Assessment Tools to
Measure Sustainability
of Housing Projects
World
over communities are now conscious
of the impact that their lifestyles
are having on the environment and thereby their future generations.
Various assessment tools are available to assist designers, developers
and regulatory bodies to reduce the negative impacts of environmental,
social, economic and cultural constraints. These tools vary considerably
in what and how they measure and how the measurement results are
presented and interpreted.
The introduction of the Assessment Tool EDGE
in the worldwide market of rating tools shows that there is a real need
for bottom up simplified tools. EDGE is an easy to use rating tool which
focuses mainly on three aspects of sustainable buildings: energy, water
and materials. Despite the efforts of EDGE to be adapted to developing
countries, there is still a huge gap with the reality and needs of the
African continent. Africa will have the largest growth of population in
cities in the coming decades and they are asking that external rating
tools should not be imposed on them as guidelines for their development.
They have a need for reinforcing their own models focusing on culture as
a design value and community management as the fundamental basis for
sustainable development.
The SHERPA Assessment Tool was developed
initially for the African countries. Supported by the One Planet
Network, this tool was developed by a team of housing and sustainability
experts from UN-Habitat, CRAterre-ENSAG, VTT Technical Research Centre
of Finland and the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the
Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP), Yaam Soldarité and Architecture
sans Frontiérs Nepal.
SHERPA is an easy to use self-evaluation
tool for project managers, communities and other stakeholders involved
in the planning, design, construction and assessment of housing
projects. SHERPA assesses housing projects from the initial inception of
projects through the site selection and design process all the way up to
the end of life cycle and
recyclability of building materials used.
SHERPA’s holistic approach allows for the
assessment of sustainability in terms of environmental, cultural,
economic and social sustainability, allowing for a holistic assessment
of the impact and sustainability of housing projects. The Rating Tool
consists of a step-by-step questionnaire including indicators that
measure the sustainability of the project. The data required to answer
the questionnaire is mainly qualitative and easy to use for field staff
or project managers of the building sector. The questionnaire measures
how sustainable the project is, by scoring each pillar of sustainable
development, encompassing 12 sustainability criteria. Sustainability
corresponds with an overall balance of all four pillars, by scoring at
least a minimum threshold value, defined by a minimum acceptable level
for each addressed issue.
In Nepal, SHERPA has been a useful tool for
reconstruction of earthquake affected houses. The SHERPA tool has helped
to re-build people’s lives through a participatory and owner-driven
approach. It has been effective in planning and design of social housing
projects keeping in mind the sustainability aspects.
To try out the tool, please go to
www.sherpa4housing.org
■
Pratibha Caleb
pcaleb@devalt.org
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