Urban sustainability certifications (USCs) urge developers to exceed the local norms and regulatory requirements to attain sustainability. USCs are gaining international recognition as planning and policy support tools. This study aims to assess the relevance of four USCs (LEED for Neighborhood Development, BREAAM communities, CASBEE for Urban Development, and Pearl Community Rating System) in contexts outside their country of origin using Cairo Governorate as a case study. The study focuses on compactness, street connectivity, and walking accessibility as prominent components for sustainable mobility and urban form at the neighborhood level. The study examines 202 neighborhoods in Cairo in terms of compactness and then focuses on eight urban areas in different locations and with different characteristics to assess their connectivity and walking accessibility. Different analyses were performed with ArcGIS software using data about neighborhoods’ population, residential units, street networks, established buildings, buildings’ outlines and heights, and detailed uses. Results show that USCs’ indicators and thresholds are generally lenient and insensitive to the context of formal areas in Cairo Governorate, which are significantly more compact, mixed (horizontally and vertically), and connected. This study adds to the currently limited empirical evidence refuting the use of some USCs as global tools and questioning their utilization in different contexts either as they are or even through an adaptation process.

中文翻译：

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根据可持续性认证，在社区一级具有紧凑性，连通性和步行可达性：改进还是降级？埃及开罗的个案研究

城市可持续性认证（USC）敦促开发商超越当地规范和法规要求以实现可持续性。USC作为计划和政策支持工具正在获得国际认可。这项研究的目的是使用开罗省作为案例研究，评估四个USC（针对邻里发展的LEED，BREAAM社区，针对城市发展的CASBEE和Pearl社区评级系统）在其原籍国之外的相关性。这项研究的重点是紧凑性，街道连通性和步行可达性，它们是邻里层面可持续交通和城市形态的重要组成部分。这项研究从紧凑性的角度考察了开罗的202个社区，然后重点研究了位于不同位置，具有不同特征的八个市区，以评估其连通性和步行可达性。使用ArcGIS软件，使用有关邻里人口，住宅单元，街道网络，已建成的建筑物，建筑物的轮廓和高度以及详细用途的数据，进行了不同的分析。结果表明，USC的指标和阈值通常宽容，并且对开罗省正式区域的环境不敏感，因为后者的结构更加紧凑，混合（水平和垂直）且相互关联。