiency than the corresponding non-spatial OLS model in terms of the goodness of fits. It suggests that the GWR model has more ability than the OLS one to predict LST intensities and characterize spatial non-stationary. Therefore, it can be applied to adapt more effective strategies in planning and designing the urban neighborhoods for mitigation of the adverse heat effects.

Editorial: Special Issue on Smart and Green Infrastructures with Optimum Life Cycle Solutions

Editorial: Special Issue on Smart and Green Infrastructures with Optimum Life Cycle Solutions

Assessing heat risk for residents of complex urban areas from an accessibility-based perspective

A heat risk assessment in complex urban areas is important to mitigate the impact of the urban heat island (UHI) and to accurately implement cooling measures. Previous studies have focused on a single 'heat source' or 'resident' oriented assessment method, with fewer assessments and lack of appropriate theoretical approaches that consider both the distribution of residents and heat core areas. This study combined a morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and a two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) model to identify UHI patches and heat cores, assessed the accessibility of residents to heat core areas at the neighbourhood scale, and constructed a new framework for assessing the heat risk from an accessibility perspective. A case study of Shenzhen City indicated that the heat core area accounted for 5.5%, 7.8%, 10%, and 7.1% of the whole study area in February, May, August, and November, respectively. The relationship between the areas with a heat risk and UHI patches, and the dominant factors for the formation of different high-risk aggregations had a high spatial heterogeneity. The differences between the accessibility-based assessment results and conventional methods were also discussed, and the heat risk in conventional assessment methods was found to be in error. The accessibility-based heat risk assessment framework can accurately identify heat core areas and high heat risk areas, and provide effective planning guidance for mitigating the negative effects of UHI.

Residents’ behavioral intention to participate in neighborhood micro-renewal based on an extended theory of planned behavior: A case study in Shanghai, China

Neighborhood micro-renewal (NMIR) plays a critical role in revitalizing old neighborhoods and urban sustainability. Public participation has attracted widespread concern to satisfy the multiple demands for social governance in China. Prior studies have underlined the promotion of communal participation, whereas collective characteristics and individual intentions of public behavior have been largely neglected. This study investigates determinants of residents' participation intention and behavior in a framework that incorporates the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the expectation-confirmation model (ECM). Based on structural equation modeling (SEM), the empirical analysis was conducted with questionnaires completed by 443 residents who dwell in a neighborhood undergoing micro-renewal. The results indicated that residents' participatory intention and behavior were predicted by subjective norms, behavioral attitudes, and perceived behavioral control. In addition, perceived usefulness positively affected behavioral intention, whereas the impact of satisfaction was not significant. Furthermore, community attachment could positively moderate the effect of intention on behavior. Accordingly, several targeted managerial implications regarding public participation in NMIR are proposed. This study extends the TPB into the practice of public involvement on a neighborhood scale and provides insightful ideas to promote residents’ participation awareness.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN FACILITIES IN NEIGHBOURHOOD OF KHULNA CITY: A CASE STUDY OF KHULNA, BANGLADESH

A sustainable neighborhood offers a distinctive physical and social reality that seems to have a profound influence mostly on the environment and the residents who live there. The main purpose of the study is to inspect the sustainable management of urban facilities in Khulna city on a neighborhood scale by considering social, economic, and environmental aspects. Moreover, this research is conducted to determine the connection between the underlying variables that contribute to the sustainability of the city. The study is conducted by using a qualitative approach. Landsat data, photographs, walkthrough analysis, and content analysis are used as analysis tools. From the outcomes, it's visible that in the case of neighborhood-scale, there are many diversities in sustainable management of urban facilities in Khulna city. It is identified that from the selected seven neighborhoods, mostly planned, higher and middle-income groups of neighborhoods (Sonadanga, Babukhan Road) are close to fulfilling sustainability principles. However, these neighborhoods also have many challenges. In contrast, unplanned and lower-income groups of neighborhoods (Lobonchora, Joragate, Khalishpur, Gollamari, Musolman Para) are completely detached from the characteristics of neighborhood sustainability. The challenges to achieving sustainability in different neighborhoods are highlighted in this study, and recommendations are suggested relevant to these issues. The results can provide a new view of the field of sustainable development and act as a benchmark for other studies. Policymakers and planners may apply this as a source of urban planning and urban management to achieve the goals of sustainable development.

Extremes of mixed-use architecture: a spatial analysis of vertical functional mix in Dhaka

The concept of mixed-use is now well-established as an urban design and planning principle that adds to the vitality, walkability and productivity of the city at neighbourhood scale. There is much less research on the dense and complex vertical mix of functions within buildings. This paper investigates the extremes of informal vertical mixing of functions within buildings in Dhaka, where commercial and retail functions often penetrate to upper floors and where access routes are often mixed with residential functions. A modified form of space syntax analysis is used to analyse and critique the mix of circulation patterns and functions in 15 complex mixed-use buildings. The plans and relational diagrams reveal how different functions are mixed or separated, and the relative spatial depth they penetrate from the street. Five primary circulation diagrams emerge with different degrees of informality in different districts of the city. Under conditions of informal adaptation, vertical functional mix produces benefits in the form of synergies but also problems of privacy and security. To engage effectively planners need a complex understanding of the interrelated spatial, social and economic logics involved.

Adoption of Green Neighbourhood Development: A Case of Affordable Housing Projects

The Kenyan government identified low-cost housing as one of four top priorities and aimed to add 500 000 affordable homes. The ability of affordable housing projects to continue, remain sustainable, and be effective is one of the most crucial hurdles. Expanding the boundaries of assessment to the neighbourhood scale in Kenya means that not only the single buildings but also spaces between them, services that are provided, humans and other organisms that are living there, and the synergies between this broad range of elements and activities have to be considered in the assessment process. This study examined in detail the provision of low-cost housing within the LEED-ND rating system as a platform for having a rating system that focuses on sustainable low-cost housing. The study adopted a survey research design and made use of both qualitative and quantitative modes of investigation to examine the green building practice in Kenya. The proposed park road Ngara project entailed the construction of six blocks four of them housing one two and three-bedroom units, one block housing a parking silo, and another housing a kindergarten and other auxiliary facilities. The study’s target population comprises park road low-cost housing units of the big four agenda by the government. Analysis was undertaken to generate a descriptive picture of the data gathered. The study concludes that the process used to produce an implementation tool can be just as crucial to the success of the tool itself as the tool itself is to the success of the process. The high cost of certification and the labour-intensive complexity of certifying development projects which frequently encompassed a large number of buildings and were finished over several years had two primary issues established, the first being that green neighbourhood assessment systems that are utilised frequently were called LEED-ND. Secondly, the green neighbourhood assessment was another popular technique that was utilised to assist in the decision-making process. The results of the study indicate that LEED-ND is currently the standard that the industry has adopted as a benchmark for environmentally responsible neighbourhood development everywhere in the world. The study recommends that LEED-ND incorporate a post-occupancy evaluation to determine the level of satisfaction felt by residents and transition from a prescriptive-based system to a performance-based one.