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Urban Sustainability Audits and Ratings of the Built Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Constantinos A. Balaras

    (Group Energy Conservation, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, GR-15236 Athens, Greece)

  • Kalliopi G. Droutsa

    (Group Energy Conservation, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, GR-15236 Athens, Greece)

  • Elena G. Dascalaki

    (Group Energy Conservation, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, GR-15236 Athens, Greece)

  • Simon Kontoyiannidis

    (Group Energy Conservation, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, GR-15236 Athens, Greece)

  • Andrea Moro

    (iiSBE Italia, International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment, I-10138 Torino, Italy)

  • Elena Bazzan

    (iiSBE Italia, International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment, I-10138 Torino, Italy)

Abstract

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 main sustainability issues (e.g., site and infrastructure, urban systems, energy and natural resources, emissions and environment, service quality, social aspects, economy), which are described and quantified with an “exhaustive” list of ~180 sustainability criteria and indicators, and a manageable number of common mandatory key performance indicators. The assessment system can satisfy the public administrations’ needs for being easy to use, open access, flexible and adaptable tools in order to facilitate their efforts for developing effective sustainability plans.

Suggested Citation

  • Constantinos A. Balaras & Kalliopi G. Droutsa & Elena G. Dascalaki & Simon Kontoyiannidis & Andrea Moro & Elena Bazzan, 2019. "Urban Sustainability Audits and Ratings of the Built Environment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-36, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:22:p:4243-:d:284400
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Enrico Sicignano & Giacomo Di Ruocco & Anna Stabile, 2019. "Quali—A Quantitative Environmental Assessment Method According to Italian CAM, for the Sustainable Design of Urban Neighbourhoods in Mediterranean Climatic Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-25, August.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Silvia Soutullo & Laura Aelenei & Per Sieverts Nielsen & Jose Antonio Ferrer & Helder Gonçalves, 2020. "Testing Platforms as Drivers for Positive-Energy Living Laboratories," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Javier Orozco-Messana & Elena de la Poza-Plaza & Raimon Calabuig-Moreno, 2020. "Experiences in Transdisciplinary Education for the Sustainable Development of the Built Environment, the ISAlab Workshop," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Constantinos A. Balaras & Andreas I. Theodoropoulos & Elena G. Dascalaki, 2023. "Geographic Information Systems for Facilitating Audits of the Urban Built Environment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-26, May.
    4. Giovanni M. Chiri & Maddalena Achenza & Anselmo Canì & Leonardo Neves & Luca Tendas & Simone Ferrari, 2020. "The Microclimate Design Process in Current African Development: The UEM Campus in Maputo, Mozambique," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    5. Pekka Halla & Albert Merino‐Saum, 2022. "Conceptual frameworks in indicator‐based assessments of urban sustainability—An analysis based on 67 initiatives," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1056-1071, October.
    6. Lambros T. Doulos & Aris Tsangrassoulis & Evangelos-Nikolaos Madias & Spyros Niavis & Antonios Kontadakis & Panagiotis A. Kontaxis & Vassiliki T. Kontargyri & Katerina Skalkou & Frangiskos Topalis & E, 2020. "Examining the Impact of Daylighting and the Corresponding Lighting Controls to the Users of Office Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-25, August.
    7. Enrique Cano-Suñén & Ignacio Martínez & Ángel Fernández & Belén Zalba & Roberto Casas, 2023. "Internet of Things (IoT) in Buildings: A Learning Factory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-26, August.
    8. George M. Stavrakakis & Panagiotis L. Zervas & Konstantinos Terzis & Panagiotis Langouranis & Panagiota Saranti & Yorgos J. Stephanedes, 2023. "Exploitation of Mediterranean Cooperation Projects’ Tools for the Development of Public Buildings’ Energy Efficiency Plans at Local Level: A Case Study in Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-33, April.
    9. Constantinos A. Balaras, 2022. "Building Energy Audits—Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-4, March.

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