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Numerous studies have demonstrated that commercial activities have significantly reduced during COVID-19, while there are few studies disclosing the consequent impacts on the energy consumption of commercial buildings. This study explores the changes in energy consumption of different types of commercial buildings in Singapore under the impact of the pandemic, using commercial building energy performance data from 2017 to 2020 (n=540). The sampled buildings include 93 hotel buildings, 303 office buildings, 106 retail buildings, and 38 mixed developments. The analysis mainly used linear regression and paired sample t-test. The results showed that relative to 2019, the mean energy use intensity (EUI) of sampled commercial buildings decreased by 56.77 kWh/m² in the pandemic year (2020), a plunge of 19.9%. The extent to which the EUI of each type of commercial building is affected by the pandemic is found as: mixed development>retail>office>hotel. The study also identified the factors that significantly influenced the EUI of commercial buildings before and during the pandemic. The results of the study complement existing knowledge about the factors influencing energy consumption in commercial buildings by considering the impact of the pandemic and furthermore contribute to the improvement of energy management in commercial buildings by providing directions for building energy efficiency approaches.

Ceiling fans have been promoted as an alternative cooling technique to save energy, while their adoptions in the residential sector have yet to be investigated. This study analysed the adoption of ceiling fans in residential buildings and compared their energy-saving potential with that of air-conditioning in Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) certificated single (n = 268,558) in New South Wales, Australia, from 2011 to 2019. Four climate zones were classified according to heating and cooling hours via k-means, based on which predictive models for the relationship between cooling technologies and energy-saving levels were established via machine learning. Dwellers in the hot zone of New South Wales would be more likely to adopt ceiling fans. In the living rooms, dwellers could adopt ceiling fans alone, while in bedrooms, dwellers could adopt air-conditioning in addition to ceiling fans. This study provides empirical evidence on the adoption of ceiling fans in green buildings and helps to map out the low carbon solutions using alternative cooling in the residential sector.

This study investigated the climatic risks and vulnerabilities of informal settlements in the Global South, as well as the extent to which these risks impact the vulnerabilities. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2009 methodology and deductive content analysis, this study critically examined 69 documents, including 28 scholarly journal articles obtained from Scopus and ScienceDirect and 41 web-based releases identified through the Google search engine and snowballing technique. Document inclusion criteria focused on the relevance to climate risks and vulnerabilities, excluding non-peer-reviewed, non-English, and unreliable sources, as well as irrelevant studies. Seven major climate risks impacting informal settlements were identified: floods (44), temperature changes (41), storms (31), sea level rise (30), drought (28), rainfall (23), and landslides (14). The primary vulnerabilities highlighted were poor housing conditions (64), health risks (50), lack of basic services (49), inadequate sanitation (41), inadequate hygiene (39), and limited access to water (38). The combination of vulnerabilities and climate risks creates considerable direct, indirect, and low-level threats to informal settlements. Despite Asia, Africa, and Latin America’s vulnerability, most studies focused on formal and developed areas. The findings highlight the critical need for climate adaptation strategies in informal settlements of the Global South to ensure the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are met.

Environmental perception is a key indicator for evaluating green space preference and satisfaction. The shift in urban green space research towards emphasizing human benefits over functionality has caused a gradual increase in the number of articles on green space perception in recent years. Studying the relationship between the vegetation landscape (a fundamental aspect of urban green spaces) and subjective perceptual dimensions have become a pivotal research topic. This paper delves into the correlations and influencing relationships between these two dimensions with the main focus being on vegetation landscape indicators and subjective perception. The perceived green benefits were categorized into four main groups in the 80 articles reviewed: perceived safety, visual aesthetics, restoration benefits, and preferences. In this study, green indicators were also defined and categorized. The results indicated that the guiding indicators had a higher frequency and that species diversity improved the perceived benefits in all aspects. Among the control indicators, plant color, plant height, and the vegetation composition structure received the most attention. Plant color accounted for the largest proportion of studies on perceived visual aesthetics. Vegetation characteristics related to perceived safety had a shared trait, and there was a lack of correlation studies between safety and aesthetics in perceptual dimensions. In the common methods for assessing human perception, a shift from subjective measurements to mixed measurements using emerging technologies is underway. As a pioneering scope review of how vegetation landscapes influence subjective human perceptions, this study has not only provided evidence of the perceived benefits of urban green spaces but also offers valuable insights and tools for future research and policymaking.

Residents were suffering from climatic issues resulting from global warming and urban heat islands (UHI). Researchers have explored ways of mitigating these issues. They have discovered several factors that adjust microclimate, including vegetation. Vegetation, especially trees, can significantly mitigate heat stress, often by providing canopied spaces. However, the temperature differences between various points under individual trees have rarely been investigated. The present study aimed to determine these temperature distribution patterns. A new concept, the tree cooling pond effect (TCP), was proposed and defined in a similar way to UHI. The level of TCP was represented by the mean radiant temperature (MRT) difference between four points in line with the direction of tree shade (A, next to the trunk; B, the midpoint between A & C; C, the margin of the shade; and D, 1 m away from C and in the sunshine). The MRT was measured and shown to increase slightly when moving from A to C, with a sharp increase between C and D. Physical characteristics of the trees, especially the tree crown diameter (TCD), impacted the incremental change (∆MRT) significantly. Through linear regression, it was found that ∆MRT was polynomially correlated with tree characteristics; e.g., TCD and distance from the trunk. For a tree with a TCD of 16.6 m, the ∆MRT between Point A and Point D was up to 18 °C; this result indicates that trees had insignificant cooling effects on the unshaded area (in the sunshine) despite neighbouring it. This study represents an initial effort; it visually illustrate tree cooling by identifying several critical points to delineate the pond, which has rarely been considered in previous studies.

Green building development is a global strategic plan aimed at addressing environmental burdens and reducing energy consumption in the building sector. Currently, research does not adequately reveal the spatiotemporal patterns of green-certified building development and the factors that influence it. To address this gap, this study investigates the dynamic distribution of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects in the U.S. by incorporating time effects into spatial regression models. The results reveal that (1) significant regional variations in the spatiotemporal distribution of green-certified buildings (global Moran's index for 2017, 2019 and 2021 are 0.0172, 0.0327 and 0.0622 respectively). (2) Demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and policymaking factors explain the observed patterns (the mean values of the coefficients of population size, the Caucasian demographic proportion to the total population, income inequality, regional price parity, and average annual temperature were 8236.1383, −18.9113, −533.1024, 365.1813 and 227.1735 respectively). (3) Expedited permitting, reduced fees, and property tax credit or exemption (p-values less than 0.01) are significant policy instruments that promote the implementation of LEED certified projects. The findings offer pivotal insights that enable targeted interventions, informed decisions, and effective resource allocation. Furthermore, it furnishes a reference for strategically siting green building initiatives in the next phase, encompassing zero-energy buildings, green technologies, and low-carbon solutions. Enhancing understanding of complexities in U.S. green-certified building practices, this research acts as an evidence-based cornerstone across sectors. Urban planners can leverage these insights to allocate resources efficiently and steer green-certified projects, for impactful environmental sustainability and community progress. Policymakers can customize incentives based on drivers of adoption, promoting equitable distribution. Meanwhile, construction stakeholders can optimize strategies through decoding temporal and spatial adoption patterns, leading to prudent resource use and project success.

BackgroundThe health of office workers has become a major concern under the pressure of increasingly fierce job competition. As countries have gradually promoted healthy buildings, there is an urgent need to create and construct healthy office environments. Although the WELL Building Standard proposed management and design strategies based on the principles of health and medicine, it does not consider group characteristics or gender differences.PurposeThis study aims to apply the theory of planned behavior to healthy building design and supplement the important role of gender and group characteristics in behavioral guidance based on architectural strategies and user behaviors to improve the relevant building evaluation system.MethodsThis study adopted a questionnaire survey and structural equation model. Four WELL-certified healthy office buildings in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, were selected for the survey. Based on the theory of planned behavior, structural equation models for men and women were established, compared, and analyzed. The factors affecting the health behaviors of the two groups and the actual effectiveness of various building optimization strategies were discussed, and an optimization direction for gender differences was proposed.ResultsThe findings indicated differences between male and female staff in their individual characteristics and implementation of health behaviors. Management strategies, subjective design strategies in assistance and guidance, and objective design strategies in spatial planning can promote the health behaviors of the two groups. However, the design strategies of result feedback and detail optimization only appeared to have a significant positive effect on female staff, whereas the intelligent automation design strategies only had an obvious intervention effect on men’s health behaviors.SignificanceThis study found that the theory of planned behavior in the field of social psychology could be applied to relevant research on architectural design and emphasized the influence of gender. It can not only provide the optimization direction for the evaluation standards of relevant healthy buildings but also promote the implementation of health behaviors in office groups and provide new ideas for promoting the development of healthy buildings.

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of green spaces in promoting human physical and mental health. However, traditional static green space assessment and planning methods with core indicators, such as green space ratio, cannot effectively assess an individual’s level of green space exposure. This study explores a method to calculate dynamic real-time green space exposure indices, such as total green space exposure level, green space exposure per unit time, and green space exposure per unit distance, and analyzes their relationship with static green space exposure indices measured using green space accessibility, availability, and visibility. A field study in a central business district in Shenzhen revealed that people whose workplaces had high levels of static green space exposure maintained relatively high levels of dynamic green space exposure. In addition, dynamic green space exposure was influenced by individuals’ green space usage behaviors and travel time preferences. This study built an interactive analysis framework for dynamic and static green space exposure based on individual behaviour.

IntroductionAlthough governments have launched energy performance certification (EPC) programs to increase residential energy efficiency, residents’ perception and acceptance of these programs have been little studied. This study contextualizes residents’ intentions to participate in EPC programs in terms of their attributions to and attitudes toward climate change to find mediating factors and effects to help trigger collective action to reduce residential sector energy demand.MethodsThis study employed a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach to empirically analyze a survey conducted on 400 residents of Edmonton, Canada, who participated in the Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, EnerGuide.Results and DiscussionUsing EnerGuide, a Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, as an example, this study establishes a framework to explain that local residents’ internal and external attributions to climate change elicit positive attitudes (need to take action), increasing their recognition of energy efficiency program benefits, which further promotes their EnerGuide program acceptance and participation intentions. This study also reveals the mediating effects between variables. Residents’ attitudes toward climate change mediate the relationship between internal/external attributions and EnerGuide program acceptance, and they indirectly impact residents’ program acceptance and participation intentions, with this effect moderated by energy efficiency program benefits. Residents’ program acceptance also mediates the relationship between climate change attitudes/energy efficiency program benefits and the intention outcome.ImplicationThe study provides an example of the use of climate change discourse to motivate residents’ energy efficiency program participation.

This study aims to examine the impact of land use variations on carbon emissions by incorporating the development of photovoltaics as a scenario. To meet this end, we investigate the carbon emissions fluctuations resulting from different development scenarios: natural development, low-carbon strategies, and widespread adoption of photovoltaic technology. We identify important influencing factors related to these changes and utilize multi-objective optimization and the PLUS model to simulate land use patterns in Lingbao City projected for 2035, with a focus on achieving carbon neutrality. Through multiple scenarios, we analyze differences in carbon emissions, economic benefits, ecological impacts, and land use allocations. Our findings demonstrate that the photovoltaic scenario leads to a substantial 3500-ton reduction in carbon emissions and boosts overall benefits by RMB 85 million compared to the low-carbon scenario. This highlights the significant role of photovoltaic systems inefficient land utilization, meeting carbon emission targets, and generating economic gains. This research explores the relationship between land use alterations and carbon emissions, aiming to achieve ambitious carbon reduction objectives by integrating photovoltaic applications across diverse land types. It provides fresh perspectives for examining urban land utilization and strategies to reduce carbon emissions.

Reducing school energy costs has become an important issue, while the energy saving should consider different school systems and student backgrounds. This study investigated the impact of student demographics on energy consumption in elementary and secondary schools and explores the difference of energy consumption in different types and levels of school systems. Data were collected from 3672 schools (including 3108 elementary and 564 secondary schools, respectively) in Ontario, Canada. The number of students whose first language is not English, the number of students who receive special education services, the number of school-aged children who live in low-income households, and student learning ability are all inversely proportional to energy consumption; student learning ability has the largest negative impact. The partial correlation between student enrollment and energy consumption has a trend of gradually increasing as the grade levels increase in Catholic elementary schools, Catholic secondary schools, and public secondary schools; however, the correlation shows a gradually decreasing trend with the increase in grade levels in public elementary schools. This study is helpful for policy-makers to clarify the energy implications of various student backgrounds and the energy consumption difference in different types and levels of school systems to facilitate their formulation of effective policies.

In the context of climate change and rural revitalization, numerous solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are being installed on village roofs and lands, impacting the enjoyment of the new rural landscape characterized by PV panels. However, the visual acceptance of PV panels in rural areas of China is not yet fully understood. This study aims to identify and correlate three key influential factors that contribute to the acceptance and appreciation of PV panels in China’s rural settings. A quasi-experiment was conducted, incorporating diverse landscapes into six rural settings, each containing both the original landscape and PV panels. The findings demonstrated that the original rural landscape was significantly more scenic than PV panels, and factors contributing to the appreciation of traditional landscapes, such as nostalgia, played a vital role in rejecting PV panels. Conversely, renewable energy-related factors, such as economic stakes and moral desirability, were found to contribute to the acceptance of PV panels. This study contributes to the strategic planning and design of solar PV panels in rural landscapes, taking into consideration social acceptance and local contexts.

The negative effects of long working hours and shift work on the physical and mental health of blue-collar groups should not be underestimated. Under intense stress, they have limited time to access recreational green space, and their own health is thus affected. In this study, a conceptual model of recreational satisfaction among blue-collar workers was established based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The model explores the factors affecting their level of satisfaction when using recreational spaces. Anning Industrial Park in Yunnan Province was used as an example. User data were collected and analyzed using a questionnaire survey and structural equation methods. The results indicate that recreation intention, perceived park quality characteristics, and perceived value all had significant and positive effects on the park recreation satisfaction of blue-collar workers. This study applied social economics theory to the field of landscape planning, identified the typical characteristics of blue-collar workers and their green space use, and strived to optimize the UGS configuration and functional facilities through the evaluation of recreation satisfaction indexes, which provided guidance and reference for improving the service quality of green spaces.

Green buildings (GBs) and green spaces (GSs) play a key foundational role as important drivers of urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There have been many studies on the spatial distribution of GBs and GSs, but relevant studies exploring the spatial relationship between GBs and GSs are lacking. The research questions were: whether GBs are more likely to access GSs than nongreen buildings (NGBs) and whether GBs with higher certification levels are more likely to access GSs. In this study, we used Texas and its four major cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) as case studies to compare the availability and accessibility of GSs to GBs (certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED by U.S. Green Building Council) and NGBs. The study was conducted using spatial analysis tools in a geographic information system (GIS) to explore the spatial distribution of GBs and quantify the availability and accessibility of GSs in a comparison of GBs and NGBs and different GB certification levels. The study found that GBs in each city showed uneven distribution with multicore distribution. In addition, the availability and accessibility of GSs for GBs are lower than for NGBs, and the ability to obtain GSs does not increase with higher GB certification levels. This is because many GBs are located in areas far from the city center or in small cities around large cities where there are few GSs available, resulting in a mismatch in the distribution of GBs and GSs. The study also reviewed the certification manuals and found that LEED has regulated GSs at the city and community levels, yet has ignored them at the building level, and thus further suggests specific improvements. This study provides references and suggestions for adding GSs to the certification content, helping policymakers to optimize future efforts to improve GB certification programs and contributing to the eventual greater role of GBs and GSs together in urban SDGs.

The global spread of green roofs is becoming increasingly important in the context of increasing urbanization and climate change as they provide multiple benefits, including urban heat island effect (UHI) mitigation, stormwater retention and urban flood risk reduction. However, current research provides little insight into how green roofs are used and promoted globally. Therefore, it is essential to look at the global spatial distribution of green roofs and the related policies by using green buildings which have been successfully promoted as a benchmark. This study collected data from multiple sources, such as a dataset of spatial distribution of green roofs from eight countries, and 124 green roof incentive policy texts from 88 cities. Spatial analysis was conducted using ArcGIS Pro, and different types of incentive policies were explored using word frequency analysis. The results show that (1) the unbalanced distribution of green roofs in cities is prominent, with significant regional differences and clustering characteristics along water systems; (2) in the vast majority of countries, the types of incentive policies for green roofs lack diversity; (3) green roofs lack a well-developed rating system compared to how green buildings are promoted. Combining green buildings with green roofs and exploring the gaps between them, this study will help further explore the application of green roofs worldwide and guide governments or non-governmental organizations to develop and implement more efficient policies and provide recommendations to promote the popularity of green roofs worldwide.

In recent years, semi-outdoor space has become an important research subject in the field of thermal comfort. Overhead space located on the ground floor is a common type of semi-outdoor space in China’s Lingnan region with a hot and humid climate. Its thermal comfort has been scarcely studied. This study aims to reveal the importance and influencing factors of overhead public spaces in hot and humid areas, and to explore the corresponding adaptive behaviors of people. In this research, several overhead public spaces in Shenzhen University were selected to conduct field measurements and questionnaire surveys (n = 509) in hot and cold seasons. The results indicated that the acceptable physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) range for 90% of the population was 26.2–30.4 °C in hot season, 9.9–19.2 °C in cold season, and 17.6–25.3 °C for the whole year. The respondents preferred “neutral” in cold season and “slightly cool” in hot season. Respondents in hot season were more eager to adjust their thermal comfort, while those in cold season were more comfortable exposing themselves to the sun. Concurrently, the neutral temperature and neutral temperature range for different seasons was obtained and compared with the results of other studies. The results provide references for thermal comfort adjustment in hot and humid areas as well as optimization suggestions for the planning and design of overhead spaces.