RESEARCH PATHWAY: personal reflections on a career in research
Geographer and climatologist Gerald Mills (University College Dublin) reflects on a long research career investigating urban climate. He considers how the field has evolved from measuring and modelling to understanding the influence of the local context (local buildings and urban context) and its impact on indoor temperatures in adjoining buildings and outdoor conditions. A key aspect is linking urban climate knowledge to building design and urban planning.
MoreBy Frank W. Geels and Bruno Turnheim. Cambridge University Press, 2022, ISBN: 9781009198240
William Throndsen applauds this book which advocates for socio-technical approaches to reconfigure low-carbon transitions of the electricity, heat and mobility energy sectors. The substantial overview and extensive examples provided make the book a relevant policy makers.
MoreHow can governments advance adaptive solutions for keeping cool during hot weather?
Brian Dean and Elizabeth Wangeci Chege (Sustainable Energy for All) respond to the Buildings & Cities special issue Alternatives to Air Conditioning and explain why thermal comfort is not only a construction industry problem to solve but needs to be placed in the policy agenda on global warming. Thermal adequacy is still not understood as an essential need for human survival and that governments have an essential role.
MoreThis special issue examines how cities in the Global South can predict & manage their expansion in effective, sustainable ways.
Urban population growth, now largely confined to the Global South, requires cities to implement effective strategies to accommodate many more people and to ensure that they live productive, healthy, and satisfying lives. The limited potential of infill and densification inevitably requires the conversion of very large areas in the surrounding countryside to urban use. This special issue considers how this can be done in an orderly, efficient, and inclusive manner, with conservation and climate change in mind.
MoreRESEARCH PATHWAY: personal reflections on a career in research
Carlo Ratti (Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT) reflects on the work of the Senseable City Lab. Its pioneering research in understanding how people actually use cities and how urban environments could respond dynamically can enhance capacity and the lived experiences.
MoreWhat would an energy transition research agenda embracing intersectionality, equality and equity look like?
Tom Hargreaves and Nickhil Sharma (University of East Anglia) comment on contributions of the Buildings & Cities special issue Energy, Emerging Technology and Gender in Homes on the role of gender in technology development and the energy transition. This must be broadened further to social justice issues. A failure to do so risks fuelling resistance and pushback to new and emerging energy technologies. Three key avenues for future research and practices for a just energy transition and emerging technologies are set out.
MoreRESEARCH PATHWAY: personal reflections on a career in research
Andreas Wagner (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) explains his career in building performance as a journey from building technology and building science to a much broader, transdisciplinary approach involving understanding inhabitants' perceptions, practices, agency and interactions with the built environment.
MoreRadical changes are needed in how the construction industry operates and is regulated in order to create safe, healthy homes.
In light of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, David Oswald and Trivess Moore (RMIT University) reflect on the rights that inhabitants have for buildings to be safe, healthy, comfortable and robust. However, serial and various failings in the construction supply side and its oversight by governments mean greater accountability is needed.
MoreThe drivers for construction management research are too narrow and need to be broadened. A more critical voice would be beneficial.
Roine Leiringer (University of Hong Kong) and Andy Dainty (Manchester Metropolitan University) find the recent B&C special issue, Modern Methods of Construction: Beyond Productivity Improvement, has a worthy (and much needed) aim of providing a critical approach to policy and practice.
MoreThis special issue advances understandings of the nature, extent and effectiveness of cities’ implementation efforts to realise low-carbon, climate resilient cities.
Papers in this special issue expose ambitious
actions that some municipalities are taking: visioning, target-setting, and
planning (undertaken with community engagement), climate-friendly regulations
(for the built environment and urban infrastructure particularly), innovations
in finance and capital mobilization to fund climate adaptation, novel
institutional configurations, and partnership arrangements with civil society
actors. Despite these progressive steps, these
papers reveal that an implementation gap remains.
Guest Editors: John B. Robinson and Kim R. Slater
MoreA wide, coordinated set of policy proposals for built environment is launched for tackling global warming and biodiversity.
The UK built and natural environment think tank, the Edge, has drawn on the widespread expertise of its members to produce a concise set of interconnected policy recommendations aimed at enabling the design, construction and property industries to deliver on their obligations in the face of the twin climate change and biodiversity emergencies. The policy proposals are an urgent Call to Action to prevent on-going environmental and social harm.
MoreRESEARCH PATHWAY: personal reflections on a career in research
Engineer Cath Noakes (University of Leeds) reflects on motivations that led to a career researching building ventilation and airborne infection. She considers how the pandemic has exposed weaknesses in our built environment that will influence future research, policy and practice.
MoreCongratulations to the winners of the Video Challenge who displayed creativity, vitality and good communication skills to explain the significance of their research: "Why it Matters".
The judges were impressed and persuaded us to award 9 prizes. In addition, a further prize was decided by the People's Vote. The awards for the 2022 Video Challenge are...
MoreCollectively and individually, all the videos are a rich celebration of emerging, next generation built environment research.
Congratulations to the all the entrants of the "Why it Matters" Video Challenge who displayed creativity, vitality and good communication skills to explain the significance of their research. The judges were impressed and persuaded us to award 9 prizes. In addition, a further prize was decided by the People's Vote. And the 10 awards for the 2022 Video Challenge go to....
Mapping soft densification: a geospatial approach for identifying residential infill potentials
D Ehrhardt, M Behnisch, M Jehling & M Michaeli
Pilot study to measure the energy and carbon impacts of teleworking
S Simon & W O’Brien
Pandemics and the built environment: A human–building interaction typology
S A Vallis, A Karvonen & E Eriksson
Technological efficiency limitations to climate mitigation: why sufficiency is necessary
D Ness
Urban expansion: theory, evidence and practice [editorial]
S Angel
Assessing the influence of neighbourhood-scale vertical greening application
K Gunawardena & K Steemers
Climate action at the neighbourhood scale: Comparing municipal future scenarios
Y Lu, C Girling, N Martino, J Kim, R Kellett & J Salter
Transformational climate actions by cities [editorial]
K R Slater & J B Robinson
Heat stress: adaptation measures in South African informal settlements
J M Hugo
The urban expansion of Berlin, 1862–1900: Hobrecht’s Plan
F Bentlin
Common sources of occupant dissatisfaction with workspace environments in 600 office buildings
T Parkinson, S Schiavon, J Kim & G Betti
Latest Commentaries
Governments' Role in Providing Thermal Adequacy
Brian Dean and Elizabeth Wangeci Chege (Sustainable Energy for All) respond to the Buildings & Cities special issue Alternatives to Air Conditioning and explain why thermal comfort is not only a construction industry problem to solve but needs to be placed in the policy agenda on global warming. Thermal adequacy is still not understood as an essential need for human survival and that governments have an essential role.
Developing an Intersectional Approach to Emerging Energy Technologies in Homes
Tom Hargreaves and Nickhil Sharma (University of East Anglia) comment on contributions of the Buildings & Cities special issue Energy, Emerging Technology and Gender in Homes on the role of gender in technology development and the energy transition. This must be broadened further to social justice issues. A failure to do so risks fuelling resistance and pushback to new and emerging energy technologies. Three key avenues for future research and practices for a just energy transition and emerging technologies are set out.