GIS supporting surveys for urban sustainability assessment

Urban Facility Management (UFM) is an effective framework to support management of the complexity of the city environment, to optimise resources, enhance quality and guarantee citizenÕs safety. Nevertheless, it can be observed a lack of standardised objective tools for urban quality assessment of existing neighbourhoods. In this paper, a procedure for urban sustainability assessment exploiting Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Database Management Systems (DBMS) and mobile devices is presented. A system called District Information Model (DIM) is employed for this purpose, in order to detect the anomalies and enable evaluation of urban componentsÕ average conservation status. The results of the survey supported the implementation of an UFM service in an Italian Neighbourhood, near Milan. UFM can be intended as a framework to pursuit urban sustainability objectives, in the wider context of Europe 2020 strategy. Thus, the process leading to urban sustainability reporting through the DIM has been investigated, through a case study research. In conclusion, the system can be seen as a risk prevention tool both for citizens and professionals working for management of built environment; and as a sustainability assessment tool compliant with most recognised Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) protocols.