What Strategies Can Be Used to Improve Neighbourhoods?

The Built Environment Sustainability Tool enables the development of sophisticated and responsive plans and strategies to support improved local sustainability. These plans respond to and address gaps and aspects of current poor performance in the neighbourhood while supporting and improving aspects of good performance.

A wide range of options should be evaluated before a final selection of options for implementation is made. The tool should also be used to inform the mix, and sequencing, of interventions. Finally, detailed implementation plans and strategies should be designed and tested back against criteria in the tool to ensure that maximum impact is achieved.

The questions below, in conjunction with BEST, can be used to inform detailed implementation plans and strategies aimed at supporting sustainability.

New infrastructure

• Is new infrastructure required?
• Can existing infrastructure be used or adapted?
• Can management and operation agreements be developed to support multifunction use of and shared access of existing facilities? 

Clustering and partnerships

• Can clustering and shared use of infrastructure be used to increase efficiency and reduce operating costs?
• Can partnerships be developed with neighbouring landowners and communities to increase the scale of interventions to support shared benefit and improved cost-effectiveness?

Linkages and synergies

• How can systems be linked to reduce wastage and improve efficiency?  
• Are there synergies that can be developed for mutual benefit?

Location and land use

• Which location(s) for interventions can be used to support symbiotic relationships between functions and land uses?
• Which location(s) for interventions draw on, and work with, natural and artificial features of the existing site to improve efficiencies and reduce operational costs?

Procurement

• Which procurement processes are most suitable for creating local jobs and supporting local small businesses?
• Which procurement processes can be used to reduce risk and improve local self-reliance concerning funding and long-term financial sustainability?

Construction

• Which construction processes are most suitable for creating local jobs and support local small businesses?
• Which construction products and materials are most suitable for creating local jobs and support local small businesses?

Operational management

• Which operational management models ensure affordable local access and use of infrastructure for community benefit?
• Which operational management models include governance mechanisms which ensure that infrastructure is responsive to local needs and opportunities?

These questions can be used to develop detailed designs, specifications, plans and implementation methods that ensure that the resulting interventions not only support local sustainability but also ensure that implementation processes are also used to support sustainability. The Built Environment Sustainability Tool can be accessed here.

How Do You Develop More Sustainable Neighbourhoods?

 Neighbourhoods appear to be complex and difficult to assess in terms of sustainability performance. A review of green precinct assessment tools for urban areas revealed that these tend to focus on environmental issues and did not take into social and economic issues. Many of the tools are also complex and do not encourage the involvement of communities and non-professionals. Also, many tools and rating systems are prescriptive and do not encourage or support the exploration of innovative solutions that respond to local opportunities and challenges.

The Built Environment Sustainability Tool addresses these issues by being based on a sustainability approach which includes social and economic aspects as well as environmental impacts. The tool aims to be simple to use and to encourage the active participation of all role players including local communities in assessing local sustainability performance and developing plans to improve this. It encourages a range of solutions to be explored and tested to support responsive solutions that work with local opportunities and challenges.  

The BEST methodology provides practical ways of developing more sustainable neighbourhoods that enable you to address the following questions:

• What is sustainability?
• What are the implications of sustainability for urban areas and settlements?
• Do existing and proposed urban areas and settlements have the appropriate configuration and characteristics for sustainability?
• Can this configuration and characteristics be assessed?
• Can these assessments inform the development of interventions and solutions to improve sustainability performance? 
• Are there ways of identifying the most optimum solutions and interventions to address gaps and rapidly improving sustainability performance?
• Can sustainability plans and strategies be developed to ensure that sustainability targets are achieved in a structured, efficient and effective way?

The BEST can be accessed here.

Updated Built Environment Sustainability Tool

The Built Environment Sustainability Tool (BEST) supports an integrated and responsive approach to achieving sustainable neighbourhoods. The tool is based on a holistic approach to addressing sustainability and includes the following social, economic and environmental criteria. 

• Shelter
• Mobility
• Food
• Goods
• Services
• Waste
• Biocapacity
• Health
• Education
• Employment

Each criteria is introduced and simple protocols provided for the measurement and recording of performance the BEST manual. Detail is also provided on how to interpret results and use this to develop high-performance synergistic interventions that can be used to improve the sustainability of the neighbourhood.

The BEST course shows you how you can use the BEST to assess neighbourhoods and propose and test interventions to improve their sustainability performance. It guides users on how to follow a standardised methodology and protocols in order to carry out accurate assessments.

Access the BEST, manual and course here. 

New Course on the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT)

Gauge Capability has developed a new course on the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT). The course covers the latest version of SBAT Residential and shows how this can be used to guide the development of sustainable housing. 

The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool supports an integrated and responsive approach to achieving high sustainability performance in buildings. The tool is based on a holistic approach to addressing sustainability and includes social, economic and environmental criteria. 

SBAT criteria are based on a definition of sustainability found in the Living Planet Index (WWF 2006). This defines sustainability as the attainment of a living standard of over 0.8 on the Human Development Index (HDI) while also achieving an ecological footprint (EF) of less than a 1.8gha per person. 

The SBAT measures the performance of the built environment in terms of its capability to support the achievement of living standards of above 0.8 on the Human Development Index (HDI) and an ecological footprint (EF) of less than a 1.8gha per person. 

The focus of the SBAT, therefore, to measure the extent to which built environments have the required characteristics and the configuration to enable users and occupants to live in a sustainable way.  

The SBAT can be used to set targets for sustainability performance for buildings and their neighbourhoods. It can also be used to assess and validate the sustainability performance of buildings and designs.

For more information on the course click here.

Onsite service enterprises

Onsite service enterprises (OSEs) are enterprises that develop and maintain systems and facilities that provide services to occupants of a building or a precinct. Examples of onsite services include hot water, energy, lighting, waste and recycling, mobility, food preparation and delivery, childcare, education and personal care. The full capital and operating costs of providing these services, including installing and maintaining systems, equipment and facilities, are borne by the enterprises and transparent fair costing models are used to determine fees charged for services to ensure there is a reasonable return for the enterprises and that services are affordable.

The paper shows how the concept of OSEs can be applied to a housing development near Alexandra, Johannesburg. A critical evaluation of this application in relation to affordability and sustainability is carried out to determine the significance of the approach. The paper concludes that the OSE concept has significant potential and provides detail on how it can be developed and investigated further.

5 Questions to ask when choosing a building sustainability rating system

There are now many different rating and indicator systems for building sustainability so it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose and distinguish between these.

This presentation, therefore, goes back to first principles and focusses on 5 questions that can be applied to review systems to choose the one most suitable for your situation.

The 5 questions are:

1. How does the system define sustainability?
2. Does the system address your / local priorities?
3. Does the system change behaviour as well as technical performance?
4. Does the system help prepare the built environment for change?
5. Is there an evidence base to confirm that the system will achieve the required levels of change?

Alternative sanitation for schools

The 2017 National Education Infrastructure Management System report indicated that of the 23,577 public primary and secondary schools in South Africa, there were:

• 5,175 schools without water or with unreliable water supply
• 68 schools with no toilets
• 9,203 schools with pit latrines
• 7,105 schools with VIPs
• 2,912 schools with septic tank systems
• 8,574 schools with flush toilets on municipal systems

This indicates some of the very significant challenges being faced by schools in relation to water and sanitation. One way of addressing this to investigate alternative sanitation models, such as the use of composting toilets, aqua privies and onsite biological systems. These alternatives avoid problems associated with flush toilet (such as large-scale water consumption) and pit latrine (the risk of contaminating groundwater) systems currently used in many schools and have some valuable advantages. Please feel free to contact us on studies, tools and papers being developed in this area.

Urban Ore

Having developed and applied a range of tools to reduce construction waste, such as specifications, contract clauses, construction waste management plans and monitoring and evaluation systems, it is possible to reflect on what works.

Key to achieving less construction waste is having a local network of collaborators who reuse or recycle construction waste. In many areas, these networks are not well established and difficult to find.

It was therefore fascinating to visit Urban Ore in San Francisco. Urban Ore is a city block full of recycled building products. These are bought and neatly stacked on shelves and in yards enabling them to be sold and used in new projects. Many of these recycled products are in good condition and are a fraction of the price of new products. A large amount of waste is also avoided. Further detail on Urban Ore is available here.

Sustainable Neighbourhoods

Sustainable buildings are not enough; they need to be within neighbourhoods that support sustainability. This is being reflected in an increased focus on neighbourhoods. 

In the US, a hospital faced with escalating costs associated with the treatment of patients moved beyond its borders to work with neighbours to enhance local facilities which improved health.  In 2008, under Medicaid rules, the hospital became accountable for the health costs of people living in the area. This lead to the Healthy Neighbourhood Healthy Families initiative where the hospital worked with local organisations to develop more affordable local housing. It also improved education, healthcare, as well as developing a range of safety and employment initiatives.  

In Canada, Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs, are developing a district of Toronto into a prototype sustainable neighbourhoods. This explores new models for dense lower cost housing, enhanced local mobility based on walking, cycling, buses and trains and innovative energy, water and waste systems. 

The Built Environment Sustainability Tool (BEST) has been developed to assess the sustainability of neighbourhood and can be used to support communities, local government and other organisations develop structured plans to improve the sustainability of neighbourhoods. 

Water Assessment In Buildings

The Water Assessment in Buildings (WAB) tool is a methodology and tool for assessing water equipment and systems in buildings. Design appraisals or walk-through assessments of buildings are used to evaluate proposed or existing water equipment and systems in relation to best practice water criteria within the WAB.

The WAB supports effective assessments of water equipment systems to provide a clear understanding of this in relation to best practice sustainable building water performance. It can also be used to identify areas where water equipment and systems can be improved in order to improve water performance. The download includes:

• Water Assessment in Buildings (WAB) Excel tool.
• Water Assessment In Buildings (WAB) Manual on how to use the tool.
• Water Assessment In Buildings (WAB) Presentation on how to use the tool.
• Water Assessment in Buildings (WAM) Presentations on water use in buildings.

Water Use Modelling (WUM)

The Water Use Modelling (WUM) tool is a methodology and tool for modeling water use in buildings. Data on water equipment, systems, and usage patterns are entered into the tool to model water consumption patterns in buildings and present this in figures and graphs.

The WUM supports effective modeling of water systems to provide a clear understanding of water consumption implications related to particular water use practices and water equipment and systems. It can also be used to carry out ‘what-if’ scenarios which support effective decision making on water use practices and procedures as well as on the selection and installation of equipment and systems. The download includes:

• Water Use Modelling (WUM) Excel tool.
• Water Use Modelling (WUM) Presentation on how to use the tool.
• Water Assessment in Buildings (WUM) Presentations on water use in buildings.

Water Evaluation and Management (WEM)

The Water Evaluation and Monitoring (WEM) tool is a methodology and tool for monitoring and evaluating water use in buildings. Data from utility and/or council accounts or logged water consumption data are entered into the tool to generate water use reports that can be used to evaluate and monitor water consumption in buildings.

The WEM supports effective water use reporting and monitoring in relation to water use benchmarks, targets, and previous consumption levels. It can also be used to analyze water consumption patterns to identify areas for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken to improve water performance. The download includes:

• Water Evaluation and Monitoring (WEM) Excel tool.
• Water Evaluation and Monitoring (WEM) Presentation on how to use the tool.
• Water Evaluation and Monitoring (WEM) Presentations on water use in buildings.

SBAT Residential 1.04

The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) Residential 1.04 has been developed. This supports an integrated and responsive approach to achieving high sustainability performance in housing. The tool is based on a holistic approach to addressing sustainability and includes social, economic and environmental criteria. It is easy and cost-effective to use and is particularly relevant to developing country contexts. The tool has been used in Zambia. More information on the tool is available here.

Pilots for Change

Article by Mary Constable in Earthworks on Gauge's projects in Zambia. The article reviews the pilot housing projects carried out by Lafarge, Peoples Housing Process, ILO and UNEP in Zambia. The pilots were evaluated using the SBAT tool and useful guidance was developed for future projects. 

How to achieve water use of less than 100l/person/day

The table and graph above show how water use of under 100l/person/day can be achieved in a house or apartment building. This has been generated using the Water Use Modelling (WUM) tool.  This requires the following:

•  Dual flush efficient toilets
• Water efficient shower heads and short duration showers
• Efficient use of water for cooking, washing and laundry
• Only grey water used for irrigation. 

Water Evaluation and Monitoring

The Water Evaluation and Monitoring (WEM) tool can be used to track water consumption in buildings. Data from water utilities or water meters is input into the tool to generate tables and graphs which can be used to understand water use patterns. This analysis can be used to track water use against benchmarks and identify opportunities for improved performance. The tool and a short online course explaining how it can be used are available here. 

How do you reduce water consumption to under 100 liters per person per day?

How do you reduce water consumption to under 100 liters per person per day?

One of the best ways of doing this is to model current water use and then test options to reduce water use in the model in order to decide on the best option(s) to implement. This enables non-cost interventions related to behavior (such as shorter showers) to be implemented, before incurring the significant expense and disruption associated with major water system upgrading.

The Water Use Modelling (WUM) tool and course developed by Gauge support rapid modeling of water systems in buildings in order to inform water use reduction strategies.

Water Evaluation and Monitoring

A new online course by Gauge has been developed to provide skills and tools to monitor and evaluate water use in buildings. It includes a simple water use monitoring and evaluation tool in Excel which can be populated with information from water utility bills or from water meter readings to understand water use patterns within a building over a year as well as water use in relation to historic records and targets.

The tool and methodology provided by the course is a very effective way of tracking water use in buildings and supports effective monitoring and evaluation process which can be used to reduce water use in buildings in an effective way. The course is not highly technical and is suitable for anyone wishing to track water use and reduce its use in buildings.

Sustainable Diets

Increasing incomes and urban growth is resulting in increased consumption of sugars, refined fats, oils, and meats. If this trend continues 80% of the increases in global agriculture greenhouse gas emissions will come from food production and land clearing. These diets also increase Type II diabetes and heart disease.

Alternative diets which reduce emissions and have health benefits can be determined by carrying out life cycle environmental impact assessments (LCAs) and projecting impacts, such as carbon emissions and land use. Impacts of common food types are shown in the figure. The full study can be accessed here.

Air conditioning makes pollution worse

A new study shows that the hottest days have the highest air pollution. Increasing air conditioning on hot days results in increased emissions from power plants of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The study shows that increases in pollution of  3 to 4 percent per degree Celsius can occur. This may be due to partly to the increased use of out-dated and inefficient power stations which are brought online to address increased peak loads. Access more information here.