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.
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By 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.
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How 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.
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This 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.
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RESEARCH 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.
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What 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.
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RESEARCH 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.
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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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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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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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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
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
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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
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.