Umberto Berardi

Smart Cities: Definitions, Dimensions, Performance, and Initiatives

Abstract As the term “smart city” gains wider and wider currency, there is still confusion about what a smart city is, especially since several similar terms are often used interchangeably. This paper aims to clarify the meaning of the word “smart” in the context of cities through an approach based on an in-depth literature review of relevant studies as well as official documents of international institutions. It also identifies the main dimensions and elements characterizing a smart city. The different metrics of urban smartness are reviewed to show the need for a shared definition of what constitutes a smart city, what are its features, and how it performs in comparison to traditional cities. Furthermore, performance measures and initiatives in a few smart cities are identified.

Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems

This paper focuses on the sustainability assessment of urban communities through multi-criterion rating systems. Recent interpretations of the concepts of sustainability, assessment and community are discussed before reviewing existing assessment systems. In particular, the systems BREEAM for Communities, LEED for Neighbourhood Development and CASBEE for Urban Development are presented and compared. Each one of these systems bases the assessment on the summation of rates for different criteria often similar to those considered in sustainability assessments of buildings. The comparison shows that existing systems often accept a weak sustainability where natural resources may be subsidized by other priorities. Missing assessment criteria are proposed mainly within the social and economic dimensions of sustainability. This paper also shows that the dynamicity of a community suggests considering the sustainability assessment systems as tools to monitor the evolution of communities. Finally, it shows that an increase in citizen engagement in the selection of assessment criteria is necessary to share priorities and customize sustainability goals for each community.

Beyond Sustainability Assessment Systems: Upgrading Topics by Enlarging The Scale of Assessment

The increasing attention to sustainability worldwide asks for sustainable practices in every sector. In this scenario, the construction sector has often been indicated as a leading protagonist of sustainable development. However, sustainable buildings are still rare and requests to push a sustainable transition of the construction sector are common. Meanwhile, studies and policies are discussing what a sustainable building is and how to measure sustainability in the built environment. The sustainability assessment of buildings has been diffusing thanks to the multi-criteria rating systems. The paper discusses some limits of these systems. Then, it looks at trends in sustainability assessment. Given the integrity and complexity of sustainability in urban systems, assessments at larger scales are increasingly required. Sustainable neighbourhoods and cities are diffusing worldwide, whereas experiences of sustainability assessment at city level have started. These experiences show that the dynamism of cities ...

Simulation of acoustical parameters in rectangular churches

Computer simulations to predict acoustical parameters have been attracting renewed interest in recent years. This paper reports the results of computer simulations of the acoustics of box-shaped churches. Twenty-five buildings have been considered by varying the dimensional ratios between length, width and height. The study focuses on the values assumed by three acoustical parameters, the clarity, the early lateral energy fraction and the centre time, in each of the simulated buildings. The parameters of analysis allowed to evaluate the dependence between the shape of the building and its acoustics. Moreover, in each church, simulations were realized by moving the sound source in five different positions in order to investigate how the acoustics changes. Considering the trade-off among dimensional ratios of the room, volume and source position, formulae which predict acoustical parameters in box-shaped churches are presented. A first validation of these formulae has been made using measured acoustical parameters in five Italian churches.

What is an intelligent building? Analysis of recent interpretations from an international perspective

In recent years, the notion of intelligent buildings (IBs) has become increasingly popular due to their potentials for deploying design initiatives and emerging technologies towards maximized occupants’ comfort and well-being with sustainable design. However, various definitions, interpretations, and implications regarding the essence of IBs exist. Various key performance indicators of IBs have been proposed in different contexts. This study explores the notion of IBs and presents an analysis of their main constituents. Through a comparison of these constituents in different contexts, this study aims to extract the common features of IBs leading to an evolved definition which could be useful as a reference framework for design, evaluation, and development of future IBs. Findings also scrutinize the long run benefits of IBs, while demonstrating the constraints and challenges of the current international interpretations.

Beneath the smart city: dichotomy between sustainability and competitiveness

The smart city is a new concept that has received a lot of attention as a means for enhancing city performance and quality of life. However, together with the growing interest in the concept of the smart city, cities are often pursuing other goals that may be in conflict with the characteristics of a smart city. For example, sustainability is an established goal of future urban development everywhere. Meanwhile, the promotion of economy development is often the major driver of smart city initiatives, but a high degree of economic competitiveness is only one of the components of a smart city. Moreover, sustainability and economic competitiveness have few elements in common. Which urban aspects should hence be promoted to conjugate the different goals? This paper compares the indicators used in rating systems for a smart city, a sustainable city, and a competitive city to figure out what these concepts seek to achieve and where they complement and contrast. The scope is to highlight aspects that should be p...

Intelligent facades in low-energy buildings.

Growing interest in development of innovative solutions for enhancement of sustainability in the built environments has been observed in recent years. According to the main constituents of buildings particularly in building envelopes, faca des are expected to play a significant role towards the promotion of sustainable design in low energy buildings. This study presents a holistic review towards the analysis ofintelligent facadesaccording to their types, current implementations, challeng es, and ultimate impacts.Intelligent facades need to be responsive and conscious to the local climate, outdoor environment, and indoor spaces with view to parameters such as energy performance, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, etc. The findings demonstrate that energy modeling and simulations should be performed during the early stage of design process of buildings to ensure the practicality and effectiveness of any green implementations in buildings. In conclusion, the study recommendsthe intelligent facades to become an inherent constituent of green buildings for future development of low energy buildings.

Sustainability assessments of buildings, communities, and cities

This chapter focuses on sustainability assessments in the built environment through multicriterion rating systems. Recent interpretations of the concepts of sustainability, assessment, and sustainability assessment in the built environment are discussed before reviewing existing assessment systems. In particular, this chapter focuses on sustainability assessments of buildings, communities, and cities. A comparison between assessment systems at these different scales of the built environment is performed before focusing on the need of cross-scale evaluations. In particular, rating systems that have tools for the different scales such as BREEAM, LEED, and CASBEE are presented and compared. Each one of these systems bases the assessment on the summation of rates for different criteria, often selected in a no transparent way. The comparison shows that previous systems often accept weak sustainability when natural resources may be substituted by other priorities. Moreover, missing assessment criteria are indicated mainly within the social and economic dimensions of sustainability. This chapter also shows that the dynamicity of the built environment suggests considering the sustainability assessment systems as tools to monitor the evolution of the built environment as well as citizens’ lives. Finally, the chapter shows the importance of adapting sustainability goals and indicators of each specific situation.

The adoption of green roofs for the retrofitting of existing buildings in the Mediterranean climate

AbstractIn recent years, the demand for air conditioning systems has increased considerably. Consequentially, the energy demand for building cooling has become a serious concern. In particular, the energy peak demand that is intensified by the urban heat island (UHI) effect is often a critical issue for the outdated electricity infrastructure in many countries. In order to rationalize the building energy consumption while ensuring indoor thermal comfort, this paper explores the possibilities offered by the retrofitting of existing uninsulated roofs in combination with night natural cooling strategies. To this end, a case study was selected in order to investigate the performance of an extensive green roof (GR) with and without natural ventilation (NV). The selected building is located in Catania, southern Italy, in a very mild climate. Free-running conditions were evaluated together with air conditioning conditions during the daytime and free cooling via natural ventilation at night. The hourly variation ...

Design and Application of Concrete Tiles Enhanced with Microencapsulated Phase-Change Material

AbstractPhase-change materials (PCMs) have a high heat of fusion compared to that of traditional material, and for this reason, they are able to store and release larger amounts of energy at their transition temperature. The inclusion of PCMs in buildings has attracted much interest worldwide because of their ability to reduce building energy demand and increase indoor comfort. This paper presents the development and testing results of a concrete tile system with microencapsulated PCMs. The concrete tiles were cast for use in a high-performance house built for the Solar Decathlon China 2013 competition. The paper shows that the addition of PCMs reduced the overall compressive and flexural strength properties of the concrete. A more than 25% decrease in compressive strength was observed with the addition of 20% PCM per volume of concrete. However, a significant improvement in the thermal properties of the concrete tile PCMs was measured. The thermal energy storage capability of the PCM-enhanced concrete ti...