Sustainable Built Environment, 2nd Volume

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions of original research papers for a topic of the sustainable built environment.

The built environment is a huge determinant of sustainability and, at the same time, a crucial element for the achievement of a truly sustainable society. The alarming challenges that society faces, including climate change, energy consumption, rapid urbanization, social inequality, population aging, and deteriorating infrastructure, urgently call for the rethinking of conventional planning, design, and construction practices. Well thought-through multidisciplinary and multidimensional approaches, strategies, and tools, including all relevant stakeholders at different urban levels (individual buildings, communities, and entire cities) should first reverse the current trends with their adverse environmental, economic, and social effects, and then enable and foster environmental, social, and economic regenerative growth. The fight against climate change and for a reduction in our carbon footprint should be the primary considerations while enabling a high level of comfort and well-being for users.

For example, energy efficiency is a key factor at the building level, as buildings account for a significant share of the world’s total energy consumption and offer a large potential for energy savings. Specifically, at this level, the integration of renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, will play a vital role in achieving a green and efficient built environment.

Furthermore, a sustainable built environment is associated with concepts and ideas such as the integration of renewable energy systems, BIPV, zero-energy buildings, vertical farming, adaptive building skins, affordable housing, integrative open public spaces and landscapes, age-friendly built environments, etc. These mechanisms and actions entail a careful, simultaneous consideration of various aspects and complex processes that are related to the built environment and its users, including the inevitable balancing between environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability, while enabling appropriate connectedness and harmonization between micro-, meso-, and macro-urban levels. Considering the complex and dynamic nature of the built environment and the Sustainable Development Goals, state-of-the-art technologies together with urban and building performance simulation, modeling, digitalization, informatics, and artificial intelligence may facilitate addressing the above-mentioned challenges and pave the road towards a sustainable built environment.

Therefore, the Editors of this Topic encourage submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following topics and issues—all in line with the Sustainable Development Goals:

• Urban planning and processes for sustainable development:
  • Sustainable urban–rural planning;
  • Urban policy and governance;
  • Smart cities: case studies, trends, and challenges;
  • Urban farming;
  • Participatory and people-centered planning and design practices.
• Affordable and clean energy:
  • Low- and zero-energy and -carbon buildings;
  • Energy consumption and efficiency in building and urban design;
  • The integration of renewable energy technologies into the built environment;
  • The implementation of solar systems (photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal systems) into the built environment;
  • Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV);
  • Green building envelopes.
• Net-zero carbon and circular economy:
  • Economic sustainability;
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA);
  • Circular construction;
  • Sustainable renovation of existing buildings and districts;
  • Vertical farming;
  • Adaptable buildings.
• Inclusive and healthy neighborhoods and buildings:
  • Design for human health and well-being;
  • Age-friendly built environments: buildings, transportation, and outdoor spaces;
  • Landscape and open public space design for sustainability;
  • Sustainable affordable housing;
  • Social sustainability.
• Methods, strategies, tools, and practices for delivering sustainable solutions:
  • Sustainable design and construction;
  • Design methods and strategies for environmental protection, pollution prevention, decarbonization, and resilience;
  • Experimentation and pilot projects: case studies, real solutions, and performance evaluation;
  • Urban and building performance simulation, informatics, digitalization, building information modeling (BIM), and artificial intelligence;
  • Sustainability in decision making;
  • Multiobjective assessment and optimization for sustainable development;
  • Building and neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools, standards, and certifications;
  • Socio-economic challenges for the delivery of sustainable solutions;
  • Barriers and drivers for sustainable development within the built environment.

We encourage researchers and practitioners working in areas that are related to sustainable built environments to submit their research papers and help shed light on this topic from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Dr. Siu-Kit Lau
Dr. Vesna Kosorić
Dr. Abel Tablada
Dr. Miljana Horvat
Dr. Milena Vukmirović
Dr. Silvia Domingo-Irigoyen
Prof. Dr. Marija Todorović
Dr. Jérôme H. Kaempf
Dr. Kosa Golić
Dr. Ana Peric
Dr. Tatjana Kosić
Topic Editors