Towards sustainable neighborhoods in Europe: Mitigating 12 environmental impacts by successively applying 8 scenarios

The purpose of this research is to determine the most impactful and important source of
environmental change at the neighborhood level. The study of multiple scenarios allows us to
determine the influence of several parameters on the results of the life cycle analysis of the
neighborhood. We are looking at quantifying the impact of orientation, storm water management,
density, mobility and the use of renewable energies on the environmental balance sheet of a
neighborhood, based on eleven environmental indicators. An eco‐neighborhood, located in
Belgium, has been selected as the modeling site. The results show that the management of mobility
is the parameter that can reduce the impact the most, in terms of greenhouse effect, odor, damage
to biodiversity and health. With the adaptation of photovoltaic panels on the site, the production
exceeds the consumption all through the year, except for the months of December and January,
when the installation covers 45% and 75% of the consumption, respectively. Increasing the built
density of the neighborhood by roof stacking allows the different environmental impacts, calculated
per inhabitant, to be homogeneously minimized.