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The idea for this specialist meeting (Santa Barbara, December 2008) originates in discussions over the potential of integrating design more fully into GIS, and over the development of curriculum in spatial thinking. The central question might be posed as "To what extent are the fundamental spatial concepts that lie behind GIS relevant in design?" or "To what extent can the fundamental spatial concepts of design be addressed with GIS?" or perhaps "Is it possible to devise a curriculum designed to develop spatial thinking in both GIS and design?" The position papers from participants address these questions.

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]

Building information modeling (BIM) and blockchain applications have introduced significant benefits to the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry in recent years. Although publications on BIM and blockchain integration have been increasing, no systematic examination of the present status and managerial implications of integrated BIM and blockchain has been conducted. To bridge this gap, this paper conducts a state-of-the-art review of the development of integrated BIM and blockchain in a built environment. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted to synthesize and analyze the research evidence. The results revealed five key managerial implications of BIM integration with blockchain at the project level: design and collaboration, financial management, construction management, information management, and integration management (with other cutting-edge technologies). Challenges and opportunities are outlined and articulated from both technological and managerial perspectives, such as stakeholder management, impact assessment, real-time project management, information redundancy, and incompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

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 paper deals with the digital architecture concept which is trying to introduce a new spatial language into the context of water urbanism, using nature as a model, measure and mentor. The first part analyses Biomimetics with its design strategies and methods. The Problem-Based Approach (designers look to nature for solutions) and the Solution-Based Approach (biological knowledge influences human design) are defined here. In the second part of the research, the authors present selected examples to the topic. This case study has demonstrated that a new approach to architectural design is emerging. This approach redefines the process of architectural design, understood not as the traditional shaping of the object's form, but as a compilation of various factors resulting from changeable climate characteristics and ecology. The conclusions emphasize that not only the contemporary understanding of ecology should be changed, but also the way architects approach the built environment, especially in the aquatic environment. [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]

Nowadays, 23% of the world population lives in multi-million cities. In these metropolises, criminal activity is much higher and violent than in either small cities or rural areas. Thus, understanding what factors influence urban crime in big cities is a pressing need. Seminal studies analyse crime records through historical panel data or analysis of historical patterns combined with ecological factor and exploratory mapping. More recently, machine learning methods have provided informed crime prediction over time. However, previous studies have focused on a single city at a time, considering only a limited number of factors (such as socio-economical characteristics) and often at large in a single city. Hence, our understanding of the factors influencing crime across cultures and cities is very limited. Here we propose a Bayesian model to explore how violent and property crimes are related not only to socio-economic factors but also to the built environmental (e.g. land use) and mobility characteristics of neighbourhoods. To that end, we analyse crime at small areas and integrate multiple open data sources with mobile phone traces to compare how the different factors correlate with crime in diverse cities, namely Boston, Bogotá, Los Angeles and Chicago. We find that the combined use of socio-economic conditions, mobility information and physical characteristics of the neighbourhood effectively explain the emergence of crime, and improve the performance of the traditional approaches. However, we show that the socio-ecological factors of neighbourhoods relate to crime very differently from one city to another. Thus there is clearly no "one fits all" model.

Global initiatives have raised awareness of the need for cross-departmental and cross-sectoral activities to support urban health, sustainability, and equity, with respective indicators routinely used as a way to catalyze and monitor action toward pre-defined goals. Despite the existence of at least 145 urban health indicator (UHI) tools globally, there has been very little research on the use of indicators by policy- and decision-makers; more attention has been devoted to their development and validation. This paper describes the second part of a two-part systematic review of the characteristics (part A) and use (part B, this part) of UHI tools by municipal built environment policy- and decision-makers. Part B is a narrative synthesis of studies on the use of UHI tools. This PRISMA-P compliant review follows a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. The search was conducted using seven bibliographic databases, grey literature searches, and key journal hand searches. Ten studies describing the use of ten UHI tools in seven countries were included in the narrative synthesis, resulting in development of a theory of change (ToC). We found that both expert-led and participatory indicator projects can be underpinned by research evidence and residents' knowledge. Our findings contradict the dominant view of indicator use in policy-making as a linear process, highlighting a number of technical, organizational, political, knowledge, and contextual factors that affect their use. Participatory UHI tools with community involvement were generally more effective at supporting "health in all policies" and "whole-of-society" approaches to governing healthy cities than expert-led processes. UHI tool producers proposed a range of techniques to address urban health complexity characteristics. Finally, in combining data from both parts of the review, we found that potentially important UHI tool features, such as neighbourhood-scale data, were influential in the use of indicators by built environment policy- and decision-makers.

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]

This article discusses the concept of solar neighborhood planning, which aims to optimize solar energy use in cities through the digitalization of the built environment. The research topic focuses on the design of neighborhoods with high solar accessibility for on-site energy production and daylighting. The article highlights the need for regulations and standards to protect solar access and rights, as well as the importance of combining active and passive solar strategies. It also emphasizes the role of digital tools and stakeholder involvement in the planning process. The article includes several papers that explore different aspects of solar neighborhood planning, such as regulatory frameworks, solar potential estimation, challenges in integrating solar energy in heritage areas, and innovative concepts and applications at various scales. Overall, the research topic aims to promote the implementation of solar energy in urban environments and address the barriers and challenges associated with it. [Extracted from the article]

In both the Geo and BIM domains, it is widely acknowledged that the integration of geo-data and BIM-data is beneficial and a crucial step in facing the multi-disciplinary challenges of our built environment. The result of this integration – broadly termed as GeoBIM – has a range of potential uses from district study to road safety. However, from the data perspective, this integration raises the question of how to integrate very detailed design and construction data from the BIM domain with contextual geospatial data (both 2D and 3D) that model a very diverse range of aspects of the wider built and natural environment.This paper reports work carried out during the second phase of the EuroSDR GeoBIM project, which sets out to understand the general status of GeoBIM across Europe with particular focus from a National Mapping and Cadastral Agency perspective. The first phase of the project reviewed the current status of GeoBIM in participating countries and identified the need for specific detailed use cases to overcome both the lack of awareness and the lack of understanding of the potential of GeoBIM. We present both an update on the current status of GeoBIM, and additional details of one of the selected use cases relating to planning/development permits. For the latter, we have been able to develop a detailed workflow highlighting specific data exchange points within the process to issue a development permit, allowing a more in-depth identification of both the roles and data needs at each stage. [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]

Determining the spatiotemporal deployment strategy for dockless shared bicycles in urban blocks has always been a focal point for city managers and planners. Extensive research has delved into the usage patterns in terms of time and space, deduced travel purposes, and scrutinized the relationship between trips and the built environment. The elements of the built environment are significantly correlated with the starting and ending points of dockless shared bicycle trips, leading to a scarcity of shared bicycles in areas that are more frequently used as starting points and an abundance of idle bicycles in areas that serve as endpoints. This paper posits that the idle state of shared bicycles is as important as their usage. Utilizing a case study of Xinjiekou Central District in Nanjing, China, we propose a framework for analyzing the temporal and spatial usage and idleness of shared bicycles. We also discuss the impact of various factors, such as proximity to transit stations, land use, and road accessibility, on the different usage and idle states of dockless shared bicycles. The findings reveal that the public transportation system has a similar influence on both the utilization and idleness of dockless shared bicycles, indicating that areas with a dense concentration of transportation services experience greater demand for shared bicycles as both origins and destinations. The influence of other factors on the usage and idleness of dockless shared bicycles varies significantly, resulting in either a shortage or surplus of these bicycles. Consequently, based on the findings regarding the use and idleness of dockless shared bicycles, we formulate a redistribution and zone-based management strategy for shared bicycles. This paper offers new insights into the spatiotemporal distribution and utilization of shared bicycles under the influence of different built environments, contributing to the further optimization of dockless shared bicycle resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex nature of the built environment, urban wind flow is unpredictable and characterised by high levels of turbulence and low mean wind speed. Yet, there is a potential for harnessing urban wind power by carefully integrating wind turbines within the built environment at the optimum locations. This requires a thorough investigation of wind resources to use the suitable wind turbine technology at the correct location—thus, the need for an accurate assessment of wind resources at the proposed site. This paper reviews the commonly used wind assessment tools for the urban wind flow to identify the optimum tool to be used prior to integrating wind turbines in urban areas. In situ measurements, wind tunnel tests, and CFD simulations are analysed and reviewed through their advantages and disadvantages in assessing urban wind flows. The literature shows that CFD simulations are favoured over other most commonly used tools because the tool is relatively easier to use, more efficient in comparing alternative design solutions, and can effectively communicate data visually. The paper concludes with recommendations on best practice guidelines for using CFD simulation in assessing the wind flow within the built environment and emphasises the importance of validating CFD simulation results by other available tools to avoid any associated uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernacular architecture offers valuable technological and typological solutions rooted in knowledge systems that connect environmental, social, economic, and cultural contexts. This paper introduces the Heritage for People Platform, a collaborative digital tool developed under the VerSus+ project (Creative Europe Program), aimed at organising and disseminating vernacular architectural knowledge with a focus on sustainable practices that are both culturally and environmentally conscious. The platform builds upon lessons learned from similar projects, offering key improvements such as the adoption of a Case-Based Reasoning methodology, which organises examples by geographic location, materials, and intervention types. A structured classification system based on sustainability principles and strategies enables cross-disciplinary research and comparison. The design process was highly participatory, incorporating user feedback at every stage to ensure the platform is accessible to a wide range of users, including designers, scholars, craftspeople, and the general public. A cross-device, user-centered approach further broadens its accessibility. The platform provides a public, web-based geospatial repository where users can create, update, and explore a dynamic collection of artefacts, design models, people, and institutions from across the globe. This tool marks a significant advance in promoting and preserving both physical and intangible heritage, with strong educational and practical applications for sustainable architecture. The paper details the theoretical framework and real-world potential of the platform as a critical resource for promoting sustainability in the built environment. [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]

Road traffic crashes are becoming thorny issues being faced worldwide. Traffic crashes are spatiotemporal events and the research on the spatiotemporal patterns and variation trends of traffic crashes has been carried out. However, the impact of built environment on traffic crash spatiotemporal trends has not received much attention. Moreover, the spatial non-stationarity between the variation trends of traffic crashes and their influencing factors is usually neglected. To make up for the lack of analysis of built environment factors influencing spatiotemporal hotspot trends in traffic crashes, this paper proposed a method of "ST-GWLR" for analyzing the influence of built environment factors on spatiotemporal hotspot trends of traffic crashes by combining the spatiotemporal hotspot trend analysis and Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR) modeling methods. Firstly, the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends were explored using the space-time cube model, hotspot analysis, and Mann-Kendall trend test. Then, the GWLR was introduced to capture the spatial non-stationarity neglected by the classic Global Logistic Regression (GLR) model, to improve the accuracy of the model estimation. GWLR model is used for the first time to analyze the significant local correlation between the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends and the built environment factors, to accurately and effectively identify the built environment factors that have significant influences on the hotspot trends of traffic crashes. The performance of the GWLR models and GLR models was examined and compared sufficiently. The results showed that the proposed ST-GWLR, which captured spatial non-stationarity, performed better than the classic GLR combined with spatiotemporal analysis, and improved the prediction accuracy of the models by 14.9%, 13.9%, and 15.1%, respectively. There were significant local correlations between intensifying hotspots and persistent hotspots of traffic crashes and the built environment factors. The findings of this paper have positive implications for traffic safety management and urban built environment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomimicry creates designs inspired by nature and uses ecological benchmarks to assess their sustainability. It is believed that biomimicry can help society produce and consume in more sustainable ways, as well as address some of the key challenges facing the world today. However, research into the applications of and possible barriers to using biomimicry for creating more sustainable Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects is still limited. This paper addresses this gap by undertaking and analysing twelve semi-structured interviews with leading global experts and practitioners in the field of biomimicry as applied to the built environment industry. The study identifies substantial potential in the use of biomimicry in AEC projects, including the following: adopting circular approaches; enhancing interactions between human and natural infrastructure; optimising material and energy use; recycling and re-use of materials; reducing time and costs; plus more collaborative and interdisciplinary working. However, a wide range of multifaceted barriers also exist that are currently hindering the exploration and exploitation of this potential, including the following: lack of knowledge; insufficient research and testing at the scale of AEC projects; fragmentation, poor communication and traditional nature of the industry; perception of high risks and costs; as well as outdated and unsuitable legislation and planning processes. [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]