What changes, if any, would increased levels of low-carbon decentralised energy have on the built environment?

Energy Policy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 4518-4521 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Keirstead
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Low Carbon

scholarly journals Citizen Engagement for Co-Creating Low Carbon Smart Cities: Practical Lessons from Nottingham City Council in the UK

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6615
Author(s):  
Sam Preston ◽  
Muhammad Usman Mazhar ◽  
Richard Bull
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
City Council ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
City Development ◽  
The Uk

Cities constitute three quarters of global energy consumption and the built environment is responsible for significant use of final energy (62%) and greenhouse gas emissions (55%). Energy has now become a strategic issue for local authorities (LAs) and can offer savings when budget cuts have threatened the provision of core services. Progressive LAs are exploring energy savings and carbon reduction opportunities as part of the sustainable and smart city agenda. This paper explores the role of citizens in smart city development as “buildings don’t use energy: people do”. Citizens have the potential to shape transitions towards smart and sustainable futures. This paper contributes to the growing evidence base of citizen engagement in low carbon smart cities by presenting novel insights and practical lessons on how citizen engagement can help in smart city development through co-creation with a focus on energy in the built environment. A case study of Nottingham in the UK, a leading smart city, is analysed using Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation. Nottingham City Council (NCC) has pledged to keep “citizens at the heart” of its plans. This paper discusses learnings from two EU funded Horizon 2020 projects, REMOURBAN (REgeneration MOdel for accelerating the smart URBAN transformation) and eTEACHER, both of which aimed to empower citizens to reduce energy consumption and co-create smart solutions. Although these two projects are diverse in approaches and contexts, what unites them is a focus on citizen engagement, both face to face and digital. REMOURBAN has seen a “whole house” approach to retrofit in vulnerable communities to improve liveability through energy efficiency. User interaction and co-creation in eTEACHER has provided specifications for technical design of an energy saving App for buildings. eTEACHER findings reflect users’ energy needs, understanding of control interfaces, motivations for change and own creative ideas. Citizens were made co-creators in eTEACHER from the beginning through regular communication. In REMOURBAN, citizens had a role in the procurement and bidding process to influence retrofit project proposals. Findings can help LAs to engage demographically diverse citizens across a variety of buildings and communities for low carbon smart city development.

scholarly journals Low Energy Architecture and Low Carbon Cities: Exploring Links, Scales, and Environmental Impacts

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Pomponi ◽  
Bernardino D’Amico
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
New Buildings ◽  
Global Initiatives

Projected population growth and urbanization rates will create a huge demand for new buildings and put an unprecedented pressure on the natural environment and its limited resources. Architectural design has often focused on passive or low-energy approaches to reduce the energy consumption of buildings but it is evident that a more holistic, whole-life based mindset is imperative. On another scale, the movement for, and global initiatives around, low carbon cities promise to deliver the built environment of tomorrow, in harmony with the natural boundary of our planet, the societal needs of its human habitants, and the required growth for economic prosperity. However, cities are made up of individual buildings and this intimate relationship is often poorly understood and under-researched. This multi-scale problem (materials, buildings, and cities) requires plural, trans-disciplinary, and creative ways to develop a range of viable solutions. The unknown about our built environment is vast: the articles in this special issue aim to contribute to the ongoing global efforts to ensure our built environments will be fit for the challenges of our time.

scholarly journals CONSUMPTION-BASED AND EMBODIED CARBON IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR APEC’S LOW-CARBON MODEL TOWN PROJECT

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
David A. Ness ◽  
Ke Xing
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Embodied Carbon

ABSTRACT In accordance with international protocols and directions, the APEC Energy Working Group has concentrated on constraining operational energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities across the Asia Pacific, especially from the widespread consumption of fossil fuels. In addition to economy level policies and recognising the different characteristics within the region, APEC has sought to take action at the town/city level via the Low-Carbon Model Town (LCMT) project, including the development of self-assessment tools and indicator systems. However, the “low carbon” landscape is changing. There is increasing recognition of embodied carbon, accompanied by the emergence of methods for its measurement, while the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has recently highlighted the significance of consumption-based carbon. Similarly, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for Cities (GPC) is likely to extend its ambit from Scope 1 GHG emissions, derived from energy use within a city boundaries, and Scope 2 emissions from grid-supplied electricity, heating and / or cooling, to Scope 3 emissions derived from materials and goods produced outside the boundaries of a city but associated with construction within that city. After describing these emerging approaches and the current landscape, the paper examines the significance and implications of these changes for APEC approaches, especially in relation to the LCMT project, its indicators and the varying characteristics of towns and cities within the Asia-Pacific region. Special attention is given to the built environment, which is known to be a major contributor to operational and embodied emissions. Consistent with the theme of the Asia-Pacific Energy Sustainable Development Forum covering “sustainable development of energy and the city,” a case is put forward for the current APEC approach to be extended to encompass both embodied and consumption-based emissions.

On the Eco-Building for Sustainable Development Thinking and Practising Environmental Design

2013 ◽  
Vol 448-453 ◽  
pp. 1325-1328
Author(s):  
Hong Kun Peng
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Man And Nature ◽  
Ecological Construction

Ignoring the coordinated development and the natural environment carrying capacity plight caught the traditional development model, emphasizing the natural environment and the economy to adapt to the pursuit of harmony between man and nature, sustainable development become a wise choice, eco-design of the built environment is a human realization important tool for sustainable development. Sustainable eco-design of the built environment and the long-term goal of the current interests combine to maintain maximum coordination with the natural environment, not only become the reality of human needs, while also considering the needs of the human potential. Ecological construction and environmental protection around the significance of in-depth discussion of the needle eco-building for sustainable development thinking and practice of environmental design, environmental design proposed ecological architecture reflects the theme of sustainable development, while recycling is designed to achieve low carbon, environmentally friendly eco-building environment design approach.

scholarly journals Contested energy futures, conflicted rewards? Examining low-carbon transition risks and governance dynamics in China's built environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 101306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Song ◽  
Jenny Lieu ◽  
Alexandros Nikas ◽  
Apostolos Arsenopoulos ◽  
George Vasileiou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Futures

scholarly journals Growth in floor area: the blind spot in cutting carbon

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
David Ness
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Commercial Real Estate ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
The Future ◽  
Combat Climate Change

While most efforts to combat climate change are focussed on energy efficiency and substitution of fossil fuels, growth in the built environment remains largely unquestioned. Given the current climate emergency and increasing scarcity of global resources, it is imperative that we address this ‘blind spot’ by finding ways to support required services with less resource consumption. There is now long overdue recognition to greenhouse gas emissions ‘embodied’ in the production of building materials and construction, and its importance in reaching targets of net zero carbon by 2050. However, there is a widespread belief that we can continue to ‘build big’, provided we incorporate energy saving measures and select ‘low carbon materials’ − ignoring the fact that excessive volume and area of buildings may outweigh any carbon savings. This is especially the case with commercial real estate. As the inception and planning phases of projects offer most potential for reduction in both operational and embodied carbon, we must turn our attention to previously overlooked options such as ‘build nothing’ or ‘build less’. This involves challenging the root cause of the need, exploring alternative approaches to meet desired outcomes, and maximising the use of existing assets. If new build is required, this should be designed for adaptability, with increased stewardship, so the building stock of the future will be a more valuable and useable resource. This points to the need for increased understanding and application of the principles of strategic asset management, hitherto largely ignored in sustainability circles, which emphasize a close alignment of assets with the services they support. Arguably, as the built environment consumes more material resources and energy than any other sector, its future configuration may be critical to the future of people and the planet. In this regard, this paper seeks to break new ground for deeper exploration.

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