Climate neutral urban districts in Europe: a comparative analysis

The concept of climate neutral districts is a new field of discourse and a new planning approach facing many challenges. Climate neutral districts can make avaluable contribution to low carbon societies. The concept of climate neutral urban districts is a way to approach the issue of carbon emissions by creating test beds where new ideas and technologies can be introduced. This study uses Hackbridge and the Stockholm Royal Seaport project as case studies to show that districts are increasingly moving towards Climate neutral urban district goals with the integration of renewable energy sources.In recent years, investigations show how cities are working at different scales, using different approaches concerning climate mitigation actions in urban districts and projects, based on different technologies and frameworks. However, one clear conclusion from the observation is that even if the idea of a “climate neutral city” is adopted by some cities in Europe, the concept of climate neutral urban districts is quite new. This thesis draws upon this message and shows how climate neutral development is important for the future of urban districts and cities at large.The methodology this thesis presented clearly adopts an urban metabolism model that facilitate the description and analysis of material and energy flows within the districts. This allows the examination of energy and material flows in the complex urban district systems, shaped by various social, economic and environmental forces. Attributes of the model proposed is the possibility of integration and comparison between different urban regions, as the essential indicators are suggested along with standardized measuring units.This study points to a remarkable opportunity to cross the boundaries between the built sector and environment, and to establish strong and quantitative links between these dimensions at an urban level. This has the potential to make a major contribution to the design of sustainable urban systems and infrastructure that have been observed in this study.In this way, the thesis uncovers the need for a universal carbon accounting framework for urban district development that identifies the specific areas that needs to be considered and targeted by developers making carbon claims, as well as a standardised approach and methodology for quantifying those emissions. This will help to make carbon claims and assertions much more meaningful and comparable, bring greater credibility to the concept of low carbon developments. A common metric for conducting carbon analyses, together with consistent terminology and a universally accepted definition shall make it easy to compare developments and their claims. However, conclusion can be drawn from this study that the urban retrofit path adopted by Hackbridge has the greater potential to develop climate neutral urban environments and it is an important direction for the future of urban districts and cities at large to combat climate change