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Sustainable Housing and Urban Planning: Enhancing Well-Being Through Environmental Design
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Sustainable Housing and Urban Planning: Enhancing Well-Being Through Environmental Design

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: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 629

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Siqi Jia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: geographic information systems (GIS); urban climate; urban planning; urban greenspace; construction management; environmental engineering and modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shengbiao Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: 3D morphology remote sensing; urban built environment; human-environment spatiotemporal interactions; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cheolhee Yoo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
Interests: urban environment; urban sustainability; urban climate; remote sensing; GIS; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wanlu Ouyang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, Nanjing 211899, China
Interests: sustainable strategy in urban planning and design; health and resilient city; climate resilience; nature-based solutions; urban green and blue infrastructure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental design is a pivotal factor in achieving sustainable housing and urban planning, particularly in addressing the interconnected challenges of urbanization, climate change, and resource scarcity. As cities grow more complex, balancing ecological resilience, social equity, and economic viability demands innovative strategies that transcend traditional planning approaches. The multifaceted nature of urban systems—encompassing energy efficiency, public health, infrastructure, and community needs—makes sustainable design an intricate and often daunting endeavor.

To navigate these complexities, integrated environmental design has emerged as a critical framework, harmonizing ecological stewardship with human-centric development. This approach prioritizes interdisciplinary collaboration, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, nature-based solutions, and participatory processes to create adaptive and inclusive urban environments. With escalating global uncertainties, such as climate volatility and socio-economic disparities, there is growing emphasis on advancing resilient and equitable design practices.

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Energy-Efficient and Circular Design: Low-carbon materials, net-zero housing, and regenerative architecture.
  • Green and Resilient Urban Ecosystems: Green infrastructure, biodiversity integration, and climate-adaptive landscapes.
  • Equitable and Smart Cities: Technology-driven planning, inclusive resource access, and community co-design.
  • Health-Centric Environments: Pollution mitigation, biophilic design, and nature-based health interventions.
  • Policy Innovation: Governance models, funding mechanisms, and cross-sector partnerships for sustainable urbanization.
  • Global Case Studies: Transformative projects demonstrating scalable solutions in diverse socio-economic contexts.

Dr. Siqi Jia
Dr. Shengbiao Wu
Dr. Cheolhee Yoo
Dr. Wanlu Ouyang
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 semimonthly 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

  • urban planning
  • sustainable building
  • sustainable development
  • environmental design
  • green building
  • thermal environment
  • urban built environment
  • urban climate

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 10272 KB  
Article
Climate-Responsive Design for Sustainable Housing: Thermal Comfort, Spatial Configuration, and Environmental Satisfaction in Subtropical Void Decks
by Shan Chen, Jinbo Feng, Fei Xue and Qiong Hu
Buildings 2025, 15(21), 3846; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15213846 (registering DOI) - 24 Oct 2025
Abstract
With rapid urbanization and intensifying climate change impacts, the thermal comfort performance of semi-outdoor spaces has emerged as a critical issue in sustainable urban design and housing development. However, the unique void decks of residential environments remain underexplored in the existing literature. This [...] Read more.
With rapid urbanization and intensifying climate change impacts, the thermal comfort performance of semi-outdoor spaces has emerged as a critical issue in sustainable urban design and housing development. However, the unique void decks of residential environments remain underexplored in the existing literature. This study addresses the knowledge gap by investigating how morphological characteristics influence microclimatic conditions and user satisfaction in high-density subtropical residential environments. Field measurements and questionnaire surveys were conducted across 18 void decks in four representative Shenzhen communities during summer 2024, examining air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, mean radiant temperature, and UTCI alongside users’ thermal perceptions. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three distinct typologies based on spatial attributes: North–South-Ventilated (NS-VD), Single-Directional (SD-VD), and Oblique-Oriented (OO-VD). Ridge regression analysis revealed seven critical configuration variables—height-to-depth ratio, orientation, angle with wind, number of open sides, sky view factor, green view factor, and height from ground—collectively explaining 51.2% of UTCI variation. The results were as follows: (1) we identified morphological typologies and quantify microclimate variations across spatial configurations; (2) established quantitative relationships between objective thermal metrics and subjective thermal perceptions; and (3) developed evidence-based design recommendations for enhancing thermal environments in subtropical residential contexts. The findings support climate-responsive design for high-density residential environments by providing a scientific basis for optimizing microclimates and enhancing community vitality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Housing and Urban Planning: Enhancing Well-Being Through Environmental Design)
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28 pages, 12440 KB  
Article
Predicting Perceived Restorativeness of Urban Streetscapes Using Semantic Segmentation and Machine Learning: A Case Study of Liwan District, Guangzhou
by Wenjuan Kang, Ni Kang and Pohsun Wang
Buildings 2025, 15(20), 3671; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15203671 - 12 Oct 2025
Viewed by 217
Abstract
Urban streetscapes are among the most frequently encountered spatial environments in daily life, and their restorative visual features have a significant impact on well-being. Although existing studies have revealed the relationship between streetscape environments and perceived restorativeness, there remains a lack of scalable, [...] Read more.
Urban streetscapes are among the most frequently encountered spatial environments in daily life, and their restorative visual features have a significant impact on well-being. Although existing studies have revealed the relationship between streetscape environments and perceived restorativeness, there remains a lack of scalable, data-driven methods for quantifying such perception at the street level. This study proposes an interpretable and replicable framework for predicting streetscape restorativeness by integrating semantic segmentation, perceptual evaluation, and machine learning techniques. Taking Liwan District of Guangzhou as a case study, street-view images (SVIs) were collected and processed using the Mask2Former model to extract the following five key visual metrics: greenness, openness, enclosure, walkability, and imageability. Based on the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), an online questionnaire was designed from four dimensions (fascination, being away, compatibility, and extent) to score a random sample of images. A random forest model was then trained to predict the perceptual levels of the full dataset, followed by K-means clustering to identify spatial distribution patterns. The results revealed that there were significant differences in visual characteristics among high, medium, and low restorativeness street types. The proposed framework enables scalable, data-driven evaluation of perceived restorativeness across diverse urban streetscapes. By embedding perceptual metrics into large-scale urban analysis, the framework offers a replicable and efficient approach for identifying streets with low restorative potential—thus providing urban planners and policymakers with a novel tool for prioritizing street-level renewal, improving public well-being, and supporting perception-oriented urban design without the need for labor-intensive fieldwork. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Housing and Urban Planning: Enhancing Well-Being Through Environmental Design)
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