Roberto Álvarez Fernández

This book introduces an indispensable tool: the carbon footprint calculator for urban planning. In the face of the escalating climate crisis, urban planning finds itself at a critical juncture. By considering the evolution of urban planning and its connections to environmental issues, the book sheds light on the urgent need to reimagine city planning within a climate-conscious framework. This book presents a meticulous assessment of future uses and activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions, along with an examination of land use changes that impact the carbon-absorbing capacity of the soil. Mitigation strategies, such as leveraging renewable energy sources for self-generation, are explored and quantified whenever possible. Carbon Footprint Planning explains the essential activities that must be included in urban planning instrument applications for approval, emphasizing the significance of integrating ordinary or simplified strategic environmental assessment procedures. By doing so, potential environmental impacts, specifically in relation to climate change, are effectively evaluated and addressed. With the aid of the carbon footprint calculator, decision-makers will gain the ability to select the path of least carbon emissions from a range of alternatives, unveiling aspects that contribute to significant emissions during the early stages of urban development, such as master planning. In essence, this book equips urban planners and environmental enthusiasts alike with the tools and insights needed to navigate urban growth amidst the climate crisis, ensuring a sustainable and resilient future for our cities.

This book analyzes the relationship between urban development, greenhouse gases and the carbon footprint, and presents the main preventive measures that can be implemented at the design stage. Readers are provided with the knowledge needed to devise a strategy for calculating the carbon footprint of urban planning instruments, as well as a framework for integrating sustainability into the planning phase. Highlighting the importance of preventive and corrective measures, the book includes practical suggestions on how to meet sustainability requirements in urban planning designs, exploring undeveloped land reserves, urban-project design and infrastructure design, and offers a springboard for further research.