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Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development
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Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2024 | Viewed by 2597

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xia Zhang

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: environment psychology; environment behavior; public space; urban design; space–time behavior analysis
Prof. Dr. Hui He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: environment behavior; public space; urban planning; urban design; healing environment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The built environment is closely related to human health. Currently, people's requirements for the quality of urban and architectural space environment are increasing. The relationship between built environment and human health has become an urgent problem to be solved.

In existing research, numerous achievements have been made regarding the impact of environmental pollution and physical quality on health physiological indicators. The impact of the environment on users' living habits and behavioral patterns also clearly determines people's physical and mental health.

This issue focuses on the concept of all-health, focusing on new theories, new technologies, new methods and innovative applications of various built environment and health indicator measurements and analyses, and focusing on the comprehensive promotion of the built environment in user health issues. Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Healthy buildings
  • Healthy community
  • Healing space
  • Urban active space
  • Healthy environments for particular populations (e.g., the elderly, children, and people with social anxiety)
  • Health-promoting behavior

Prof. Dr. Xia Zhang
Prof. Dr. Hui He
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • built environment
  • environment behavior
  • healthy building
  • healthy city
  • healing environment
  • environment phycology
  • health-promoting behavior
  • health-supporting environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5624 KiB  
Article
Applicability of Vegetation to Reduce Traffic-Borne PM2.5 Concentration in Roadside User Zones in Hot Arid Climates: The Case of Central Doha, Qatar
by Soujanya Mogra and Mohd Faris Khamidi
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1388; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051388 - 13 May 2024
Viewed by 123
Abstract
The ‘Beautification of Roads and Parks in Qatar’ is an urban development project that intends to provide space for exercising in roadside greenery in central Doha due to a lack of accessible open spaces. Considering the potential health risks associated with inhaling traffic-borne [...] Read more.
The ‘Beautification of Roads and Parks in Qatar’ is an urban development project that intends to provide space for exercising in roadside greenery in central Doha due to a lack of accessible open spaces. Considering the potential health risks associated with inhaling traffic-borne PM2.5, this study investigated the efficacy of four common road vegetation scenarios in reducing traffic-borne PM2.5 concentration in roadside user zones using ENVI-met. It examined Spearman’s rank correlation between air temperature, relative humidity, traffic emission rate, and PM2.5 concentration in roadside user zones. Based on the results, (1) hedgerows lower PM2.5 concentrations in roadside user zones, while trees significantly increase the concentration. (2) There is a strong association between air temperature and relative humidity and the PM2.5 concentration. The PM2.5 concentration decreases as air temperature increases but it increases as relative humidity increases. (3) There is a moderately negative association between the traffic emission rate and the PM2.5 concentration; however, this association is not found to be statistically significant. The ENVI-met simulation showed a slight overestimation of PM2.5 concentration compared to the wind tunnel simulation. These findings provide insight into planning road vegetation to reduce traffic-borne PM2.5 in roadside user zones in the local hot arid climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development)
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18 pages, 16408 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Impact of Campus Landscape Visual Elements Combination on Short-Term Stress Relief among College Students: A Case from China
by Hui He, Tong Zhang, Qinghao Zhang, Sheng Rong, Yihe Jia and Fengqian Dong
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1340; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051340 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 317
Abstract
Although the effect of campus landscape space on stress relief among college students has been confirmed, few existing studies have considered the impact on stress recovery from the perspective of factor combination, and the key visual elements and the most effective combination of [...] Read more.
Although the effect of campus landscape space on stress relief among college students has been confirmed, few existing studies have considered the impact on stress recovery from the perspective of factor combination, and the key visual elements and the most effective combination of visual elements to relieve stress are still unclear. This study attempts to conduct a natural experiment within Chinese campuses, measuring physiological indicators of stress such as heart rate (HR), frequency domain index of heart rate variability (LF/HF), skin conductance level (SCL), skin temperature (SKT), and respiratory rate (RESP) using physiological instruments. It explored the effects of visual elements and their combinations in campus landscape spaces on short-term stress relief among college students through semantic segmentation, multifactorial analysis of variance, and post hoc multiple comparison methods. Research results demonstrate that the presence of water elements in the field of vision can effectively improve the stress relief effects of landscape spaces. Reasonable combinations of natural landscape elements and artificial landscape elements in the design can also effectively promote stress relief among students. Building facade area and sky area, water area and sky area, and plant species and pavement area are three combinations of factors with the strongest interactive effects. “Natural water scenery” and “exquisite artificial” are two campus landscape design patterns most conducive to short-term stress relief. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development)
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20 pages, 3562 KiB  
Article
High-Density Communities and Infectious Disease Vulnerability: A Built Environment Perspective for Sustainable Health Development
by Yue Hu, Ziyi Lin, Sheng Jiao and Rongpeng Zhang
Buildings 2024, 14(1), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010103 - 30 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 842
Abstract
High-density communities have proliferated globally during rapid urbanization. They are characterized by a high population density and limited per capita public spaces, making them susceptible to infectious disease risks. The impact of infectious diseases in these communities, as evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, [...] Read more.
High-density communities have proliferated globally during rapid urbanization. They are characterized by a high population density and limited per capita public spaces, making them susceptible to infectious disease risks. The impact of infectious diseases in these communities, as evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores their vulnerabilities. Yet, research on disease prevention in high-density areas remains limited. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the built environment and the transmission of infectious diseases in high-density urban communities, with a particular focus on the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing Shenzhen city as a case study, this study collected data on the built environment and epidemic trends and involved a generalized linear regression analysis, aiming to understand the key built environment factors that affect epidemic spread in high-density areas. The results from the study revealed that high-density communities experience higher rates of infectious disease transmission compared to their medium- to low-density counterparts. The significant factors identified include land use mixture and walkability, with land use mixture showing the most substantial impact on infection rates. Through a combination of qualitative analysis and empirical research, we constructed a conceptual framework linking containment measures, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and the built environment. The findings emphasize the significance to focus on the health development of high-density communities and offer valuable insights for tailored urban planning and built environment design. These insights are crucial for promoting the healthy and sustainable transformation of existing high-density communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development)
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19 pages, 10828 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of Street Canyon Morphology and Microclimate in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone
by Zhiyi Zhou, Pengfei Wang, Jun Deng, Cheng Ouyang, Yuxuan Xu, Wanping Jiang and Kai Ma
Buildings 2023, 13(10), 2433; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13102433 - 25 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 651
Abstract
The design of street canyons has become a focus of attention under the requirements of high-quality urban modernization, while existing research has gradually broken through the basic norms of aesthetic design to include ecological considerations. However, it is only in recent decades that [...] Read more.
The design of street canyons has become a focus of attention under the requirements of high-quality urban modernization, while existing research has gradually broken through the basic norms of aesthetic design to include ecological considerations. However, it is only in recent decades that relevant research has been carried out in super and super-large cities in China. In this article, we take Nanchang, one of the largest cities in China, as an example, and use ENVI-met software (v5.5.1.) to simulate and analyze the street canyon of the city. Certain measurements were made and verified to compare the microclimatic conditions of street canyons at different scales. The relationship between street canyon morphology and outdoor thermal comfort was explored in terms of near-surface air temperature, wind speed, and thermal comfort indicators. The results show that there is a high correlation between the morphology of street canyons, such as orientation, aspect ratio interface continuity, and outdoor thermal comfort. Therefore, starting from adjusting the morphological characteristics of street canyons, practical suggestions can be provided for urban planners to guide the sustainable development of contemporary cities and improve the comfort of urban street spaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Healthy Environment Design in Urban Development)
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