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Aerogels, with their exceptional properties such as high insulation performance, lightness, and eco-friendliness, present immense potential for use in the construction industry. This paper reviews the progress in research and application of various types of aerogels in construction, highlighting notable case studies demonstrating energy efficiency gains and sustainability impacts. It delves into the lifecycle of aerogels, discussing environmental implications at each stage. Despite their potential, aerogels face certain limitations including production complexity, brittleness, and high cost which hinder their widespread adoption. The paper further discusses these challenges and highlights the need for continuous research and development efforts to overcome them, with a view to achieving more scalable production, enhanced mechanical properties, and cost reduction. Looking forward, the paper discusses the expansive horizon of aerogel research, emphasizing the potential of smart aerogels, their integration with renewable energy systems, and exploring the possibility of recycling or creating bio-based aerogels to enhance their overall sustainability. While still in early stages, aerogels promise to be a major contributor to the future of construction, leading to more sustainable and efficient built environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is to analyze the trends and locations of accidents in the Greater Melbourne Area (GMA) during a 15-year period (2006–2020). The places where accidents were most prevalent were discovered and the reasons which are contributing to the high accident rates in those areas are determined. Analyzing the patterns over time and variations in the frequency of accidents helped to identify areas that have improved or deteriorated in terms of road safety. A Tweedie model was developed to examine the intricate interaction between the accident frequency and its potential contributing factors such as socio-demographics, road transport infrastructure, and built environment. Ultimately, a clustering analysis was performed to elucidate the dispersion of road accident risk ratings among different local government areas (LGAs), offering useful insights into road safety initiatives and prioritization. • The study linked built environment to accidents with Twidee and Space-time Cube. • Accidents down overall (20 yrs), but hotspots move outward. • Melbourne suburbs form five risk clusters based on accident frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morocco's commitment to the Marrakech and Paris Agreements' sustainability goals necessitates the implementation of Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) initiatives to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable development for the built environment industry. Utilizing Morocco's abundant solar resources, NZEBs aim to minimize energy use and carbon emissions in buildings, aligning with global climate objectives and enhancing economic stability through reduced energy costs. This approach aids Morocco in adapting to climate change and achieving international financial and environmental targets. This paper explores Morocco's energy strategy and the regulatory framework for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings, providing a NZEB definition, assessment metrics, and performance indicators, while addressing the challenges posed by existing laws on energy-efficient buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes truck parking patterns in urban freight loading zones by jointly modeling the vehicle arrival rates and the parking durations. Three models were explored: 1) Count data (Negative Binomial) for vehicle arrivals, 2) Survival (Weibull) model for parking duration and 3) A joint model for arrivals and duration. The count data model estimates the parking demand i.e., the rate of truck arrival, while the survival model estimates the probability that a truck is parked for one more minute. The joint model is compared with separate models for predictability and performance. The dataset used in this research is obtained using a mobile phone parking application, at eight loading zones in the city Vic, Spain over an 18-month period from July 2018 to December 2019, comprised of vehicle parking durations, date, time of arrival and departure, professional activity, and vehicle type (weight). The parking activity data are complemented with built in environment variables of the loading zones, such as the number of establishments in a certain radius, the average walking distance to establishments, the presence of pedestrian pavement, the number of traffic lanes, among others. The joint model outperforms the models estimating the arrival rates and durations separately in goodness of fit and predictability. The model results showed that truck arrival rates vary significantly across days of the week, months, and arrival times. The parking durations are highly dependent on professional activity, vehicle type, and size. Tuesdays and Wednesdays have higher arrival rates compared to other days of a week (except Sundays). Among activities, the transport and parcels require longer parking durations. Among the vehicle types, trucks with gross weight larger than 3.5 tons park longer. This paper concludes by explaining the potential of these modeling approaches in improving urban freight operations, evaluation of various policy implications, limitations, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient faecal material is becoming a highly valuable more frequently investigated proxy with which to address a wide range of research questions. With advancing scientific methodologies it is becoming easier to identify and to analyse. The aim of this paper is to use a set of archaeological and ethnographic case studies to illustrate and evaluate the range of methods that can be used in conjunction with each other to aid investigation of archaeological faecal material. This multi-scalar and multi-method approach uses portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF), spot sampling and smear slide analysis, micromorphology, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), environmental scanning microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (ESEM-EDX), and phytolith analysis. The case studies presented here focus on the Neolithic because of this unique opportunity to examine concentrations of animal dung from managed or early domesticated herds. This research illustrates a range of the methods that can be used in conjunction with each other to locate, identify and analyse faecal material. The results demonstrate that an integrated, multi-scalar, multi-methodological approach enables detection, identification, and investigation of a range of faecal attributes and provides new insights into key issues and themes on environment, animal management, diet, health, the built environment and energy sources. This integrated methodology and pilot study highlights two main recommendations. Firstly, modern faecal comparative material should always be consulted within the study region as a baseline for identifying and classifying different types of faecal material. Secondly, micromorphology and GC-MS samples are always vital proxies in further investigations to confirm the nature and identity of the dung sources once potential sample locations have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates household task allocation decisions for non-work activity episodes by activity purpose and accompanying person arrangements. The paper utilizes activity-travel behavior information of all adult members (above 19 years) from a family to model the activity episodes aggregated at the household level. Such an approach gives a better perspective on the latent propensity of household members to engage in out-of-home activities. The nature (substitution or complementary) of the inter- and intra-group interaction between household and non-household members is examined using a multivariate ordered probit model estimated on activity-travel behavior survey data, consisting of 1335 households and 3639 adult individuals, collected in Bhubaneswar Municipal Region, India. The exploratory analysis sheds light on the preferences of household members for pursuing an activity episode (shopping, pure escort, other maintenance, physically active recreation, and physically passive recreation) either alone or jointly with immediate family members or non-household (extended family members or members from social circle) members. The correlation matrix consisting of 19 dimensions suggests significant inter-group substitution effects across the four accompaniment types for different non-work activities. The intra-group effects are complementary in the case of joint pursuits highlighting the likelihood of adult household members adhering to the same accompanying group. The model also suggests that the effect of individual characteristics, household socio-demographics, and seasonal and temporal characteristics are more impactful than vehicle ownership and built environment features. The study also presents the elasticity estimates of selected control variables and discusses their policy implications from a broad viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a new wave of health, infrastructure and built environment challenges and opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic induced environment presents a divide between the "new and old normal" with policy and planning implications for health, transport and general socio-economic growth and development. Multiple and complex nuanced transport matters cascade all geographic scales and pervade all sectors of the economy. The extent to which existing transport systems capacities are resilient, adaptive, and optimized for complete disaster planning, management and sustainability is questioned. This paper critically reviews how the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched the resilience and adaptive transport systems capacities in South Africa. A critical question interrogated is whether on-going policy and planning interventions constitute imperfect or perfect attempts at closing COVID -19 policy and planning emergent gaps. The paper makes use of South Africa as a case study, referencing the Disaster Management Act (No. 57 of 2002) and logical Disaster Management Act: Regulations relating to COVID-19 (Government Notice 318 of 2020), 1 1 As amended from time to time i.e., Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), having declared a national state of disaster published by Government Notice No 313 of 15 March 2020, and extended by Government Notices Nos 646 of 5 June 2020. 765 of 13 July 2020, 889 of 15 August 2020, 995 of 14 September 2020, 1090 of 14 October 2020, 1225 of 14 November 2020 and 1341 of 11 December 2020, No. R. 15 of 13 January 2021 and No. R69 of 1 February 2021. with specific reference to the transport sector lockdown regulations in unravelling policy and planning implications. Drawing from the complex systems adaptive theory (CSAT), sustainability theory (ST), innovation theory (IT), transitions theory (TT), thematic COVID -19 transport planning and policy adaptation, mitigation measures in the South African transportation sector are discussed. Emergent lessons with respect to developing and advancing a new generation of resilient, adaptive, and optimized transport proof infrastructure and services including revising transport and related policies that navigates through various waves and cycles of induced pandemic and shocks is suggested. • The transport divide between the "new and old normal" planning and policy regimes. • COVID-19 transport complexities, challenges, and tensions in policy (re)formulation. • Questions whether policy and planning interventions constitute (im)perfect attempts at closing COVID -19 emergent gaps. • Emergent lessons for resilient, adaptive, and optimized transport proof COVID -19 infrastructure and services are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kahramanmaraş seismic sequence of February 6th, 2023, caused extreme damage and a significant number of casualties across a large region of Turkey and Syria. The paper reports on the survey activities carried out by the authors in the city of Gölbaşı, where extensive liquefaction took place. The damage to the built environment caused by liquefaction differs from that caused by typical inertial seismic actions, with quasi-rigid body displacement mechanisms, resulting in extreme settlements, tilts, and, in some cases, complete overturning. After a brief introduction to the geological features of the Gölbaşı area and a discussion of the seismic effects on the area, the paper reports and comments on the damage observed in one part of the city and provides some statistical interpretations. • For the Gölbaşı district, the proposed seismic motion estimation methodology yields a max = 0.25 g for the Mw = 7.8 event. • The w/B and q values from the maximum deformation curve indicate significant liquefaction in Gölbaşı. • Taller buildings suffered the most due to higher load transfer and lower initial bearing capacity safety factors. • Larger foundation areas resulted in lower damage for a given number of floors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Editorial summarizes the papers published in the Special Issue on "People-Environment-Infrastructure Relationship in Future Cities", highlighting the importance of people-environment-infrastructure interactions in future cities. While the topics are wide-ranging, a common theme of all papers is the need for future cities to embrace changes. These changes may come from climatic change, urban decays, human disruptions, technological advancements, human behavioral changes, and rising expectations. All these changes have implications on urban infrastructure, including green infrastructure, blue infrastructure, and grey infrastructure. The ultimate aim is to enhance urban sustainability and resilience. Worldwide, there is an urgent need for municipal governments, industry and individuals to be aware of the changing people-environment-infrastructure interactions. In particular, it is important to consider people's needs and the local contexts when planning future cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the spatial spillover effects of built environment features on household car and motorcycle ownership through aggregate ward-level analysis and household-level disaggregated analysis. Using a primary data collected in Hubli-Dharwad city in Southern India, the paper estimates Spatial Durbin models to assess the direct and spillover effects of socio-economic characteristics (household income, the number of children and household size), built environment characteristics (population density, diversity, distance, and subjective built environment measures), travel attitudes (pro-car, pro-NMT and pro-public transport), and commute behavior (distance and time) on household car and motorcycle ownership. The paper finds that spatial dependencies exist in both aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. There is a significant spatial dependency in car ownership due to household income, household size, the number of children, and pro-car attitude, and the correlations are significant in both aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. The positive lag effects of these variables suggests that socio-economic settings and attitudes of neighboring wards affect car and motorcycle ownership in a ward. The effects of diversity on car and motorcycle ownership maintain similar correlations in both levels of analysis. The likelihood of motorcycle ownership increases with improvements in diversity, while car ownership likelihood decreases. The study also shows that the spatial effects of built environment features could vary between the aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the transition towards a circular economy (CE) being a significant element in achieving the decarbonisation of the built environment, a clear and common pathway to applying CE principles to building design is still lacking in both industry practice and academia. The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has the potential to enable the identification of feasible pathways to increase circularity. This study aims to investigate its practical use to facilitate the application of circular economy principles at the early stage of building design via using LCA-based BIM plugins. Within this aim, the paper centres on a co-production approach and presents a gap analysis by identifying gaps in knowledge and implementation as well as addressing the pressing needs of the current practice in the UK. A series of semi-structured interviews with expert practitioners in the field were conducted for data collection, contributing to the following phases of the co-production by allowing for an in-depth investigation and reflection of the practice. The findings have revealed that: (a) there is still an insufficient level of contextual awareness and readiness in the implementation of CE principles in the built environment and LCA understanding and (b) the adoption of BIM at the early stages of building design is still limited in the current practice; BIM models with sufficient level of data details and quality to enable circularity assessment are rarely produced. Thus, the paper highlights the need for enabling mechanisms, including the introduction of legislative instruments, the involvement and commitment of the industry and key stakeholders, the support for training and skills improvement, and the establishment of effective communication and implementation process management frameworks. Future research agenda points to the need of formulation of a BIM protocol to enable integration of BIM and LCA to promote CE principles in the building design process. [Display omitted] • Co-production is a promising approach to capture and respond to the industry needs. • Lack of seamless integration between BIM and LCA tools. • Insufficient understanding of how to apply CE principles in the building design. • Lack of systematic guidance and standardised process to implement BIM and LCA integration. • A tailored BIM protocol needed for applying LCA from a CE perspective in the building design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Delta formulations provide objective functions for action and information value prediction and optimisation. • Delta formulations facilitate consistent decision identification and value quantification. • Principal mechanisms and conditions of a positive information value are identified. • Delta formulations for predicted information value lead to a reduction of computational effort. This paper contains decision analytical approaches, conditions and models for the quantification of decision values for built environment systems. Specifically, (1) delta formulations of objective functions for decision value quantification are introduced, (2) conditions for decision value are identified and (3) action value analysis formulations are further developed. The delta objective functions are formulated with differences in utility, cost, and probabilities for consistent decision identification by expected utility and value. The delta formulations facilitate the direct calculation of action and information values and the explication of conditions for a positive decision value. Action value objective functions are derived in delta formulation for the action types of utility and system state actions and with action implementation states and action uncertainty models. The delta formulations are exemplified for predicted information and predicted actions values. The paper closes with a synthesis and discussion of decision values and with findings encompassing a computational effort reduction and the identification of predicted information value mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceleration of urban imagery data analysis, driven by computer vision (CV), has created noteworthy opportunities for urban studies and planning. Data on street environments with high granularity derived from geo-tagged street views allow urban researchers to obtain geospatial data on greenery, pavement materials, and dimensions, building facades, urban furniture, lighting, vehicle presence, etc. However, how such attributes have been classified and used to address urban studies, planning, or mobility questions remains relatively poorly understood among non-technical researchers. Targeting urban planning and design researchers who do not have a background in CV, this paper reviews planning-relevant attributes that CV approaches of urban streetscapes have delivered to date and examines some of their research applications. We present a systematic analysis of 146 papers scrutinizing 104 street attributes in four groups. By exploring a subcollection of 24 papers, we discuss the effectiveness of those attributes being incorporated into current quantitative urban studies. This study's primary contribution lies in providing a comprehensive summary of CV-driven street attributes, their applications, and the algorithms used, serving as a valuable resource for future urban research. Additionally, we identify key challenges in this field, such as unclear definitions of attributes, a disproportionate emphasis on selecting models and features, and the absence of standardized measurement and definition methods. Furthermore, we offer recommendations for future research directions in this area. • We review 104 street attributes collected with computer vision in urban studies • We summarize 23 chosen attributes' correlations with known urban design measures • We provide a table of CV-driven street attributes with model details, references, and impacts • We highlight challenges in attribute definitions, research focus, and impact clarity • We provide recommendations for standardizing data and future research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global extraction of several billions of clean clay resources, which destroy millions square meters of land, is triggering environmental problems. Incorporating different dosages of incinerated waste or dredged sediment in bricks production has been studied by many researchers. Research articulating the combined effect of incinerated waste material (IWM) and river dredged sediments (RDS) addition on the performance of bricks is scarce. This paper aims to present findings on the engineering performance of fired bricks developed with the addition of IWM and RDS. In this regard, bricks were made with 5 wt% IWM and different dosages of RDS (i.e., 0 – 15 wt%). Physical, durability, mechanical, thermal and microstructure of the developed bricks is examined. Bricks' shrinkages were found meeting quality performance criterion in the 1.42 – 4.11% range. The highest bulk density of 1.85 g/cm3 permit to classify bricks obtained as lightweight. Water absorptions were mostly within the acceptable 20% tolerance level postulating the developed bricks high durability standard. Compressive strength reductions, which were confined within 5.28 and 21.57 MPa, showed the developed bricks applicability to structural weight-supporting construction as well as specialized engineering construction works. The 40.5% thermal conductivity reduction in WB15 bricks (at 800 °C) theorized its suitability for thermal insulation construction. Mineralogical and morphological analyses of fired bricks clearly showed kaolinite polymorphic phase transformation, which contributed to the different morphologies in the brick matrices. Consequently, reuse of IWM and RDS offered a chance to advance sustainable use of scarce clay resources in lightweight and thermal insulation brick production. • Performance of bricks made with incinerated waste and dredged sediment is studied. • Developed bricks showed linear shrinkages within the 1.42–4.11% quality limits. • The highest 17.87% absorptions of bricks fired at 1000 °C indicate good quality. • 21.57–5.28 MPa reductions in produced bricks' compressive strengths acceptable. • The up to 40.5% reduction in the bricks' conductivities good for insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper investigates the potential of the MICADO method in modular structures through parametric development. The MICADO approach combines frame-supported modulus systems with prefabricated panels for exterior walls, allowing for simultaneous installation. The study addresses constraints related to architectural plans, focusing on the structural behavior of MICADO structures under seismic and gravity loads. Case studies are employed to evaluate structural elements' resistance and assess the buildings' lateral stability during seismic events. The findings contribute to developing solutions and best practices for designing MICADO structures, ensuring their overall structural integrity and stability. The outcomes of this study will aid architects, engineers, and construction professionals in designing and constructing robust modular structures, paving the way for improved efficiency, sustainability, and safety in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Significant growth in most teleactivities (remote online activities) due to COVID-19. • Telework, online learning, telehealth, and virtual meetings increased during COVID-19. • Neighborhood density associated with more frequent telework and virtual meetings with friends and family during COVID-19. • More local facilities associated with more frequent online learning during COVID-19. • Short and long-term implications for mobility are discussed. This paper presents new evidence on changes in a broad range of teleactivities due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and investigates how the built environment relates to these changes. The paper relies on survey and geospatial data from Oslo and its surrounding Viken region in Norway. Findings suggest that most teleactivities increased due to COVID-19. Telework, teleconferencing, online learning, telehealth, and virtual meetings with friends and family all increased during COVID-19 compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. The next step in the analysis examined relationships between built environment characteristics and teleactivities before and during COVID-19. Telework and virtual meetings increased to a greater extent in denser neighborhoods than in lower-density neighborhoods. A larger increase in online learning was associated with lower neighborhood density, lower accessibility to public transport, and more local facilities. Numerous local facilities were associated with more frequent telework and virtual meetings both before and during COVID-19. The substantial COVID-19-induced increase in teleactivities found in the study highlights the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) for replacing travel for various activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Critiques assumptions of linear aggregation when conceptualising niche scaling in the Multilevel Perspective (MLP). • Explains the importance of finance for the spatial unevenness of sustainability transitions. • Reviews how contemporary capitalist financial systems structure investment in urban built environments. • Identifies three orthodox financial conditions influencing how urban sustainability transitions unfold across space and time. • Provides an entry point for examining transformative financial innovation driven by social and place-based value propositions. Cities are considered key sites where innovation can be nurtured to drive sustainability transitions. While existing studies recognise that transitions occur unevenly across space and time, predominant theories of change offer limited understanding of the geographical conditions shaping whether and how low-carbon innovations are scaled. As sustainability practitioners and advocates increase calls for localising climate investment, this paper argues that common processes and practices constituting financial systems reveal the structuring role of contemporary capitalist finance on the forms and qualities of sustainability transitions in urban built environments. Through an extensive review, the paper highlights (1) temporal boundaries associated with speculative measures of risk and return, (2) multiscalar relations of asset ownership and services provision, and (3) uneven spatial distribution of investment. Acknowledging the socially regressive implications of orthodox financial thresholds, the paper considers the prospects for transformative financial innovation driven by social and place-based value propositions to meet environmental goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing aims to provide society with comfortable, healthy living spaces and its built form ultimately shapes the built environment. Consequently, its design, operation, and interactions with infrastructure systems are a powerful determinant of environmental, economic, and social impacts. This paper highlights the importance of assessing housing built forms by answering ten critical research questions. Throughout this paper, we refer to housing built form as the physical properties (e.g., residential density, floor area ratio) of residential buildings and their interactions with adjoining properties (e.g., setback, shading). In Q1 and Q2, we summarize the planning policies that led to current built forms associated with housing and their sustainability impacts, with specific focus on North America and some countries in Australasia. Q3 describes the adverse sustainability impacts of detached single-family houses, while Q4 examines future economic, demographic, and climatic changes that will warrant rethinking housing built form. Q5 summarizes the methods to assess the environmental, economic, and social impacts of housing built form. In Q6 and Q7, we discuss various system boundaries and functional units that are considered for housing life cycle assessment. Q8 and Q9 describe the temporal uncertainty and contextual circumstances underlying housing projects that need to be considered in life cycle assessments. Lastly, Q10 provides a summary of future policy directions to promote housing with lower environmental impact. This paper supports decision-making around meeting housing targets without compromising the environment. • Ten relevant questions on housing built form considering planning policies and impact assessment tools are posed. • Housing built forms are determinant of environmental, economic, and social impacts. • Past, present, and future housing built forms are reviewed. • Life cycle assessment is a useful tool for analyzing the environmental impact housing built form. • Planning policies to support and increase competitiveness of low impact housing built form are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While e-shopping may trigger more but shorter trips, i.e., within walkable distances, frequent e-shoppers see private car as more reliable. However, research addressing the interplay between e-shopping and transport mode choice is scarce and mostly focused on urban areas. Against this background, the paper complements current literature by answering the following research question: Is e-shopping behaviour associated with walking to in-store retail instead of using a private car, and what are the differences between urban and rural environments? Germany serves as the spatial laboratory, with the data from the 2017 Mobilität in Deutschland (MiD) survey providing comprehensive insights on mobility and its socio-economic elements. Three logistic regression models are carried out to explore the impact of e-shopping frequency on transport mode choice for three different spatial settings: large agglomerations (≥100,000 inhabitants), urban counties, and rural counties. The results show that people who buy online more frequently in urban and rural counties tend to reach in-store destinations by car instead of walking. On the other hand, the frequency of e-shopping and walking mode choice do not present any association on large urban agglomerations. The socio-economic analysis shows that car owners tend to reach in-store retail by car, while those with higher household incomes are more likely to walk. The paper ends with a discussion of how the results can inform sustainable transport systems to find a balance between online and in-store shopping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When relating to build environments, porosity refers to soft transitions across geographies and to the interpenetration between spaces of a different character. While its importance is recognised, its absence in post-modern urban fabrics has become evident. Therefore, this paper's primary objective is to contribute to the resettling of porosity in its various dimensions. To that end, it questions the circumstances that led to the erosion of porosity in urban environments and how that erosion is visible. To answer, the paper (1) establishes concepts for urban and architectural porosity, the criteria that determine each of those and parameters to evaluate it; (2) revisits modernist principles, indicating those that contradicted porosity; and (3) demonstrates how porosity evolved through a comparative of five Lisbon neighbourhoods. The study attests that the implementation of ideas from the modernist movement resulted in a radical loss of porosity, concluding that, in maintaining modernist principles, Portuguese regulation keeps encouraging impermeable cityscapes. The research withdraws the term porosity from ambiguity. And presents concepts, criteria and evaluation parameters that are applicable in various contexts. Through an understanding of the problem, it also points towards a solution, highlighting the need for a further investigation to improve legal frameworks. • A porous built environment depends on porosity at two scales: urban and architectural. • Urban porosity refers to the easy flow of people across geographies, being related with continuous urban fabrics. • Architectural porosity refers to the gradual transition between spaces of different characters (e.g. between inside and outside, between privade and public) resulting in the natural appropriation of places. • Together, urban and architectural porosity contribute to walkability and increased informal contacts, resulting in better health outcomes, stronger communities and vivid streets. • Current regulation is still trapped in modernists principles that promoted abrupt transitions, segregation and the fragmentation of cities encouraging unporous urban environments; and should, therefore, be amended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household residential location changes have become an important life event to study changes in travel behaviour. However, most related studies suffer from the shortcomings of collecting retrospective pre-move data, i.e. recall errors and ex-post rationalisation of change. What is more, the overwhelming majority of research in the field relies on quantitative data that do not adequately reflect the subjective perspective of the households or individuals under study, and that are prone to causality issues. Based on a solid theoretical discussion of causality between the built environment (on two interconnected scales) and travel behaviour, the paper reports on a mixed-methods (qualitative/quantitative) panel survey among movers and a control group of non-movers in Germany. Substantial effort was required to conduct the survey due to the dependence on collaboration partners who provided access to households planning to move in the near future. Therefore the paper focuses on the sampling and recruitment process, for which various channels were used. Results pertaining to representativeness and the costs and effectiveness of recruitment channels are presented, and implications for data analysis are briefly discussed. Conclusions are drawn with respect to the relevance of the approach for researchers and practitioners. • Discusses experiences with a mixed-methods panel research design. • Aims to establish solid foundation for causal influences of built environment on travel behaviour. • Before-and-after survey combined with qualitative interviews of relocating households. • Discusses representativeness and effectiveness and unit cost of recruitment channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sub-Saharan African cities, community-driven development has emerged as a collective response to entrenched socio-spatial inequalities and inappropriate local development planning responses to the challenges of informal settlements. Social capital is considered to stimulate such community-driven initiatives. There are also claims that social capital can impede the sustainable development of informal settlements. Yet, none of these streams pay due attention to what forms of social capital and what urban social context social capital influences community-led informal settlement improvement. This paper sought to examine the influential role of bonding and bridging social capital on community-driven development (CDD) by comparing indigenous and migrant urban informal settlements in Accra, Ghana. Drawing on a quantitative study with 300 participants in two informal settlements and using a robust multi-group analysis, the findings revealed that bonding social capital had a positive effect on CDD (β = 0.27, p = 0.05) in the indigenous informal settlement (Abese Quarter) but insignificant relationship (β = -0.33, p = 0.36) in the migrant informal settlement (Old-Tulaku). Contrarily, bridging social capital had a positive effect on the migrant (β = 0.87, p = 0.05) but not on indigenous informal settlements (β = 0.07, p = 0.09). The paper concludes that the exploitation of social capital in bottom-up informal settlement improvement is more nuanced, and context-specific applications are imperative for research and practice. For policymakers and built environment professionals, the paper suggests leveraging social capital as a means (not ends) for building formal-informal collaborations through the co-production of bottom-up initiatives for inclusive and sustainable improvements to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives. • Social capital's role in community-driven development (CDD) is inconclusive and fragmented. • We examine the influence of bonding and bridging social capital in two contrasting urban informal settlements. • Bonding social capital positively affected CDD in the indigenous informal settlement but was insignificant in the migrant one. • Bridging social capital positively influenced CDD in the migrant informal settlement but not in the indigenous one. • Formal-informal collaborations are essential to maximize the positives of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The construction of nostalgia is no longer predicated upon the existence of original historical environments. • A cyclical place-making process in an interdisciplinary discourse is revealed by a co-creation model. • The assessment of authenticity should go beyond the subject-object dichotomy in a post-modern society. In order to shape a nostalgic atmosphere, recreating traditional built environments has emerged as a new spatial typology in China's urban development, termed in this paper as "new nostalgic space". Although scholars have extensively discussed this spatial phenomenon from various perspectives, a comprehensive and dialectical understanding has yet to be fully formed, particularly at the level of place-making. Taking Lane 1192 in Shanghai as a case study, this paper employs qualitative research methods to illustrate how different roles shape a nostalgic atmosphere and stimulate emotional resonance, aiming to explore the process, approach, and logic of place-making while discussing the academic debate on authenticity. The findings reveal a dynamic and interactive place-making logic involving four core elements: filtering, construction, landscaping, and imagination. It creates a sense of place through cyclic practice, ultimately resulting in place identity. It demonstrates that beyond materiality, everyday life and experiences equally hold an indispensable role in shaping the authenticity and meanings of places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on transit smart card data allied with local weather station records over a 12-month period, this paper takes Brisbane, Australia as the study context and examines the way in which weather impose influences on public transit passenger's travel behaviour. In terms of transit passenger's spatiotemporal origin–destination (OD) information, a new travel behaviour indicator called stickiness is developed to reflect passenger's travel similarity in using the transit service over a period. By applying a suite of regression models, it shows that weather's effects on transit passenger's travel behaviour vary by temporal period and passenger type. In general, weather is shown to exert a stronger effect on passenger's stickiness during midday off-peak hours in comparison with either AM peak or PM peak. Across all types of passengers, child passengers are found to be most tolerant to weather changes and even be stickier to their regular travel pattern during AM peak. The modelling results also reveal that when it relates to journey-to-work or journey-to-school, weather's effects on alighting location are much smaller than other three OD-related travel behaviour features (i.e., boarding time, boarding location, and alighting time). In contrast with the postponement during AM peak, transit passengers are prone to bring forward their trip back home during PM peak in response to poor weather conditions. Moreover, this paper verifies that weather parameters are not singly perceived by transit passengers but as an interrelated unity in shaping transit passenger's travel behaviour. By enriching the weather–travel behaviour scholarship, the empirical findings of this study are helpful to render a holistic understanding of the weather–travel behaviour relationship and have important implications for transit operators in building a more weather-resilient transit system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As evidence of the health impacts of transportation investments has grown, planners have increasingly used health impact assessments (HIAs) to evaluate transportation plans, projects, and policies. Most HIAs to date, however, have been limited in their ability to quantify health impacts due to a lack of validated methods and tools, scarcity of disaggregate and locally-relevant data, and cost. This paper presents the development and application of a quantitative HIA tool designed to address these and other common limitations of existing HIAs. Developed through a grant from the San Diego Association of Governments and the San Diego County Health and Human Services, the tool is based on detailed modeled regression analyses associating the built environment with physical activity, safety, diabetes, hypertension, and asthma in a large sample of California Health Interview Survey participants. The tool allows users to enter built environment characteristics for baseline and future development scenarios and estimate corresponding health impacts. This paper describes the development of this tool and its application to the Palomar Gateway District rail transit station area in San Diego County. The results suggest that plan-endorsed projected build-out is associated with increased physical activity from walking for transportation, park visitation, and reductions in type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Potential for increased exposure to air pollution among children and teens may, however, attenuate some of these benefits. Quantifying both the positive and the negative health outcomes of transportation investments can inform proposals and reduce health risks. This study demonstrates how the application of an evidence-based software tool can support the HIA process and create empirical evidence useable within transportation decisions and planning practice. • Health impacts were integrated into a scenario planning platform. • Methods documented to create the public health assessment model. • Transit-oriented development can promote physical activity and reduce chronic disease. • Health benefits of transit-oriented development can be compared in future scenarios. • Scenario planning with health can further inform decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy building simulations are little based on their effect on the microclimate, most applications deal with energy consumption or the neglect of the Solar Reflective Index (SRI) rule outside. • The paper framework introduces a comprehensive simulation workflow of the built environment with the assistance of Ladybug & Honeybee and Butterfly plugins across grasshopper interface to model a shared relationship between urban microclimate, energy building use and thermal comfort outdoors. • The result describes the effect of SRI on the outdoor thermal comfort for the pedestrians in existing canyon when defining the finishing materials for the urban zone rather than the rural zone for both districts at the same time the transpiration phenomenon is exempted along the simulation with no effect of vegetation. • "Strong heat stress" is the main output conclusion for both districts as mentioned by UTCI stress category and the difference between the urban and rural zones is about 1 °C due to the materials absorption and emissions. Energy building simulations are little based on their effect on the microclimate, most of software applications deal with energy consumption for appliances usage electricity for indoor spaces and neglecting the impact of the Solar Reflective Index (SRI) phenomenon for outdoor open spaces. The paper framework introduces a comprehensive simulation workflow of the built environment with the assistance of Ladybug & Honeybee and Butterfly plugins across grasshopper interface to model a shared relationship between urban microclimate, building energy usage, and thermal comfort outdoors. Two districts have been investigated in Egypt, both have different Azimuth and Latitude angle degrees to measure the impact of solar radiation on pedestrians and their outdoor thermal comfort using Mean Radiant Temperature and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). This workflow provides considerable versatility compared with other current methods and allows parametric study of multiple environment strategies both indoors and outdoors. The result describes the effect of SRI are too noticeable on the outdoor thermal comfort for the pedestrians in existing canyon, especially after defining the material specs and properties for each building. As considerably, the transpiration phenomenon is exempted along the simulation with no effect of vegetation and their humidity affect. "Strong heat stress" is the main output conclusion for both districts as categorized by UTCI stress level and the difference between the condense urban and rural areas from measuring the Mean Radiant Temperature is about 3 °C for Shaykh Zayed district and 1 °C for the Fifth Settlement district and this is due to the materials absorption and emissions for the long and short waves, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The role of digital technologies in accelerating disaster relief. • The role of digital documentation for post-blast inspection of masonry historic buildings. • The case study presented is the first massive and systematized documentation and digitization of historic buildings that has ever happened in Beirut. On August 4th, 2020, a colossal blast at the port of the Lebanese capital, one of the largest in history not caused by a nuclear reaction, changed Beirut's historic neighborhoods within seconds from a busy, vibrant and living cultural hub into an urban fabric of shattered buildings, collapsed masonry walls and scratched pitched roofs. With not enough preparedness for such a calamitous event, the affected local community faced significant challenges as they attempted to recover from the damage done. Once a heritage site is lost, damaged or destroyed, the recovery and rehabilitation process is slow, if (at all) possible. In the wake of such events, there has been a growing interest to digitize historic sites and buildings to preserve them (digitally) against unforeseen threats such as natural or man-made disasters. However, little work has been done to explore the role of 3D documentation for post-blast inspection of masonry historic buildings. The objective of this work is to expose an efficient workflow for accelerating the assessment process of damaged historic buildings by the application of digital technology in post-disaster areas, through the case study on the Beirut Blast. The originality of this work resides in the fact that this was the first time ever that Beirut and its historic buildings were massively digitized. This paper outlines how and why 3D image-based modeling was implemented, emphasizing on the timely benefits for disaster recovery and improvement of decision making in a similar emergency case. The results of the documentation produced a fast yet accurate 3D models of the affected historic buildings in Beirut, despite the challenging structural properties of the post-blast built environment. Post-processing of the data provided cultural heritage experts and engineers with valuable documents for structural deficiencies, damages and accessibility, which facilitated the remote assessment of the buildings and accelerated the implementation of emergency interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a data-driven model for predicting the code-based seismic vulnerability index calibrated on a dataset comprising almost 300 buildings. The vulnerability index, estimated following the Italian Seismic Code, involved rigorous investigations, including geometric surveys, experimental tests, and numerical modelling. Leveraging data from these investigations, encompassing approximately 15 categorical and numerical explanatory variables, the authors developed several regression and classification predictive models, such as Logistic Regression and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). The optimal models perform binary classification to determine the categorization into two macro-classes, defined by an arbitrary vulnerability threshold. The ANN model stands out as the best performer. When adjusting the vulnerability threshold to obtain a balanced dataset, such a model achieves an accuracy higher than 85%. The paper also discusses the importance of each feature by calculating the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values. The proposed model can aid decision-makers in allocating resources effectively to mitigate seismic risks of built environments. • Data-driven model for code-based seismic vulnerability assessment. • 15 explanatory variables are considered. • Regression models perform poorly. • Binary classification is the only reliable approach. • The ANN model has an 85% accuracy on binary classification with balanced dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Review of digital tools to support the circular economy in the built environment. • Identification and comparison of CAD, BIM, and computational design plugins. • Highlights possibilities and limitations of the various approaches and tools. • Beyond LCA, including circularity indicators and computational methods for a CE. • Recommendations for further development of digital tools. This paper reviews digital tools for supporting the Circular Economy (CE) in the built environment. The study provides a bibliometric analysis and focuses on computer-aided design (CAD), building information modeling (BIM), and computational plugins that can be used by practitioners. While Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the primary methodology for evaluating buildings' environmental performance, the study identifies tools beyond LCA, including computational methods and circularity indicators, that can support the evaluation of circular design strategies. Our review highlights limitations in tools' functionalities, including a lack of representative data for LCA and underdeveloped circularity indicators. The paper calls for further development of these tools in terms of interoperability aspects, integration of more sources of data for LCA and circularity, and possibilities for a comprehensive evaluation of design choices. Computational plugins offer greater flexibility, while BIM-LCA integrations have the potential to replace dedicated LCA software and spreadsheets. Additionally, the study identifies opportunities for novel digital methods, such as algorithms for circular design with various types of reused building elements, and sharing of digital twins and material passports. This research can inform future studies and support architects and engineers in their efforts to create a sustainable built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing computational power of machines and more affordable robotic hardware and software offer great opportunities for developing more advanced intelligent robotic systems to perform numerous tasks in the civil infrastructure sector (CIS). More specifically, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are the most commonly used robots for civil infrastructure-related applications. Existing synthesized information on the applications of UAVs and UGVs mainly focused on either a specifically narrow domain or broadly summarized the current practices of robots in the CIS without providing sufficient information about the relevant sensing devices and/or data processing techniques. Therefore, there is a need to widely review, synthesize, and analyze the applications of UAVs and UGVs as well as the associated methods (e.g., data sensing techniques and data analytic methods) in the broad CIS field. To this end, this paper provides a systematic review of UAVs- and UGVs-related studies conducted in the CIS in relation to their applications, the used robotic platforms, the employed sensors, and the implemented algorithms. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology (which is a commonly used framework to objectively perform systematic literature review) and a total of 95 articles identified from 15 purposively selected journals, this paper conducted a comprehensive systematic review of the uses of UAVs and UGVs in the CIS. Analysis was performed on the information extracted from these articles to (1) collect relevant, timely information and synthesize it into a cohesive summary of existing knowledge about the applications of UAVs and UGVs, (2) synthesize the current robotic platforms, performed tasks, major robotic accessories, and onboard sensing devices of UAVs and UGVs, (3) investigate existing techniques for sensing data analytics, and (4) outline the main challenges and potential opportunities for directing future studies and engineering practices in the CIS. While this paper serves as an expert reference and guide for both researchers and practitioners working in the smart, intelligent, and automated civil infrastructure domain, it also identifies the need for additional research and efforts to improve the uses of UAVs and UGVs and facilitating their developments in the CIS to improve and digitalize the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

360-degree video is an immersive technology used in research across academic disciplines. This paper provides the first comprehensive review on the use of 360-degree video for virtual place-based research, highlighting its use in experimental, experiential, and environmental observation studies. Five key research domains for 360-degree video are described: tourism and cultural heritage; built environment and land use; natural environment; health and wellbeing; and transportation and safety. 360-degree video offers considerable advantages compared to unidirectional video, computer-generated virtual reality, and map-based geographic representation. Benefits include ease of use, low-cost, interactivity, sense of immersive realism, remote accessibility, and the ability to capture and analyze places in a fully panoramic field of view. Limitations include additional costs associated with virtual reality viewing technologies, simulation sickness and discomfort, and viewer distraction due to the technology's novelty and immersive affordances. This paper also outlines a future research agenda, including the possibility of moving beyond the 'testing and trialling' of 360-degree video since it provides novel research opportunities distinct from either 'real' experience or conventional forms of visual and spatial representation. Overall, this paper provides detailed evidence for researchers interested in using 360-degree video for virtual research on built, social, and natural environments and human-environment interactions. • 360-degree video is a novel technology for virtual place-based research. • This review represents the first synthesis of evidence across research domains. • Rapid growth is attributed to increasing availability of cameras and VR technology. • This review identifies 5 key thematic research areas for 360-degree video. • Advantages over video and other forms of geographic and representation are documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the quality of food and physical activity (PA) environments by World Bank Income level in jurisdictions from the Children's Healthy Living Program. Baseline cross-sectional community data were analyzed from 11 jurisdictions categorized by World Bank Income levels to describe exposure to different food and PA outlets. The Children's Healthy Living Program was a multilevel, multijurisdictional prevalence study and community intervention trial that reduced child obesity in the US-Affiliated Pacific region. US-Affiliated Pacific region. Food (n = 426) and PA (n = 552) Outlets. Physical activity and food scores that reflect the quality of the outlets that support being physically active and healthy eating options, respectively. Descriptive statistics are presented as means ± SD or percentages. High-income-income level jurisdictions had higher food and PA scores than middle-income level jurisdictions. The US-Affiliated Pacific region has limited quality food and PA outlets in underserved communities at risk for obesity. The findings in this paper can be used to develop tools and design interventions to improve the food and PA environment to increase a healthier, active lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the ground surface temperature, as it can occur in built-up areas or due to climate change, affect the temperatures of geothermal boreholes. Analytical models for the thermal simulation of boreholes and considering this factor have been proposed. However, they all impose a uniform heat extraction boundary condition along the borehole walls. This boundary condition overestimates the temperature change in the underground caused by the borehole heat extraction and underestimates it in case of rejection. More accurate results are most often obtained by imposing a uniform temperature boundary condition. In this paper, we propose a new model to calculate the boreholes wall temperature taking into account both the heat extractions/rejections from all the boreholes in the area and the change in ground surface temperature. The model is tailored for areas with independent ground source heat pumps and imposes a uniform temperature boundary condition along the borehole walls, overcoming the limitation of the existing models. We apply the new model to a real Swedish neighbourhood and show that existing systems may already be significantly affected by the increased ground surface temperature due to urbanization. We also compare our new model with an existing similar model and show that while the two models provide similar results for smaller areas, their difference tends to be relevant for bigger areas – including the real Swedish neighbourhood analysed - thus making the application of our model important for neighbourhood- and city-scale studies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important aspect of post-secondary student travel behaviour is their commute mode usage frequencies. How frequently students use different transportation modes for their daily travel directly characterizes their habits, routines, and predispositions, which can ultimately affect long-term social welfare of the region, congestion of the transportation network, and fuel consumption. Thus, obtaining an in-depth and unbiased understanding of the various factors influencing this travel behavior is key to the sustainable transportation development of a region. Existing studies on this topic are not comprehensive enough in terms of the types of commute modes analyzed and most of them relied on relatively small samples for their investigation. This paper attempts to address the gap by modelling the influence of personal and household socio-demographic attributes, the built environment, commute characteristics, and personal attitudes of the students on the monthly usage frequency of five different types of commute modes (auto, transit, ride-hailing, bicycle, and walk). It uses data from a large-scale student travel survey conducted among 10 post-secondary institutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The study makes use of a sophisticated modelling approach, consisting of a multiple indicators multiple causes model and a zero-inflated ordered probit model to analyze the factors affecting the decision to use and the usage frequency of the exhaustive set of commute modes. The findings emphasize the importance of commute distance, available resources (in terms of mobility tools, living situation, household vehicles, and income), and built environment attributes in the usage frequency of different commute modes. Marginal effects are used to inform actionable policy recommendations for both the institutions and the regional municipalities. The recommendations include offering discounted and promotional transit passes to encourage students to use public transit frequently, increasing the capacity of student housing and enhancing the sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure within 3–5 km of the campus locations, and increasing the transit accessibility of the institutions by establishing subway stops in proximity to the campuses. These recommendations, when implemented, will help to adequately meet the travel needs of the students while also improving their overall campus life experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of Design Experimentation has been increasingly recognized in dealing with uncertainties inherent in Nature-based Solutions and designing performative systems.The term Design Experimentation has been widely used in Design Research scholarship. However, there is no agreed common definition and criteria to clarify what it entails in terms of both epistemology and methodology. This paper aims to address the lack of definition, criteria, and methodological approaches for designing, operationalizing, assessing, and learning from Design Experiments for creating climate resilient Nature-based Solutions. Through a Delphi method, a Design Experimentation Taxonomy is developed based on conceptual and empirical understandings of the term. A three-round Delphi survey with 15 experts across 8 countries was undertaken to capture expert knowledge and perceptions of the role of Design Experiments, as well as key criteria and characteristics of Design Experiments. The findings informed the development of a Design Experimentation Taxonomy. Results show that Design Experiments should be purposive, bound to context and solutions-oriented, and have practical relevance while driven by a strong research agenda. They help linking intuitive approaches used in design, to scientific inquiry, which can lead to innovative and performative outcomes. In the quest for evidence-based approaches to integrate nature in our built environments, Design Experiments offer more agency to nature and natural processes in design. The developed taxonomy is the first step in establishing a reflexive, data-driven and performance-based practice, as well as advancing experimental agendas in landscape research and practices related to Nature-based Solutions. • Design Experiments provide strategies for testing how Nature-based Solutions perform. • A Delphi study resulted in the development of definitions, criteria, and a taxonomy of Design Experimentation. • The developed taxonomy offers multiple pathways for designing and testing for improved performance. • The taxonomy helps establish a reflexive and experimental design agenda for Nature-based Solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change leads to periods of extreme events (i.e. reduction of cold seasons, heat waves, overheating, urban heat island among others) that affect the performance of residential and tertiary buildings with high occupancy (i.e. hospitals, schools, commercial centres, offices etc). However, most of low-carbon policies do not consider the ventilation as a mitigation measure. In fact, a lack of studies on natural ventilation (NV) and mixed-mode (MM) strategies was detected, especially for warm regions or areas with hot and humid climates. This paper aims to carry out a bibliometric analysis from 1928 to 2023, to observe the evolution of the topic. After identifying the main research clusters (thermal comfort, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and simulation tools) by science mapping, the most relevant publications of the last 20 years were assessed (2003–2023). The results of this study revealed that only 1.51 % of the scientific documents in 95 years corresponded to an extensive literature review, although epidemic or disease outbreaks led to peaks of production in this topic. This emphasizes the importance of observing what was done and how was implemented over the years. Regarding the clusters, some relevant aspects can be highlighted: (i) non-homogeneity of studies on NV or MM related to building type; (ii) interregional projects should be drawn up to check the effectiveness of NV and MM, especially when other architectural techniques are adopted (i.e. solar chimneys, window wall ratio –WWR-, thermally activated building structures –TABS- etc); (iii) the optimization of simulation tools should be based on the incorporation of BIM and generative design for NV and MM. • Only 1.51 % of scientific production on ventilation corresponds to review journal papers. • Four clusters were identified: thermal comfort, IAQ, energy efficiency and simulation. • NV and MM strategies are effective in achieving reductions in energy consumption. • A holistic analysis of NV and MM with several energy saving measures is required. • Seasonal variations on IAQ have been scarcely assessed in the scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the built environment is among the main contributing sectors to climate change, it is needed to investigate new paradigms to push decarbonization efforts towards the ambitious objectives defined internationally. It is a shared understanding that shifting the perspective from the single building to the district perspective is required to fully take into consideration the complexity of all interactions undergoing within the built environment, thus the concept of Positive Energy District emerged as a district with annual net zero energy import and net zero CO 2 emission working towards an annual local surplus production of renewable energy. In this framework, this paper explores the investigation of the potential for achieving the level of Positive Energy District in a group of non-residential buildings in Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain. These buildings, occupying 8,825 m2 in the city centre, require significant refurbishment for improved energy performance. The analysis includes building energy modelling and simulation, renovation studies, several alternative balance calculations, and carbon emissions assessment. The paper also considers mobility and embodied energy and their impact on energy/carbon balances. The results show that Positive Energy Districts carbon and primary energy balances are not met with rooftop PV installations when retrofitting an existing district towards the Positive energy target but further significant PV areas (roughly + 50%) are required to meet merely the use stage balances: negative results are traced when mobility and embodied energy are computed. A formulation alternative to the simple mathematical balance to facilitate the diffusion of Positive Energy District as catalyst of urban decarbonisation could be needed, including context factors and alternative systems (e.g., rating systems). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population ageing is creating opportunities and challenges for many communities across the globe, as one in six people is expected to be older than 65 by 2050. Initiatives to develop age-friendly communities (AFC) have increased in popularity for more than two decades. While the physical environment and outdoor spaces are recognized as the core domain of the concept of AFC in the literature, most articles are published in the journals of ageing, gerontology, health and social policy and not in mainstream urban planning or design journals. The aim of the paper is to examine the spatial interventions and built-environment related discussions in the scholarly literature in the realm of AFC in the fields of landscape architecture and urban planning and identify gaps in the literature with the focus on spatial interventions. In addition, this paper aims to call urban planners and designers to action to be more engaged in the discussions and implementation of age-friendliness of communities. Findings suggest that urban planners and designers have the ability and power to contribute to the implementation of AFCs by raising awareness, changing attitude towards ageing issues, develop networks and collaboration, increase empathy, initiate and change policies, and put policies into action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coordinates of inconsiderate parking areas are measured by field investigation. • Examined the characteristics of heterogeneous inconsiderate parking using the STING clustering and decision trees. • Random Forest with PDP shows that built environment influences inconsiderate parking with nonlinear effects. • Targeted management should be implemented according to time, zone, and cause-assisted administration. Although previous studies have shed light on the travel behaviour of dockless bike-sharing (DBS) users, little research focused on their inconsiderate parking behavior. Unlike the travelling behavior, the choice of parking location is closely linked to the different built environments surrounding the parking locations. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of governance, it is vital to explore the parking patterns and heterogeneous influences of the built environment on inconsiderate parking and formulate targeted measures. This paper measures the coordinates of prohibited parking areas in the field to identify inconsiderate parking. Based on big data from Mobike DBS and data on the built environment, the paper empirically analyzes the heterogeneous spatiotemporal distribution patterns of inconsiderate parking with clustering and decision trees. The influencing factors of inconsiderate parking and their nonlinear effects are further analyzed using random forest and partial dependence plots (PDP). The results show that there is significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in inconsiderate parking, in which different clusters reflect various characteristics of the built environment. Furthermore, marginal effect analysis finds that influencing factors such as riding distance, catering service places, lifestyle services, sports and leisure places, and hotels and hostels have a strong effect on inconsiderate parking behavior, and show nonlinear effects with optimal allocation intervals. Therefore, targeted strategies should be carried out in terms of dynamic temporal adjustment, precise spatial layout, differential management according to time and zone, and cause-assisted administration. The paper's results provide important decision-making support for inconsiderate parking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphologies of informal settlements constantly change as they undergo processes of incremental adaptations and transformations in relation to emerging circumstances. One of the ways to explore the underlying morphogenic processes governing such adaptations and transformations is to study the morphogenesis of informal settlement. Informal settlements can tell the story of how access networks evolve through incremental processes of change as they generally emerge and where possible become consolidated through forms of adaptations and transformations. Adopting a comparative case study research design approach, this paper explores the incremental transformations of access networks across three emerging settlements located in proximity to Abuja in Nigeria. These settlements are comparatively mapped using historic satellite images illustrating eight temporal stages between 2007 and 2021. Space Syntax is used as an analytical method to study the configurational morphogenesis of the access network with a focus on the measures of connectivity, betweenness, closeness, and intelligibility. The study shows how the flexibility of the early stages of development provides opportunities for the formation of what might be considered irregular elements in the access network. The research findings also suggest that the access network becomes less intelligible as it evolves. The locations of the main local cores of the access networks are found to remain relatively unchanged and somewhat fixed as emerging local cores come about in the newly developed areas. The spatial circumstances of the studied settlements are also found to have impacts on how the incremental adaptations and transformations generate new elements as part of the access networks. The findings of this study can inform the ways the built environment professions can engage with processes of incremental transformation by providing a better understanding of configurational morphogenesis in the context of informal urbanism. • The paper explores the configurational morphogenesis of incremental urbanism through a comparative study. • The study analyses the configurational development of three emerging settlements near Abuja in Nigeria over about 14 years. • A systematic spatio-temporal mapping using GIS and Space Syntax is employed to explore the configurational morphogenesis. • Findings show that flexibility in early development can enable the emergence of irregular elements in the access network. • The study findings also suggest that the access network becomes less intelligible as it expands over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although existing research identified influences of age and gender on Automated Vehicle (AV) acceptance, the underlying reasons were not revealed. A potential reason is that age and gender are exogenous variables, which do not change by other variables. There must exist endogenous variables, such as the built environment and personal factors, such as affordability, travel needs, exposure to AV knowledge, acting as mediating factors that bridge the exogenous variables and AV acceptance. However, these mediating effects have not been discovered, validated, and quantified. Therefore, this paper provides a new viewpoint in unveiling how ages and genders influence acceptance of AV by quantitatively revealing hidden mediating effects focusing on the built environment and personal factors. A statewide survey was conducted in Kentucky. Besides demographical information, respondents' personal information such as travel needs, affordability, exposure to AV knowledge, and the built environment were collected. Results reveal that males with high levels of travel needs and affordability better accept AV due to higher familiarity and more experience riding AV. Younger adults are more likely to have higher AV acceptance levels than older adults because younger adults tend to live in an urban setting with higher exposure levels to AV technology. Results suggest that experience in riding an AV, the most influential factor, improves acceptance by 44.8%. The research informs transportation agencies of a better understanding of how people of different ages and genders accept AV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Studies residential relocations and travel behaviour. • Primary data from Hubli-Dharwad twin cities in India. • Descriptive analysis and structural equations modelling. • Variations in the impact of built environment on travel behaviour. • Travel attitude is not related to self-section. • Self-selection effect due to gender varies between cities. This article simultaneously analyzes residential relocation, vehicle ownership changes, and travel demand changes while accommodating potential self-selection effects to unravel the causal impacts of built environment features on vehicle ownership and travel behavior. Earlier studies on residential mobility have not considered the causal link from objective built environment features to subjective built environment, and rarely control for attitudes and objective built environment features in the empirical analysis. Besides, the literature has not discussed how households perceive neighborhood in terms of children's/women's travel and how that changes by residential relocation and impact mobility decisions. The paper compares built environment impacts on mobility decisions in two adjacent areas in India, Hubli-Dharwad twin cities, that vary by socio-economic and land use contexts. The study notes that Dharwad residents acquired more personal vehicles than Hubli residents, while the proportion of households who relinquished their vehicles is high in Hubli. Post movement, Dharwad residents opted for areas with higher diversity and density than their counterparts in Hubli. In Hubli, households find that their current location does not help their children use active modes to schools, and women find jobs closer to home. The statistical analysis revealed that Hubli residents prefer locations with improved travel conveniences for women and children. With improvements in the children's travel friendliness, households of both cities decreased vehicle ownership, whereas household vehicle ownership of both cities increased with improvements in women's travel friendliness. In Dharwad, moving to residential areas characterized by high land-use diversity reduces commute travel, while an inverse association is noted in Hubli. The statistical analysis did not confirm self-selection effects due to travel attitudes. In Dharwad, the latent factor on women's travel friendliness featured in self-selection and shows an independent effect on vehicle ownership. In Hubli, the factor did not have independent effects on vehicle ownership after accommodating travel attitudes and socio-demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new flexible Generalized Heterogeneous Data Model (GHDM) is proposed • A non-normal factor-based approach is applied using an efficient transformation • The latent unobserved factors are allowed to be correlated with the outcomes • An application – attitudinal latent constructs correlated with outcomes • The model is applied to residential choice and bicycling frequency There is growing interest in multivariate dependent outcome models that include a mixture of different kinds of discrete and continuous variables. This may be attributed to at least two reasons. The first is the ability to generate multivariate distributions through the use of relatively flexible copula-based methods and/or effective factorization techniques for the covariance matrices. The second is the development of computationally efficient ways to estimate models based on variational methods for Bayesian inference or maximum approximate composite marginal likelihood methods for frequentist inference. However, there are two important assumptions in earlier mixed data models: (i) marginal normality of unobserved factors that generate jointness among the main outcome variables of interest, and (ii) independence between the unobserved factors and the propensity equations underlying the main outcomes of interest. In the current paper, we simultaneously relax both these assumptions and develop a flexible Generalized Heterogeneous Data Model (GHDM) for mixed data modeling. We then propose a hybrid MSL-MACML inference approach for estimation. We demonstrate an application of our proposed model in the context of individuals' high-density residential neighborhood living choice and monthly bicycling frequency. The empirical results highlight the benefits of our proposed methodology, both from a policy standpoint as well as a predictive data fit standpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water Sensitive Design (WSD) is gaining attention as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) to urban water problems. It incorporates green infrastructure with engineered urban water systems through innovative design of the built environment and urban landscape. In Africa, Johannesburg and Cape Town are two cities engaging with WSD at a policy level. This paper uses the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach in a comparative analysis of ongoing engagement with WSD in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We explore the extent to which this engagement signals the launch of the transition towards water resilience. WSD represents a niche that is in synergy with the visions of sustainable urban (water and environmental) management in both cities. Results indicate a progressive engagement with WSD by different actors at regime and niche levels. However, the lack of coordination and capacity deficiencies due to limited social networks and higher order learning are challenges that constrain take-off and further consolidation of the WSD approach in the transition towards water resilient futures. Furthermore, we find urban governance practitioners struggle with reconciling the pursuit of visions of sustainability to be realised through nature-based urban development with the pressing infrastructure deficits that persist in most African cities. • Cape Town and Johannesburg are engaging with Water Sensitive Design as a Nature-based Solution to address urban pressures. • The approach holds promise, yet both cities face challenges that constrain the transition towards water resilient futures. • Challenges include the lack of coordination, capacity deficiencies, limited social networks and higher order learning among governance stakeholders. • Policy practitioners in African cities struggle to reconcile visions of sustainability with pressing infrastructure deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Dynamic PV power benchmark and CUSUM chart are employed for PV fault detection. • The proposed method is tested on actual residential PV systems with typical faults. • Only requires PV power measurement and remote weather data. • Machine learning techniques effectively model PV performance under partial shading. • CUSUM control chart demonstrates superior capability in detecting minor PV faults. Faults in photovoltaic (PV) systems are common during their operational lifetime. Existing PV fault detection methods, which are primarily designed for large-scale PV fields, struggle with distributed systems due to their reliance on on-site weather sensors and inability to handle complex local shading effects on PV performance in the built environment. This paper presents a fault detection scheme specifically applicable to distributed PV systems that solely relies on monitored AC output and remote weather sources. Without requiring additional equipment or detailed information on the PV configuration and local shading conditions, the proposed method consists of two steps. First, historical monitoring data is used in a bootstrap fashion to develop machine learning models that establish baselines for normal PV output and corresponding estimation uncertainty. Then, a dynamic PV power benchmark constructed based on the 3-sigma rule, and cumulative sum (CUSUM) control charts are employed simultaneously to detect system malfunctions. Through experimental verification on actual distributed PV systems, the effectiveness of the proposed method is assessed for four categories of frequently observed malfunctions. The comprehensive experimental results indicate the considerable efficiency of the proposed sensorless method in detecting both serious PV malfunctions and minor faults with a severity as small as 4.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper unravels relationships between built environment and vibrancy across station types. • An extended node-place model was applied to identify a TOD typology. • An interpretable machine learning method was used to explore the nonlinear effects. • Significant variations in the predicting power of BE across station types were presented. Transit-oriented development (TOD) has great potential to foster vibrant communities through improved access to activities around station areas. Several studies have investigated station area vibrancy and associations with TOD built environment (BE). However, few have considered the nonlinear impacts and varying relationships across station types. Taking Nanjing, China as a case study, we aim to 1) identify types of metro station areas (MSAs) with a "node-place-functionality" model and 2) unravel the nonlinear BE-vibrancy relationships and variations across MSA types. We find that five types best characterize the TOD built environment and present different levels of vibrancy indicated by the Baidu Heat Index. The GBDT (gradient boosting decision tree) models reveal transit accessibility, intersection density and commercial service density as the top three predictors of daytime and nighttime vibrancy, all presenting nonlinear and threshold effects. We also find the predicting power of BE features differs significantly across MSA types. The nuanced analyses provide context-specific planning guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to significant changes in travel behaviour and public activities, and they might have contributed to changes in residential location choices. However, research examining the relationship between residential location choice and COVID-19 is very limited. To that end, this paper focuses on how pandemic-induced changes in work patterns, travel preferences and daily activity patterns have altered residential preferences and potentially, relocation trends. The main determinants of residential location choice have been established in the literature over the past 30 years: physical attributes of the dwelling; surrounding built environment; affordability; and accessibility to transportation, workplaces, and services. However, each of these determinants are prioritised differently depending on the circumstances. Therefore, exploring how these priorities have shifted after the pandemic can pave the way for understanding how preferences for residential location choice shift as a consequence. From the review, the key findings include the decreasing importance of transport and workplace accessibility in residential location choice after the pandemic. Firstly, teleworking is becoming more prevalent within office jobs than before the pandemic, leading to less frequent trips to conventional workplaces, reducing the need to live within a commutable distance to a workplace. Secondly, trips to other activities have likewise become less frequent due to either remote alternatives (e.g., online shopping) or shifting towards services closer to home, reducing the need to travel in general. Another consequence of the pandemic is people staying at home longer than before, thus increasing the need for more desirable dwelling attributes such as larger house size and wider surrounding green space. Since these attributes are generally more affordable in areas less accessible to transport and services, this may subsequently lead to migrations to areas of lower population density, potentially decentralising urban areas. • Long-term teleworking has reduced the need to live near the workplace post-pandemic. • Residential preferences shift towards desirable dwellings at affordable prices. • Prevalence of online shopping has led to permanent changes in retail destinations. • Transport preference inclines towards car dependency over sustainable modes. • Overall findings suggest a potential shift towards urban decentralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While achieving net-zero carbon buildings (NZCBs) offers significant environmental and economic benefits, particularly in developing economies, research on effective strategies and their interplay with carbon credit systems remains limited. This knowledge gap hinders the widespread adoption of sustainable construction practices and the full potential of carbon markets for incentivizing change. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating and assessing 15 key strategies for achieving NZCBs and promoting carbon credit implementation. Data from 109 construction professionals in Vietnam was analyzed using several statistical techniques. The results of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's post-hoc analysis showed no significant differences in the key strategies for promoting carbon credits among key stakeholders (policymakers, contractors, suppliers, and architects/designers). However, distinct variations were identified in the strategies for achieving NZCBs. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the top-priority strategies for NZCBs included: (1) raising awareness, (2) developing project-specific emission reduction roadmaps, and (3) increasing renewable energy utilization. For promoting carbon credits, the prioritized strategies involved: (1) tax reduction, (2) integrating emission reduction criteria into tender documents, and (3) awarding technical points to contractors with emission reduction solutions. Theoretically, this study breaks new ground by simultaneously examining key strategies for achieving NZCBs and carbon credits implementation within the specific context of an emerging economy. Practically, this paper offers valuable recommendations for Vietnamese policymakers and industry leaders, enabling them to navigate a roadmap for a greener and more sustainable built environment, not just in Vietnam but also in other emerging economies facing similar challenges. • A total of 15 key strategies for achieving NZCBs and promoting carbon credits in the Vietnamese construction market were identified and assessed. • Stakeholders agreed on carbon credits strategies, but NZCBs approaches differed in Vietnam. • Vietnam prioritizes by raising awareness, developing project-specific emission roadmaps, and increasing renewable energy utilization. • Vietnam promotes carbon credits in construction with tax reductions, emission tender criteria, and contractor points for solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating renewable energy systems into the built environment is an ecological solution to meet the growing energy demand of densely populated cities. This paper presents a numerical study on the performance of a photovoltaic-pumped hydro storage (PV–PHS) system in a high-rise residential building context. The designed system operates in the Mediterranean climate of the city of Oran, Algeria. Real data on the building's electricity demand and the region's actual climatic conditions are used for system sizing and simulation. A Fortran programming code is developed based on an energy management strategy and a realistic mathematical model that considers all system losses. The performance analysis demonstrates that the PV fully meets the residence's daily load demand for 7 h, reducing reliance on the public grid. Furthermore, approximately 50 % of peak evening consumption is supported by the storage capacity. Accordingly, the PV–PHS coverage rate is around 46 % throughout the year, with an overall PHS efficiency of 60 %. Parametric analysis indicates that enlarging the discharge pipe reduces system losses and that increasing the storage volume improves the coverage rate. Other results reveal that the coverage rate is more sensitive to variations in load demand than to building height, and remains limited by installed PV capacity. The economic study was carried out for three different scenarios based on electricity price and feed-in tariff. In the most favorable scenario, the system achieves a payback period of 8.5 years and a net present value of 94,904 euros, making it economically viable and profitable. These results highlight the performance of a PV–PHS system in a high-rise residential context while providing the necessary information for the design and optimization of such systems. They can also guide policy-makers in adjusting tariff policies to enable private investors to achieve economic profitability. • The photovoltaic-pumped hydro storage system can meet 46 % of the building's demand. • Pumped hydro storage improves the contribution of photovoltaic energy by 15 %. • The efficiency of PHS in high-rise buildings reaches 60 %. • Optimizing storage system design contributes to higher overall efficiency. • The system is viable for an electricity cost of 0.08 €/kWh excluding subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we employed Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess how efficiently a sample of 22 European cities meets the SDG 11.2.1 indicator, which measures the proportion of the population with convenient access to public transport. We examined a range of cities across different sizes and regions. After using bootstrapping methods, we found that the public transport systems in southern European cities arrange their stop networks more efficiently to provide convenient access for inhabitants than those in northern cities. To reach the DEA performance benchmark, the low-efficient systems would need to reorganize their stop network and increase the population's access to public transport by an average of 58%. However, since almost all users of these systems can already walk acceptable distances to stops, these inherent inefficiencies are mainly observed due to unfavorable built environment conditions, which require a relatively extensive network of road and rail public transport stops. We estimated conditional order-m measures to unravel such exogenous influence on public transport performance. After analyzing various built environment factors, we found that cities with increased population density and a higher proportion of urbanized and built-up areas facilitate more convenient access to public transport. Cities that prioritize car-centric designs tend to have less favorable accessibility conditions. Our findings are useful for policymakers in achieving UN SDG 11 in modern cities. Expanding public transport stop networks and rail modes is important in low-density and less urbanized districts. Urban planning that promotes a more pedestrian-focused design can also improve public transport accessibility. • Spatial efficiency DEA models evaluate SDG 11.2.1 progress in 22 European cities. • Public transport is easily accessed but often inefficient, with excessive stops. • Conditional nonparametric analysis explained built environment impact on efficiency. • Denser and more urbanized cities achieve the SDG 11.2.1 goals more easily. • Diverse and less car-related land uses reduce walking distances to public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]