New Frontiers in Design and Planning for Healthy Built Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Public health issues are closely related to the design and planning of the built environment. Over the last year, the contagious disease COVID-19 has affected the entire world and challenged some established practices in architectural and urban planning and design. New health-related determinants of space have been imposed, and the perception and significance of healthy places in the built environment has changed. COVID-19 has opened numerous new questions for the built environment, from the definition of human scale to the application of technologies to achieve socio-spatial justice and reconceptualize and reorganize the built space at micro and macro scales, among others. Altered circumstances not only affect people’s lives, their habits, and environments but also require a reconsideration of various aspects, including tools and intended outcomes of the processes of (re)forming these environments.

Operationalization of the healthy built environment is a complex process underpinned by a need to master past lessons, critically consider responses to current crisis, and envision coming trends and risks, all for the purpose of coping with future challenges successfully. Thus, the aim of this Special Issue is to formulate relevant research questions and provide adequate responses that reveal the characteristics of the built environment in circumstances characterized by the presence of massively infectious human diseases. Authors are encouraged to propose and apply novel multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches in exploring various scales and elements of the built environment, from different types of buildings and closed spaces to segments of urban form and functions, i.e., (green) open spaces, urban density, transport, mobility, etc., to social environments and practices (e.g., social distancing) embedded into these layers of the built environment. The editors welcome manuscripts prepared either as comprehensive reviews or original research articles.

Prof. Dr. Alenka Fikfak
Dr. Saja Kosanović
Dr. Matej Nikšič
Dr. Christine Mady
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.