Who is the Neighbourhood Tool for?
The Neighbourhood Tool is for developers wanting to design or assess a sustainable multi-lot subdivision.
What does it do?
The Neighbourhood Tool furthers the evaluation made by the site tool by also considering communal neighbourhood features and how the land is used within the subdivision. It looks at additional aspects like the road widths, connectivity, landscaping and protection of existing natural features or areas, the amount of paved areas, stormwater runoff from the site, and the distance to transport and community amenities. This tool also requires you to fill out a site scale TUSC assesment for all the different type of residential dwellings in the development. It is recommended to complete this first and then enter the Neighbourhood Tool. This information is used to calculate the averaged site scale component of the TUSC score which is adjusted based upon the neighbourhood's characteristics. All this information is combined to calculate the development's TUSC score – this tells you how sustainable your development is and will give you ideas on how you can improve!
How do I use the TUSC Neighbourhood Tool?
The tool asks for design details at a neighbourhood scale that you plan to use in your development. Simply fill in data from your concept design under the various headings by clicking on the appropriate tick box (it helps to have a copy of your design and specifications with you when using the tool). This tool also requires you to fill out a site scale TUSC assesment for all the different type of residential dwellings in the development. It is recommended to complete this first and then enter the Neighbourhood Tool. If this has not been completed, you will be prompted to do so. The tool will prompt you to attach each different residential house type and ask how many there are of each. This information is used to calculate the averaged site scale component of the TUSC score which is adjusted based upon the neighbourhood's characteristics. If a feature or question doesn’t apply simply don’t tick the box and TUSC will calculate this as a ‘no’ answer. Each heading e.g.: stormwater mitigation, accessibility etc is on a new page. After you have filled in one page, click on the next heading in the menu bar on the right and continue. TUSC will save your data automatically, and collate it to give you your final score.
What if I get stuck?
If you are unsure of how to answer, need more information on the question, or want advice on how to achieve the best sustainable practice, click on the question mark icons to the right. To get out of help simply click on the scroll bar to the right of the help box.
Results
TUSC will give you a final score once you’ve entered all your data but also calculates a running total as you go along. The sustainability meter at the bottom of the page shows your percentage of water and energy currently saved. This allows you to experiment with minor adjustment to create the most sustainable development.
Click here to use this tool