A life cycle based planning approach to optimize Water-Energy-Carbon nexus in urban neighbourhood development

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The long-term goal of my research program is to develop models, decision support tools, construction techniques, and guidelines to improve the sustainability of construction projects. The overarching objective for the next 5 years is to develop scientifically proven practical solutions, best management practices, and construction techniques to optimize the water-energy-carbon nexus in new urban neighbourhood development (UND). The proposed research in the next 5 years is a natural evolution of my research program. *** Many recent research studies have emphasized Canada's relatively poor overall sustainability performance compared to other developed countries. Since our world is a giant network of interconnected neighbourhoods, a neighbourhood can be used to initiate an unique movement towards global sustainability. Urban neighbourhoods can be observed as organisms, with inputs of water, energy, and materials and outputs of emissions and wastes hypothesized as similar to the human metabolic processes. The life cycle phases of a construction project consist of material extraction, delivery, project design, construction, occupancy or use, maintenance, and decommissioning. This process can be viewed by considering the resource uses and waste/emission releases in an urban neighbourhood's metabolic system. Water and energy, which can be recognized as the most critical streams of an urban neighbourhood's metabolic processes, have substantial life cycle impacts on Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. On a global scale, greenhouse gas reduction is becoming a measure of sustainable performance. Therefore, analyzing water and energy performance, and their life cycle impacts, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, is a timely and scientific approach for assessing the life cycle sustainability of UNDs.*** The primary objective of my research program in the next 5 years is to develop innovative and practical technological solutions, best management practices, and construction methods for optimizing water and energy use, while minimizing the GHG emissions, in UNDs. The sub-objectives in the next 5 years include 1) a life cycle based environmental and economic assessment of state-of-the-art water and energy systems for UNDs; 2) development of construction and asset management practices for UNDs; 3) development of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) and System Dynamic Modelling (SDM) based decision support tool to optimize the water-energy-carbon (GHG) nexus during the life cycle of UNDs; and 4) development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) based sustainability assessment tool for location specific sustainability assessments in UNDs. In addition, the above sub-objectives will lead to the development of life cycle based best management practices and guidelines to achieve an optimal water-energy-carbon nexus in future UNDs in Canada and globally. **