Current Issue

Retrofitting at scale: accelerating capabilities for domestic building stocks

Buildings & Cities is pleased to announce that our latest Special Issue Retrofitting at Scale is now complete and available to read in full here.

This special issue explores the accelerated delivery of domestic energy retrofitting at different scales – national, municipal, neighbourhood and individual sites.

Insights are drawn across different scales and geographical contexts as well as top-down vs bottom-up models. Recommendations are provided for policies and delivery strategies for different scales, stakeholders, inhabitants and disciplines.

Buildings and Cities invites you to submit to one of the following two Special Issues.

Download the PDF with the full details by clicking on the title of the Call for Papers or by visiting the Buildings and Cities Community Website via the links below.

Urban Expansion

Guest Editor: Shlomo Angel (Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University)

Deadline for abstract submission: 03 DECEMBER 2021

How can urban expansion be undertaken more sustainably, how can expansion be contained and appropriate strategies created for rapid and modest urban growth?

This special issue explores the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of urban expansion; when, where and how expansion can and should be contained; and when, where, and how it can and should be managed in an orderly, inclusive, and sustainable manner. When cities grow in population, economic output and cultural amenities, they need more physical space. Such space can be created through densification (the focus of a recent B&C special issue) and/or by expanding their footprints into the rural periphery. Urban expansion in geographic space is often ill-defined and its measurement and projection into the future are controversial. ‘Sprawl’ is detrimental to the surrounding countryside, costly in terms of infrastructure, excessive waste in energy and resources, and increased GHG emissions. But the regulatory containment of urban expansion is problematic as it can result in land and house price inflation, making cities less affordable. The speed of urban expansion has consistently been underestimated especially in the Global South where expansions occur in a disorderly and unplanned manner with negative consequences for inhabitants.

For the full submission details and further information, visit the B&C Community Website:
https://www.buildingsandcities.org/calls-for-papers/urban-expansion.html

Transformational Climate Actions by Cities

Guest Editors: John Robinson and Kim Slater (University of Toronto)

Deadline for abstract submission: 15 DECEMBER 2021

Are cities’ implementation efforts achieving the transformation to realise low-carbon, climate resilient cities? What is the extent and effectiveness of these actions? How can implementation be accelerated?

Cities are highly vulnerable, as well as major contributors, to climate change. Fortunately, cities are also promising sources of solutions. Taken together, these factors demand a closer examination of the progress and solutions that cities are making to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts.

Carbon reduction pledges and plans are important first steps. However, there is a need for implementation measures (e.g., policies, practices, programs etc.) that demonstrably advance climate mitigation and adaptation goals. This special issue seeks research on the extent and effectiveness of cities’ implementation efforts. In particular, there is a need to better understand if and how cities are rolling out effective implementation measures, what effects (intended and unintended) such measures are having, and ultimately whether their implementation efforts are achieving the transformational changes needed to realize a low-carbon, climate resilient future.

For the full submission details and further information, visit the B&C Community Website:
https://www.buildingsandcities.org/calls-for-papers/cfp-climate-cities.html

Systemic inequalities in indoor air pollution exposure

Buildings and Cities in partnership with UCL, have launched a press release on their recent publication "Systemic inequalities in indoor air pollution exposure in London, UK" by Ferguson et al.

Exposure to air pollution is one of the greatest health risks in many countries, for example causing an estimated 28,000 – 36,000 premature deaths a year in the UK. Low-income households are exposed to higher levels of outdoor and indoor air pollution. What leads to these indoor exposure inequalities and what can be done to reduce them?

Read the full report on the Buildings and Cities website.