Urban Quality Assessment at the Neighborhood Scale: An Experimental Approach

This chapter describes the approach adopted within the framework of a multidestination development project; the goal of which is to promote innovative technologies and methods to evaluate the environmental quality of an urban district under construction. This method of analysis has been tested on an area located in the former historic district of the Fiera di Milano, where a series of typical urban functions are inserted within a large public park. The success of the work is represented by indicators (air quality, acoustic, microclimate) that relate to the finished district and that can be compared with average values in the same city. The system may constitute a protocol capable of bringing benefits to local authorities. This type of assessment could be requested of developers/builders for complex projects, resulting in changes to the initial plan if the assessment identifies critical issues related to the design choices (orientation of buildings, green areas, traffic emissions, etc.) with the ultimate goal of creating neighborhoods with better environmental conditions.