ABSTRACT
The STARfish tool aims to address criteria developed from the preceding critique of rating tools (RTs) and build design capacity for achieving positive development sustainability standards. The General STARfish, a variation on radar diagram, has several impact categories which were selected mainly because they overlap common impact categories used in several RTs. In the STARfish, negative impacts are measured from zero, as defined in each impact category. The STARfish, like radar diagrams, avoid this because they record different impact factors on different legs, or radiuses, while keeping their own measurement scale. The STARfish records negative impacts permanently, by showing reductions and gains separately, since irreversible/ongoing negative impacts are not actually eliminated in real life. An urban rating system using the STARfish could add dimensions such as environmental justice or socio-economic equity. For example, some of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness indicators include time expenditure, education and cultural or institutional factors.
