Comparative study of green neighbourhood assessment tools for assessing existing urban form in MENA region

Abstract

Urbanisation in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region has led to environmental challenges, particularly in urban form and its relationship with city structure. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) 11 and 13 have actions at the city level to address this issue. They highlight the significance of assessing neighbourhood sustainability as building blocks of the city. However, current neighbourhood rating systems used in the MENA region are designed for new projects rather than existing neighbourhoods. Even though several NSATs are used in the MENA context, whether locally developed or Global NSATs. There is a need for systematic procedures or selection methods to identify applicable NSATs for MENA's varying contexts. Global NSATs such as LEED-ND, BREEAM communities and HQE-AD, alongside several regionally developed NSATs -like GSAS districts- claim to be applicable across the MENA context or even globally. However, there is no straightforward process for selecting appropriate tools in context, especially for urban form scale assessment. This study aims to provide a workflow for confronting this research problem by creating a tool selection decision chart based on data availability. This research used a method that included first a maturity analysis of local and global tools in the MENA region. Second, a comparative analysis of the selected NSATs (LEED-ND, PCRS, and GSAS Districts). Third, a deductive analysis of urban form-related categories and identification of critical variables and metrics. Finally, a relational mapping is needed to develop a tool selection decision chart for urban form-related indicators. Through our four-step method, the study identified data variables related to urban form categories for NSA, which can help evaluate pre-existing neighbourhoods often overlooked by current tools and identify the most suitable tools for assessment. The results from the first phase helped select green neighbourhood tools systematically based on data availability. The findings highlight the significance of each tool's core, required, and highest-scoring variables. While LEED-ND emphasises urban compactness and mobility, PCRS prioritises thermal comfort and pedestrian mobility indicators. The results also highlight that the GSAS Districts seek to minimise negative impacts and require extensive data collection. The study highlights the practical applicability of the mature and context-appropriate tools, especially in settings that lack well-developed NSATs and experience with their implementation. The conclusion includes providing a flowchart as a decision-making aid for policymakers, urban planning professionals and stakeholders in selecting a suitable green neighbourhood assessment tool. The flowchart identifies the variables for data acquisition, accessibility, and usability. As it is adaptable to various contexts, this flowchart provides a robust checklist for selecting and implementing NSATs ensuring practical guidance for evaluating and enhancing urban environments.