Establishing the green neighbourhood: approaches to neighbourhood-scale sustainability certification in Portland,Oregon

ABSTRACT

While local governance is widely acknowledged as an important element in the pursuit of sustainability, local action alone is insufficient to produce lasting change. One recent solution to this quandary has been the production of certification frameworks that encourage sustainable development at the neighbourhood scale by providing local actors with standardised definitions of sustainable practices. While these frameworks facilitate the spread of sustainable development strategies between local communities, there are significant contrasts between their approaches to encouraging local sustainable development that simultaneously fulfils global objectives. This article explores these contrasts through two neighbourhood-scale sustainability certification frameworks: LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) and the EcoDistricts Protocol. Analysis of these frameworks in the context of two centrally-located neighbourhoods in Portland, Oregon, reveals substantial contrasts between the two frameworks in terms of the relative flexibility of their sustainability metrics, the time frame over which decisions regarding sustainable development are made, and community involvement in the process of pursuing specific objectives. Furthermore, it suggests that greater flexibility in the application of standards, continuous governance, and greater community involvement lead to more dynamic and holistic forms of sustainability that evolve as both local community needs and broader understandings of sustainability change over time.     

LEED绿色建筑评价体系视角下的可持续施工管理

LEED绿色建筑评价体系是目前国际上最具权威性的绿色建筑评价标准,由美国绿色建筑委员会制定并推行.在结合国内施工阶段现状的基础上,寻找LEED绿色建筑评价体系中与施工阶段的契合点,针对相关要求采取措施,最终达到节能、环保、可持续的目的.表1,参6.     

A new index for assessing the contribution of energy efficiency in LEED 2009 certified green buildings to achieving UN sustainable development goals in Jordan

Jordan faces stringent energy challenges mainly in the form of import dependence and escalating demand. The building sector accounts for 58% of total national electricity consumption and therefore plays an important role in addressing these challenges. This article investigates how energy efficiency in green buildings certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system contribute towards achieving United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Jordan. Furthermore, this paper proposes a new Comprehensive Contribution to Sustainable Development Index (CCSDI) to assess the contributions of implementation of the LEED 2009 prerequisites and credits in the Energy and Atmosphere (EA) category to achieve UN SDGs in Jordan. Questionnaire surveys were conducted to obtain data. Relative Importance Index (RII) method was used to evaluate the contributions of LEED 2009 prerequisites and credits in the EA category. Results indicate a positive relationship between the LEED 2009 prerequisites and credits in category and UN SDGs 7?9 and 12?13. We conclude that our proposed CCSDI is a robust tool for assessing the contribution of energy efficiency in LEED 2009 certified green buildings towards achieving UN SDGs in Jordan.     

'Remove a Fence,Invite Chaos': Children as active agents of change

There are now numerous sustainable development evaluation methods to evaluate sustainable development progress. Which one to use will depend on the resources, the goals and the stakeholders. Ideally the method selected and its indicators would themselves indicate how to achieve sustainable development. Such a choice can be difficult without a framework to help ensure the representation of the essential elements of sustainable development.

This paper presents such a framework by drawing on ecological terminology to define aspects of sustainable development as manifested in the natural world. Examples of how these can be measured are provided along with an explanation of how the components of the framework contribute to achieving sustainable development in social systems.     

美国绿色建筑政策体系对我国绿色建筑的启示

自20世纪90年代起,美国从联邦政府到地方政府围绕着发展绿色建筑这一目标,相继出台了大量的政策法规,体现出美国政府对于建筑可持续性问题的重视。强制性的绿色建筑规范和标准、税收激励政策以及自愿性的产品和设备绿色标识等政策工具的良好设计,是美国绿色建筑得到较快发展的政策保障,这对我国绿色建筑政策体系的构建,有极大的借鉴作用。