Modelling the Influence of Urban Planning on the Financial and Environmental Impact of Neighbourhoods

Urban planning decisions related to the urban form, built density and neighbourhood location may affect the sustainability of neighbourhoods to an important extent. This chapter investigates the influence of urban planning on the financial and environmental impact of neighbourhoods. A number of schematic neighbourhood models with various layouts and built densities are analysed using an integrated life cycle approach, combining Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (E-LCA). Furthermore, the influence of the neighbourhood location is assessed by comparing the impact of a rural and urban location. The results reveal substantial impact differences (up to 20–25%) between the neighbourhoods, showing the importance of good urban planning to decrease the financial and environmental impact of the built environment. The main reasons for these variations are the lower primary land use, lower energy use for heating and lower material use in high built-density neighbourhoods and compact buildings. Also, the neighbourhood location proved to be a key parameter to decrease the impact of user transport in neighbourhoods, with impact reductions up to 25–30% in an urban area.