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Urban greenery is a natural solution to cool cities and provide comfort, clean air and significant social, health and economic benefits. This paper aims to present the latest progress on the field of greenery urban mitigation techniques including aspects related to the theoretical and experimental assessment of the greenery cooling potential, the impact on urban vegetation on energy, health and comfort and the acquired knowledge on the best integration of the various types of greenery in the urban frame. Also to present the recent knowledge on the impact of climate change on the cooling performance of urban vegetation and investigate and analyse possible technological solutions to face the impact of high ambient temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increase of the ambient air temperature in cities caused by the urban heat island phenomenon has a seri- ous impact on the economic and social system of cities. to counterbalance the consequences of the increased urban temperatures important research has been carried out resulting in the development of efficient mitigation technologies. the present paper aims to present the state of the art in terms of local climate change and urban heat island mitigation techniques.In particular, developments in the field on highly reflective materials, cool and green roofs, cool pavements, urban green and of other mitigation technologies are presented in detail, while examples of implemented projects are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the developed mathematical models that characterize the thermal-air regime of a ventilated attic in the summer and winter seasons. The relevance of the mathematical models was shown and examples of applying these models to solve some engineering problems were presented. Mathematical models can be used to analyze and evaluate changes in the temperature and heat flux (the radiant and convective component) along the air movement in the attic and to select the materials for the roof and floor, as well as for the calculation of ventilation for different climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When exposed to destructive climate and weather factors and heavy vehicle loads, the pavement wears and deflects. In recent decades, apart from cracks and potholes, the depth of ruts grows and makes an increasing share of the pavement surface. The deeper are the tracks, the poorer are traffic conditions for fast-moving cars: drivers are struggling, speed is decreasing and the number of accidents is increasing. After track depth reaches a critical and permissible limit, the road surface must be repaired or speed limit has to be reduced. The work presents a theoretical analysis of track emergence causes and factors determining their depth. With the help of Mobile Road Research Laboratory RST 28, the track depth of all Lithuanian highways has been measured every 20 metres. The obtained data have been processed using the methods of mathematical statistics. Each road has a sample average of every rut, sample standard deviation and a coefficient of individually measured variation. The paper has drawn histograms, calculated skewness, kurtosis and normal distribution and provided lognormal distribution curves of a probability density function. The visualisation and empirical skewness and kurtosis values have revealed that the depth of the rut distributes according to lognormal rather than normal distribution. The average values of the roads having a dividing strip and standard deviations from the distribution across the road have been received. The given dependence of the rut depth of a standard deviation on the averages of rut depth shows an elastic interface of these parameters (determination coefficientR2= 0.741). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While designing the volume of a building, architectural solutions can be employed to achieve greater energy efficiency for the entire lifecycle of the building. However, currently this possibility is not sufficiently utilised. The paper provides a comparative analysis of architectural solutions, presenting the ones that not only allow for a reduction in energy losses through the external envelope of a building considering the local climatic conditions; but also make it possible to increase the use of energy from renewable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green dwelling (GD) is a way to mitigate impacts of the building stock on environment and provide a better living condition for residences. However, the number of GDs is relatively small. Especially in China, GDs only account for less than 0.4% of the total buildings. It is directly due to the shortage of supply, which is influenced by the lack of willingness to develop. To stimulate the GD diffusion, the study applies structural equation model to analyse the factors in developers' willingness to construct GDs, considering the inter-relationships and relative influences among factors. Further, it calculates the influence of each policy and policy subseries on developers' willingness. It is showed that developers' willingness is mostly influenced by their developing ability, followed by market development. Then comes government policy and corporate responsibility. In terms of stimulating policies on developers' willingness, floor-to-area density award is of the biggest impact, followed by the green building requirement and interest rare. As to the policy subseries, mandatory requirements has larger effects on developers then voluntary incentives. Besides, in China, developers are more sensitive to financial incentives than non-financial ones. Accordingly, suggestions for policy making are proposed to stimulate developers to construct GDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owed to their enormous impact on the sustainable development of energy security, climate change, and the economy, multiple renewable-energy projects are carried out around the world, both in developed and in developing countries. Since the construction of renewable energy project is an entrepreneurial activity, there is a big concern about the success of such projects. Although pertinent literature suggests several methodologies to enhance the success of various projects, renewable-energy projects are still overlooked. This study identifies multiple critical success factors (CSFs), required for renewable-energy projects. Using a sample of 272 firms working on renewable energy projects in Pakistan, a quantitative and causal study was undertaken to identify the critical success factors (CSFs). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test and verify hypothesis. The results show that there is a strong direct dependency of project success over the proposed factors, however environmental factors are found to be the only predominant CSFs which show the significant indirect effect on project success. The study expected to contribute towards and widen up the existing knowledge base for the project performance of renewable energy projects by adding on the findings regarding critical success factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low energy buildings require an efficient thermal insulation of the envelopes ensuring minor heat losses; such buildings must be tight in order to avoid heat losses due to over-infiltration. Installation of a heating recovery system compensates for some heat used for heating the ventilation air. The design solution of transparent envelopes of low energy buildings determines significant solar heat gains that compensate for a part of heat losses through the envelopes and ventilation systems. Taking into account these properties of low energy buildings, the modeling of indoor temperatures of such building was carried out at varying outdoor temperatures and power of the heating system. On the grounds of the obtained results, it was determined that a lower heat source power than the one determined according to the outdoor temperature of the coldest five-day period can be used to meet the indoor microclimate requirements in a low energy building. In this way, the expenses of heating system installation are reduced and the operational efficiency of the heat source is increased. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]