Urban Air Pollution and the Built Environment: Sources, Impacts, and Solutions
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 August 2026 | Viewed by 52
Special Issue Editors
Interests: urban air pollution; indoor air quality; aerosol chemistry; public health; environmental impact assessment; geochemistry; sustainability
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban pollution undermines public health, economic productivity, and climate resilience, making its control a core priority for cities worldwide. Furthermore, urban indoor air pollution significantly impacts human health, leading to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular problems, and even neurological issues, with vulnerable populations like children and the elderly being particularly susceptible. This pollution, stemming from various sources including outdoor air infiltration and indoor activities, can exacerbate existing conditions and contribute to new health problems. Various studies reveal that indoor air quality is affected by outdoor air, but research shows that air exhaled from buildings also contains pollutants that can become another source of outdoor pollution, affecting the overall air quality in cities. A cycle is hence expected to exist, whereby a fraction of indoor air pollution may eventually be sustained or even reinforced by exhaled air re-entering the same buildings. Research on urban indoor air pollution is crucial due to its significant impact on public health, especially in densely populated areas. Interdisciplinary studies, including on the built environment, energy, industry, engineering, and architecture are required to tackle this crucial 21st century issue to protect global public health and wellness.
We welcome original research, case studies, innovative solutions, and methodological advances for our Special Issue, “Urban Air Pollution and the Built Environment: Sources, Impacts, and Solutions.” Your work will help in the transformation of the urban built environment.
This Special Issue covers the following topics:
- Source characterization;
- Indoor–outdoor exchange dynamics;
- Exposure and health assessments;
- Innovative air quality sensors;
- Ventilation and filtration strategies;
- Designing healthy buildings;
- Building and district energy interactions;
- Retrofitting of buildings;
- Intervention and solutions;
- Behavioral and lifestyle factors influencing indoor air quality;
- Policy and equity analyses.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Celine Siu Lan Lee
Prof. Dr. Hao Wang
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
- air pollution
- indoor air quality
- built environment
- building design
- indoor–outdoor exchange
- urban
- public health
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