Radical 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.
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Why emerging (smart) technologies are hindering energy outcomes
As a policy practitioner who leads a national organisation representing households and small businesses in shaping the future of Australia’s energy system, Lynne Gallagher (Energy Consumers Australia) responds to the Buildings & Cities special issue, Energy, Emerging Technologies and Gender in Homes. Insights from lived experience reveal blind spots in the design, provision and use of smart tech that adversely affect energy outcomes.
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By D. Oswald and T. Moore. Routledge, 2022, ISBN 9781032007311
Kay Saville-Smith (CRESA, Aotearoa NZ) reviews this book which chronicles deep, disturbing problems in the creation of dwellings. Dangerous defects have resulted in a lack of security, safety, health, well-being, and social value for households and the wider community.
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The 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.
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This 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
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A 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.
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By Matti Kuittinen, Alan Organschi, Andrew Ruff. Wiley, 2022, ISBN 9781119720775
Francesco Pomponi applauds this significant book and recommends it as essential reading not only for researchers, but for policy makers, clients, construction professionals, educators and students.
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Guest Editors: Vanesa Castán Broto (U of Sheffield), Marta Olazabal (Basque Centre for Climate Change), Gina Ziervogel (U of Cape Town)
Abstracts due: 3 MAY 2023
Now more than ever, cities and urban areas are confronted with the urgency of climate change adaptation: increases in temperatures and heatwaves, water and food scarcity, flash floods and sea-level rise, among other impacts.
This special issue aims to enlarge the range of adaptation narratives grounded in experiences from cities worldwide, seeks a more pluralistic, inclusive approach to urban adaptation, and explores ways to identify and disrupt ill-suited approaches.
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RESEARCH 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.
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How can the energy transition and smart technologies become more inclusive?
Sarah Darby (University of Oxford) responds to the Buildings & Cities special issue ‘Energy, Emerging Technologies and Gender in Homes’. If the adoption and use of smart home technologies and decarbonised energy systems are to be realised, then the principles of fairness, caring and caring ethics need to be embedded within regulatory, industry and domestic decisions and practices.
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A rethink is called for how building data is modelled and the purposes simulation is used for. Better to use models for design decisions than validating compliance?
Michael Donn (Victoria University Wellington) asks: What are appropriate roles and uses for building performance models? What would be better goals and uses for models and the data they generate?
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This special issue advances the understanding and implementation of housing adaptability and flexibility across a range of issues: spatial, social, environmental, economic, time and multi-use and multiuser adaptability.
The adaptability of our homes is a social, emotional and cultural issue as much as a technical or construction challenge. The need for housing adaptability and flexibility became apparent during the pandemic, when an increasing range of activities, such as working, studying, home-schooling, exercising etc., occurred in homes that were never designed for this purpose and thus ill-suited. However, the need for adaptability and flexibility is also necessary at other times during a building’s lifespan. Dwellings need to accommodate new working practices promoted by digitisation, or a changing demographic (ageing population, migration, fluctuation of household members).
Guest editors: Sofie Pelsmakers and Elanor Warwick
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Congratulations 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...
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Collectively 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....
Latest Peer-Reviewed Journal Content
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
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Endorsements
I am excited about the prospects of this new journal, Buildings and Cities. Its highly respected and experienced editorial team will ensure that the journal’s focus on interdisciplinary and multi-scale approaches will push our industry forward in addressing critical issues facing the built environment.
The quality of editorial work and support to authors is unmatched within the landscape of property and construction journals. The editors are highly experienced and have a strong track record of working closely with each author.
By crossing the scale of buildings and cities, as well as bridging the gap between social and technical research, Buildings and Cities is of vital importance to academics and practitioners working to support sustainable and socially just improvements in the built environment. The editor-in-chief has an extraordinary and well-deserved reputation for fostering new ideas as well as thoughtful and constructive critique. This journal is poised to make significant contributions to the fields its topics integrate.
My experience of the review process has been extremely positive: it has always been rigorous, constructive and improved the papers considerably.
The launch of Buildings and Cities has to be warmly welcomed. The members of the editorial team have an excellent track record in actively engaging with the scholarly community for ensuring that published papers are not only rigorous but also relevant.
Featuring integrated, topical perspectives about the issues in built environment, authors will find guided support, an expert editorial team, and a superior, high quality publication with a visionary, not-for-profit journal, Buildings and Cities. Readers will see articles addressing key research and high-level discussion about accelerating and implementing strategies to address stringent climate goals.
I wholeheartedly commend the new Buildings and Cities journal under its Editor in Chief, Richard Lorch, together with Niklaus Kohler, Ray Cole, Fionn Stevenson and others. It was a privilege to serve on the editorial board of its predecessor, Building Research and Information for 19 years. It is my opinion that it was consistently the most interesting and impactful journal in its field – which Lorch, together with other Board members and contributors essentially defined. I have every confidence that Buildings and Cities will continue this record.
In light of the many challenges that cities face, we need a journal that cuts across disciplinary and professional boundaries to enhance our understanding and insights. This new transdisciplinary journal with a strong editorial team will be a great support to researchers and practitioners alike.
Buildings and Cities is poised to be a leading scientific peer reviewed journals. Its Editor in Chief, Richard Lorch, has an unparalleled reputation of upholding academic fairness and complete integrity. Consequently, I have no hesitation in recommending 'Buildings and Cities' to my peers.
Interdisciplinary insight is vital in addressing the sustainability of the built environment, which encompasses the complex intersection of resources, infrastructures, institutions, communities and citizens. In recognizing this Buildings and Cities is set to become one of the foremost journals supporting innovative research in sustainability across diverse urban settings and scales. With an experienced editorial team at the helm it offers a valuable resource for students, scholars and practitioners interested in inclusive and integrated approaches to sustainable development.
Does built environment research and practice need a new, international, independent, authoritative and openly accessible resource? Buildings & Cities offers a timely and exceptionally relevant response to this question because it is designed to inspire dialogue, engage debate and promote robust evidence, ideas and knowledge. It is founded on principles of rigorous peer-review, relevance, integrity, and inclusiveness, and driven by the recognised competence of it editorial team.
Not only is the evaluation of buildings’ and cities’ performance through time and across scales more possible than ever before, it is more necessary. The journal Buildings and Cities, with its experienced editorial team led by Richard Lorch, is poised to be a leader in this important role.
Latest Commentaries
Collapse and Catastrophe: The Need to Protect Inhabitants
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.
Blind Spots in Energy Policy
As a policy practitioner who leads a national organisation representing households and small businesses in shaping the future of Australia’s energy system, Lynne Gallagher (Energy Consumers Australia) responds to the Buildings & Cities special issue, Energy, Emerging Technologies and Gender in Homes. Insights from lived experience reveal blind spots in the design, provision and use of smart tech that adversely affect energy outcomes.