Dizdaroglu, D; Yigitcanlar, T and Dawes, L (2012) A micro-level indexing model for assessing urban ecosystem sustainability. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 1(3), pp. 291-315. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
As a consequence of rapid urbanisation and globalisation, cities have become the engines of population and economic growth. Hence, natural resources in and around the cities have been exposed to externalities of urban development processes. This paper introduces a new sustainability assessment approach that is tested in a pilot study. The paper aims to assist policy-makers and planners investigating the impacts of development on environmental systems, and produce effective policies for sustainable urban development. The paper introduces an indicator-based indexing model entitled “Indexing Model for the Assessment of Sustainable Urban Ecosystems” (ASSURE). The ASSURE indexing model produces a set of micro-level environmental sustainability indices that is aimed to be used in the evaluation and monitoring of the interaction between human activities and urban ecosystems. The model is an innovative approach designed to assess the resilience of ecosystems towards impacts of current development plans and the results serve as a guide for policy-makers to take actions towards achieving sustainability. The indexing model has been tested in a pilot case study within the Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. This paper presents the methodology of the model and outlines the preliminary findings of the pilot study. The paper concludes with a discussion on the findings and recommendations put forward for future development and implementation of the model. Presently, there is a few sustainability indices developed to measure the sustainability at local, regional, national and international levels. However, due to challenges in data collection difficulties and availability of local data, there is no effective assessment model at the micro-level that the assessment of urban ecosystem sustainability accurately. The model introduced in this paper fills this gap by focusing on parcel-scale and benchmarking the environmental performance in micro-level.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australia; indexing model; micro-level analysis; sustainability assessment; sustainable development; sustainable urban development; urban ecosystems; urban sustainability |
| Index terms: | sustainability assessment, Queensland, sustainable development, globalization, methodology, population, environmental sustainability, benchmarking, case study, urbanization, environmental performance, sustainable urban development, Australia, natural resource, urban development, planner, monitoring, human activity, interaction, implementation, economic growth, indexing |
| Subjects: | economic development, sustainability assessment, performance measurement, research methods, Geography, health safety and environment, urban design, demography, sociology, information systems, economic factors, behavioral psychology, data collection methods, profession, control systems, urban planning, environmental resource management, sustainability and resilience, contractual arrangements |
| Topics: | Site Management, Quality Management, International Construction, Urban Studies, Procurement, Sustainability, Governance, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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