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Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the sustainability assessment of urban communities through multi-criterion rating systems. Recent interpretations of the concepts of sustainability, assessment and community are discussed before reviewing existing assessment systems. In particular, the systems BREEAM for Communities, LEED for Neighbourhood Development and CASBEE for Urban Development are presented and compared. Each one of these systems bases the assessment on the summation of rates for different criteria often similar to those considered in sustainability assessments of buildings. The comparison shows that existing systems often accept a weak sustainability where natural resources may be subsidized by other priorities. Missing assessment criteria are proposed mainly within the social and economic dimensions of sustainability. This paper also shows that the dynamicity of a community suggests considering the sustainability assessment systems as tools to monitor the evolution of communities. Finally, it shows that an increase in citizen engagement in the selection of assessment criteria is necessary to share priorities and customize sustainability goals for each community.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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  1. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA, 01609-2280, USA

    Umberto Berardi

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Berardi, U. Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems. Environ Dev Sustain 15, 1573–1591 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-013-9462-0

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