Ecodiseño urbano en la ciudad de Barcelona

El diseño de ciudades sostenibles se perfila como la mejor solución para hacer frente a los problemas ambientales globales que ha creado nuestra sociedad. Para ello, se requieren nuevos enfoques e instrumentos con los que mejorar el diseño y la planificación urbanísticos. Dadas las circunstancias, el ecodiseño surge como una de las herramientas esenciales para avanzar hacia unas ciudades más sotenibles. En este artículo presentamos tres estudios de caso de aplicación del ecodiseño en Barcelona: una farola, un punto limpio de barrio y un barrio entero

Ecodisseny urbà a la ciutat de Barcelona

El disseny de ciutats sostenibles es perfila com la millor solució per fer front als problemes ambientals globals que ha creat la nostra societat. Per fer-ho, calen noves perspectives i instruments amb els quals millorar el disseny i la planificació urbanístics. Ateses les circumstàncies l'ecodisseny sorgeix com una de les eines essecials per avançar vers unes ciutats més sostenibles. En aquest article presentem tres estudis de cas d'aplicació de l'ecodisseny a Barcelona: un fanal, un punt verd de barri i un barri sencer

Introducing ergonomics requirements in the eco-design of energy-related products from users' behaviour approach

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Ergonomics has been a very important activity in the design process. However, ergonomics rarely includes the environmental requirements into the design of products. The article proposes and presents the Eco-Ergo model through its application to a real-world product, a washing machine, to allow designers and ergonomists to establish product design requirements in order to minimise environmental impacts related to user-product interaction during the use stage. This model uses a visual language of representation, Blueprinting-based, that helps designers explore problems they have not previously considered during the market research when a wide variety of products with different interaction elements is analysed. The application of this model allows direct efforts and attention on the user analysis phase in the most influential user's actions on the environmental performance of energy-related products during use, establishing ergonomics requirements related to users behaviour at the initial design phase.Practitioner summary: This study provides a proposal to incorporate ergonomics into the practice of eco-design through the use of human factors in the establishment of initial eco-design requirements. This blueprint-based model combines an empirical and theoretical approach, based on the product test developed by designers, ergonomists and environmentalists

Medi ambient, Energia i Residus

Postprint (published version

LCM in urban planning for diminishing GHG: case study on concrete sidewalks

The Kyoto protocol, signed by 160 countries, pledges greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of at least 5% relative to 1990 levels [1]. Besides the global concern and action to mitigate GHG emissions, national-level policies are increasingly being supplemented with city-scale actions to mitigate climate change [2]. Marshall [3] makes us notice that although much attention on mitigating climate change has focused on alternative fuels, energy consumption in vehicles, and electricity generation, better urban design represents an important yet undervalued opportunity. The built environment is responsible for huge amounts of pollution and waste generation [4] at millions of different locations worldwide. And one of the major construction materials is concrete.Postprint (published version

Resolving differing stakeholder perceptions of urban rooftop farming in Mediterranean cities : promoting food production as a driver for innovative forms of urban agriculture

Urban agriculture (UA) is spreading within the Global North, largely for food production, ranging from household individual gardens to community gardens that boost neighborhood regeneration. Additionally, UA is also being integrated into buildings, such as Urban Rooftop Farming (URF). Some URF experiences succeed in North America both as private and community initiatives. To date, little attention has been paid to how stakeholders perceive UA and URF in the Mediterranean or to the role of food production in these initiatives. This study examines the promotion and inclusion of new forms of UA through the practice of URF and contributes to the nascent literature on the stakeholder and public perceptions of UA. It seeks to understand how those perceptions shape the development of new urban agriculture practices and projects. Barcelona (Spain) was used as a Mediterranean case study where UA and URF projects are growing in popularity. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 core stakeholders, we show that UA is largely perceived as a social activity rather than a food production initiative, because the planning of urban gardens in Barcelona was traditionally done to achieve leisure and other social goals. However, several stakeholders highlighted the potential to increase urban fertility through URF by occupying currently unused spaces. As a result, the positive valuation of URF depends on the conceptualization of UA as a social or food production activity. In turn, such conceptualization shapes barriers and opportunities for the development of URF. While most UA-related stakeholders (e.g., food co-ops, NGOs) preferred soil-based UA, newer stakeholders (e.g., architects) highlighted the economic, social and environmental opportunities of local and efficient food production through innovative URF

Are Cradle to Cradle certified products environmentally preferable? Analysis from an LCA approach

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certification has gained popularity amongst companies as a way to distinguish more environmentally friendly products. This article analyzes the C2C certification by determining how successful this eco-labeling scheme is in distinguishing environmentally preferable products in order to probe if the certification informs correctly to the consumer about the environmental performance of products. Furthermore, we identify for which product types the C2C certification really results in environmental impact reduction. First a review is done in order to detect the debilities, if any, of C2C. Secondly, the fact that C2C requirements do not tackle environmental aspects of products from a life cycle approach, and concentrates exclusively on raw materials and end of life phases, is further analyzed in depth. To do so, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) already published results for different product categories are used to determine if the life-cycle stages considered under the C2C approach coincide with the most relevant stages in terms of life-cycle environmental impacts. This helps ascertain if and when C2C can be considered an appropriate ecolabel.It is concluded that for products with high-energy consumption during use, C2C does not guarantee relevant environmental improvements, since it does not account for a substantial part of the product's environmental impact. For these reasons, we argue that C2C is not always an appropriate scheme to distinguish environmentally preferable products

Urban ecodesign in the city of Barcelona

Article publicat a la versió anglesa de la revista, que també té versions en català i castellà.Designing sustainable cities seems to be the best solution for facing the global environmental problems that our society has created. With this aim, new approaches and tools for improved urban design and planning are necessary. In this context, ecodesign presents itself as one of the key tools in the move towards more sustainable cities. This article presents three case studies of how it has been applied in Barcelona: a street light; a waste collection point and an entire neighbourhood

Estudi preliminar per la creació d'una nova categoria d'impacte ambiental dins el marc de l'ACV : la dimensió natural del paisatge

L'Anàlisi de Cicle de Vida (ACV) és una eina emprada per gestionar els impactes ambientals i els recursos usats al llarg del cicle de vida d'un bé o servei. Existeixen reptes de futur en el desenvolupament de l'ACV, tals com la introducció de noves categories d'impacte ambiental, que permetin una anàlisi més específica dels impactes sobre determinats elements del medi, com ara el paisatge. En el present estudi s'analitza la dimensió natural del paisatge per tal de proposar la creació d'un índex de paisatge. Així doncs, s'han revisat les noves propostes de categories d'impacte en ACV que inclouen directament o indirecta el paisatge i s'ha analitzat una mostra de 33 estudis d'indicadors de paisatge. Aquesta cerca deriva en l'elecció de 6 indicadors: els usos del sòl, la diversitat paisatgística, la fragmentació, la connectivitat, la riquesa d'espècies i la densitat de carreteres. En la determinació dels seus respectius mètodes de càlcul s'ha detectat la importància de l'ús dels SIG, l'elecció d'una base de dades d'usos del sòl comuna (CORINE) i les interrelacions que existeixen entre indicadors. La proposta de l'índex hauria de poder ésser un punt de partida per a futurs estudis en aquest àmbit i derivar en una nova categoria d'impacte de paisatge, donat que caldrà estudiar alguns elements, com la interrelació entre indicadors.El Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) es una herramienta usada para gestionar los impactos ambientales y los recursos usados a lo largo del ciclo de vida de un bien o servicio. Existen retos de futuro en el desarrollo del ACV, tales como la introducción de nuevas categorías de impacto ambiental, que permitan un análisis más específico de los impactos sobre determinados elementos del medio, como por ejemplo el paisaje. En el presente estudio se analiza la dimensión natural del paisaje con el fin de proponer la creación de un índice de paisaje. Así pues, se han revisado las nuevas propuestas de categorías de impacto en ACV que incluyen directa o indirectamente el paisaje y se ha analizado una muestra de 33 estudios de indicadores de paisaje. Esta búsqueda deriva en la elección de 6 indicadores: los usos del suelo, la diversidad paisajística, la fragmentación, la conectividad, la riqueza de especies y la densidad de carreteras. En la determinación de sus respectivos métodos de cálculo se ha detectado la importancia del uso de los SIG, la elección de una base de datos de usos del suelo común (CORINE) y las interrelaciones que existen entre indicadores. La propuesta del índice debería poder ser un punto de partida para futuros estudios en este ámbito y derivar en una nueva categoría de impacto de paisaje, dado que será necesario estudiar algunos elementos, como la interrelación entre indicadores.Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool used to assess the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product's or service's life cycle. There are future challenges in the development of the LCA, such as the introduction of new environmental impact categories that may allow a more specific analysis of the impacts on certain elements of the environment, for example the landscape. In the present study, the natural dimension of the landscape is analysed, with the aim to propose the creation of a landscape index. New LCA impact categories, which include landscape directly or indirectly, have been reviewed and a sample of 33 landscape indicator studies have been analysed. This search leads to the choice of 6 indicators: land use, landscape diversity, fragmentation, connectivity, species richness and road density. While determining their respective calculation methods, the importance of the use of GIS was detected, as well as the choice of a common land use database (CORINE) and the existent interrelations between indicators. The proposal of an index may be a start point in future studies regarding this field and lead to a new landscape impact category, given that further analysis of some elements, such as the interrelations between indicators, will be required

Ecodisseny urbà a la ciutat de Barcelona

El disseny de ciutats sostenibles es perfila com la millor solució per fer front als problemes ambientals globals que ha creat la nostra societat. Per fer-ho, calen noves perspectives i instruments amb els quals millorar el disseny i la planificació urbanístics. Ateses les circumstàncies, l'ecodisseny sorgeix com una de les eines essencials per avançar vers unes ciutats més sostenibles. En aquest article presentem tres estudis de cas d'aplicació de l'ecodisseny a Barcelona: un fanal, un punt verd de barri i un barri sencer