Certification and assessment method for sustainable communities

Abstract

BREEAM ES Urbanismo (BREEAM for Communities) is the sustainability assessment and certification method for community planning projects. It focuses on fundamental environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria and any planning requirements with an impact on urban projects. BREEAM ES Urbanismo assesses sustainability in accordance with the following categories: Climate and Energy, Community, Place Shaping, Ecology, Transport, Resources, Business and Building, and aims at mitigating the environmental, social and economic impacts of an urban development or renovation project. During the process of adapting BREEAM ES Urbanismo to the particularities of Spain, this methodology was applied to three actual planning projects for the purpose of testing the method’s specific applicability: “Parque Central de Valencia” (Nova Ingeniería y Gestión S.L.), “Marqués de la Ensenada” in Castile-León (Arnaiz Consultores S.L. and the Autonomous Government of Castile-León) and “La Rosilla” in Madrid (EMVS & Ezquiaga Arquitectura, Sociedad y Territorio S.L.). This paper intends to explain the BREEAM ES Urbanismo methodology, as well as the case studies.