Supporting sustainable policies through an Urban Energy-Environmental Model and a Multi-Criteria Analysis: a case study in an Italian province

Abstract

Public Authorities (PAs) need to define cross-cutting strategies for urban planning including policies for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings and innovative urban solutions. The article presents a decision support tool that combines an Urban Energy Environmental Model (UEEM) and a Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) to support the development of sustainable local policies. The UEEM, developed with a bottom-up approach incorporating energy and environmental items, provides a~representation of the performance of local urban areas and quantifies the impact of new interventions in expansion areas. The UEEM is based on the definition of virtual archetypes built on the characteristics of the area under consideration. 92 building archetypes and 40 urban archetypes are developed. The energy performance of each building archetype is calculated with a dynamic simulation tool. The environmental performance of urban areas (overheating risk and outdoor thermal comfort) is analysed through a Grasshopper-based parametric model. In addition, soil permeability is calculated. The UEEM results are aggregated into a single index using the MCA, providing a Municipal Rating Index (MRI). The weights of the MCA are estimated through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) based on a survey submitted to local stakeholders (municipalities, environmental associations, experts). The model is applied to the province of Monza and Brianza in northern Italy.