309
The general aim of this chapter is to incorporate the life cycle thinking approach
into the design of the urban fabric for supporting planning processes, thereby
optimizing the environmental performance of cities. The objective is to identify the
best environmental practices by comparing existing LCA data of the main elements
of the urban fabric (sidewalks, pavements, and the gas, water and wastewater
networks) and to integrate these practices into the environmental impact accounting
of the entire street profi le.
2 Methods
2.1 Environmental Benchmarking
Life cycle assessment (LCA) (ISO 2006 ) is a tool for the systematic compilation
and evaluation of the environmental aspects and the potential environmental impacts
of products systems throughout their life cycle, from raw material acquisition
through use until fi nal disposal (UNEP/SETAC 2012 ). In this sense, the environmental benchmarking of multiple alternatives for urban fabric planning was
conducted by reviewing LCA studies on their environmental impacts. To do so,
different constructive solutions for sidewalks, pavements, and gas, water and
wastewater networks were compared in terms of global warming potential (GWP;
kg of CO 2 eq.) (IPCC 2007 ).
2.2 The Urban Fabric
Multiple elements compose the urban fabric where daily urban life is supported. In
this study, the authors considered the paved skin (sidewalks, road pavement) and
the subterranean pipelines that supply basic services (gas, water, wastewater).
Figure 22.1 displays a scheme of the urban fabric system. The functional unit of the
assessment is a 1 × 8 m street section in a time frame of 50 years, representative of
a European medium-sized city. In particular, the scenario considers a street profi le
located at the city centre where light-weight traffi c and pedestrian areas are preferential. Superfi cial structures such as benches or streetlights were excluded.
3 Environmental Profi le of Urban Fabric Elements
The following section describes the environmental profi le of multiple design options
for the urban fabric. Once compared, the best practices are assembled to show an
optimized design of the paved skin (sidewalks, road pavement) and the subterranean
pipelines that supply basic services (gas, water, wastewater) from an environmental
point of view.
22 Life Cycle Management Applied to Urban Fabric Planning
The general aim of this chapter is to incorporate the life cycle thinking approach
into the design of the urban fabric for supporting planning processes, thereby
optimizing the environmental performance of cities. The objective is to identify the
best environmental practices by comparing existing LCA data of the main elements
of the urban fabric (sidewalks, pavements, and the gas, water and wastewater
networks) and to integrate these practices into the environmental impact accounting
of the entire street profi le.
2 Methods
2.1 Environmental Benchmarking
Life cycle assessment (LCA) (ISO 2006 ) is a tool for the systematic compilation
and evaluation of the environmental aspects and the potential environmental impacts
of products systems throughout their life cycle, from raw material acquisition
through use until fi nal disposal (UNEP/SETAC 2012 ). In this sense, the environmental benchmarking of multiple alternatives for urban fabric planning was
conducted by reviewing LCA studies on their environmental impacts. To do so,
different constructive solutions for sidewalks, pavements, and gas, water and
wastewater networks were compared in terms of global warming potential (GWP;
kg of CO 2 eq.) (IPCC 2007 ).
2.2 The Urban Fabric
Multiple elements compose the urban fabric where daily urban life is supported. In
this study, the authors considered the paved skin (sidewalks, road pavement) and
the subterranean pipelines that supply basic services (gas, water, wastewater).
Figure 22.1 displays a scheme of the urban fabric system. The functional unit of the
assessment is a 1 × 8 m street section in a time frame of 50 years, representative of
a European medium-sized city. In particular, the scenario considers a street profi le
located at the city centre where light-weight traffi c and pedestrian areas are preferential. Superfi cial structures such as benches or streetlights were excluded.
3 Environmental Profi le of Urban Fabric Elements
The following section describes the environmental profi le of multiple design options
for the urban fabric. Once compared, the best practices are assembled to show an
optimized design of the paved skin (sidewalks, road pavement) and the subterranean
pipelines that supply basic services (gas, water, wastewater) from an environmental
point of view.
22 Life Cycle Management Applied to Urban Fabric Planning