Active Buildings & Cities: Improving Planetary, Urban and Individual Sustainability & Health

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to draw together the latest research on aspects of the built environment and health cutting across disciplines (health, environment, sustainability, transportation, architecture, urban design, etc).  Specifically, it will share recent research on buildings and cities in which physical activity and active transport are encouraged alongside sustainability.

The intention is to offer sufficient knowledge to encourage decisionmakers at national, regional, urban, local government and individual building levels to introduce connected policies that, over time, will improve the health of individuals, cities, and the Earth. It will reveal mutually reinforcing interconnectedness between three of the United Nations’ SDGs, (Sustainable Development Goals), namely: Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3); Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9); and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11). 

The importance of the built environment in helping us achieve both planetary and individual health is increasingly being recognised. Buildings themselves account for 39% of global carbon emissions through their materials, construction, and operation. Moving between buildings and cities using transportation accounts for another 25%of carbon emissions. At the same time, health research demonstrates that excessive sedentary behaviour is linked to obesity and is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease, among others. This Special Issue reveals the strength of linking research on the built environment with that on physical activity to introduce health improvements from individuals to the whole planet.

Interventions that encourage individuals to reduce their sedentary behaviour often result in only short-term change, while interventions aimed at changing the environment in local communities, cities, and buildings have been shown to bring more lasting improvements.  A promising direction at an urban level is encouraging people to alter their travel mode from private cars to more active travel using public transportation, bicycles, scooters, and walking. When attractive, safe routes that are quiet, and traffic- and pollution-free are created and provided, along with convenient, free, or cheap bicycle or scooter parking, their use generally increases. Within schools and workplaces, innovative furniture such as sit-stand desks encourage less sitting, while visible staircases have also been shown to discourage the use of lifts (elevators) in favour of stairs. Some evidence suggests that quieter, less polluted, car-free streets may in turn permit more use of natural ventilation within buildings, thus eliminating the need for summer cooling using energy-intensive air conditioning, and reducing the associated demand for electricity and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Other effective interventions deploy disincentives for certain forms of polluting travel, such as expensive payment for motor vehicle travel or parking at peak times, or banning cars near schools so as to avoid local pollution and noise affecting children, discouraging parents from driving, while potentially changing children’s lifetime expectation of door-to-door motorised travel.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the latest research on these relationships, so as to create a compelling story that cuts across disciplines (health, environment, sustainability, transportation, architecture, urban design, etc). It aims to offer sufficient evidence-based knowledge to encourage decisionmakers at national, regional, urban, and local government levels to introduce connected policies that, over time, will improve the health of individuals, cities, and the Earth.

Dr. Alexi Ferster Marmot
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• active travel
• air pollution
• behaviour change
• carbon footprint and reduction
• car-free
• energy
• greenhouse gases
• low carbon
• physical activity
• transportation
• sedentary behaviour
• walkability