Data Visualization for a Circular Economy: Designing a Web Application for Sustainable Housing
Naomi Keena, Avi Friedman, Mojtaba Parsaee, Ava Klein
Abstract
An impediment to effective Circular Economy (CE) implementation in residential buildings is the lack of standardized building data to represent a building’s life cycle, from material sourcing to end-of-use apparatus. This paper presents an overarching methodological approach for creating a circular web application named Data Homebase (DHB). DHB integrates housing data into Housing Passports (HPs), visualizing calculations of estimated energy use, carbon emissions, and affordability building indexes. Using data-driven narratives, DHB outlines a building’s degree of circularity and potential for improved environmental outcomes via circular strategies. The passport system and data-based approach provide a once-missing portal entry for housing stakeholders seeking actionable circularity measurements. This research contributes to the long-term elucidation of key decision-making processes for homebuilding within a comprehensive tool to achieve a far-reaching CE.