Evaluation model of the economic-environmental impact on housing recovery. Application in the city of Seville, Spain

• Published in: Sustainable cities and society 2022-08, Vol.83, p.103940, Article 103940
• Main Authors: Alba-Rodríguez, M.D., Solís-Guzmán, J., Marrero, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Building recovery; Ecological footprint; Economic-environmental assessment; Policy planning
• ISSN: 2210-6707; 2210-6715
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103940

•The model enables comparison for decision-making in sustainable policy-making.•Ecology and economy are joined in the model; the budget provides the input.•Identifies the families of materials with the greatest impact in building recovery interventions.•The model quantifies the impact and is sensitive to solutions and pathological intensity.•Energy-consumption comparisons indicate energy-efficient retrofitting. The recovery of dwellings, understood as the repair of severely damaged housing, it is of great importance at a European level due to the large number of neighbourhoods in need of improvements in comfort, structural integrity, and accessibility. The proposed model, based on the ecological footprint (EF) indicator and the amounts of resources required as expressed in the project budget, provides the necessary quantification for the evaluation of the economic-environmental impact, while simultaneously evaluating the viability of the intervention. The model facilitates the comparison of the most sustainable and competitive solutions; hence it can be employed to establish resilient policies based on sustainable planning. Eight practical projects are analysed in Seville, Spain. At the level of material results, the impact can be reduced by 80%, depending on the potential for recycling and recovery of the materials. The foundation and structure chapters have the greatest impact with 30% of the total EF. With the energy improvements implemented, an average reduction of 60% in CO2 emissions is achieved. From the results produced by the model, it is possible to clearly identify the elements on which to act to achieve a significant reduction in the EF of the project.