Toward sustainable neighbourhoods: the need to consider infrastructure interactions

Abstract

This paper details the role of infrastructure in promoting sustainability at the neighbourhood scale. A sustainable neighbourhood design process is outlined and the importance of adopting a systems perspective and considering infrastructure interconnections is emphasized. The performance of local infrastructure systems (e.g., buildings and local transportation network) is influenced by interactions with the greater urban region and with other local infrastructure. Through a broad review of the literature on transportation, water, building, and urban forestry systems, this paper identifies many of these extra- and inter-neighbourhood interactions. The paper concludes that it is difficult to achieve neighbourhood sustainability objectives without infrastructure systems at the urban scale that support these micro-scale goals. Furthermore, interactions between local infrastructure systems can have a positive or negative impact on infrastructure performance and environmental impacts. Careful consideration of these relationships during neighbourhood design could yield significant improvements in infrastructure resource efficiency as well as reductions in pollutant emissions and overall costs.Key words: sustainable neighbourhood design, infrastructure systems, transportation, water, buildings, urban forestry.

Challenges of Coordination in Provision of Urban Infrastructure for New Residential Areas: The Iranian Experience

“…In the line with this, Porter (1986) argues that infrastructure is a pivotal factor for any development, because without it development will not occur. Engel-Yan et al (2005) stress that to achieve sustainable urban design at any level, those involved in urban design process must consider the unique role of urban infrastructure in urban shaping. Therefore, it can be purported that provision of urban infrastructure is prior to any urban development activities.…”

“…In the other words, what happens to one of urban infrastructure systems can directly and indirectly influence other infrastructures, influencing large district of cities. Therefor, to achieve sustainable urban infrastructure, those involved in the urban infrastructure provision, which will be referred as "UI-provision" in this paper, must consider the interaction between infrastructure systems (Engel-Yan et al, 2005). Hence, coordination between urban infrastructure agents, which will be referred as "UIAs" in this article, is an essential key factor for providing reliable urban infrastructure for new development areas.…”

“…Despite of the interrelated nature of urban infrastructure (Hudson et al, 1997;Engel-Yan et al, 2005;Benedict & McMahon, 2002;Rinaldi et al, 2001) and as well as the substantial need for inter-organizational collaboration in UI-provision (Ittissa, 1991;Sohail et al, 2005), very few efforts have been devoted to understanding the role and related challenges of inter-organizational coordination in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development ISSN 2164-7682 2015 UI-provision. To this end, this paper is an initial step towards addressing this research gap by providing a conceptual framework, and empirical evidences from Iranian experiences in the context of UI-provision for new development areas.…”

Engineering Sustainability: A Technical Approach to Sustainability

“…The design of solar-optimized neighborhoods has been described [74]. Infrastructure interactions in the design of sustainable neighbourhoods have been examined [75]. Further, the electric utility benefits of zero peak communities have been studied [76].…”

Policy Model of Sustainable Infrastructure Development (Case Study : Bandarlampung City, Indonesia)

“…The relationship between cities and infrastructure is now emerging as a key city policy issue [14]. Many relevant aspects and actors involved in city infrastructure development and planning and it required a comprehensive and integrated policy to be sustainable [7,14,17,27]. A variety of strategies, policies, plans and programs of action for the development of an integrated and sustainable infrastructure in urban have been prepared, but the development of urban infrastructure still faces unresolved issues [16,28].…”