Data Visualization for a Circular Economy: Designing a Web Application for Sustainable Housing

Abstract

An impediment to effective Circular Economy (CE) implementation in residential buildings is the lack of standardized building data to represent a building’s life cycle, from material sourcing to end-of-use apparatus. This paper presents an overarching methodological approach for creating a circular web application named Data Homebase (DHB). DHB integrates housing data into Housing Passports (HPs), visualizing calculations of estimated energy use, carbon emissions, and affordability building indexes. Using data-driven narratives, DHB outlines a building’s degree of circularity and potential for improved environmental outcomes via circular strategies. The passport system and data-based approach provide a once-missing portal entry for housing stakeholders seeking actionable circularity measurements. This research contributes to the long-term elucidation of key decision-making processes for homebuilding within a comprehensive tool to achieve a far-reaching CE.