A sustainable

neighbourhood:

BedZED (Beddington

Zero Energy

Development)

What you need to do….

• Read the caption of each slide.

• Take note on your copybook of

previously unknown words or

expressions (some are written in red)

• 12 sentences are underlined and

written with bold letters: write each of

them in the appropriated squares of the

Egan wheel.

BedZED claims to be the UK’s largest sustainable community. Built in

2002, it has 100 homes designed to provide ordinary people with a high

quality of life while preserving the earth’s resources.

BedZED, in Beddington, south-west London, was built on a brownfield

site1 on previously industrial land. Fifty per cent of houses are for private

sale or rent, 25% for shared ownership and 25% social housing for

rent2

Photo: Bio Regional

In a BedZED home energy use for heating and hot water is reduced 81%3 by

simple things like south-facing windows, conservatories and triple glazing4.

Electricity consumption is reduced 45% by low-energy lighting and appliances

BedZED walls are thicker than average, with insulation between the

bricks to prevent energy loss. The building materials are, where

possible, locally produced5 and have used less energy to make.

A combined heat and power plant was designed to burn BedZED waste

to produce hot water and electricity. Effluent from the buildings is

treated on site and the water is used for flushing toilets6

A distinctive feature of the buildings is the wind cowls on the roofs.

These new kinds of weathercock ventilate the houses and

recover heat from the air coming out7. The roofs are covered by

solar panels (to generate electricity) and plants (for insulation and a

habitat for wildlife)

People separate their waste in their kitchens to make recycling and

composting easier. Sixty per cent of waste is recycled8, three times

the UK average. Residents encourage each other to recycle9

BedZED has a green transport plan to reduce car mileage. There is a car-

sharing club10 and electric car charging points. Good public transport links11

and cycle storage spaces are also provided. Next to school and public

services12: Easy to reach by foot.

The photographs included in this presentation

were taken by Bio Regional.

For more information and images of BedZED visit:

www.bioregional.com/what-we-do/our-

work/bedzed/

Photo credits

Homework: What you need to do….

• Introduction: What is Bedzed and where

is it?

• Main part: What have they tried to

achieve/ how have they tried to achieve

it? Split into sections such as: energy,

transport, community, housing etc)

• Conclusion: what do you think of their

achievements? Is Bedzed a success?

Refer to the evidence you have

collected

Your Task:

• For the exam you will need to know

case studies of urban issues in

MEDC’s and LEDC’s

• So far for MEDC’s we have done

Bath and Salisbury

• Now you are going to research

Bedzed ….

Bedzed: your work

The exam board syllabus says you

need to know a

“case study of sustainable housing”

An exam question from 2010 said

“Use one or more named case

studies to describe the features of a

sustainable settlement.” (8 marks)

• Next lesson you and your group will produce a

presentation about Bedzed. You need to cover

all the points from the previous slide. You

should refer to Egan Wheel ideas and do some

internet research as well

• You can present this in ANY WAY YOU WISH

(poster, powerpoint, drama, TV show, estate

agents ad, ANYTHING)

• You need to split the class into groups of 3 or 4

• The rest is up to you

What you need to do…. (part 2)