A composite decision support system for assessing transformation scenarios at the district level

Urban areas are responsible for almost 75% of overall resource consumption. To avoid a further increase of these values, it is important to implement energy efficiency measures, in order to achieve the target of Post Carbon Cities (PCC). Next to the concept of Post Carbon Cities, the Post Carbon District (PCD) is emerging, becoming the appropriate level to test the different strategies to move towards a more sustainable society. The definition of energy policies at this level shall cover all the sectors of the entire urban system. In addition to the buildings, which become an active part of the energy system, the sectors of water, waste management, public and private mobility, and public lighting come into play. As suggested by the European Commission, the evaluation of alternative strategies at large scale must take into account, not only the energy and economic aspects, but also the environmental and social impacts. The objective of the present paper concerns an investigation of a tool for supporting the decision-making process of alternative scenarios of energy transformation for a district. Starting from the most common approaches used in the field of investment evaluations, an approach that combines the potential of Cost-Benefit and Multi Criteria Analyses is proposed to include financial aspects and intangible impacts generated by urban redevelopment projects.