More than the sum of the parts: system analysis of the usability of roofs in housing estates
Housing estates, that is, mass social housing on middle- and high-rise apartment blocks, in urban areas are found all over the world with very similar constructive patterns and a multiplicity of environmental and socio-economic problems. In this regard, such areas are optimal for the implementation...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:237357 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/237357 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1111/jiec.13114 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Industrial ecology Rainwater harvesting Renewable energy Roof mosaic Urban agriculture Urban metabolism |
| Resumo: | Housing estates, that is, mass social housing on middle- and high-rise apartment blocks, in urban areas are found all over the world with very similar constructive patterns and a multiplicity of environmental and socio-economic problems. In this regard, such areas are optimal for the implementation of a roof mosaic which involves applying a combination of urban farming, solar energy, and harvesting rainwater systems (decentralized systems) on unoccupied roofs. To design sustainable and productive roof mosaic scenarios, we develop an integrated framework through a multi-scale (municipality, building, and household) and multi-dimensional analysis (environmental and socio-economic, structural, and functional) to optimize the supply of essential resources (food, energy, and water). The proposed workflow was applied to a housing estate to rehabilitate unused rooftops (66,433 m2). First, using the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism methodology, we determined metabolic rates across buildings and municipality levels, which did not vary significantly (12.60-14.50 g/h for vegetables, 0.82-1.11 MJ/h for electricity, 0.80-1.11 MJ/h for heating, and 5.62-6.59 L/h for water). Second, based on a participatory process involving stakeholders to qualitatively analyze potential scenarios further in terms of preferences, five scenarios were chosen. These rooftop scenarios were found to improve the resource self-sufficiency of housing estate residents by providing 42-53% of their vegetable consumption, 9-35% of their electricity use, and 38-200% of their water needs depending on the scenario. Boosting new urban spaces of resource production involves citizens in sites which face social and economic needs. |
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