bedzed case study gcse geography

Bioregional, with its project partners, developed the UK’s first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community in the London Borough of Sutton.

100 Sustainable houses are home to approx. 220 residents

-61% BedZED residents consume 61% less water per day than average homes in the area

Creating the UK’s first large-scale sustainable community.

Bioregional is an environmental consultancy, charity, and social enterprise that works with communities around the world to tackle the climate and ecological emergency. We provide a range of sustainability consultancy services that make it easier for people to live sustainable lives, this includes helping major developers to create pioneering eco-communities. BedZED was the UK’s first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community. The project was initiated by Bioregional and developed by Peabody Trust in partnership with Bioregional and ZEDfactory architects. The development is made up of 100 homes, office space, a college, and community facilities. It is also home to Bioregional's headquarters. The idea for BedZED grew out of Bioregional’s search for new office space back in 1997. Sutton Council was selling a plot of brownfield land for housing development, and we thought, ‘Why don't we build not only an office but a community as well?’ We worked closely with green architect Bill Dunster, engineers Arup, and the local housing association Peabody Trust as project partners. BedZED – the UK's first eco-community – was completed in 2002. BedZED was designed to be free of fossil-fuel consumption once it was built, radically reducing its residents’ emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide gas and giving them energy security. BedZED is made up of mixed-size and mixed-tenure properties, from studio flats to four-bedroom townhouses. The development brings together a huge number of sustainable technologies and community initiatives to promote climate-conscious and sustainable living. Major energy savings are provided by high levels of insulation and airtight design while power-generating solar arrays are integrated into buildings. Water waste is minimised through water-saving appliances, and abundant private and shared outdoor spaces and green roofs provide space for local wildlife to thrive. Colourful wind cowls are perhaps the most eye-catching part of the BedZED design and act as a ventilation system – bringing in fresh exterior air and expelling stale air without wasting heat in the process. BedZED was also the site of the UK's first car club and includes shared, traffic-free spaces that promote a sense of community. Through the experience of developing BedZED, we created the One Planet Living ® framework – a sustainability framework that provides a vision of the world where we can live within the Earth’s finite resources. Anyone can access and use the One Planet Living ® framework and it has helped organisations and communities around the world to shape their sustainability ambitions. BedZED is arguably the most ambitious attempt at a truly sustainable housing development and has inspired similar projects around the globe. The development has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards: • Shortlisted for the Sterling Prize 2001. • London Lifestyle Award - Evening Standard New Homes Award 2001. • Special Awards: Sustainability - RIBA London Awards 2003. • Best Project & Sustainability Award - Housing Design Awards 2003. • Ashden Award 2003. The strength of the community at BedZED is one of its greatest success stories. The design of communal, pedestrianised spaces means residents are much more likely to know their neighbours compared to surrounding streets. It has demonstrated that sustainability can help people to live healthier and happier lives without making sacrifices.

Use our One Planet Living ® Framework – The framework is free for anyone to use under licence and includes goals and guidance for lots of different types and scales of project. Developers can also make their project a One Planet Living ® development by publishing an action plan that outlines how they will reach the goals outlined in the framework. There is lots of detailed information available around this on our website: https://www.bioregional.com/one-planet-living Involve all of the stakeholders in the design process – It’s important to get everyone involved at a community level and understand their needs and goals. It really needs to be a very consultative and bottom-up process. Ask us for advice – Bioregional provides consultancy and advisory services whether you need help drafting your action plans or technical support. If you are planning a new development, you can reach out for expertise and insights. Our Metrics – • Energy savings. • Renewable energy generation. • Water waste savings. • Community engagement. • Ongoing development performance. • Travel emissions.

Read more: www.bioregional.com

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GCSE revision > Geography- case study- CUE- sustainable urban living- Bedzed > Flashcards

Geography- case study- CUE- sustainable urban living- Bedzed Flashcards

Where is BedZED?

In Wallington, South London

What is Bedzed?

One of the few low carbon developments in the UK. Described as an eco village

What is BedZEDs full name?

Beddington Zero Energy Development

When did people first move in and to how many homes?

First moved into 100 homes in 2002

What percentage of the construction materials were from waste timber?

What percentage of heating requirements do the homes have of the typical UK homes heating requirements?

What else is included in BedZED?

Community facilities

Work for 100 people

How is the village well served for public transport?

It is located on a bus route. 5 minutes walk to the train station. 15 minutes walk to the tram link from Croyden to Wimbledon.

How do they encourage only essential car use?

Car club members use a locally based fleet of vehicles on a ‘pay as you drive’ basis. Annual mileage of the average car club member has been halved.

How have the houses been made to be as sustainable as possible?

Low energy lighting and appliances Rainwater collection and store Solar cells

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BedZED - the UK's first major sustainable community

Bedzed tours.

Bioregional offers a regular guided tour of BedZED.

Find out more .

What we did

BedZED was initiated by Bioregional and developed by Peabody Trust in partnership with Bioregional and ZEDfactory architects. Completed in 2002, the UK’s first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community comprises 100 homes, office space, a college and community facilities. It is also where our main office was located from 2002-2022.

The story behind the world-famous eco-development

The idea for BedZED was conceived in 1997. Bioregional, architect Bill Dunster and engineers Arup were looking for an opportunity to create a zero-carbon eco-village. And our co-founders Sue Riddlestone and Pooran Desai were looking for a new, green office!

Sutton Borough Council was selling a plot of undeveloped open land for housing development near Beddington Farmlands. Alongside developer Peabody Trust the project partners managed to secure the land and construction began in 2001.

Download the story - everything you need to know about BedZED:

BedZED: The story of a pioneering eco-village

Resources 11.6 Mb | 4 September 2019

BedZED, in Sutton, south London, has gone down in history as the UK’s first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community. It has been an inspiration for low-carbon, environmentally-friendly housing developments around the world

How Bioregional helped

BedZED was designed to achieve big reductions in climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions and water use. We wanted to make it easy for people living there to have a greener, lower impact lifestyle, relying less on private cars and producing less waste.

Bioregional acted as sustainability advisors to the design team, steering green transport planning, renewable energy solutions, the selection and sourcing of construction materials and a ‘green lifestyles’ programme to residents and businesses in transport, local food and composting initiatives.

This included helping develop the sustainability strategy in collaboration with the project partners, with new and ambitious benchmarks in areas such as energy efficiency and greener construction.

What did BedZED achieve?

After it was completed in 2002, BedZED became famous for the scale of its ambition. It remains, arguably, the most ambitious attempt at all-round sustainability in a major new housing development and has attracted thousands of global visitors.

It won the Housing Design Award for sustainability from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2001 and was shortlisted for the prestigious Stirling Prize in 2003.

There’s a real sense of shared values as well as a strong community feel at BedZED. Combined with the green space nearby and the layout of our streets, it makes it a special place to live, and quite unique to London living. Dave Tchilingirian, resident of BedZED

We continue to help create zero-carbon homes and share our learning from BedZED

BedZED has stood the test of time, though some of its green technologies have been challenging to adopt. Most importantly, BedZED also inspired us to create the One Planet Living framework which now underpins all our work and has been used in billions of dollars worth of property developments worldwide .

We also run regular One Planet Living training courses for people who want to use the framework in their own projects and organisations.

Greener construction

• Local materials: Just over half (52%) of the construction materials by weight were sourced within 35 miles – considerably closer than the construction industry average. The bricks used on the outside walls came from just 20 miles away.
• Reclaimed products: 3,400 tonnes of construction material, 15% of the total used in BedZED, were reclaimed or recycled products. Nearly all the steel in the building is reused, much of it coming from refurbishment work at Brighton Railway Station.
• Giving unused land new life: Even the land the eco-village stands on is recycled. It was used for many years for spreading sludge from the nearby sewage works.

Warm, comfortable, cheaper-to-run homes

• Warm, well-ventilated houses: Most of BedZED’s homes are heated by the warmth of the sun and highly insulated. Its distinctive wind cowls help fresh air circulate.
• Biomass boiler: While the original wood-powered boiler had to be turned off in 2005 due to technical difficulties, in 2017 a new biomass boiler was installed. Alongside a green electricity tariff, this means BedZED remains true to its zero-carbon vision.
• Solar panels and energy-efficient appliances: Extensive solar panels provide some of BedZED’s electricity, while efficient appliances reduce energy bills.
• Onsite car club: A major success was the introduction of the first car club to England which has subsequently led to major expansion of the car club network in London and other UK cities.

A healthier, happier place to live

• Mixed sizes and mixed tenure: Homes range from one-bed apartments to four-bedroom houses. Half were sold on the open market, one quarter were reserved for social (low cost) rent by Peabody and the remaining quarter for shared ownership, a lower-cost way of owning a home.
• Abundant green space: Even though BedZED is a high-density development, most homes have private outdoor space and many have small gardens. The whole development shares a square and a large playing field.
• Water-saving appliances: Dual-flush toilets, aerated flow taps and shower heads and water-efficient washing machines means the average home uses almost 40% less water than average metered homes in Sutton.
• Neighbourliness : One of BedZED’s biggest successes is that it has created a great community, with car-free streets for children to play and people to chat.
• Cheaper bills: For one three-person BedZED household using an on-site car club car instead of its own vehicle, we estimated total annual savings in transport, water and energy bills at £1,391 a year compared to an average London household with its own car. That’s nearly £4 a day.

Extra resources

One planet living goals and guidance for communities and destinations.

Resources 13.0 Mb | 16 February 2019

This document is for anyone who wants to build or transform a real estate development or tourism destination into a truly sustainable one

Related services

Learn more about our consultancy services:, built environment consultancy.

Bioregional works with companies in the built environment and local government to create homes and communities that make it easy to live a sustainable lifestyle

Sustainability consultancy for new developments

Our sustainability consultancy services for new developments cover everything from pre-planning through to whole-life carbon assessments

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AQA GCSE Geography Case Studies x5

Last updated

22 February 2018

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Resources included (5)

BedZED - GCSE Geography Case Study

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China's One Child Policy - Geography GCSE case study

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• Urban environments
• Created by: bethstory
• Created on: 16-04-17 13:29
• Wallington, South London
• 50% privately
• 25% shared (rental)
• Low carbon development
• Renewable eco energy village
• Electric cars plus charging points
• South facing windows - triple glazing
• Low energy lighting and appliances
• Was a brownfieldsite - locally/recycled materials
• Think insulated walls
• Solar panels
• Rain water to flush toliets
• Wind cowls ventillate building

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