Qualitative and quantitative assessment of urban sustainability in social housing using the Casa Azul Label and SBTool urban in Brazil

Abstract

The sustainability potential of Brazilian social housing (SH) needs to be assessed, considering the impacts on the population’s quality of life and urban systems. One of the main weaknesses of Casa Azul Label refers to the absence of a procedure that quantifies the measures for assessing urban sustainability. Based on the post-occupation analysis of an SH project implemented in Araraquara, São Paulo state, Brazil, evaluation of urban sustainability was developed, using a multi-method approach combining the Casa Azul Label and Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool) Urban certification tools. It was proposed to apply the calculations established in SBTool Urban according to the Casa Azul Label certification requirements, as well as insert a national benchmark as a reference for the analysis and normalizing results. These procedures made it possible to base an improvement framework on a Brazilian environmental certification system, including a quantification system to evaluate the efficiency of the applied measures regarding urban sustainability. The multi-method approach, associated with the SBTool Urban procedures, could significantly help to improve the application of a sustainable assessment system in social housing in developing countries. The high number of residential units produced in recent years could be qualitatively evaluated, improving both the construction procedures and the criteria for the urban insertion of human settlements.