Sustainability assessment of building rehabilitation actions in old urban centres

Abstract

It is essential that the society understands the importance of sustainable development, its implication for the existing living standards and the need to implement management policies that promote sustainability. Rehabilitation assumes a fundamental role in this process; however, we are faced with the lack of specific, adequate and simplified tools for the sustainability assessment in rehabilitation actions.

In this paper, the analysis of different sustainability assessment systems was conducted, comparing them in order to identify the adjustments to be made to a Portuguese model taken under consideration. Subsequently, the model was cross-checked with current European and national urban rehabilitation and regeneration policies, analysing their contribution to sustainability, in order to define the assessment criteria and create a Simplified Method for the Sustainability Assessment for rehabilitation in old urban centres, which can be a useful tool, easy to use by all actors in the process and as a way of preserving the history of this areas, and the memory of those who inhabit them. This Method considers five major areas: Water, Energy, Materials, Emissions and Cultural, Economic and Social Environments. For each of these criteria, measurement indicators and levels of assessment were settled, adjusted to the context of old urban centres.