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At a time when the world is critical of the Brazilian government and the loss of Amazonian rainforest, Brian J. Godfrey casts his 40-year gaze on Rio de Janeiro. Geographer Godfrey deftly uses various scales of analysis - global, hemispheric, national, regional, metropolitan, and neighborhood - to point out how memory can be used to reinvent places both in Rio and elsewhere. Godfrey's real nugget is chapter 3's examination of Little Africa in Rio. [Extracted from the article]

The article is a call for papers in the Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada journal. It focuses on the topic of natural experiments on built environments, health behaviors, and chronic diseases. The built environment, which includes structures, recreation facilities, transportation systems, and community design, has been linked to the development of chronic diseases and health behaviors. Natural experiments, which are interventions that occur without a researcher's manipulation, offer an opportunity to evaluate the effects of changes to the built environment on health behaviors and chronic disease risk. The special issue aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of built environment interventions in a Canadian context. The journal is seeking research articles that present new findings or synthesize existing evidence on natural experiments and their impact on health behaviors and chronic disease prevention. The submission deadline is November 30, 2024. [Extracted from the article]

Topological interlocking assembly (TIA) and computational architecture treat form as an emergent property of a material system, where the final shape results from the interplay of geometries and geometric interdependencies influenced by contextual constraints (material, structure, and fabrication). This paper posits that TIA is an ideal pedagogical tool for introducing students to computational architecture, and its theoretical foundations and design principles. Specifically, defining TIA as a material system provides a robust educational approach for engaging students with computation; fostering design processes through bottom-up, hands-on investigations; expressing design intents as procedural logic; understanding generative geometric rules; and exploring the flexibility of parametric variations. The methodology is detailed and illustrated through a design workshop and study unit from the Bachelor's and Master's programs at the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. Four case studies of TIA—of tetrahedra, cones, octahedra, and osteomorphic blocks—demonstrate how these exercises introduce students to computational thinking, parametric design, and fabrication techniques. This paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this pedagogical methodology, concluding that integrating computational architecture in education shifts students' design processes to investigation and innovation-based approaches, enabling them to address contemporary design challenges through context-driven solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as heavy rainfall events, the evaluation of the vulnerability of the built environment is becoming increasingly important. Evaluation techniques for each separate building often require detailed geometric models of the supporting structures and time-consuming simulations. One possibility to overcome this problem is to categorize the buildings in a first step and use representative building models for each category. This paper presents a semi-automated approach for categorizing buildings and creating parametric models for the respective building categories. Using these models, the buildings of a category can be collectively examined for their vulnerability to various impacts. First, this paper introduces open geodata that can be used for this process. For the categorization of the buildings, the collected data is further processed to extract additional information such as building age classes or floor plan geometries of the buildings. This results in a data set, with the help of which the buildings can be categorized. However, information about the load-bearing structure is often missing in the different data sources. By including information on typical construction methods that are associated with the previously determined characteristics (age, floor plan geometry, usage), representative models can be created for individual building categories. In this study, the approach was tested in a selected reference area in Berlin. The results indicate that the presented approach is a promising first step towards deriving geometrical models from open geodata that can be used to evaluate the vulnerability of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounting for the embodied carbon in construction materials and calculating the carbon footprint of entire construction projects in life-cycle assessments is a rapidly developing area in the construction industry. Carbon emission accounting relies on inventories that claim to represent the values of carbon contained in materials. However, these values vary between different carbon inventories. This scoping review identifies academic research on the carbon inventories used in Australia, as well as the methods used to compare these inventories. The study was conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. We identified 182 papers and narrowed these down to 11 that complied with the objectives of this study. Data for a range of construction materials were compared in these papers, as were the methods used to calculate the values. While some carbon inventories were used frequently, no clear preference for the method of calculating carbon values was apparent. The system boundaries also varied between publications, and a range of functional units was used. There was agreement that the variables involved in calculating carbon values for building materials are compounded by the practical issues of extracting and manufacturing materials in different regional or local conditions, cultures, and technological situations. It is therefore understandable that different inventories store different values when so many factors need to be considered. There is thus a clear need for agreement to be reached about standardisation of the processes involved. If the trustworthiness of the data stored in carbon inventories is questionable, so too are the outcomes of subsequent activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Happiness is a tool that can contribute towards the betterment of mental illness and is often linked to the well-being of a place. As per the study, nearly five per cent of Indians have a mental illness, with one in every five requiring psychiatric counselling. The tangible built environment and intangible components significantly affect human happiness. The question arises is whether and to what extent do these components of the urban environment affect happiness. The present paper examines the association between the urban built environment and the happiness of a city, taking Bhopal (a fast-growing metropolis in India with a population of 1.79 million according to the 2011 census) as a case study. Based on available data, seven parameters have been selected under urban built environment, the tangible–the 'body' characteristics (public transport, open space, air quality, vegetation index, air pollution, slum, safety and security, and population density), and happiness, the intangible 'soul', which has been studied via sentiment analysis using Twitter data. The focus of this paper, thus, shifts the focus from the relationship between happiness and socioeconomic factors to a broader understanding of the association between seven 'body' variables and their relationship with the intangible 'soul'. It attempts to establish these relation characteristics using regression analysis. The findings suggest that security fears, distance from open spaces, and distance from slums are among the major determinants of happiness. A sense of positivity is also evident among the people living in high-density areas. The present research can help policymakers to understand citizens' sentiments and integrate these with urban development initiatives for the built environment, building a happy city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of laser scanning missions is important for efficiency and data quality. Furthermore, it is a prerequisite for automated data acquisition, which has numerous applications in the built environment, including autonomous inspections and monitoring of construction progress and quality criteria. The scene and potential scanning locations can be discretized to facilitate the analysis of visibility and quality aspects. The remaining mathematical problem to generate an economic scan strategy is the Viewpoint Planning Problem (VPP), which asks for a minimum number of scanning locations within the given scene to cover the scene under pre-defined requirements. Solutions for this problem are most commonly found using heuristics. While these efficient methods scale well, they cannot generally return globally optimal solutions. This paper investigates the VPP based on a problem description that considers quality-constrained visibility in 3D scenes and suitable overlaps between individual viewpoints for targetless registration of acquired point clouds. The methodology includes the introduction of a preprocessing method designed to simplify the input data without losing information about the problem. The paper details various solution methods for the VPP, encompassing conventional heuristics and a mixed-integer linear programming formulation, which is solved using Benders decomposition. Experiments are carried out on two case study datasets, varying in specifications and sizes, to evaluate these methods. The results show the actual quality of the obtained solutions and their deviation from optimality (in terms of the estimated optimality gap) for instances where exact solutions can not be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible and high-quality urban green space (UGS) can provide significant benefits to refugee children for their development, health, and well-being. However, few studies have examined the actual accessibility of UGS from refugee children's perspectives (i.e., with restricted walking radius, particular vulnerability towards barriers such as traffic infrastructures and disconnected road forms) and related them with other environmental or social burdens under the context of environmental justice. It is necessary to explore related evidence and investigate the underlying causes since refugee facilities are primarily located in areas with restricted social and environmental resources strongly related to attributes of environmental justice. This paper investigated (1) availability, accessibility, and attractiveness of UGS in 30 refugee accommodation locations in Berlin using GIS and Space Syntax, (2) environmental burdens using the Berlin Atlas of Environmental Justice, and (3) neighbourhood characteristics. Findings indicate that 63% of refugee accommodations have availability of green space that is above average official standards, but from refugee children's perspectives, 60% of the locations have limited access to UGS, lower attractive green spaces, and most locations face multi-environmental burdens. Currently, little guidance focuses on ensuring equal access to and the usability of UGS for specific socioeconomic and demographic groups, such as refugee children. Therefore, this paper has contributed empirical materials to begin such research and develop inclusive decision-making strategies in environmental and health policy to ensure the provision and high quality of UGS for refugee children who need it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineer-to-order manufacturing, characterized by highly customized products and complex workflows, presents unique challenges for warehouse management and operational efficiency. This paper explores the potential of a digital twin as a transformative solution for engineer-to-order environments in manufacturing companies realizing prefabricated building components. This paper outlines a methodology encompassing users' requirements and the design to support the development of a digital twin that integrates Internet of Things devices, Building Information Modeling, and artificial intelligence capabilities. It delves into the specific challenges of outdoor warehouse optimization and worker safety within the context of engineer-to-order manufacturing, and how the digital twin aims to address these issues through data collection, analysis, and visualization. The research is conducted through an in-depth analysis of the warehouse of Focchi S.p.A., a leading manufacturer of high-tech prefabricated building envelopes. Focchi's production processes and stakeholder interactions are investigated, and the paper identifies key user groups and their multiple requirements for warehouse improvement. It also examines the potential of the digital twin to streamline communication, improve decision-making, and enhance safety protocols. While preliminary testing results are not yet available, the paper concludes by underlining the significant opportunities offered by a BIM-, IoT-, and AI-powered digital twin for engineer-to-order manufacturers. This research, developed within the IRIS project, serves as a promising model for integrating digital technologies into complex warehouse environments, paving the way for increased efficiency, safety, and ultimately, a competitive edge in the market of manufacturing companies working in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological advancements and a growing emphasis on circular and adaptable architectural designs within established built environments have catalyzed innovative approaches in the realm of human-building interfaces (HBIs). HBIs represent a transformative paradigm in architecture and construction, centered on integrating interactive technologies into pre-existing building surfaces. In this study, we investigate the design potential of novel interfaces tailored for existing building surfaces, employing readily available responsive materials and mobile robots. Leveraging accessible interactive technologies, we present a comprehensive review of three early-stage strategies of HBIs: PainterFace, PixelFace, and PixelGreen. These HBIs were aimed at enriching user interaction and experience within their surroundings, fostering spaces that are both adaptive and interactive. Experimental HBIs are constructed using a range of responsive materials and mobile robots, including conductive paints, spherical mobile robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles functioning as “agents” to facilitate communication, interactivity, and responsiveness on existing building surfaces. The multifaceted nature of HBIs showcased in this paper presents diverse approaches with substantial potential to transform established building surfaces into interactive and responsive environments. A comparative analysis of the three HBIs highlights potential implications and future avenues for HBIs. Moreover, the findings of these studies provide valuable insights into design considerations, challenges, and future trajectories for the development and implementation of HBIs on existing building surfaces, ushering in a new era of intelligent and responsive built environments. Future endeavors will focus on further research to address challenges and unlock the full potential of HBIs, ultimately leading to the advancement of enhanced, adaptable, circular, and sustainable architectural designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a transformative "living" hypothesis in architecture and engineering, proposing a paradigm shift from conventional design to regenerative, ecologically interconnected resilient systems. At the heart of our hypothesis is the integration of earth-bound materials and bioreceptive surfaces through metabolic exchanges that can be directly monitored via bioelectricity using advanced computational models and cooperative governance structures. This innovative approach that links the living world with natural materials and digital computing, aims to foster sustainable urban development that dynamically and meaningfully responds to ecological shifts, thereby enhancing social sustainability and environmental resilience. Founded on an active relationship with Earth Based Materials (EBMs) our work operationalises the foundational link between organic life and inorganic matter, e.g., minerals, to establish a dynamic relationship between building materials, and ecological systems drawing on the foundational metabolisms of microbes. To enable this ambitious synthesis, our work builds upon and diverges from traditional foundations by operationalizing actor-network theory, new materialism, and regenerative design principles through the application of bioelectrical microbes to "living" materials and digital twins. We propose a novel resilience framework that not only advocates for a symbiotic relationship between human habitats and natural ecosystems but also outlines practical pathways for the creation of adaptive, self-organizing built environments that are informed by data collection and metabolic feedback loops. These environments are fundamentally regenerative, dynamic, and environmentally responsive in ways that can be understood and engaged by human engineers and designers, transcending current sustainability and resilience targets through a methodology rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration. We address challenges such as regulatory barriers, lack of standardization, and perceptions of inferiority compared to conventional materials, proposing a new standardization framework adaptable to the unique properties of these materials. Our vision is supported by advanced predictive digital modelling techniques and sensors, including the integration of biofilms that generate action potentials, enabling the development of Digital Twins that respond to metabolic signals to enhance sustainability, biodiversity, and ultimately generate environmentally positive socio-economic outcomes. This paper reviews existing methodologies to establish an overview of state-of-the-art developments and offers a clear, actionable plan and recommendations for the realization of regenerative and resilient systems in urban development. It contributes a unique perspective on sustainable urban development, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach, which integrates the foundational metabolism of microbes, assisted by big biological data and artificial intelligences that act in concert to respect both the environment and the intricate dynamics of living systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attrition intentions continue to impact workers within the architectural profession, despite a significant dedication of time and effort towards higher education, skill development and professional licensure. Moreover, it is a significant disruptor to sustainable business planning. This paper investigates factors impacting career wellbeing and longevity, registration status and attrition intentions across a group of architecture graduates to provide preliminary findings into the exit destinations of those having left or intending to leave the profession. Using a conceptual framework established through the literature, qualitative and quantitative data were collected through an investigative online survey across 32 architects and architecture graduates from [Name withheld] University's architecture program in Australia. Results reaffirm that no singular factor is responsible for attrition, although several themes are specific to architecture, as follows: salary versus expected hours worked, architectural registration difficulties and a discontent or lack of wellbeing within the role or work environment. The data suggest that common exit destinations for architecture graduates include roles similarly aligned within the built environment, such as landscape architecture, construction, real estate and urban planning. This paper contributes to a gap in understanding where exactly architecture graduates and professionals go when they leave and the motivating or demotivating factors that drive such alternative pursuits. It underscores the importance and value of addressing the wellbeing and career longevity of a skilled and valuable workforce in order to address and combat high attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse ways to upgrade the existing urban and architectural features in the built environment by incorporating and enhancing the use of nature-based solutions (NbSs) in relation to the city of Bucharest, which lacks green spaces mapping and quality studies and literature. The paper draws a comparison between the design elements used in other cities, namely Lisbon, Vienna and Rome. These are also analysed and compared in relation to the integration in a mixed urban development plan for a research-to-business neighbourhood design competition in Măgurele, situated near Bucharest. A matrix of five criteria is used for the analysis: historical context, urban context, nature versus design, use and climate context. In Lisbon, examples range from new green walls, modern green Mediterranean courtyards, NbS in scaffolding and temporary walls, the placing of Miradores around the city to green-and-healthy marketing tools for restaurants. For Vienna, a street is being remodelled in an innovative way using independent green infrastructure designs in existing retrofitted parking units, hotels and residential constructions. For Bucharest, emergent pop-up, small scale, bottom-up solutions push the city's urban fabric beyond the greyish look of socialist-communist background and eclectic late 19th, early 20th century built heritage. For Măgurele, different versions of a modern neighbourhood and street profile design issues are analysed, using 3D renderings that incorporate NbS at various insertion scales. Existing example cases showcase new dimensions and toolsets of the adaptation of the urban fabric based on a more ecosystem-based approach of architectural-urban research by design, as possible instruments that facilitate a Green Transition in urban settings. Covering more cities in the future would add to the impact and contribution of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the growing prominence of nature-inspired design philosophies in the context of sustainability and human well-being within the built environment and focuses on their application within laboratory buildings. Biomimicry and biophilic design are highlighted as key nature-inspired design approaches, with biomimicry drawing inspiration from nature for innovations and biophilic design promoting human health through enhancing the connection with the surrounding natural elements. This paper further discusses living building strategy as an emerging method for creating dynamic and adaptable spaces by prioritizing user experience through co-creation and focusing on sustainable and regenerative structures. The potential of integrating these approaches is emphasized using laboratory buildings as an example, with nature-inspired and living laboratories serving as models for future built environments that promote both environmental responsibility and a positive human experience. Accordingly, this work aims to investigate the design and construction of laboratory buildings based on nature-inspired design strategies and the living building concept. Moreover, the paper discusses the application of biomimicry and living building concepts within laboratory buildings as a novel contribution to the body of knowledge, and concludes by proposing the Nature-inspired & Living Laboratory (NILL 1.0)TM Building Assessment index to serve as a guideline for the design and construction of laboratory buildings using nature as an inspiration and the analogy of human body systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the notions of urban sprawl and suburbanisation are introduced and discussed in the context of American and European cases. The drivers of urban sprawl are discussed along with the main typologies analysed in the literature about the issue. The debate regarding urban sprawl is discussed in the particular context of Eastern Europe, and a timeline of suburbanisation is presented from the socialist years until today. Then, the specific case of Bucharest is examined through the case of Popesti Leordeni, where the particularities of the city development and the stages of urban sprawl are compared with the typologies observed in the Romanian context. The paper concludes with the need for further research to identify different or diverging planning practices within the metropolitan area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing circular economy principles in the built environment significantly reduces raw material extraction and generated waste. A transition is essential, especially as it accounts for 40-60% of global raw material extraction and 33% of total waste in the European Union. This paper shows the methodological approach to generating a digital Building model to enable circular economy in the early design stage by coupling Generative Design methods, enabling automated variant generation of Digital building models, Building Information Modelling objects, and assessment algorithms to evaluate the environmental impact and circularity. By visualising the assessments of the generated variants of (so-called) Circular Twins in a Virtual Reality environment, including user interaction with a voice-controlled Virtual Agent, the digital Circular Twin ecosystem enables the early implementation of the goals of the circular economy and sustainability in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

William Courtenay, 3rd Viscount Courtenay and 9th Earl of Devon (1768–1835), has been most remembered for his romantic relationship with author and slave owner, William Beckford (1760–1844), which scandalized London society in 1784. However, the 9th Earl's life after this event has received little attention despite his artistic contributions to the built environment of his ancestral home of Powderham Castle in Devon. In the 1790s, he created a series of flower watercolors on paper and cabinets under the supervision of his drawing master, William Marshall Craig (c.1765–1827). These artworks complicate ideas about gendered expectations of amateur artistic subjects, with flower painting being largely understood as a feminine accomplishment. This article explores the Earl's watercolors in the context of the spaces at Powderham to argue they are evidence of his effeminate behavior and participation in female activities alongside his thirteen sisters. The association of these objects with a man attracted to those of his own sex contribute to studies of queerness, amateur art, and the country house in the late eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future is the first fundamental projection for architecture. Architecture has a duration in time, which often goes beyond the very life of its designer, so it is in itself a time machine, which must inexorably come to terms with projections of the future. Through a review of utopias in the field of architectural design over the last few centuries, this paper intends to explore utopian aspirations for the future spatial ideal of architectural education and the dialectic of its need to be 'realized'. The findings indicate that the futurescapes of architectural education requires cross-fertilization through interdisciplinarity, which emerges from the bottom up, generating contributing scenarios from the community; the adaptability of scenarios that are dynamic and in turn can generate variables in constant transformation; the temporal stratigraphy of the built environment, involving the coexistence of artifacts from different eras within the same space, and the need for reconciliation and sustainability; as well as the need for interdisciplinarity and "out of the box" thinking that contributes to a greater awareness of non-traditional approaches. From the perspective of design education, the futurescapes, through experimentation in literature research and educational practice, it is evident that in the educational practice of fostering the next generation of architects and designers, they need to be capable of more than assessing issues from the perspective of design and community, not only to face current challenges but also to design the future they desire for themselves and the communities in which people live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The architectural and construction professions are in a state of major transition. While wooden structures are known to have superior energy saving properties as compared with RC structures, this study establishes that hybrid refurbished structures in which RC beams and columns are retained, while floors and walls are replaced by new timber laminates, results in lighter, cheaper buildings, with energy performance superior to the replaced fully RC structures, yet only marginally less efficient than full wooden buildings. The fifth paper, "Automatically creating HVAC control strategies based on building information modeling (BIM)", Ref. [[6]] presents a method for optimizing building heating using BIM data. The imperative that the industry must embrace is "sustainability", and with that imperative is the requirement to develop applications that make buildings energy-efficient, eco-friendly, resilient, inclusive, and overall "greener". [Extracted from the article]

How can we assess the ergonomic comfort of a sizeable spatial configuration such as the indoor space of a complex building or an urban landscape when we design, plan, and manage the space? Is there a fundamental difference between indoor [architectural] spatial configurations and outdoor [urban] spatial configurations with respect to ergonomics? Can we have a unified approach to the computational study of spatial ergonomics? This paper addresses these fundamental questions while providing a brief taxonomic review of the scholarly literature on these matters from a mathematical point of view, including a brief introduction to the modelling-based approaches to the computational ways of studying the fundamental effects of spatial configuration on human behaviours. Furthermore, the paper proposes a computational approach for ergonomic assessment of spatial configurations that explicitly allows for combined accessibility and visibility analyses in the built environment. The gist of this approach is the conceptualisation of spatial configurations as rasterised (voxelated) 2D manifold walkable terrains whose voxels have 3D vistas, unifying the simulations and analyses of accessibility and visibility. The paper elaborates on how such a representation of space can provide for conducting various sorts of computational queries, analyses, and simulation experiments for research in spatial ergonomics. The paper concludes with a mapping of the computational modelling approaches pertinent to the study and assessment of spatial ergonomics; and marks avenues of future research on various categories of exploratory, generative, and associative models for ex-ante and ex-post assessment of ergonomic matters at spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the results of a Special Issue focusing on the practical applications of model predictive control and other advanced control methods in the built environment. This Special Issue contains eleven publications and deals with various topics such as the virtual sensing of indoor air pollutants and prediction models for indoor air temperature and building heating and cooling loads, as well as local and supervisory control strategies. The last three publications tackle the predictive maintenance of chilled water systems. Most of these publications are field demonstrations of advanced control solutions or promising methodologies to facilitate the adoption of such control strategies, and they deal with existing buildings. The Special Issue also contains two review papers that provide a comprehensive overview of practical challenges, opportunities, and solutions to improve building operations. This article concludes with a discussion of the perspectives of advanced controls in the built environment and the increasing importance of data-driven solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of the "double carbon" goals and the development of green transportation require a focused approach to reducing carbon emissions from private cars. Starting from the perspective of social network analysis, this paper constructs the carbon emission network of private car cross-district mobility based on vehicle trajectory big data in Guangzhou and Foshan and analyzes its spatial network characteristics. Next, the MRQAP model is constructed to examine the impact of built environment factors on carbon emissions from private cars. Furthermore, the paper explores the moderating effect of private car mobility in the central urban area. The results indicate the following: (1) Private vehicle cross-district mobility in the Guangzhou and Foshan region are closely interconnected and exhibit a phenomenon of central clustering. (2) Both population density and the number of road intersections have a positive relationship with private car carbon emissions, and after a series of robustness tests, the results are still valid. (3) Private vehicle mobility in central urban areas contributes to an increase in carbon emissions, and the positive impact is reinforced by population density, while road intersections and private car mobility in central urban areas have a substitutive effect on private car carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design for deconstruction (DfD) considers the end-of-life scenario of buildings at an early design stage to ensure that these buildings (or parts of the buildings) can be deconstructed without unproportional effort and material loss. After deconstruction, the elements or materials can be used for future purposes such as reusing (preferably), remanufacturing, or recycling. This opinion paper is aimed to advocate for DfD in timber–concrete composite (TCC) floors as it represents an important contribution toward circular economy design and creates a more sustainable built environment. Different end-of-life scenarios for TCC floors according to their original design and connection type were initially explored. Existing deconstructable connection systems that could enable DfD in TCC floors were reviewed. Furthermore, potential challenges relating to the implementation of DfD in TCC floors are briefly highlighted. Finally, a discussion around the outlook and actions that might be needed to address some of the identified challenges is provided. This paper proposes directions for future developments and contributes to the understanding and promotion of DfD in TCC floors with an emphasis on deconstructable connectors that can enable material recovery and reuse as the preferred end-of-life scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are a basic requirement for human beings and an essential part of the built environment, with significant environmental impacts. In addition to their complex and diverse material use, buildings are expected to have a long lifespan, typically more than 50 years. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental performance of materials and construction activities for a typical residential building. Life cycle assessment methodology was applied using Simapro©software. A cradle-to-gate analysis was carried out. The results were analyzed based on the Ecoinvent 3.8 database and Eco-Indicator 99. The results show that reinforcing steel (21%) and concrete production (16%) are the most dominant processes, accounting for almost 37% of the overall environmental impact. Transportation also had an overall impact of around 15%. Brick production and use accounted for 11.23% of the overall impact, followed by lime mortar production (11%). Asphalt coating production and use had the 6th highest impact with 9.7% of the overall impact. Ceramic production accounted for 5% of the overall impact, followed by cut stone products with 3.58% of impact. Steel use, plaster mixing, excavation processes, laminate, fiberboard, paint, and glass production and use had around 7% of the overall impact in total. Besides, the resource depletion impact category showed the highest value among the three main impact categories. On the other hand, fossil fuels and respiratory inorganic impact categories were the most affected sub-impact categories among the 11 study impact categories. As material and designing codes, technology, and construction methods differ based on regions and countries, this paper demonstrates the importance of even smaller portions of materials such as Laminate production in the Land use and asphalt felt production in the Fossil fuels impact categories in, especially for countries with insufficient studies and databases for construction activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global community strives to address the pressing challenges of environmental degradation and social inequality, the role of architecture in promoting sustainable development has gained unprecedented significance. This paper explores the intrinsic connection between architecture and sustainable development, focusing on Egypt as a case study. The research follows theoretical and practical application methodology, where case studies and solutions are applied. Egypt, with its rich historical heritage and rapidly urbanizing cities, presents a unique context to investigate how the built environment can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations. This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating architectural analysis, urban planning principles, environmental science, and social studies to examine the various ways in which architecture influences and interacts with sustainability goals. Case Studies include two locations in Egypt as future concepts to solve problems: Downtown Cairo and Nubia-Aswan, where ideas were introduced towards a better quality of life. The findings of this research underscore the importance of collaboration between various stakeholders, such as government bodies, non-governmental organizations, architects, and the public, to create a holistic approach to sustainable architectural design and urban planning towards resilient communities. The paper also emphasizes the need for education and awareness campaigns to foster a culture of sustainability within the architectural and construction sectors. Proposed projects were introduced in the International Union of Architects (UIA) World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen 2023 and published in UIA Guidebook 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper proposes a novel machine learning approach to the segmentation of urban housing markets. We extract features from globally available satellite imagery using an unsupervised machine learning model called MOSAIKS, and apply a k-means clustering algorithm to the extracted features to identify sub-markets at multiple intra-urban scales within a case study of Madrid (Spain). To systematically explore scale effects on the resulting clusters, the analysis is repeated with varying sizes of satellite image patches. We assess the resulting clusters across scales using several internal cluster-evaluation metrics. Additionally, we use data from online listings portal Idealista to measure the homogeneity of housing prices within the clusters, to understand how well sub-markets can be differentiated by the image features. This paper evaluates the strengths and weakness of the method to identify urban housing sub-markets, a task which is important for planners and policy makers and is often limited by a lack of data. We conclude that the approach seems useful to divide large urban housing markets according to different attributes and scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of navigating through an environment to reach a desired destination is known as wayfinding. It involves understanding one's current location, determining the desired destination and choosing a path to get there. Wayfinding design plays a significant role in enabling users to navigate an environment with ease and reach their desired destinations in a timely manner. However, poorly designed wayfinding systems can lead to confusion, stress and insecurity, which negatively impacts the user experience. This research paper explores the concept of wayfinding in educational buildings limited to universities, and its potential to enhance the user experience of students, faculty and visitors. Wayfinding can be a challenging task in large and complex buildings such as educational institutions. The study investigates the different factors that can affect wayfinding in educational buildings, including signage, lighting, spatial layout and technology. The paper presents case studies of two university buildings to investigate how a wayfinding system can improve user experience. The findings show that efficient wayfinding can improve the user experience greatly by reducing confusion, boosting efficiency and increasing overall happiness. The paper concludes with guidelines for educational institutions to improve wayfinding in their buildings with the help of signages and enhance user experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the vast landscape of the Built Environment, where challenges of uncertainty abound, this paper ventures into a detailed exploration of antifragile planning. Antifragility, a concept rooted in the capacity of systems to not only withstand but also thrive in the face of volatility, stands as a beacon of resilience amidst the uncertainties of the Anthropocene. The paper offers a systematic examination of antifragile planning, specifically by concentrating on uncertainty as one of its key theoretical tenets and by exploring the implications of these principles within the context of the Anthropocene. After offering a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature, the analysis delves into several important themes in antifragile planning, including the recognition of limited predictive reliability, critiques of conventional responses to shocks such as urban resilience and smart cities, and the strategic elimination of potential fragilizers through a unique planning methodology. Furthermore, the paper discusses three key arguments challenging the efficacy of antifragility: the systemic approach, the classification of responses to perturbations, and the validity of adaptivity and optionality theses. Specifically, the gaps identified in the antifragile planning methodology reveal its shortcomings in addressing the complexity of cities, its failure to recognize the variety of responses to shocks and perturbations, and its neglect of broader urban relationalities, especially in relation to climate-induced uncertainty. Thus, it is asserted that antifragility remains urbocentric. For these reasons, the paper contends that rectifying the gaps detected in antifragility is necessary to address the uncertainty of the Anthropocene. By aligning largely with emerging posthumanist planning strategies, the paper emphasizes the significance of adopting a proactive approach that goes beyond merely suppressing natural events. This approach involves fostering urban intelligence, contextualizing urban materialities within broader planetary dynamics, and embracing exploratory design strategies that prioritize both the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, a new approach was introduced into the management of heritage on Ilha de Moçambique by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Known as the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, this seeks to expand current understanding of the island's historic urban heritage, recognising that 'heritage' is not limited solely to monuments or the built environment. Importantly, HUL incorporates urban sustainable development within the scope of heritage preservation. Given this, the adoption of the HUL approach has the potential to contribute to ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the built heritage, as prescribed by the 1972 UNESCO Convention, of Ilha de Moçambique, and effectively maintaining the Outstanding Universal Values that resulted in the declaration of the island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. This paper discusses how local communities use the resources and heritage available to them and the central role of commerce, and the marketplace, in the heritage landscape of the island. A critical aspect of this is the sale of antiquities, including archaeological items, to tourists. Perspectives developed within the Rising from the Depths (RftD) network recently supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) UK, with funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), offer positive alternative solutions to overcome this challenging situation. In particular, the network sought to identify how the tangible submerged and coastal Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar, and its associated intangible aspects, can be utilised to stimulate ethical, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth in the region. Our paper demonstrates how the implementation of the RftD initiative when combined with the HUL approach can help to increase awareness among communities on Ilha de Moçambique about the relevance of their heritage and the need for preserving it while meeting everyday needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid pace of global urbanization, understanding the impact of the urban built environment on travel behavior has become increasingly significant for developing sustainable and efficient transportation systems. This study conducts a bibliometric review of related research over the past two decades (1997–2023), utilizing 1745 publications from the Web of Science database through network analysis and content analysis. It provides a comprehensive quantitative analysis encompassing publication trends, national and institutional collaborations, and keyword evolution clustering perspectives. The results reveal that (1) academic interest in exploring the implications of the urban built environment on travel behavior has grown markedly, especially in the past decade, with emerging technological approaches and research perspectives; (2) the USA, P.R.CHINA, and the United Kingdom are major research forces in this field, with notable contributions from research institutions in P.R.CHINA and the USA; (3) the "Transportation Research Part" series journals demonstrate extensive influence both in terms of publication count and citation count; (4) through keyword co-occurrence network analysis, three development stages along with five major clusters were identified: travel behavior modeling and public health, active transportation and sustainable development, urban development and carbon emissions, land use and transportation integration, and urban transportation systems and machine learning. Overall, sustained research remains warranted within this field, particularly focusing on selecting new built environment metrics while integrating emerging technologies into travel behavior modeling frameworks. The insights from this study have implications for urban transportation planning and policy, offering guidance on future research directions and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a green and sustainable trip mode, shared bicycles play an essential role in completing short-distance trips in cities. This paper proposes a method to analyze the impact of the urban built environment on the distribution of shared bicycles in a small-scale space. First, the Fishnet function of ArcGIS is utilized to divide the study area into grids of 500 m × 500 m. Then, three indicators are proposed to describe the characteristics of the urban built environment, including point of information (POI) comprehensive index, the intensity of public transportation coverage, spatial accessibility, providing them the ways to be assigned to the grids. Finally, the multivariable linear regression model and support vector regression (SVR) models are applied to reveal the impacts of built environment factors on the spatial distribution of shared bicycles. Results show that SVR models based on linear kernel function, Gaussian radial basis kernel function, and Polynomial kernel function can achieve better analysis results. The SVR model based on the Gaussian radial basis function shows higher explanatory power (adjusted R 2 = 0.978) than the multivariable linear regression model (adjusted R 2 = 0.847). This paper can aid in understanding the demand and supply of shared bicycles and help operators or governments to improve service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationally relieving the population of urban centers in large cities, such as megacities and supercities, is one of the current goals of population development in China. The fringe area of a large city is a potential area to undertake the population of the central area. Studying the relationship between the population and the built environment in this area can help urban planners formulate targeted construction strategies to attract the population of the city center to move to the fringe areas. This paper takes the fringe areas of Wuhan in 2010 and 2020 as its specific research object and puts forward the "5D" index system of built environments that affects the spatial distribution of population based on population data and built environment data. The OLS model is used to screen the influencing factors. This paper analyzes the correlation between population and built environment using a multi-scale geographic weighted regression model as well. According to the results of the regression analysis combined with the development and construction of the fringe areas of remote urban areas in Wuhan over the past 20 years, some suggestions are put forward for the planning and construction of remote urban areas. The results show that the "5D" index system of the built environment covers the influencing factors of the spatial distribution of the population. MGWR reveals the correlation between the influencing factors and the spatial distribution of population in the marginal areas on the global scale and the local scale, respectively, which provides a clear direction for the development of planning and construction to improve the attractiveness of the non-central areas to the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity is a key risk factor for major chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. To extensively characterise the obesogenic built environment, we recently developed a novel Obesogenic Built environment CharacterisTics (OBCT) index, consisting of 17 components that capture both food and physical activity (PA) environments., Objectives: We aimed to assess the association between the OBCT index and body mass index (BMI) in a nationwide health monitor. Furthermore, we explored possible ways to improve the index using unsupervised and supervised methods., Methods: The OBCT index was constructed for 12,821 Dutch administrative neighbourhoods and linked to residential addresses of eligible adult participants in the 2016 Public Health Monitor. We split the data randomly into a training (two-thirds; n = 255,187) and a testing subset (one-third; n = 127,428). In the training set, we used non-parametric restricted cubic regression spline to assess index's association with BMI, adjusted for individual demographic characteristics. Effect modification by age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES) and urbanicity was examined. As improvement, we (1) adjusted the food environment for address density, (2) added housing price to the index and (3) adopted three weighting strategies, two methods were supervised by BMI (variable selection and random forest) in the training set. We compared these methods in the testing set by examining their model fit with BMI as outcome., Results: The OBCT index had a significant non-linear association with BMI in a fully-adjusted model (p<0.05), which was modified by age, sex, SES and urbanicity. However, variance in BMI explained by the index was low (<0.05%). Supervised methods increased this explained variance more than non-supervised methods, though overall improvements were limited as highest explained variance remained <0.5%., Discussion: The index, despite its potential to highlight disparity in obesogenic environments, had limited association with BMI. Complex improvements are not necessarily beneficial, and the components should be re-operationalised., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This article is an editorial that focuses on emerging researchers in the field of civil and structural engineering. It explores three key themes: vibration-based health monitoring and automation technology, novel techniques and model updating, and structural health assessment and material waste mitigation. The articles within each theme highlight the advancements and innovations in these areas, emphasizing the importance of technological integration, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustainable practices in shaping the future of the built environment. The editorial concludes by emphasizing the need for continued research, innovation, and practical application in civil and structural engineering to create a resilient, sustainable, and technologically advanced built world. [Extracted from the article]

To help related operators to allocate and dispatch the number of bike-sharing and provide good guidance for setting up electronic fences, this paper proposes a spatiotemporal graph convolution network prediction model (SGCNPM) with multiple factors to enhance the accuracy of predicting the demand for bike-sharing. First, we consider time, built environment, and weather. We use a multigraph convolution network (GCN) to model the built environment, utilize a long short-term memory (LSTM) network to extract temporal features, and utilize a fully connected network (FCN) to model weather influence. We construct SGCNPM which can effectively fuse GCN, LSTM, and FCN, thus creating a prediction method considering the influence of multiple factors. The results of the real case in Tianjin, China, show that the proposed model can perform well in improving prediction accuracy. Also, we analyze the influence of factors on model prediction results in different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) were introduced by the IUCN for the first time, but today have different definitions in the literature. NbS are deemed the key to urban sustainability and aim to enhance the built environment through ecological and environmental interventions to support the built environment for future extremes of climate change and related hazards. NbS include blue and green infrastructures, ecological engineering, ecosystem services and ecosystem-based adaptation. Various frameworks defined different key considerations and the literature suggests plenty of frameworks towards successful NbS applications. Current debates critique the extent to which innovative and adaptive the solutions are, whether they are implemented by considering social values and social equity, and the financial burden they often bring which strengthens the disparities between the world cities. Uncontrolled urbanization often causes cities to become an environmental problem. This paper conducts a literature review to lay out the current debates and to highlight the multidimensionality of NbS. It focuses on the potential of NbS in disaster risk reduction and so the paper draws a framework to successfully implement and provide improvements for NbS based on the theoretical ground. NbS are investments in the life quality of the residents and preventive tools in the risk management of cities. The paper attempted to frame the NbS clearer for scholars interested in the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, sport is considered an entertainment and leisure industry and includes activities such as athletics, water, and skiing. The influence of a sport event exceeds the event itself, which indicates the importance of a sport facility to the building and construction. A sport facility refers to a facility related to the sport industry, mainly including not only stadiums, swimming pools, and sport centers, but also water parks, ski resorts, and other amusement facilities. At present, there is a lack of comprehensive exploration of integrated building information modeling (BIM) with sport and facilities and performance of applications to help identify potential opportunities to support sustainable development. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the integration of BIM, sport, and facility by revealing the current research status and hotspots in the field, which identifies the development lineage and emerging areas of the research and highlights the development trends and directions for future research towards sustainable development. This paper adopts a quantitative research method to investigate the current research status, hotspots, emerging areas, development trends, and important directions in the integration of BIM, sport, and facilities from macro-quantitative perspectives via bibliometric tools, i.e., VOSviewer and CiteSpace software packages. The main findings of this paper are that the hot keywords on the integration of BIM, sport, and facilities are mainly focused on BIM, facility management, framework, management, sport, construction, and design. Moreover, over the past 26 years (year 1997 to 2022), hot keywords for each year have been revealed through keyword co-occurrence overlay visualization analysis and identified in five schemes, i.e., life cycle assessment, emerging technology, behavior and sport, health and wellbeing, and sustainable built environment. Furthermore, the application of deep learning, IoT, and immersive experience technologies are current hot topics which could provide more innovative breakthroughs for the integration of BIM, sport, and facilities in the future for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial layout and arrangement of obstacles in the built environment significantly affect its evacuation performance. However, few researchers focus on pedestrian simulation-based design optimization of built environment under emergency evacuation conditions. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the evacuation performance of optimized design solutions for traffic space in the teaching building of a primary school based on a pedestrian simulation approach and to quantify the effect of design parameters on evacuation time. Firstly, the level of traffic space design parameters was determined and optimized design solutions for the traffic space of the school building were generated. Secondly, based on the Anylogic simulation platform, the environment module and pedestrian evacuation behaviour rules of the teaching building were built to realize the evacuation behaviour simulation. Thirdly, the effect of the traffic space design parameters on the evacuation time of the teaching building was evaluated and the most significant design parameters were identified. Finally, the optimal combination of traffic space design parameters was proposed under evacuation performance orientation. The results show that the sensitivity of the traffic space design parameters to evacuation time is 31.85%. The effect of corridor width on evacuation time is 49.06 times greater than the staircase width. The optimal design combination for the traffic space in the teaching building of the primary school is a 3.0 m wide trapezoidal corridor combined with a 3.6 m wide staircase, and a 3.0 m wide fish maw corridor combined with 3.6 m wide staircase, guided by evacuation performance. The framework developed in this paper provides technical support for the development of evacuation performance-oriented design optimization of the built environment, and the results are intended to supplement the building design specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sentiment can effectively evaluate the public's feelings of well-being in the urban environment and reflect the quality of the spatial environment to a certain extent. Previous studies on the relationship between public sentiment and urban built environmental factors have yielded meaningful results. However, few studies have focused on the effect of micro-built environment on public sentiment at the street level, which directly shapes people's perceptions. In addition, the nonlinear relationship and synergistic effect among urban built environmental factors have been commonly disregarded in previous studies, resulting in an incomplete understanding of the impact of urban built environment on public emotions. Therefore, this paper takes San Francisco as a study case to explore the complex relationship between urban built environmental factors and public emotions. Specifically, this paper measures the polarity of public emotions through sentiment analysis on Twitter data, establishes a comprehensive built environment index system from both macro- and micro- perspectives, and subsequently explores the complex relationship between the urban built environment and public sentiment through the OLS model and Shapley Additive Explanation algorithm. Results show that: (1) micro-built environmental factors have a significant influence on public emotion, although they have been frequently ignored. (2) Public sentiment tends to be more positive in areas with recreation facilities, mixed land use, rich street view visual environment, suitable thermal and acoustic environment, balanced income, and a suitable degree of high population density. (3) A nonlinear relationship and threshold effect exist between the built environmental variables and the semantic orientations of public emotion. Environment improvement strategies based on the synergic effect between variables can effectively promote the generation of positive emotions. Our empirical findings can offer valuable insights to promote feelings of well-being and foster an urban development approach through strategic interventions within the urban built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Egyptian demographic has changed with an increasing number of older citizens who require special attention. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified 2020–2030 as the "Decade of Healthy Ageing" in response to the worldwide demographic changes. Many international organizations have identified the built environment features of age‐friendly communities, yet they have not been thoroughly analyzed in the Egyptian context. Today, urban designers and city planners have to establish age-friendly communities that can facilitate well-being in old age. The paper aims to provide "Egyptian framework for an age-friendly built environment E-FAB", that can help architects, urban designers, and decision-makers evaluate Egyptian urban communities towards being age-friendly. The E-FAB is created and designed based on an analytical theoretical approach focused on active older people's definitions, needs, their relation to the built and social environments, and previous practices of age-friendly cities and communities. In addition, a comparative analysis between previous studies in age-friendly communities. Then, the paper conducted semi-structured interviews targeting active older people, aiming to refine and rank the built environment features of the E-FAB by using SPSS. The findings revealed that the E-FAB is expected to be an initial simple evaluating framework that could contribute positively to improving Egyptian urban areas to be more friendly to older people and address their needs in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The density of the built environment is growing due to the migration from rural areas to urban areas. The challenges that should be addressed are therefore increased in today's built environment. In relation to this, the productive use of underground space is essential to overcome the problems on the surface. Since the built environment has complex and multi-layered buildings more than ever, the delineation and management of the cadastral rights, restrictions, and responsibilities (RRRs) are significantly difficult in two-dimensional (2D). For this reason, creating approaches for the efficient representation of RRRs in three-dimensional (3D) is a hot topic in recent years. Considering the multifaceted structure of the underground, 3D geoinformation regarding the underground is needed for managing the underground space. Regarding this, it is significant to underline that legal and administrative namely land administration considerations are integral parts of the planning of underground space. This paper thus extends the CityJSON core schema in a way that it can be used for 3D delineation of underground cadastral RRRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mode of urban renewal in China has changed from incremental expansion to a value-added stage, and the development of cities has increasingly focused on the human experience and quality improvement. However, Cultural Street Vending and the unique street spaces in the historic districts that bear important connotations to the city have shown a trend of rapid decline and even disappearance. Therefore, how to identify the characteristics and connotations of such street vending spaces, grasp the relationship between perception of locality and built environment elements in different states and formulate targeted protection and renewal strategies is presently an urgent problem to be solved. Many studies have now discussed in detail the identification of elements, street perception and preservation strategies for historic districts. However, the Cultural Street Vending space, which carries special urban memory connotations, has been neglected, especially the characterisation of this type of space in different time dimensions. This paper takes the Cultural Street Vending space as a research object and focuses on the perceptual differences between its market day and non-market day, aiming at grasping the perceptual characteristics and constituent elements of this type of street space in different time states, as well as the patterns of changes they undergo. This paper took the Baxian Temple, a typical Cultural Street Vending space in a historic district of Xi'an, as the research object and took 30 architecture students as the evaluators to score 33 pairs of adjectives and recall the elements of nine streets. This paper compared and analysed the differences in the structure of people's psychological perception of the street in the state of market day and non-market day by SD method. It was found that the activities of the vendors obviously promoted people's positive emotions, and three commonality factors including impression, vitality and morphosis were extracted through the factor analysis. Moreover, through the element recall method to understand the change in element perception on the market day, we found that the range of people's perception was smaller on the market day and summarised the element map of the space and the element components of high, medium and low characteristics. The correlation analysis between psychological quantities and environmental elements revealed that people's positive psychology has a positive correlation with vendors, goods and street components and a negative correlation with greening, colour and texture. This study can provide an important research basis for the development of conservation and renewal strategies for this type of Cultural Street Vending space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Purpose. Behavior mapping is a crucial practice to capture precise data on human activities. Over the years, technological advancements have improved reliable data collection over the conventional "paper and pen"-based methods. Likewise, researchers increasingly utilize IVE (immersive virtual environment) technology in the built environment for its experiential capabilities. The aim of this research is to comprehensively investigate the most recent research and technological trends, data collection methods, and challenges and opportunities associated with IVE adoption for behavior mapping. Design/Methodology/Approach. This study investigates the current status of behavior mapping in the built environment through a mixed qualitative–quantitative study. A systematic background review was conducted on 353 articles, and a bibliometric analysis was performed on 123 journal articles retrieved from Scopus. The analysis generated science maps, unveiling technological advancements, data types, collection methods, research trends, and potential directions to address the research questions at hand. Findings. A thorough qualitative review presented deeper insight into major transitions and technological contributions, whereas the quantitative study revealed current research trends and future directions. Furthermore, it discussed the contribution, opportunities, and challenges of IVE technology for data collection. Research Limitations. The review and bibliometric study findings are circumscribed by literature data retrieved from Scopus data only, and potential research directions, opportunities, and obstacles are proposed based on analysis of review results, which might cause an incomprehensive nature. Practical Implications. This study highlights the importance of behavioral mapping research and the potential for technology to assist it. The paper also identifies current shortcomings and constraints in the literature, emphasizing the need for interventions in IVE technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies related to social sustainability assessment have presented a variety of methods and criteria, but there is a need to better understand how these studies incorporate multiple criteria along with the issues addressed, the decision-makers, and the overall process followed to promote more socially sustainable outcomes. A systematic literature review methodology is conducted to identify, analyze, and synthesize scholarly articles that use multiple criteria to assess the built environment's social sustainability. This study explores types of problems, decision-makers, criteria, and methods adopted by researchers. The analysis involved 42 studies identified in the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases. The results revealed a diverse range of studies, covering various issues, project types, and methodologies, highlighting the multifaceted nature of social sustainability evaluation in the context of the built environment. The most considered social sustainability issues in the studies were 'Impacts in Community' and 'Employment'. While most of the selected papers used multi-criteria decision-making/aiding (MCDM/A), not all engaged in these methods for decision-making purposes. Moreover, despite the prevalence of studies involving multiple decision-makers, issues related to group decision-making were often insufficiently addressed. The types of problems that the methods are used for are discussed, as well as the decision context and the process for selecting methods, thereby highlighting future research opportunities. Future studies should ensure that the criteria used are manageable but encompass all facets of social sustainability in the built environment, prioritizing methodological rigor when selecting MCDM/A methods and focusing on the nuances of preference aggregation in group decision-making scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]