Article
Environmental Sciences
Timothy Jiang, James A. Voogt, Jon Warland, Matthias Demuzere, Christian Moede
Summary: This study presents and evaluates a dynamical downscaling methodology to assess urban outdoor thermal exposure. The results show that air conditioning loading in Phoenix would double by the end of the century, and it may double in Toronto as well. Additionally, Phoenix would experience up to 2 additional hours/day of extreme heat stress, while Toronto would have 5.5 additional hours/day of strong heat stress.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wen Zhou, Wei Cao, Tao Wu, Ting Zhang
Summary: The combination of water bodies and green spaces can enhance the cooling effect of urban areas. The cooling effect of riverside green spaces is positively related to the width of the adjacent river reach and the degree of contact. Urban green spaces with water bodies inside can cause greater deductions in land surface and air temperature compared to simple green spaces.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emma E. Ramsay, Genie M. Fleming, Peter A. Faber, S. Fiona Barker, Rohan Sweeney, Ruzka R. Taruc, Steven L. Chown, Grant A. Duffy
Summary: Informal settlement residents experience chronic heat stress conditions, with wet bulb temperatures and wet bulb globe temperatures approaching the uppermost limits of human survivability, which are underestimated by weather stations.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Qian Zhang, Dian Zhou, Duo Xu, Alessandro Rogora
Summary: This study focuses on 36 green spaces in Xi'an and explores the impact of urban spatial indicators, such as building density and building floor area ratio, on the cooling effect of green spaces. The results show a significant correlation between these urban indicators and the cooling effect of green spaces. The study also finds that the relative position between the surrounding area and green space plays a role in the cooling effect, with the best effect observed when the green space is located on the north side.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Eduarda Lorrany Sousa Goncalves, Jhonata Lima Braga, Athos de Oliveira Sampaio, Vitor dos Santos Batista, Leonardo Junior da Rocha Menezes, Leticia Gabriela Eli, Marcio Santos Barata, Raul da Silva Ventura Neto, Bruno Ramos Zemero
Summary: Climate change has a significant impact on urban areas, particularly in the hot and humid climate of northern cities in Brazil. Utilizing simulations and optimization strategies can improve the thermal performance of naturally ventilated housing developments and mitigate the effects of climate change. However, the study found that climate change has a substantial influence on building thermal performance.
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
M. Moreno, P. Ortiz, R. Ortiz
Summary: This study evaluates the trends in the inclusion of green areas in historic cities and the effects it causes on humidity and conservation of earthen fortifications. The results show that increasing green spaces does not necessarily endanger the preservation of earthen fortifications. Instead, managing both heritage sites and urban green areas together can enhance the sustainability of historic cities.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Manob Das, Arijit Das, Sahil Momin
Summary: This study assesses the cooling effect of urban parks on the thermal environment in Kolkata Metropolitan Area, India. The results indicate that urban parks have a significant impact on reducing temperatures and that greenness has a negative effect on the thermal environment.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Wei Feng, Wei Ding, Meng Zhen, Weihan Zou, Haifeng Wang
Summary: This research explores the cooling and energy-saving benefits of small green spaces (SGs) through field measurements and models at Xi'an Jiaotong University Qujiang Campus. The study found that SGs can reduce temperature and increase humidity, while also decreasing air conditioning energy consumption for nearby buildings. The research aims to enhance urban green space planning and design standards, clarify the benefits of SGs, and promote ecological urban design.
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiacheng Zhao, Xiang Zhao, Shunlin Liang, Haoyu Wang, Naijing Liu, Ping Liu, Donghai Wu
Summary: The study utilized Landsat-based time series data to analyze changes in permanent UGS greenness, surface-cooling effects, and their biophysical responses in Beijing over the past 40 years (1984-2020). The results revealed segmented changes in UGS surface cooling, mainly tied to canopy transpiration and albedo responses to vegetation conditions. During the recent two decades of rapid greening, transpiration cooling surpassed albedo-induced warming, providing noticeable cooling enhancement.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiyoung Kim, Abdou Khouakhi, Ronald Corstanje, Alice S. A. Johnston
Summary: Urban green spaces, especially trees, are effective in mitigating urban heat islands by reducing local air temperature. The cooling effects of green spaces are influenced by background climate and plant characteristics, while urban characteristics have minimal impact. Trees play a dominant role in reducing temperature and have the greatest potential for mitigating urban heat islands, especially in mild climates.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joyce Yang, Lei Zhao, Keith Oleson
Summary: Urban climates are becoming hotter and drier due to climate change, which increases heat stress. However, the combined impact of urbanization and climate change on humid heat and adaptation is still unclear.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Urban Studies
Reza Ramyar, Aiden Ackerman, Douglas M. Johnston
Summary: Green Infrastructure (GI) planning, originally developed as an integrated approach to ecological and conservation planning, has become widely used in urban and regional planning, enhancing the ability to address climate change at the urban scale by providing a holistic understanding of socio-ecological systems dynamics. Integrating adaptation objectives into plans is crucial for sustainable urban GI planning, although challenges remain in practice.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Daniel Castro Medina, MCarmen Guerrero Delgado, Teresa Rocio Palomo Amores, Aurore Toulou, Jose Sanchez Ramos, Servando Alvarez Dominguez
Summary: Open spaces in cities have become inhospitable to citizens due to high temperatures, hindering outdoor activities. Microclimate control based on natural cooling techniques is proposed as a solution to create comfortable conditions in these spaces. The study demonstrates the feasibility of this methodology using a case study of an unused space, showing that by designing a system that utilizes nighttime cooling and water storage, temperature and air comfort can be achieved.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Igor Gallay, Branislav Olah, Veronika Murtinova, Zuzana Gallayova
Summary: The urban climate is attracting more attention due to climate change. Green spaces have an advantage over other cooling systems because they provide additional ecosystem services while cooling the environment. Quantifying the cooling effect of urban green spaces is important for effective climate change adaptation in urban planning.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Agnese Salvati, Maria Kolokotroni
Summary: Urban settings and climate change both impact on energy use and thermal comfort inside buildings. This paper presents a study on the changes in energy demand and thermal comfort due to the effects of climate change and urban heat island intensity in two European locations. The results show that both hot and temperate climates will experience an increase in cooling demand and total energy demand due to future climate change and urban effects. In addition, the study highlights the importance of considering microclimatic conditions in naturally ventilated buildings, as variations in wind can significantly impact ventilation rates and internal operative temperatures.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Parth Bansal, Steven Jige Quan
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between urban form and canopy layer urban heat island (CUHI) using a relatively large sample of microclimate sensors in Seoul, Korea. The study compares different statistical models and finds that the spatially explicit gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) model has the highest accuracy. The study also shows that the effect of urban form on CUHI varies at different time instances during the day. These findings provide valuable insights for planners to understand the complexity of urban climate and reduce CUHI magnitude.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Miaomiao Liu, Salah Almazmumi, Pinlu Cao, Carlos Jimenez-bescos, John Kaiser Calautit
Summary: Windcatchers provide effective low-energy ventilation and summer passive cooling in temperate climates. However, their use in winter is limited due to significant ventilation heat loss and potential discomfort. This study evaluates the applicability of windcatchers in low-temperature conditions, highlighting the need for control strategies to reduce over-ventilation and the integration of heat recovery or thermal storage to enhance winter thermal conditions.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Review
Construction & Building Technology
Behrouz Nourozi, Aneta Wierzbicka, Runming Yao, Sasan Sadrizadeh
Summary: This article presents a systematic review of ventilation solutions in hospital wards, aiming to enhance pathogen removal performance while maintaining patient and healthcare staff comfort using air-cleaning techniques. The study reveals the importance of proper ventilation systems in reducing infection risk and adverse effects of cross-contamination.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Zhen Yang, Weirong Zhang, Hongkai Liu, Weijia Zhang, Mingyuan Qin
Summary: The study examines the influence of personalized local heating on the thermal comfort of occupants in old residential buildings. The findings reveal that personalized local heating can increase the overall thermal sensation of occupants, but only a few methods are effective in enhancing thermal comfort. The chosen heating methods and background temperature affect the participants' selection of heating parts.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Hong Cheng, Dan Norback, Huilin Zhang, Liu Yang, Baizhan Li, Yinping Zhang, Zhuohui Zhao, Qihong Deng, Chen Huang, Xu Yang, Chan Lu, Hua Qian, Tingting Wang, Ling Zhang, Wei Yu, Juan Wang, Xin Zhang
Summary: The home environment and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms in five southern Chinese cities have been studied over time. The study found a decrease in asthma prevalence and an increase in allergic rhinitis. Cockroaches, rats, mice, mosquitoes or flies were identified as consistent biological risk factors for SBS symptoms, while redecoration, buying new furniture, and traffic air pollution were identified as other risk factors.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Chaojie Xing, Zhengtao Ai, Zhiwei Liu, Cheuk Ming Mak, Hai Ming Wong
Summary: This study experimentally investigated the emission characteristics of droplets around the mouth during dental treatments. The results showed that the peak mass fraction of droplets occurs within the size range of 20 μm to 100 μm, and droplets with a diameter less than 200 μm account for over 80% of the mass fraction. The dominant emission direction of droplets is towards the dummy's head and chest, forming an approximately cone shape.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Zhijian Liu, Zhe Han, Lina Hu, Chenxing Hu, Rui Rong
Summary: This study compared the effects of different respiratory behaviors on the distribution of aerosols in a ward and the risk of infection for healthcare workers using numerical simulation. It was found that talking in the ward significantly increased aerosol concentrations, particularly short periods of talking. Wards designed with side-supply ventilation had lower overall infection risk. Talking alternately between healthcare workers and patients slightly extended the impact time of aerosols.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yan Yan, Mengyuan Kang, Haodong Zhang, Zhiwei Lian, Xiaojun Fan, Chandra Sekhar, Pawel Wargocki, Li Lan
Summary: In a high-density city, opening windows for sleep may lead to increased indoor temperature, higher PM2.5 concentration, and noise disturbance, which can negatively impact sleep quality.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yan Bai, Liang Liu, Kai Liu, Shuai Yu, Yifan Shen, Di Sun
Summary: This study developed a non-intrusive personal thermal comfort model using machine learning techniques combined with infrared facial recognition. The results showed that the ensemble learning models perform better than traditional models, and the broad learning model has a higher prediction precision with lower computational complexity and faster training speed compared to deep neural networks. The findings provide a reference for optimizing building thermal environments.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yue Lei, Zeynep Duygu Tekler, Sicheng Zhan, Clayton Miller, Adrian Chong
Summary: Mixed-mode ventilation is a promising solution for achieving energy-efficient and comfortable indoor environments. This study found that occupants can thermally adapt when switching between natural ventilation (NV) and air-conditioning (AC) modes within the same day, with the adaptation process stabilizing between 35 to 45 minutes after the mode switch. These findings are important for optimizing thermal comfort in mixed-mode controls, considering the dynamic nature of thermal adaptation.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Nan Mo, Jie Han, Yingde Yin, Yelin Zhang
Summary: This study develops a method based on the LCZ framework for a comprehensive evaluation of urban-scale heat island effects, considering the impact of geographic factors on LST. The results show that Guilin's geomorphological conditions lead to abnormal heat island effects during winter, and the cooling effects of mountains and water bodies vary seasonally in different built areas, with LCZ 2 exhibiting the strongest cooling effect.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tunga Salthammer
Summary: Monitoring the potential formaldehyde emission of wood-based materials through test chamber investigations has significantly contributed to reducing indoor formaldehyde concentrations. However, the different methodologies used in these procedures prevent direct result comparison. Empirical models for converting formaldehyde steady-state concentrations based on temperature, humidity, air change rate, and loading were developed in the 1970s and have been modified to accommodate the development of lower-emitting materials. Formaldehyde emissions from wood-based materials are complex and require nonlinear regression tools for mathematical analysis.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Katarina Stebelova, Katarina Kovacova, Zuzana Dzirbikova, Peter Hanuliak, Tomas Bacigal, Peter Hartman, Andrea Vargova, Jozef Hraska
Summary: This study investigated the impact of reduced short-wavelength light on the hormone melatonin metabolite 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (u-sMEL) and examined the association between previous day's light exposure and u-sMEL. It was found that reducing short-wavelength light during the day did not change the concentration of u-sMEL. Personal photopic illuminance was positively correlated with u-sMEL in the reference week. The illuminance had a significant impact on u-sMEL, as shown by the evaluation of the mean of all three urine samples. However, this correlation was not found in the experimental week.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ruoxin Xiong, Ying Shi, Haoming Jing, Wei Liang, Yorie Nakahira, Pingbo Tang
Summary: This study proposes a data-model integration method to identify and calibrate uncertainties in machine learning models, leading to improved thermal perception predictions. The method utilizes the Multidimensional Association Rule Mining algorithm to identify biased human responses and enhances prediction accuracy and reliability. The study also evaluates different calibration techniques and discovers their potential in enhancing prediction reliability.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Beichao Hu, Zeda Yin, Abderrachid Hamrani, Arturo Leon, Dwayne McDaniel
Summary: This paper introduces an innovative super-resolution approach to model the air flow and temperature field in the cold aisle of a data center. The proposed method reconstructs a high-fidelity flow field by using a low-fidelity flow field, significantly reducing the computational time and enabling real-time prediction.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2024)