sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Sustainability Education through Green Infrastructure

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2025) | Viewed by 1651

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Design & Merchandising, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Interests: green building literacy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, College of Education and Human Development, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Interests: socio-ecological literacy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue examines sustainability education in, of, and for green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is a critical consideration for myriad environmental concerns related to air, water, natural resources, and our changing climate. Sustainable development—from urban forms to landscapes, to buildings, to building interiors—has long been viewed through the lens of green technologies and innovations that are measured in terms of environmental performance. Less commonly examined is the social performance of sustainably built environments. However, the social dimensions of green infrastructure are gaining traction in the literature, with a particular emphasis on the educational potential of sustainable environments. This work starts to reveal the ways that green infrastructure is both a 3D communication tool for sustainability and a source for rich formal and informal science lessons that integrate human–ecological systems.

This Special Issue topic crosses substantive aims of the journal to address sustainable development and sustainable education. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Green infrastructure (urban spaces, buildings, interiors, products) as a tool for science communication;
  • Formal and informal environmental education interventions involving sustainably built products and/or environments;
  • Case studies of educative green infrastructure projects;
  • Social research with occupants of green infrastructure projects;
  • Green infrastructure is designed to increase environmental awareness, knowledge, attitudes, or behaviours;
  • Education for Sustainable Development.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Laura B. Cole
Dr. Laura Zangori
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • green infrastructure
  • green buildings
  • sustainable development
  • environmental education
  • education for sustainability
  • science education
  • socio–ecological systems
  • systems thinking

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 15925 KiB  
Article
If Green Walls Could Talk: Interpreting Building Sustainability Through Atmospheric Cues
by Erin M. Hamilton and Rachael Shields
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 3890; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093890 - 25 Apr 2025
Viewed by 438
Abstract
Architectural design influences both environmental outcomes and occupant behaviors. Green buildings convey environmental responsibility through formal (e.g., signage, tours) and informal means, including natural materials, daylighting, and energy-efficient features. These choices contribute to overall building “atmospherics” that can foster occupant awareness of sustainability. [...] Read more.
Architectural design influences both environmental outcomes and occupant behaviors. Green buildings convey environmental responsibility through formal (e.g., signage, tours) and informal means, including natural materials, daylighting, and energy-efficient features. These choices contribute to overall building “atmospherics” that can foster occupant awareness of sustainability. To explore how atmospherics contribute to occupant perception of building sustainability, we surveyed (n = 250) and interviewed (n = 16) occupants of two LEED-certified university buildings—the Green Building and the Green and Biophilic Building—focusing on their awareness of sustainable features and sources of this awareness. The results showed that occupants of the Green and Biophilic Building were significantly more likely to recognize its sustainable features. The diversity and frequency of features identified varied significantly between buildings, with the broader range in the Green and Biophilic Building. Content analysis revealed occupant misconceptions about the sustainability of features like automatic toilets, aesthetic elements, and biophilic patterns, with some assumptions based solely on appearance. These findings highlight how occupants develop green building awareness without formal instruction, underscoring the value of visible design elements in fostering engagement. This study offers practical recommendations for architects and designers to enhance green messaging through non-verbal cues and interpretative educational features. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education through Green Infrastructure)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop