BREEAM Communities: Masterplanning and Neighbourhood Scale
BREEAM Communities assesses the sustainability of masterplans and neighbourhood-scale developments - the plan for a place, not a single building. It is used early in the planning process to shape a scheme before individual buildings are designed. Candidates must understand its three-step structure: Step 1 - Establish the principle (governance, consultation, economic and social context); Step 2 - Determine the layout (land use, transport, resources, ecology, and placemaking); and Step 3 - Design the details (buildings, energy, water, and detailed design matters).
A central concept is stakeholder engagement and community consultation, which is assessed heavily because the scheme aims to create sustainable places, not just efficient buildings. Another is integration: transport links, mixed uses, green infrastructure, and climate resilience are evaluated at the neighbourhood level, where individual building schemes cannot address them. Credits are scored and weighted into a rating, with the assessment intended to inform planning applications.
Traps: confusing Communities with New Construction (the former assesses a plan/neighbourhood, not a building); assuming Communities certifies completed buildings; and underestimating the weight given to consultation and local economic/social factors. Another trap is mixing up the three steps or their sequence.
Rule of thumb: if the question describes a masterplan, planning application, or neighbourhood strategy, it is Communities; if it describes a single building's design or construction, it is New Construction.