Beacon

While the Observational Tool, and the Resident Survey Tool give an indication of the level of sustainability of the neighbourhood, they also provide far more.  The reported results provide a picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the neighbourhood, and indicate where improvements can be made, and how the neighbourhood compares to others. 

The tools can be used to:

• Assess and improve the designs of planned developments
• Assess existing neighbourhoods and inform planning for local change
• Help communities to identify areas for change
• Benchmark existing neighbourhoods before and after regeneration to measure progress
• Provide an independent measure of a neighbourhood’s success for marketing or sustainability reporting

You will find the Neighbourhood Sustainability tools useful if you are a:

• Developer
• Local authority planner, engineer, policy maker or community developer 
• Designer or planner
• Neighbourhood manager, for example, with Housing New Zealand Corporation or a housing trust
• Community organisation looking to improve your neighbourhood