Toward Sustainable Buildings and Cities: Thermal Environment and Human Comfort
A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 May 2025 | Viewed by 196
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sustainable architecture; climate change mitigation; cooling materials; building performance simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: urban heat island; remote sensing; green buildings; passive evaporative cooling
Interests: surface coating; building simulation; solar radiation; urban heat island; radiation cooling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapid pace of urbanization has put significant strain on the environment, giving rise to pressing environmental challenges, notably urban overheating and its associated heatwaves. These phenomena not only result in substantial energy consumption but also degrade the quality of life and pose a threat to the sustainable development of human societies. Urban overheating primarily stems from unsound urban and architectural design practices and the widespread use of artificial construction materials. Passive technologies, guided by the principle of "natural harmony" and harnessing natural resources such as wind, solar radiation, and ambient temperature, offer a promising avenue for creating comfortable environments with minimal reliance on active energy sources.
Advanced passive techniques, including passive cooling and daytime radiative cooling, have shown considerable potential for mitigating urban overheating. By integrating more natural resources into the design of buildings and cities tailored to the specific geographical conditions, we can significantly enhance the urban thermal environment. However, achieving this goal necessitates a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach.
In this Special Issue, we aim to delve into the latest advancements in passive techniques, detection methodologies, and strategies for combating urban overheating. The scope of topics includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Innovative passive materials and techniques;
- Impact of passive techniques on the performance on buildings and cities;
- Methods to design the local building and city environment;
- Sustainable urban–rural planning and design;
- Advanced methods to detect the urban thermal environment;
- Economic, low-carbon, and risk assessment for innovative passive techniques.
Prof. Dr. Yinghong Qin
Prof. Dr. Peng Ren
Dr. Kanghao Tan
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- urban overheating
- advanced passive techniques
- passive evaporative cooling technologies
- radiative cooling techniques
- greenery for walls and roofs
- natural ventilation for buildings and the environment
- cooling potentials
- energy consumption
- low-carbon economics
- advanced methods to detect the urban thermal environment
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
