Green and Energy-Efficient Buildings, Construction Futures, Housing for Smart Sustainable Cities, and Advancing the SDGs

Dear Colleagues,

The 21st century is being shaped by the twin forces of rapid urbanisation and the global sustainability transition, with emerging and developing countries accounting for over 90% of projected urban growth. At the centre of this transformation lies the built environment—encompassing buildings, housing, and the construction industry—which collectively consumes vast amounts of energy and resources while generating a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the built environment also holds immense potential to drive innovation, resilience, and inclusiveness in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This Special Issue brings together diverse perspectives on how green and energy-efficient buildings, advances in the construction industry, and sustainable housing futures can serve as levers for smart, sustainable cities in the Global South. The contributions demonstrate how technological innovation, digitalisation, and circular economy practices are transforming the construction sector, while also addressing the pressing need for affordable, equitable, and climate-resilient housing. Beyond the technical dimension, this Special Issue highlights the critical roles of policy, finance, governance, and social innovation in enabling transformative change.

By showcasing research, case studies, and commentaries from across regions and disciplines, this Special Issue underscores the central role of the built environment in advancing multiple SDGs—from clean energy and sustainable cities to climate action, responsible consumption, and inclusive economic growth. It seeks not only to document the challenges but also to chart pathways for action that reflect the realities and opportunities of emerging and developing economies, where the stakes are highest. Together, these contributions position buildings, housing, and construction as strategic arenas for shaping sustainable urban futures in the 21st century.

The Special Issue will bring together contributions that explore the following interrelated themes:

• Energy-efficient and resource-smart buildings—innovations in design, retrofitting, passive cooling, and renewable integration.
• Advances in the construction industry that include green materials, industrialised building systems, modular and prefabricated housing, and digital technologies (BIM, AI, and IoT).
• Housing development futures—affordable and inclusive green housing, financing models, and social innovations in rapidly urbanising contexts.
• Innovative and sustainable cities—integrating green buildings, housing, and construction into wider digital, infrastructural, and governance frameworks.
• Circular economy and resource efficiency—sustainable construction value chains, recycling of materials, and low-carbon building practices.
• Equity and inclusiveness—ensuring green buildings and housing remain accessible to low- and middle-income populations, preventing sustainability from becoming an elite privilege.
• Policy and financing frameworks—green building codes, housing policies, climate finance, and public–private partnerships.
• SDG interlinkages—the contributions of buildings, housing, and construction to SDG 7 (Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and beyond.

Prof. Dr. Arkebe Oqubay
Guest Editor

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.