Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Research Articles

Sustainable Urban Design Model for Residential Neighborhoods Utilizing Sustainability Assessment-Based Approach

The sustainable urban design of residential neighborhoods plays an important role in the efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals and alleviate the effects of climate change. This paper aims to develop a model for the sustainable urban design of residential neighborhoods, taking into account the local condition in Palestinian territories. This model is built on various international neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) tools, based on the review of existing assessment tools, to study the sustainability status of Palestinian neighborhoods, and to develop a sustainable indicator model for local sustainable neighborhood assessment. Computer tools like Urbano and GIS tools as well as qualitative assessment methods are used. Results from the case study showed that the satisfaction of the preferred location indicator was not sufficient to maintain its sustainability. The assessment of measured indicators found that weaknesses were almost double the count of the satisfactory indicator. Moreover, some indicators from the (NSA) tools were partially or completely met, and some gaps appeared because of the lack of strengths in the selected indicators of the international tools when used for local social, ecological and governmental aspects, and there are issues in the inclusion of economic and environmental elements in current urban configurations. The proposed local model offers valuable insights for local governments, municipalities, and construction developers.

Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment Tools for Sustainable Cities and Communities, a Literature Review—New Trends for New Requirements

The aim of this documentary review was to determine the level of scientific production on environmental analysis tools and certifications for sustainable cities and communities, or “Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment Tools”, worldwide between the years 2016 and 2023, considering as a precedent the appearance of the SDG 2030 and SDG 11. The analysis developed in this work was carried out based on WoS, Scopus and ScienceDirect. The eligibility of the results of 685 potential articles, in addition to complementary articles, was evaluated, leading to 27 selected reviews. Our analysis revealed the main and most recent results post implementation of sustainability measures, identifying limitations, success factors, trends and forecasts for the future selection, development or improvement of evaluation tools for the sustainability of human sites and describing strategies specific to local realities, which are valid from a global point of view but include the particularities of distinct communities in specific places.

Spatial neighborhood sustainability assessment for urban planning, Cuenca, Ecuador

The accelerated processes of urbanization produce an explosive occupation of the land, creating scattered cities, with great demands for infrastructure and high consumption of raw materials and energy, affecting natural territories and increasing the emission of pollutants. The city of Cuenca-Ecuador as well as several Latin American cities are not strangers to this problem, as it reflects a dispersed growth towards the peripheries that have caused an expansion of the urban landscape. The above situation requires sustainable planning, which contributes to decision-making to identify what measures are needed to regulate the growth of the city. Accordingly, the present research proposes combining the set of indicators of the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment tool with the spatial analysis of GIS, so that the sustainability assessment can be extended at the city level to support urban planning in Cuenca. For this purpose, a 3-step methodology was proposed: selection of sustainable indicators, evaluation of sustainable performance, and design of a model that integrates SIG+NSA, which allowed incorporating spatial analysis in the sustainable assessment of neighborhoods, by designing a model adapted to Cuenca. This model consists of 15 variables, 12 indicators, and 4 evaluation categories, which result in the sustainable performance level of 149 planning sectors. The developed model makes it possible to automate the analysis processes and generate a complement to the ArcGIS geoprocessing tools for evaluating urban sustainability, as a support tool for planners and decision-makers in city planning processes.

Comparative analysis of ten Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tools offering integrated criteria for urban development

ABSTRACT Aligned with the recent trend of climate change mitigation and adaptation to rapid urbanization, sustainable urban development is crucial for creating resilient communities. Various international green building councils have developed Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tools that played an effective role in the urban growth of neighborhoods. However, there is no current NSA tool that includes all the categories required to achieve sustainability. Therefore, ten NSA tools were selected, analyzed, and compared. For an applicable comparative analysis, re-categorization and unifying processes of the selected NSA tools were performed. As a result, new integrated criteria were developed including seven main categories offering a valuable resource for evaluating neighborhood sustainability. The results also revealed that WELL Community V2 Q4, Fitwel CM V2.1, and BREEAM-CM V2012 tools demonstrate the highest efficiency by possessing six out of the seven integrated categories. The other NSA tools need to be improved with regard to the dimensions of sustainability. Furthermore, it was noted that all the selected NSA tools give major attention to the environmental conditions and facilities; however, other aspects such as the social, economic, and institutional features are being ignored. To sum up, the study proposes a novel approach that addresses these shortcomings by providing a more comprehensive framework that aims to support policy development and improve the effectiveness of neighborhood sustainability assessments.

Conceptualising the characteristics of the indicators of a neighbourhood sustainability assessment framework in a developing country context

Sustainability Indicators (SIs) emerged to monitor progress towards sustainable development which has led to the development of large quantity of indicators locally at the various scales of spatial development. This paper utilizes 23 SIs that were distilled in engagement with both residents and institutional stakeholders responsible for neighbourhood delivery in metropolitan Lagos. The aim is to conceptualise how these indicators can be characterised in terms of their attributes in a way they can be compared with indicators developed in other contexts. Drawing extensively from literature on how indicators can be described, the 23 indicators were characterised based on their typology in an assessment framework, weight, and ranking, and balance (i.e. contextual, procedural, and integrational). Findings showed that while there are some similarities in the characteristics of the indicators when compared to existing Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment Frameworks (NSAFs), there are areas of differences which are primarily driven by contextual factors. As major area of contribution, this article could serve as a starting point, and basis for comparison with indicators developed in other African cities with similar contextual factors and sustainability challenges. This paper contributes significantly to the argument that SIs are context-specific and transference of sustainability solutions may be quite challenging.

Measuring spatial configurations for spatial neighborhood sustainability assessment

Measuring spatial configurations for spatial neighborhood sustainability assessment

Including local actors' perspective in neighborhood sustainability assessment: evidence from Dubai's sustainable city

PurposeExisting Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tools such as “Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design - Neighborhood Development” (LEED-ND) and “Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method” (BREEAM Communities) are widely criticized for a lack of transparency in the selection of indicators and an unbalanced focus on specific sustainability dimensions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper asks how the expectations and use values of the professionals and residents involved in developing, designing, managing and living in a sustainable neighborhood can shape sustainability indicators that affect progress towards project goals. Taking as its focus The Sustainable City (TSC), a neighborhood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the paper develops data from in-depth, go-along interviews with 46 different actors.FindingsFindings indicate that when given the opportunity to express their opinion, many actors will prioritize metrics different than the metrics dictated to the by sustainability experts and international rating systems. The findings suggest that NSA tools should place greater emphasis on local factors, public engagement and operational concerns.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a method that any community can replicate to better understand the different use values of local actors and establish its own NSA tool. This can help experts learn how design, management and operational decisions interact to impact different dimensions of performance.Originality/valueThis paper recognizes sustainable neighborhoods as spaces with multiple identities. Hence, the indicators used to evaluate these neighborhoods need to be based on the expectations and use values of different actors. This paper proposes using the priorities of different local actors to reshape how these neighborhoods are assessed.

Comparative Analysis of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Systems from the USA (LEED–ND), Germany (DGNB–UD), and India (GRIHA–LD)

Neighborhood sustainability assessment systems support the planning of sustainable and resilient cities. This research analyses, compares, and evaluates three neighborhood sustainability assessment systems (NSA) of (i) the German Sustainable Building Council for Urban Districts (DGNB–UD), (ii) the USA Leadership in energy and environmental design for Neighborhood Development (LEED–ND), and (iii) the Indian Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment for Large Developments (GRIHA–LD). The theoretical background, certification types, process, and evaluation methods of the three NSAs are discussed. The qualitative and quantitative comparative analysis and evaluation methods of the NSAs included identifying and assessing ten weighted essential urban sustainability themes. Indicators under each theme were identified and compared in the NSAs. The comparison showed the importance of particular themes based on assigned weights. LEED–ND focuses on “transportation” and “site planning”, while DGNB–UD addresses all dimensions of sustainability in a balanced manner. GRIHA–LD has limitations concerning social, economic, and governance concerns. The research results define differences and similarities in international neighborhood sustainability assessment and illustrate the quality and quantity differences of sustainability and resilience aspects addressed by the three existing NSA systems as a starting basis for the future improvement of existing and development of new land sustainability and resilience assessment systems.

Global South research priorities for neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools

PurposeSeveral initiatives have taken part in the sustainability assessment tools, especially on the neighbourhood scale. These tools have been developed as neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools (NSATs) in global and local settings. Despite the widespread use of NSATs over the last two decades, research on NSATs in Global South cities is currently limited. This review article synthesizes literature themes and provides research priorities for NSATs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a systematic review of 48 research articles on NSATs in cities of the Global South, conducted and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A thematic synthesis of 18 articles was reviewed using content analysis to provide a thematic classification and research priorities that outline approaches and actions for implementation.FindingsThe results revealed five themes of NSATs for research tackling cities in the Global South, with one dominant theme related to case study-based frameworks and tools. The findings indicate a high level of affiliation contribution and research content focus within the Asian continent compared to the African continent and MENA region.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the bibliometric analysis of where the current body of research stands in NSATs. The added value highlights research priorities based on themes, spatial regions and tools.

Measuring the sustainability of neighborhoods: A systematic literature review

Neighborhoods have received worldwide interest in sustainability assessment due to their suitable scale for representing the relationship between the individual and the city. Consequently, this has led to a focus on developing neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) systems and, thereby, studying the prominent NSA tools. Alternatively, this study aims to uncover formative concepts shaping the assessment of sustainable neighborhoods based on a systematic review of the empirical work by researchers. The study included a Scopus database search for papers measuring neighborhood sustainability and a literature review of 64 journal articles published between 2019 and 2021. Our results suggest thatcriteria related to sustainable form and morphology are the most widely measured criteria in the reviewed papers, interconnected with multiple aspects of neighborhood sustainability. The paper contributes to expanding the existing knowledge on neighborhood sustainability evaluation, further adding to the literature on designing sustainable cities and communities and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11.

A Future-Proof Built Environment through Regenerative and Circular Lenses—Delphi Approach for Criteria Selection

Despite the increasing use of neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools (NSAT), their linear approach may be insufficient to tackle the global and local social and ecological challenges. The circular economy (CE) has recently emerged as a new pathway, adopted by corporations and public organisations. Understanding how to apply CE to existing communities, while addressing some of its shortcomings, particularly the strong focus on resource management, is the main goal of this paper. Building upon a Regenerative Circularity for the Built Environment (RC4BE) conceptual model that merges circular economy and regenerative design concepts, a framework with criteria for its implementation in the transition of existing urban areas is proposed. A preliminary framework structure with criteria mapped from literature is proposed and validated through a 2-round Delphi consultation with 31 international experts. The final framework, with 136 criteria, addresses some of the identified gaps and different urban cycles related to physical resources, ecosystems, liveability, infrastructure, governance, participation, local economy, and other socioeconomic aspects of urban communities. This expanded take on CE should be useful for built environment professionals and other urban stakeholders interested in regenerating their communities and precincts by going beyond current green approaches and existing tools to effectively generate positive impact for people and the planet.

Inquiry on Perceptions and Practices of Built Environment Professionals Regarding Regenerative and Circular Approaches

The circular economy and regenerative design approaches, although still emerging in the built environment, are important pathways to move away from the degenerative business-as-usual practices in the sector. In this paper, we investigate the perception, awareness, and practices of built environment professionals regarding the adoption of a combined regenerative circularity approach for buildings and cities, and if current practices and ‘neighbourhood sustainability assessment’ (NSA) tools should be improved and how. The inquiry was conducted using a convergent mixed methods approach with professionals from around the globe through: (a) online questionnaires which collected 146 responses, and (b) 18 semi-structured interviews which delved further into relevant aspects of the survey. Quantitative and qualitative responses were coded, grouped, and analysed. Results indicate an average awareness of topics with large space for improvement of practices. The main pathways for improvement for NSA tools include performance requirements, aspects of flexibility and adaptability, and engagement and communication, to which are added opportunities and enablers to improve the sector. The authors hope that this study will contribute towards the improvement and design of better tools and practices to support the implementation of regenerative circularity in the built environment sector.

Systematic review of critical success factors for developing an Afro-centric neighbourhood sustainability assessment framework

Cities across South Africa are predominantly characterised by multiple forms of poverty, growing inequality, environmental degradation, slums and informal settlements, social and economic exclusion, and spatial segregation. These challenges present significant hurdles in planning for and coping with rapid population growth, urbanisation and protecting communities against natural and human-made disasters. This project aims to address the lack of local neighbourhood sustainability assessment (NSA) frameworks to improve the inclusivity, sustainability and connectivity of communities in South Africa. The existing NSA tools promote a specific type of urban development that effectively excludes marginalised communities and is not entirely suited to South African communities’ economic, socio-cultural, and environmental context. To achieve this, seven major assessment tools across the global North and South are selected and scrutinised using content analysis to identify and catalogue the critical success factors (CSFs) for enabling inclusive, smart, sustainable communities in South Africa using existing knowledge on neighbourhood assessment tools and relevant literature. The result is a proposed structure of four categories and 86 CSFs for the Afro-centric NSA framework that can address the challenges encountered in South African marginalised communities.

Ecologizing planning policies and practices in France: Insights from peri-urban and rural EcoQuartier certified neighborhoods

This article explores how the French State and rural and periurban municipalities ecologize their planning policies and practices at the neighborhood scale. It more specifically uses the EcoQuartier rating tool as a means to analyze the ecologization dynamics at play in peri-urban and rural territories, drawing attention to the strategies used by municipalities to develop eco-neighborhoods. First, the article discusses the concept of ecologization in French planning. It then moves on by 1) investigating 285 certified sustainable neighborhoods using quantitative methods, and 2) qualitatively examining 30 peri-urban and rural eco-neighborhoods, in order to establish a typology of ecologization processes. The final section combines these theoretical and empirical approaches to discuss what ecologization entails for peri-urban and rural municipalities in France. While the previous literature on neighborhood sustainability assessment mainly established the distinction between urban and non-urban eco-neighborhoods, this article demonstrates that these "non-urban" developments are in fact not a homogenous group, but the result of rich and diverse ecologization dynamics.

The Economic Evaluation of Projects as a Structuring Discipline of Learning Processes to Support Decision-Making in Sustainable Urban Transformations

This paper is based on the following research questions: i) In which way could the discipline Economic Evaluation of Projects contribute to conveying the sustainability concept in urban settings among master’s degree students? What are the methods/techniques that can support decision processes of sustainable urban transformation? In response to the two research questions, the paper proposes a multi-methodological framework as a design tool for students (future professionals) aimed at representing the decision problem from a sustainable planning perspective. Through a Problem-Based Learning approach based on a case study, the proposed framework considers: SWOT Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis (SA), Multicriteria Analysis (MCDA), Cash Flow Analysis (CFA), and the application of the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools (NSATools). The multi-methodological framework has been applied to an experimental teaching case study as part of the Economic Evaluation of Projects module demonstrating its effectiveness in terms of sustainable spatial planning and structuring of the decision process from a multi-actor perspective. Future directions of the research are aimed at tackling two major limitations of the multi-methodological framework as the need to closely reflect a real decision process through an iterative framework and the sometimes hard interpretation of some elements of urban sustainability.

Making sustainability development goals (SDGs) operational at suburban level: Potentials and limitations of neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools

Urban sustainability plays a central role in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. The emphasis on major interventions, and large projects and infrastructures may overlook the cumulative beneficial impacts of widespread smaller urban transformations at the neighbourhood level. However, there is insufficient research on how to operationalise the SDGs at such suburban scale. This study aims to contribute to fill this gap by examining the usefulness of Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tools for operationalising the 17 SDGs. The comparative analysis between the three NSA tools examined in this paper – LEED, BREEAM and ITACA – reveals their differences and complementarities with respect to different targets of the SDGs. In general, the findings of this study show that the main scopes of interest of these tools are related to general urban issues (SDG11), climate action (SDG 13), responsible production and innovation (SDG 9 and 12), and in part also to goals on social wellbeing (SDG 3, 8, 9), whereas other SDGs are less represented, although several indicators proposed by NSA tools could indirectly contribute to assessing progress on those goals. Besides providing a framework for assessing the correspondence and compliance of NSA tools to the SDGs, the proposed method of analysis also allows to verify the consistencies and the discrepancies between different NSA tools, pointing at their potentials and limitations. Hence, this study can provide insights and can suggest guidance and recommendations for overcoming some of the current limitations of the NSA tools, and more in general for the design of neighbourhood evaluation systems more directly and cogently targeting the SDGs. In this sense, the findings of this study can support local administrations and planners in the design and implementation of SDG-targeting policies, plans and projects aiming at systemic sustainability.

An integrative approach to neighbourhood sustainability assessments using publicly available traffic data

Travel time data and variability of travel times can be used to quantify the network performance as an important aspect of sustainable development in modern cities. We introduce a data collection and analysis framework to be employed as an integral part of a neighbourhood sustainability assessment (NSA). The proposed framework performs a targeted selection and evaluation of indicators based on publicly available traffic data, specifically addressing short-term observations of travel times and traffic counts. Entailing a hybrid and modular approach, we demonstrate the applicability of travel time reliability measures by combining different datasets, various variability estimators, and visualisation methods, to advance the interpretation strength of the assessment. Implemented are regression methods based on cosinor models, which allow us to analyse the rhythmic behaviour of travel time trends. These models can be applied to assess the differential rhythmicity among different factors, like route, weather conditions and type of day (i.e., weekend or workday). Further, the same datasets are used to evaluate two reliability metrics, i.e., a travel time index and a planning time index. We demonstrate the application of the suggested framework on several strategic routes associated with three testbed neighbourhoods in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results show that average travel times and their variations are affected by route, day of the week, and weather conditions, and correlate with vehicles count data. Analyses of rhythmicity give straightforward insights into travel time trends, appropriate for comparative analysis and thus well-suited for use in NSA and monitoring practices. To the best of our knowledge, this work presents the first study quantifying reliability indicators intended for integration with NSA standards.

Comparative Review of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools

The paper aims to evaluate criteria for appraising the existing urban transformation projects in view of the social dimension of sustainability. Within the case study of the recovery project of “G. Prandina” barrack in Padua, north-east of Italy, the paper compares two different Italian rating systems to evaluate neighborhood sustainability: “GBC Quartieri” and “ITACA Scala Urbana”. The GBC Quartieri rating system, with a point scheme, allots credits for neighborhood design features, and integrates the environment, infrastructures, and buildings for the creation of sustainable communities with a relationship net and a pre-existence connection. The “ITACA Scala Urbana” procedure consists of a multicriteria evaluation of the environmental sustainability and the compilation of a group of worksheets, one for each different internal performance indicator. The results show the main differences and analogies among the different tools, and this analysis confirms that new neighborhood protocols originating from building rating systems dedicate little space to social aspects and to the concept of inclusion, instead of the newly developed neighborhood protocols. Through this examination, the research can also conclude that the identification of common macro-areas is present, which highlights the different levels of importance given to the various features connected to social sustainability in neighborhood transformation.

Bayesian network modeling for economic-socio-cultural sustainability of neighborhood-level urban communities: Reflections from Kolkata, an Indian megacity

The study has adopted a knowledge-based, decision support system of Bayesian network (BN) modeling approach to address the lack of incorporation of the interlinkage of dimensions and uncertainty associated with neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA). The study aims in developing a three-tier top-down BN model incorporating expert elicitation with three sub-models constituting 30 nodes concerning the Economic, Social, and Cultural Dimensions for the assessment of economic-sociocultural (ESC) sustainability of neighborhood-level urban communities (NLUCs) in Kolkata, an Indian megacity. The conceptual BN investigates the causal relationships and effects of different indicators and sub-models by quantifying their influence in achieving ESC sustainability. The study has proposed a robust algorithm for model parametrization and a detailed methodology for its structure development and validation. It has been tested using 550 sets of real-world survey data, with a prediction error rate of 2% for the query node. The model suggests the social sub-model is most sensitive to ESC sustainability, followed by the Economic and Cultural sub-models. It concludes with a discourse concerning spatial planning of NLUCs on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in compact cities of the Global South and discusses the relevance of the indicator set for achieving long-term sustainability.

Neighborhood sustainability assessment tools: Research trends and forecast for the built environment

Rapid urbanization, environmental concerns and demand for sustainable cities contributed to the development of Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment Tools (NSATs) such as LEED-ND and BREEAM-Communities. Whilst their success in increasing sustainability outcomes within the built environment is evident, there are unnoticed gaps in NSAT frameworks that might hinder their future suitability for sustainable urban planning and design. Therefore, to remain pertinent, NSATs must address the constantly evolving sustainability issues. To determine the gaps in NSATs frameworks and identify trends in sustainable communities, this study utilised a bibliometric exploration of NSAT-related publications. A total of 117 research articles over the last decade were reviewed to inform and provide insights on the research and development needs as well as areas of enhancing NSATs efficacy. The results revealed that research methods used to evaluate NSATs in journal articles are predominantly qualitative. This significantly limits the precision of research outcomes and highlights the need to increase quantitative (experiential and experimental) performance-based investigations which provide context and practically relevant outcomes. Furthermore, an upsurge in research themes related to big data and climate change, focused on smartness and resilience, was revealed. This indicates the suitability of NSATs for addressing existing societal concerns.To build on this achievement, tools may need to incorporate more health-based dynamics while considering issues of climate justice in order to remain effective and relevant. Another observation is the low research contribution from developing regions and lack of research from African regions. The observations and recommendations given in this study are pertinent to various stakeholders, including developers, and industry experts and consider the role of researchers in enhancing the performance of NSATs.