Advances in Urban Heat Island and Outdoor Thermal Comfort
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 May 2026 | Viewed by 36
Special Issue Editors
Interests: urban climate planning; outdoor thermal comfort; heritage climate resilience
Interests: climate-resilient spatial planning; spatial governance of the built environment; smart city planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: urban climate; AI-driven urban design; low-altitude space planning
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The accelerating pace of global urbanization, while driving economic growth, has also brought about severe environmental challenges, with the urban heat island effect being particularly pronounced. The persistent rise in urban temperatures not only exacerbates energy consumption and air pollution but also directly threatens public health by diminishing outdoor thermal comfort.
This Special Issue focuses on research within the field of multiscale urban thermal climates, aiming to explore effective strategies for mitigating the urban heat island effect, enhancing outdoor thermal comfort, and shaping liveable, healthy, and sustainable urban environments. We welcome submissions of high-quality original research papers and review articles showcasing cutting-edge research and innovative practices in the domains of urban heat islands and outdoor thermal comfort.
The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Research into the mechanisms of the urban heat island effect;
- Multiscale monitoring and simulation techniques for urban heat islands;
- Sustainable urban planning, design and governance;
- Outdoor thermal comfort assessment;
- Simulation study on outdoor thermal comfort;
- Urban heat island mitigation strategies and policy formulation.
Dr. Hongchi Zhang
Dr. Huimin Liu
Dr. Yihan Wu
Dr. Jun Zhao
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 heat island
- human health
- thermal comfort
- urban form
- built environment
- climate monitoring and modelling
- sustainable urban design
- human behavior
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