Acidification and eutrophication are two environmental impacts that have a significant effect on air pollution and human health. The quantitative analysis of these two impacts remains hitherto unknown at the scale of new neighbourhoods. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate, analysis and compare the acidification and eutrophication potentials of one neighbourhood initially located in Belgium. To perform this comparison, the same neighbourhood design is applied to in 150 countries, but four parameters are adapted to each country: energy mix, local climate, building materials, and occupants’ mobility. In addition, this research evaluates the induced environmental costs of the neighbourhood over 100 years and examines the impact of the photovoltaic panel on these environmental impacts. This research, extended to the scale of several nations, will enable new researchers, and especially policy-makers, to measure the effectiveness of sustainable neighbourhoods. Eutrophication and acidification potentials were assessed under different phases (construction, use, renovation, and demolition), with Pleiades ACV software. Among the four local parameters (energy mix, local materials, climate, and transport, the energy mix has the most significant effect on the two studied environmental impacts. The results show that 72 %, and 65% of acidification, and eutrophication potentials are produced during the operational phase of the neighbourhood. In the case of sustainable neighbourhoods, the acidification potential is 22.1% higher in the 10 top Low incomes countries than the 10 top High-income countries. At the neighbourhood scale the main eutrophication potential component is water (34.2%), while, the main source of acidification potential is electricity production (45.1%)
Nematchoua M. K., Asadi S., Rim D., Obonyo E. & Reiter S., in review. A method for studying acidification and eutrophication potentials of a residential neighbourhood. Research Square. Article.
