Centro de Território, Ambiente e Construção
Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho
Campus de Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Phone: + 351 253 510 200 (517 206)
Fax: + 351 253 510 217
Email: geral@ctac.uminho.pt
@JournalArticle {1956, title = {Assessment of Land Use Efficiency Using BSA Tools: Development of a New Index}, journal = {Journal of Urban Planning and Development }, year = {2014}, note = {Barbosa, J.,\ Bragan{\c c}a, L., and\ Mateus, R.\ (2014). "Assessment of Land Use Efficiency Using BSA Tools: Development of a New Index."\ J. Urban Plann. Dev.\ ,\ 10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000208\ , 04014020.
}, month = {2014-04-04 00:00:00}, pages = {040140201-040140209}, publisher = {American Society of Civil Engineers}, abstract = {In this article, the sustainability assessment of land use efficiency of buildings is subject to a critical study. Several building sustainability assessment (BSA) tools were analyzed, finding that the impacts of this criterion are not correctly assessed in current methodologies and some even ignore its importance. Some existing assessment methods and corresponding indexes were used in four virtual buildings to evaluate the effectiveness of each calculation method. It was concluded that the existing methods do not provide correct assessments and can promote unsustainable practices. It was also proved that it is necessary to include the implantation index, spatial efficiency, and occupational efficiency for correct assessments complementary to the use of the gross floor area index or development density. Due to difficulties in the weighting of the four complementary indexes, a single index was developed to perform the calculations using five main variables. The new index was tested in seven virtual buildings for internal validation and to two real buildings, providing good assessment results regarding the expected performance of buildings and proving to be better than other indexes that are currently used in BSA tools to assess land use efficiency. Considerations are also made for the development of regional benchmarks for the new index and the possibility ofusing it in regulations at a municipal and national scale to promote land use efficiency.
}, keywords = {Buildings, Land use efficiency, Sustainability assessment}, issn = {0733-9488}, doi = {10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000208}, url = {http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/\%28ASCE\%29UP.1943-5444.0000208}, author = {Barbosa, J. A. and Bragan{\c c}a, L. and Mateus, R.} }
The Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC) is a research unit of the School of Engineering of University of Minho (UMinho), recognised by the “FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia” (Foundation for Science and Technology), associated to the Department of Civil Engineering (DEC), with whom it shares resources and namely human resources.
Currently CTAC aggregates 25 researchers holding a PhD of which 20 are faculty professors of the Civil Engineering Department. Read more
Centro de Território, Ambiente e Construção
Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho
Campus de Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Phone: + 351 253 510 200 (517 206)
Fax: + 351 253 510 217
Email: geral@ctac.uminho.pt