Urban Building Energy Analysis

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue “Urban Building Energy Analysis” to be published in MDPI’s open access journal Urban Science.

The present Special Issue is focused on state-of-the-art research and innovative solutions that address the analysis of energy associated with urban buildings and, by extension, any city-related energy linked to buildings. These solutions have the potential to contribute to the development of more sustainable and efficient urban energy strategies and systems, as well as to enhance energy resources to establish resilient urban environments. This objective can be accomplished through a variety of interventions at different urban scales, ranging from the rehabilitation, regeneration, and renewal of the urban fabric to the implementation of building interventions in urban areas.

The scope of research encompasses the investigation of building energy demand (and its correlation with thermal comfort) and building energy systems, encompassing heating, cooling, domestic hot water, electrical services, household appliances, and work and leisure equipment. Thematic areas addressed within the scope include energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and the leveraging of advanced technologies. In addition, the research encompasses other urban energy sources that are directly associated with urban buildings, including energy used for mobility or transport related to buildings due to their use in cities, as well as blue energy from domestic water and gray energy from daily waste treatment. Another relevant issue concerns the embodied energy of urban building construction and renovation materials, i.e., the life cycle environmental performance of building assessments. The research and inclusion of energy indicators in the analysis of each of these issues are welcomed.

Potential authors are invited to submit original research articles, reviews, and case studies that explore various aspects of urban building energy analysis. Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Building energy performance: modeling, monitoring, or digital twins;
• Life cycle assessment of urban buildings from an energy perspective;
• Energy management systems in urban buildings;
• Energy use for mobility, water, or waste in urban buildings;
• Application of advanced technologies, including IoT, Big Data, Smart Building or City technologies, GIS, Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) tools, and AI in optimizing urban building energy analysis;
• The role of policy and regulation in promoting energy-efficient urban building development;
• Circular economy approaches in urban building energy;
• The impact of urban planning on building energy consumption;
• Urban agenda and its influence on energy urban buildings;
• Urban building indicators as decision-making tools for energy efficiency in cities;
• Urban building energy datasets and cloud computing applications.

The Special Issue will bring together a diverse range of perspectives and expertise with the aim of fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that offer new insights, propose novel methodologies, or present practical applications that can advance the field of urban building energy analysis. Submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the highest standards of quality and relevance.

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Montalbán Pozas
Dr. Inmaculada Bote Alonso
Dr. Cristina Nuevo-Gallardo
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Urban Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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.

Publisher’s Notice

At the request of Dr. Irantzu Álvarez González, a member of the original Guest Editor team for the Special Issue “Urban Building Energy Analysis”, she will no longer be involved in the editorial handling of the Special Issue as of 31 March 2026. This change has been agreed upon by the remaining Guest Editors and the Editorial Office, and this Special Issue website has been updated accordingly. The Special Issue will continue to be handled by the remaining Guest Editors in accordance with MDPI’s Special Issue and editorial policies.

• sustainable and resilient cities
• urban building energy
• building energy analysis