Draft #3 Summary_Reader Response: Developing Sustainable Infrastructures In New Cities

In the article “Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities”, Cho (2014), explained how the guidelines of the Envision Sustainability Rating System can improve the sustainability of infrastructures in urban cities that faces rapid growth. Given the rising importance of developing sustainable infrastructure due to urban challenges such as floods and climate changes, the rating system was introduced to evaluate new developments. Cho then further elaborated her aim to provide an envision evaluation on a planned project in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) where it is strategically located in an area that will potentially boost the economy and provide residences by 2020. Expecting a high growth rate, the city is advised to implement a potent strategy for sustainable development. The Rating System allowed for sustainable infrastructures like “Nuevo Necaxa-Avila Camacho Highway” in Mexico and “Highways Vias Nuevas De Lima” to achieve the “Infrastructure 360” award. Cho hoped that progressing towards a sustainable future would influence the on-going investment strategies for KAEC and other cities globally.

While the author provided concrete examples and gave a gist of what the Envision Rating System is about, she did not fully mention how the system works, the benefits and the ultimate objective.

To start off, the Envision Rating System is a useful tool to evaluate projects using various aspects which include social, economic and environmental benefits. According to Huang (2014), he described Envision as a “holistic, system-wide interpretation of sustainable infrastructure”. Five main categories were described: Quality of life, leadership, resource allocation, natural world, and climate and risk are used for rating. Each category has a credit list with different evaluation criteria. The points are then awarded based on the project’s performance and will be submitted for organizations to receive their respective awards. In short, the rating system allows organizations or stakeholders to view their projects in a different light where they are more focused on the sustainability of the infrastructure in the long run.

The tool brings about many benefits not only to the organization, but to the environment as well. According to Shivakumar, Pedersen, Wilkins & Schuster (2014), Envision provides an objective scheme to help raise awareness, rate and fulfil the client’s requirements for project’s sustainability. In addition, Reeder (2010), (as cited in Clevenger, Ozbek, & Simpson 2013) stated that the rating system allows design teams and constructors to communicate to set common sustainable priorities while providing a way for stakeholders to assess performance.

With the help of the rating system, sustainability ideas could be input for changes to be made, enhancing the performance of the infrastructure which would in turn contribute positively to the community. Gardels et al., (2012) stated that various sustainability concepts would not have been discussed without the application of the Envision Rating System.

Lastly, by adopting a more comprehensive approach that increases sustainability while minimizing long-term climate change, Envision hopes to provide alternatives on how infrastructures can be designed. The rating system is more than just a tool. It is created to transit business-like thinking into revolutionary solutions and widening the familiarity of sustainability. It can be used as a reference guide for future projects too, focusing on the environmental, social and economic impact. If a set of metrics is created, widely accepted and has credibility, there would be a significant impact on preserving our environment. Zofnass (as cited in Georgoulias, A. 2015).  

To conclude, Cho briefly touched on the need for the Envision Rating System and what the focus is. Nevertheless, she did not fully explain the utilization of the system and what advantages it brings. Furthermore, she also mentioned that she hoped to “provide a holistic vision for sustainable infrastructural development” but missed out on the aim of Envision. Despite the fact that she focused her article on KAEC, she did not give a more thorough background about the Envision Rating System, making it difficult to relate to the effect of the Rating System on KAEC.

References:

Cho, H. (2018, February 26) Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities.  Retrieved from https://newcities.org/evaluating-sustainable-infrastructure-development-new-cities/

Clevenger, C. M., Ozbek, M.E., & Simpson, S. (2013). Review of sustainability rating systems used of infrastructure projects. Proceedings of the Associated Schools of Construction. Retrieved from http://ascpro0.ascweb.org/archives/cd/2013/paper/CPRT88002013.pdf

Gardels, D., Mcmeekin, M., Grate, M., Aurit, S., Heinemann, T., Pridal, N. (2012). Implementation of sustainability initiatives and the Envision™ rating system on the Omaha CSO program. Pipelines 2012: Innovations in Design, Construction, Operations, and Maintenance. Retrieved from https://ascelibrary-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/doi/pdf/10.1061/9780784412480.030

Georgoulias, A. (2015). The Envision rating system for sustainable infrastructure: development, applications, and the potential for Lebanon. The Envision Rating System for Sustainable Infrastructure: Development, Applications, and the Potential for Lebanon. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a62a/b52bec6923442f3661055d045ebb78e62ed9.pdf

Huang, C. (2014). Sustainable pedestrian bridge design: A discussion of the Envision rating system. ICSI 2014: Creating Infrastructure for a Sustainable World. Retrieved from 
https://ascelibrary-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/doi/pdf/10.1061/9780784478745.067

Reeder, L. (2010). Guide to green building rating systems: understanding LEED, Green Globes, Energy Star, the National Green Building Standard, and more. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118259894

Shivakumar , S., Pedersen, T., Wilkins ,S., &  Schuster , S. (2014). EnvisionTM – A measure of infrastructure sustainability. Pipelines 2014: From Underground to the Forefront of Innovation and Sustainability. 2249-2256. Retrieved from https://ascelibraryorg.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/doi/pdf/10.1061/9780784413692.205