WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME A NETZERO DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY OF SERENBE, GEORGIA

Abstract With increased efforts toward planning for climate change mitigation, and design of carbon-neutral and Net-Zero (NZ) buildings, quite little has been improved regarding communities and nations. With integrated design and planning of primary sustainable measures, including energy generation, energy use in buildings, and energy use in transposition, Net-Zero Community (NZC) can be feasible. The purpose of this study is to generate a NZC Model residential development in the U.S. and to identify NZC sustainable planning and design measures. A case study at Serenbe, in north Georgia, is going to be evaluated to promote its sustainable measures toward NZC. To understand NZC planning measures, two notable sustainable developments were studied, BedZED in London and UC Davis West Village in California, to identify their sustainable measures necessary to create a NZC. The existing communities are assessed in the power, building, and transportation sectors (PBT). The outcome will be an effective Model achieving NZC, through promoting major sustainable measures including agriculture, transportation network, density, housing typology, use of renewable energy, mixes of use, pedestrian and biking route, and land preservation.

Credit: Haleh Moghaddasi, Phillip James Tabb, and Hazem Rashed-Ali Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at San Antonio