Urbius: a Method for Assessing the Sustainability of Urban Renewal Strategies at Neighborhood Scale

Research summary One of the main challenges of European post-industrial cities is to prevent urban sprawl. Hence, increasing the density of inner cities instead of building new constructions in the peripheries has become a priority. However, city centres are already built and occupied by communities. Therefore, urban renewal projects aiming at increasing the density of the urban fabric should take into account existing buildings, as well as people living and working on the site (Dupagne, Teller, & Ruelle, 2004). In this perspective, interdisciplinary approaches including sociocultural, economic and environmental parameters are necessary to lead urban renewal projects (EU, 2010). In addition, urban renewal projects cannot be completed within a single phase; a strategy needs to be established and implemented over a long period of time, depending on the number of owners and activities in the existing buildings. With this in mind, developing a series of urban renewal scenarios at neighbourhood scale seems to be the most appropriate solution. It provides both a holistic vision and a case-by-case vision (Roberts, Struthers, & Sacks, 1993). This paper presents the URBIUS method, developed to assess the sustainability of urban renewal strategies at neighbourhood scale. The conceptual framework of URBIUS gathers the main issues of urban sustainability, including social, economic and environmental aspects. URBIUS is mainly used to compare different strategies for a single neighbourhood. Thus, the assessment thresholds are adapted to the specific potentials, and challenges. The aim is to support city planners in their prospective and proactive work of anticipating the sustainable urban transformation. A case study assessing three different scenarios for the " Moulins neighbourhood " in Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland) is also presented to exemplify the method. Three strategies propose different ways to increase the built density: the first one (S1), allows a higher gross floor area per plot, the second one (S2) suggests some plot redistribution to optimize the urban form, and the third one (S3), suggests a land readjustment leading to a high quality dense neighbourhood. By providing sustainability profiles for each scenario, URBIUS gives stakeholders concrete and clear information for decision-making.