Evaluating Sustainable Development : In the Built Environment

Sustainable development has been characterised by an emphasis on environmental issues and an ad hoc approach to structuring the subject which hinders the development of knowledge in a systematic way. The built environment contributes significantly to the environment but is also one of the major factors in determining whether a community is sustainable in the longer term.

A structure is required which aids definition, provides a common set of values, establishes measurement methods to define progress, and suggests a management system and decision protocol which enables practitioners to engage and use the resultant structures and information.

This book provides a suggested structure in which all aspects of sustainable development can be included together with a set of evaluation techniques which can be used within the structure to provide assistance to decision making.

Professor Peter Brandon was Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Salford and is now Director of Strategic Programmes. He has played a major part in the development of research in the UK and internationally, and when Head of the present School of Construction and Property Management at Salford, he led the school to the highest ratings for research in the UK, a position they have held ever since. He has written widely on a number of topics including building economics, construction management, construction information technology and more recently sustainable development. He has 15 books to his credit as author, co-author or editor and has published over 150 papers in more than 30 countries.

Dr Patrizia Lombardi is Researcher at the Polytechnic of Turin where she teaches cost planning and evaluation of plans and projects on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She has been involved in a number of European and national projects on sustainable urban development, including the BEQUEST network, the INTELCITIES integrated project, the reorganisation of the central railway station ‘Porta Nuova’ area in Turin and the ‘social reporting’ of Trieste and Modena. She has co-organised a number of national and international conferences, is editor of a number of books on sustainability evaluation and is author of more than 50 papers in specialised textbooks and international scientific journals.