Implementation hypothesis of the Apulia ITACA Protocol at district level – part II: The case study

Nowadays, the goal of national and international policies is to define strategies to achieve Zero Energy Districts (ZEDs). The transition from ZEBs to ZEDs entails an increase in complexity and one of the main challenges is the definition of criteria for assessing the district sustainability performances. Part I of this paper presents a new methodology for assessing all aspects related to the sustainability of a district. The new Apulia ITACA - District Protocol is the extension to the district level of the existing and widely used Italian Apulia ITACA –Building Protocol. The proposed Protocol permits the assessment of any type of district, with no extension limitations. Part II shows an application of the Protocol for the evaluation of the current state of a small district of Lecce, a city in the south-east of Italy with a Mediterranean climate. The district falls in a peripheral social housing area and is composed of two residential buildings and a school. Several strategies have been proposed to improve the overall score of the district, showing both an ideal and realistic renovation. The high flexibility of the protocol in the direct identification of the weaknesses and strengths of the district was demonstrated.