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

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Abstract

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.

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The COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on cities and major lessons for urban planning, design, and management

Ayyoob Sharifi, Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir (2020)

Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis the scientific community has constantly been striving to shed light on various issues such as the mechanisms driving the spread of the virus, its environmental and socio-economic impacts, and necessary recovery and adaptation plans and policies. Given the high concentration of population and economic activities in cities, they are often hotspots of COVID-19 infections. Accordingly, many researchers are struggling to explore the dynamics of the pandemic in urban areas to understand impacts of COVID-19 on cities. In this study we seek to provide an overview of COVID-19 research related to cities by reviewing literature published during the first eight months after the first confirmed cases were reported in Wuhan, China. The main aims are to understand impacts of the pandemic on cities and to highlight major lessons that can be learned for post-COVID urban planning and design. Results show that, in terms of thematic focus, early research on the impacts of COVID-19 on cities is mainly related to four major themes, namely, (1) environmental quality, (2) socio-economic impacts, (3) management and governance, and (4) transportation and urban design. While this indicates a diverse research agenda, the first theme that is consisted of issues related to air quality, meteorological parameters, and water quality is dominant, and the others are still relatively underexplored. Improvements in air and water quality in cities during lockdown periods highlight the significant environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities and provide a wake-up call to adopt environmentally friendly development pathways. The paper also provides other recommendation related to the socio-economic factors, urban management and governance, and transportation and urban design that can be used for post-COVID urban planning and design. Overall, existing knowledge shows that the COVID-19 crisis entails an excellent opportunity for planners and policy makers to take transformative actions towards creating cities that are more just, resilient, and sustainable.

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Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations

Brian. Walker, Carl Folke, Steve Carpenter … (2002)

Emerging recognition of two fundamental errors underpinning past polices for natural resource issues heralds awareness of the need for a worldwide fundamental change in thinking and in practice of environmental management. The first error has been an implicit assumption that ecosystem responses to human use are linear, predictable and controllable. The second has been an assumption that human and natural systems can be treated independently. However, evidence that has been accumulating in diverse regions all over the world suggests that natural and social systems behave in nonlinear ways, exhibit marked thresholds in their dynamics, and that social-ecological systems act as strongly coupled, complex and evolving integrated systems. This article is a summary of a report prepared on behalf of the Environmental Advisory Council to the Swedish Government, as input to the process of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa in 26 August 4 September 2002. We use the concept of resilience--the capacity to buffer change, learn and develop--as a framework for understanding how to sustain and enhance adaptive capacity in a complex world of rapid transformations. Two useful tools for resilience-building in social-ecological systems are structured scenarios and active adaptive management. These tools require and facilitate a social context with flexible and open institutions and multi-level governance systems that allow for learning and increase adaptive capacity without foreclosing future development options.