TOOL NAME: SSIM – Sustainable Systems Integrated Model
OWNED/DEVELOPED BY: AECOM
- Form of the CAT – whether it is a rating tool, strategic framework, guidelines etc. – and capacity to link with other tools.
SSIM is an integrated land planning tool which functions as a decision-support aid for measuring cost-benefits of different design scenarios against a range of predetermined sustainability parameters – setting up scenarios to assess more or less ideal design solutions within a given brief (i.e . articulating ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’ options).
It runs a consistent set of indicators for each project – e.g. mobility, energy, water – requiring locally-specific input data. Tool also refers to other rating systems such as BASIX, NATHERS & Green Star for inputs, as well as integrating data from other AECOM tools such as the Social Infrastructure Framework (SIF) model.
- Governance/administration of the CAT – its purpose and the organization behind it, the jurisdiction or scale of influence/application.
SSIM is owned & administered by AECOM. It was designed to inform organizational & client design decisions, via investing design strategies with visually legible, evidence-based comparative analysis. Tool operates at precinct level (nom. area larger than 20ha), and complexity of data management requires a competent operator for application, as tool stretches across spatial (GIS) and statistical data platforms.
Currently only cost-effective for use on larger-scale projects – largest application to date assessed a range of community masterplanning options for a 1000ha eco-town in China. A less expensive, simplified version of the tool is planned for release in the near future, which should extend its reach and influence.
- Sector or phase of development to which the CAT is applicable – e.g. planning, design, construction – residential, commercial, infrastructure etc. – including capacity to influence urban renewal and retrofitting outcomes.
SSIM functions like a ‘gaming’ tool – rearranging design options in response to various sustainability targets and parameters – in order to reveal/articulate the tradeoffs implicit in alternative design solutions to arrive at ‘best outcome’ options for specific projects.
Tool analyses both ‘as built’ and ‘operational’ inputs at precinct-wide scale, as distinct from building-specific response – so is applicable to urban renewal and retrofitting scenarios.
- Ability to promote systems thinking – how well the CAT encompasses and integrates the component factors and measures of urban sustainability.
Tool is based on integrated, whole-systems thinking. It incorporates seven modules assessing ecological resources, energy, transportation, green building, water, socio-cultural and economic aspects of a particular development, and employs integrated analysis across all of these parameters to derive “good-better-best” scenarios for future design development. Outcomes expressed in terms of % overall community GHG reduction from current benchmarks.
- Capacity to inform design decisions – how well the CAT is able to derive and test alternative design strategies to inform decision-making.
This is the purpose of the tool – the collaborative design-response model is intended to build capacity amongst clients and other stakeholders to understand how a range of sustainability factors interact and impact upon each other in specific project contexts – and how to use this understanding to derive and test alternative design strategies to make more informed decisions.
- Capacity to encourage collaboration – how effectively the CAT integrates input from multiple stakeholders in the context of its implementation and use.
Input from multiple stakeholders is determined as a component of the project brief – capacity is there to make it as broadly inclusive as client resources permit.
- Adaptability of the CAT to differing local environmental contexts
Inputs are locally-specific, so tool can be applied across a broad range of environmental contexts. Outcomes at a local level are subsequently dependent on the quality and availability of locally-specific and applicable data sets.
- Ability of the CAT to drive innovation in urban planning and development.
The intention of the tool is to inform decision-making, thereby increasing opportunity for innovation in urban planning and development strategies.
- Flexibility of the CAT to adapt and evolve over time to changing understanding and measures of urban sustainability – including review processes and systems for ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting of outcomes.
Tool development is informed by in-house review and evaluation of individual project outcomes – at present, there is no apparent capacity for external peer-review of such. Ongoing tool development is ultimately constrained by existing organizational imperatives, structure and available resources of AECOM (i.e. market-responsive).
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