Comparative analysis of material criteria in neighborhood sustainability assessment tools and urban design guidelines: Cases of the UK, the US, Japan, and Korea

Sustainability assessment tools have been developed for building-scale sustainability since the 1990s. Several systems, such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency), are widely used and have been upgraded and adapted to large-scale development. BREEAM Communities, LEED Neighborhood Development and CASBEE for Urban Development have been implemented in the UK, the USA and Japan, respectively. As the notion of sustainable urban design has gained more significance, city governments have set their own guidelines for sustainable standards in urban design based on studies of sustainability assessment tools. This study focused on a comparative analysis of the material criteria embedded for sustainable urban design in BREEAM Communities, LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) and CASBEE-UD (Urban Development), and the urban design guidelines recently issued in multiple cities, including London, New York, Tokyo, and Seoul. The top master plans and the supplementary guidelines were analyzed to investigate the detailed material criteria. The study examined the differences in the material assessment criteria, evaluation parameters, and descriptions of the neighborhood sustainability assessment tools and the urban design guidelines. The material criteria was investigated and discussed to summarize the current features and weaknesses as balanced material assessments for sustainable urban development.