Current Issue

Social Value of the Built Environment

Guest Editors: Flora Samuel (University of Reading) & Kelly J. Watson (Hatch Urban Solutions)

This collection closed for submissions as of Nov. 1st and publications are expected in the second half of 2023

This special issue explores social value in relation to both placemaking (urban design, architecture and real estate) and construction (procurement and labour) processes.

The emergence of the social value agenda has real potential for the promotion of justice, equality and social cohesion in our built environment. Social value is often defined in different ways by sector, industry and context. A useful working definition is “the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the relevant area” (Public Services (Social Value) Act, 2012). This demonstrates an interrelationship with triple bottom line sustainability, as well as the importance of prioritising impact within a defined spatial area, which could be local, regional, national or wider. Other definitions emphasise the importance of stakeholders and beneficiaries recognising and placing a value on the changes they experience in their lives, as well as the quantification and measurement of positive impacts.

The aim of this special issue is to explore current and potential approaches to defining, delivering, monitoring and evaluating social value in the built environment, its benefits and consequences and its relation to other existing policy mechanisms. How can planners, clients, designers create and evaluate social value at different scales? How can local stakeholders (communities) be involved and empowered? How can the intended outcomes be assured? Submissions are welcomed that examine these phenomena in the different social and economic contexts. Contributions that explore social value from various viewpoints and multiple perspectives are particularly welcome.

Buildings and Cities is delighted to announce we have been accepted into Scopus and that all B&C articles will be indexed here in the future. Inclusion in Scopus will help further increase the discoverability of all B&C articles, so that authors can be assured their research is reaching a wider audience around the world.

Understanding Demolition

Guest editor: Satu Huuhka (Tampere University)

This collection is now closed for submissions.

Is it environmentally, economically, socio-culturally more sustainable to extend buildings’ lives or to build new? What are the specific challenges, potentials, and contributions for retaining existing buildings as opposed to their demolition and replacement? What are the drivers for the demolition of buildings? How can a more sustainable approach be created? How can retention and adaptive change be applied in different conditions and different scales (buildings, neighbourhoods, building stocks)?

The aim of this special issue is to explore why demolition occurs: its environmental, socio-economic and cultural drivers, potentials and consequences, as well as policy and practices pertaining to avoiding demolition at different scales – supra-urban (country/region), urban (city/neighbourhood), building stock and building scale. How can planners and other stakeholders compare alternatives for densification without demolition i.e. by extending and infilling? What drives the replacement of existing buildings with new ones, what are the wider environmental, economic, and socio-cultural impacts on the sustainability of cities, and whether short-term financial gain is too privileged compared to other concerns. Submissions are welcomed that examine these phenomena in the different contexts of shrinking/growing communities. Contributions that explore the impacts of demolition from various viewpoints and multiple perspectives (urbanism, urban planning, obsolescence, resource efficiency, mass flows, embodied carbon, social value, etc.) are particularly welcome.

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

Data Politics in the Built Environment

Guest Editors: Andrew Karvonen (Lund University) & Tom Hargreaves (University of East Anglia)

This collection is now closed for submissions.

How are data reconfiguring life in buildings and cities? Who are the subjects and objects of data-driven buildings and cities? What are the implications of data-driven buildings and cities for social equity and justice? How do these powers and associated practices align with policies and regulation?

The aim of this special issue is to improve our collective understanding of the practices, politics, and power implications of data-driven buildings and cities. How is data generated, metabolised, and gathered in the built environment? Who designs and governs these data flows and to what end? Who and what is enrolled in the datafication of buildings and cities? What forms and types of data are collected and what gets ignored in data flows at and across different scales? What are the broader implications for social justice and equity? We invite social scientists, planners, designers, building scientists, data scientists, and environmental scientists to shine a critical spotlight on the motivations, methods, and consequences of data-driven buildings and cities.

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