Towards a Positive Energy District : Analyzing Key Performance Indicators in Urban Planning for a Sustainable District: A Case Study

Sammanfattning

Urban neighborhoods that work toward carbon-free, climate-neutral goals, attain apositive energy balance, and aspire for excess renewable energy production aredefined as Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). PEDs are designed to contribute tosustainable urban growth, and it is also true that sustainable urban growth can leadto the creation of PEDs. Essentially, PEDs can be achieved by developing andfollowing sustainable infrastructure and urban planning practices including spatial,transportation, and social planning. As per JPI Urban Europe, the key aspects ofPEDs along with the funding include implementation strategies, stakeholders,climate transition, governance, legal frameworks, as well as technological andsystem innovation. As the name suggests, PED mainly comprises positive energy (energy management)and district (neighborhood) elements. The district aspect encompasses urbanplanning that constitutes strategic planning for sustainability implicationsconsisting of environmental, social, economical, mobility, andtransportation-related factors, all of which involve the users and its people. Thepositive energy aspect of a PED enables local energy production resulting in energyefficiency and potential cost savings for its residents. The thesis examines the performance of urban planning factors with the potential todevelop an existing neighborhood toward a PED. This research study explores theoverall sustainability of a neighborhood in terms of mobility, social, economic, andenvironmental factors. The performance of these factors is measured through KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs), which measure the attributes of sustainability. Thesecontributing KPIs have been studied on a scale through a case study of HammarbySjöstad (HS) in Stockholm. The perception of stakeholders is collected for evaluatingKPIs. These KPIs have been thoroughly analyzed as designed during the planningstage and post-implementation to evaluate their success. The findings of this thesiscan be employed as guidelines for setting benchmarks and goals for the developmentof PEDs in cities throughout the world.