UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Creating sustainable cities one building at a time: Towards an integrated urban design framework

Futcher, J; Mills, G; Emmanuel, R; Korolija, I; (2017) Creating sustainable cities one building at a time: Towards an integrated urban design framework. Cities , 66 pp. 63-71. 10.1016/j.cities.2017.03.009. Green open access

[thumbnail of Manuscript_final.pdf]
Preview
Text
Manuscript_final.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

One of the tenets of urban sustainability is that more compact urban forms that are more densely occupied are more efficient in their overall use of space and of energy. In many designs this has been translates into high-rise buildings with a focus on energy management at their outer envelopes. However, pursuing this building focused approach alone means that buildings are treated as stand-alone entities with minimal consideration to their impact on the surrounding urban landscape and vice versa. Where urban density is high, individual buildings interact with each other, reducing access to sunshine and daylight, obstructing airflow and raising outdoor air temperature. If/when each building pursues its own sustainability agenda without regard to its urban context, the result will diminish the natural energy resources available to nearby buildings and worsen the outdoor environment generally. This paper examines some of these urban impacts using examples from the City of London where rapid transformation is taking place as very tall buildings with exceptional energy credentials are being inserted into a low-rise city without a plan for the overall impact of urban form. The focus of the paper is on access to sunshine and wind and the wider implications of sustainable strategies that that focuses on individual buildings to the exclusion of the surrounding urban landscape. The work highlights the need for a framework that accounts for the synergistic outcomes that result from the mutual interactions of buildings in urban spaces.

Type: Article
Title: Creating sustainable cities one building at a time: Towards an integrated urban design framework
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2017.03.009
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.03.009
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Building energy management, Urban climate effects, Building and urban form
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1553291
Downloads since deposit
457Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item