BREEAM Communities: Criteria Aim, Status, Strengths and Weaknesses

Abstract

The point where Sustainable Development and Smart Growth understandings meet with standardization and technology has enabled eco-labels, assessment models and guidelines to emerge and become a trend. With Agenda 21, this trend has been well adopted and eco-labels, assessment models and certifications have begun to be created for many disciplines. The concept of sustainable neighbourhood, strengthened by the development of the Eco-Urbanism concept, constitutes an important basis for sustainable urban design and the Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) concept is nourished from this basis. BREEAM stands out as the first example developed when it comes to sustainability models of architecture and urban design. This study is a review on the criteria and indicators, purpose, status of the BREEAM Communities Model developed for smart and sustainable urban design, which is a rising value, and the scoring system was examined through BREEAM data and literature. In addition, the differences, and similarities between 5 different Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessments which are LEED ND, CASBEE UD, Citylab, and BEAM Plus Neighboorhood by 4 organizations from 70 members of the World Green Building Council, including BRE, which constitutes the BREEAM system, were investigated. As a result of all these studies, the strengths, and weaknesses of BREEAM Communities were determined.