More than the sum of the parts: system analysis of the usability of roofs in housing estates
Toboso-Chavero, Susana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Villalba, Gara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Gabarrell Durany, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental)
Madrid, Cristina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2021
Abstract:	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.
Grants:	European Commission 862663 European Commission 818002 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CTM2016-75772-C3-1-3-R Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU16/03238
Note:	Altres ajuts: Greenhouses to Reduce CO2 on Roofs (GROOF) project. Grant Numbers: UE. Interreg NWE 474, (2017-2021)
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Industrial ecology ; Rainwater harvesting ; Renewable energy ; Roof mosaic ; Urban agriculture ; Urban metabolism
Published in:	Journal of Industrial Ecology, First published: 07 March 2021, ISSN 1530-9290

Dades de recerca relacionades amb l'article: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/226152
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.13114

16 p, 2.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Sustainability and Environmental Protection (Sostenipra)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles