Measuring Neighbourhood Sustainability in New Zealand

The term 'world class cities' implies urban areas that offer a high quality of life that is, presumably, sustainable. Yet many 'world class' cities host neighbourhoods that are far from that. This paper explores the concept of neighbourhood sustainability in the context of world class cities. It argues that world class cities need to be built on world class neighbourhoods. It then discusses how neighbourhood sustainability might be framed and measured through a discussion of the development and testing of a Neighbourhood Sustainability Framework (NSF) in New Zealand. That Neighbourhood Sustainability Framework aims to improve neighbourhood sustainability in both existing and new neighbourhoods in New Zealand. The Neighbourhood Sustainability Framework has been tested by applying it to seven case study neighbourhoods using an assessment tool drawn from LEED-ND and data generated through surveying neighbourhoods. This paper draws on the case study findings and explains why neighbourhood sustainability can not be reliably assessed by looking at the built form alone and that an assessment of resident perception and behaviour needs to be an integral part of any meaningful neighbourhood sustainability framework.