Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application
Ecological, economic and societal challenges require decision-making and planning processes aiming at sustainability in water management. Such processes are increasingly informed and supported by sustainability assessment schemes. The focus of this article is on water infrastructure. A selection of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2383 |
| _version_ | 1797555574824501248 |
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| author | Sonja Cypra Fabian Knepper Susanne Kytzia Elke Petersson |
| author_facet | Sonja Cypra Fabian Knepper Susanne Kytzia Elke Petersson |
| author_sort | Sonja Cypra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecological, economic and societal challenges require decision-making and planning processes aiming at sustainability in water management. Such processes are increasingly informed and supported by sustainability assessment schemes. The focus of this article is on water infrastructure. A selection of national (German) and international assessment schemes is presented and compared. Both interdisciplinary schemes, applicable to a wide range of infrastructure measures, as well as schemes specialized in water infrastructure are considered. In addition to methodological aspects and dissemination, thematic priorities are analyzed and compared. Apart from methodological similarity, specialized schemes tend to be still in the development stage. In contrast, the interdisciplinary schemes have already been used commercially and have been applied in a considerable number of projects. The schemes considered differ significantly in the number of criteria. The interdisciplinary schemes tend to focus more on the ecological dimension while considering a small number of economic criteria. The assessment results depend on various subjective factors and the schemes do not produce true or false results in absolute terms. However, their application can make these factors visible and help identify the most stable solution with regard to different sustainability perspectives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:49:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08cd4d065a334448a8b181af2878be78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:49:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-08cd4d065a334448a8b181af2878be782023-11-20T11:20:07ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-08-01129238310.3390/w12092383Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in ApplicationSonja Cypra0Fabian Knepper1Susanne Kytzia2Elke Petersson3Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestraße 30, 76135 Karlsruhe, GermanyFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestraße 30, 76135 Karlsruhe, GermanyIBU Institut für Bauen und Umwelt, HSR Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, Oberseestraße 10, 8640 Rapperswil, SwitzerlandFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestraße 30, 76135 Karlsruhe, GermanyEcological, economic and societal challenges require decision-making and planning processes aiming at sustainability in water management. Such processes are increasingly informed and supported by sustainability assessment schemes. The focus of this article is on water infrastructure. A selection of national (German) and international assessment schemes is presented and compared. Both interdisciplinary schemes, applicable to a wide range of infrastructure measures, as well as schemes specialized in water infrastructure are considered. In addition to methodological aspects and dissemination, thematic priorities are analyzed and compared. Apart from methodological similarity, specialized schemes tend to be still in the development stage. In contrast, the interdisciplinary schemes have already been used commercially and have been applied in a considerable number of projects. The schemes considered differ significantly in the number of criteria. The interdisciplinary schemes tend to focus more on the ecological dimension while considering a small number of economic criteria. The assessment results depend on various subjective factors and the schemes do not produce true or false results in absolute terms. However, their application can make these factors visible and help identify the most stable solution with regard to different sustainability perspectives.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2383sustainabilitywater infrastructuresustainability assessment schemessustainable developmenturban water managementhydraulic engineering |
| spellingShingle | Sonja Cypra Fabian Knepper Susanne Kytzia Elke Petersson Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application Water sustainability water infrastructure sustainability assessment schemes sustainable development urban water management hydraulic engineering |
| title | Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application |
| title_full | Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application |
| title_fullStr | Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application |
| title_short | Sustainability Assessment in Water Infrastructure Projects—Existing Schemes and Challenges in Application |
| title_sort | sustainability assessment in water infrastructure projects existing schemes and challenges in application |
| topic | sustainability water infrastructure sustainability assessment schemes sustainable development urban water management hydraulic engineering |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2383 |
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