Urban Morphology, Urban Microclimate and Low-Carbon Built Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Cities account for over 70% of global energy‑related CO₂ emissions, a share likely to grow with ongoing urbanization. Urban morphology—the physical form, spatial configuration, and three‑dimensional structure of cities—strongly influences local microclimates through surface energy balance, ventilation, and radiation. These microclimatic conditions, in turn, affect building energy demand, thermal comfort, and carbon emissions. However, the systematic quantification of the “form–microclimate–carbon” pathway remains incomplete, and effective spatial optimization strategies are scarce.

This Special Issue aims to bridge urban climatology, sustainable architecture, spatial planning, and building energy modeling. It focuses on how urban form can be optimized to mitigate heat stress, reduce building energy use, and lower carbon emissions while enhancing livability and climate resilience.

Scope:

We welcome original research, reviews, and case studies on topics including (but not limited to):

(1) Urban morphology and microclimate dynamics—how 2D/3D indicators (building height, density, street geometry, sky view factor, land cover) shape thermal environments, wind patterns, and outdoor comfort;

(2) Microclimate and building energy—impacts of urban microclimate on cooling/heating loads and integration of microclimate data into energy models;

(3) Urban form and carbon emissions—direct and indirect pathways from spatial morphology to operational carbon, including microclimate mediation;

(4) Climate‑responsive design—parametric and multi‑objective optimization of blocks/neighborhoods for thermal comfort, energy efficiency, and carbon performance;

(5) Modeling advancements—field measurements, remote sensing, GIS, CFD, machine learning, and urban climate models (e.g., Local Climate Zones, Urban Weather Generator);

(6) Nature‑based solutions—roles of vegetation, water bodies, and green infrastructure in UHI mitigation, microclimate improvement, and carbon sequestration;

(7) Multi‑scale analysis—morphological‑climatic interactions across building, neighborhood, city, and regional scales, with carbon implications;

(8) Policy and planning—translating findings into actionable guidelines and policies for low‑carbon, climate‑resilient urban development.

Purpose:

This issue provides a platform for researchers, planners, designers, and policymakers to share cutting‑edge knowledge. It aims to: (a) synthesize theoretical and empirical understanding of how morphology modulates microclimate and energy/carbon outcomes; (b) promote methodological innovation in modeling, data‑driven approaches, and optimization; (c) bridge science and practice by delivering design strategies and policy recommendations; and (d) foster interdisciplinary dialog across climatology, architecture, planning, and energy modeling.

Relation to the existing literature

While previous studies have separately examined urban morphology—microclimate, urban morphology—energy, or urban heat–carbon, an integrated perspective covering the full causal chain from form to microclimate to carbon is lacking. This Special Issue fills that gap by:

• Bridging fragmented domains through the explicit “morphology–microclimate–carbon” nexus;
• Addressing scale gaps by encouraging multi‑scale and cross‑scale analyses;
• Embracing methodological diversity (measurements, simulations, remote sensing, machine learning, optimization);
• Incorporating diverse climatic and geographic contexts (tropical, temperate, continental, cold regions);
• Translating research into practical design guidelines and planning policies.

By doing so, this Issue will advance both academic knowledge and practical guidance for sustainable, low‑carbon, climate‑resilient cities.

Dr. Peng Cui
Dr. Wen Zhang
Dr. Shuo Chen
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.

• urban morphology
• urban microclimate
• low-carbon built environment
• building energy performance
• carbon emissions
• urban heat island
• thermal comfort
• climate-responsive design
• urban form optimization
• Local Climate Zones
• urban building energy modeling
• nature-based solutions
• green-blue infrastructure
• sustainable urban planning
• climate resilience
• parametric design
• machine learning
• urban ventilation
• spatial optimization
• multi-scale analysis