
www.buildingsandcities.org/about/david-glew.html
Professor David Glew is the Head of Energy Efficiency and Policy in the Leeds Sustainability Institute, based at Leeds Beckett University, where he undertakes research into the sustainability of the built environment.
He has special interest in the embodied and operational energy use of buildings, improving building performance evaluation tools and models and investigating how behaviour change can address issues including indoor air quality, thermal comfort, the performance gap and achieving zero carbon living.
His recent research projects have evaluated the energy performance and risks associated with domestic retrofits and investigated the robustness of building energy models and thermal simulations.
Latest Commentaries
The Search for Urban Recovery in Lebanon
Lebanon’s history has been shaped by recurrent cycles of war, disaster, and economic collapse, with each episode leaving enduring imprints on the country’s urban and social fabric. Howayda al-Harithy (American University of Beirut) critically examines Lebanon’s historical cycles of destruction and reconstruction. Recovery involves more than rebuilding buildings; it requires a framework that is people-centered, heritage-led and place-specific together with an emphasis on restoring social relations, cultural identity, community agency while addressing structural inequalities.
Rebuilding Energy Infrastructure after War
Marco Nicola Binetti (University of Bremen) argues that energy reconstruction should be understood as a core pillar of post-conflict recovery rather than a narrowly technical undertaking. Restoring electricity and fuel supplies enables essential services, supports economic growth, strengthens state legitimacy, and reduces the likelihood of renewed violence. However, successful reconstruction requires overcoming substantial financial, logistical, institutional, and political obstacles. Reconstruction strategies must also adapt to emerging threats and vulnerabilities created by modern warfare.