How to pick relevant sustainability criteria for the built environment: A bottom-up approach

Abstract

The sustainability agenda is already taken in consideration widely in disciplines dealing with the built environment. What here is less agreed upon is how exactly each discipline herein repositions itself with regard to this agenda. This is exemplified when examining the fields of planning and real estate – two fields that actively embrace sustainability goals, but from two very different starting points. Planning approaches predominantly share a broader socio-spatial logic in their examination of areas, whereas real estate, by definition, works from the level of individual building and site, from which it potentially can connect with broader urban and economic concerns. There is also a constant interaction between the two: cities do not exist without homes and workplaces for their inhabitants; on the other, a well maintained and high quality urban amenity level together with timely provision of buildings and building land will keep property prices at moderate levels. This paper suggests a bottom-up oriented approach to overcome the friction between the two fields. This idea can be applied for analysis of either individual property management or revitalization of whole neighbourhood. This is demonstrated with the case of Portsmouth (UK).

Keywords

• built environment
• planning
• Portsmouth (UK)
• real estate
• sustainability