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Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity...
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Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 December 2021) | Viewed by 32302

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Belinda Lopez-Mesa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, University of Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
Interests: housing energy retrofitting; urban regeneration; sustainable mobility
Prof. Enrique Cano-Suñén

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zaragoza, 50018, Spain
Interests: Low-energy architecture; Renewable energy; Sustainable mobility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout history, pandemics have been triggers of important changes in the features of cities and the ways in which we think about them. For example, cholera and other outbreaks in the crowded cities of the 19th century led to major sanitary reforms and the establishment of town planning activities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led governments all around the world to implement short-term drastic policies, including lockdown, the closing of non-essential services, and social distancing in public places, with huge social and economic consequences. A lesson from this crisis is the importance of maintaining ambition to mitigate the risks and costs of inaction from climate change and biodiversity losses. The natural ecosystems represent one of the main protection systems against the outbreak of epidemics, and, therefore, post-pandemic strategies to bring renewed, sustainable progress and prosperity to humans should take a holistic view of public health that includes its connection to the natural environment. The Covid-19 pandemic may produce important changes in the way cities and buildings are thought to mitigate the probabilities of the outbreak of diseases, and with the use of response models to possible pandemics (by including the evaluation of risk situations) to increase the adaptive capacity of cities.

This Special Issue focuses on research proposals or studies regarding how to improve the way we think about cities and buildings (from different possible perspectives, e.g., urban regeneration and buildings retrofit, mobility, housing, energy production and use, urban agriculture, data sharing, ICTs, etc.), which have a strong contribution to improving the environmental health and cities adaptive capacity to outbreaks, and that look at cities holistically, i.e., understanding the systems that make up the city and the interdependencies and risks they may face.

Prof. Dr. Belinda Lopez-Mesa
Prof. Enrique Cano-Suñén
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • Cities
  • buildings
  • Covid-19
  • environment
  • adaptive capacity

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

45 pages, 13357 KiB  
Article
Indoor Environmental Quality and Consumption Patterns before and during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Twelve Social Dwellings in Madrid, Spain
by Fernando de Frutos, Teresa Cuerdo-Vilches, Carmen Alonso, Fernando Martín-Consuegra, Borja Frutos, Ignacio Oteiza and Miguel Ángel Navas-Martín
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7700; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147700 - 09 Jul 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3213
Abstract
This article analyses the situation that prevailed in 12 dwellings located on the outskirts of Madrid during Spain’s state of emergency. How did 24/7 occupation affect the quality of indoor air and power consumption patterns? The mixed method used (surveys and instrumental monitoring) [...] Read more.
This article analyses the situation that prevailed in 12 dwellings located on the outskirts of Madrid during Spain’s state of emergency. How did 24/7 occupation affect the quality of indoor air and power consumption patterns? The mixed method used (surveys and instrumental monitoring) pragmatically detected the variation in consumption, comfort and indoor air quality patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The characteristics initially in place and household predisposition had a conclusive effect on such variations. The starting conditions, including household composition, habits and the way daily activities were performed, differed widely, logically affecting power consumption: 8/12 case studies increase occupancy density by more than 25 percent; 11/12 improve thermal comfort; 10/12 improve air quality but not necessarily translate in a sufficient ventilation practices; air quality was lower in the bedrooms on the whole; only 4/12 case studies use the potential of passive measures; only one household adopted energy savings strategies; 10/12 case studies increase electric power consumption but none of the dwellings was fitted with a renewable power generation system. The conclusion drawn is that, despite starting conditions differing widely, household composition, habits (including performance of daily activities performance) and power consumption also played an active role in the end result. This approach allowed to integrate qualitative and quantitative findings on indoor environmental quality (IEQ), energy use and households’ behavior. The objective data on the energy situation of the case studies not only is useful for the study, but also for potential enrollment in energy rehabilitation programs, such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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19 pages, 51062 KiB  
Article
Internet of Things (IoT) as Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Enabling Technology towards Smart Readiness Indicators (SRI) for University Buildings
by Ignacio Martínez, Belén Zalba, Raquel Trillo-Lado, Teresa Blanco, David Cambra and Roberto Casas
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7647; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147647 - 08 Jul 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7047
Abstract
Non-residential buildings contribute to around 20% of the total energy consumed in Europe. This consumption continues to increase globally. Smart building proposals (focused on Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB), air quality monitoring, energy saving with thermal comfort, etc.) were already necessary before 2020, [...] Read more.
Non-residential buildings contribute to around 20% of the total energy consumed in Europe. This consumption continues to increase globally. Smart building proposals (focused on Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB), air quality monitoring, energy saving with thermal comfort, etc.) were already necessary before 2020, and the pandemic has made this research and development area more essential. Furthermore, the need to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and obtain technological solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT) requires holistic contributions through real installations that serve as spaces for measuring, testing, study and research. This article proposes a “measure–analyse–decide and act” methodology to quantify the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) for university buildings as a reference environment for energy efficiency and COVID-19 prevention models. Two conceptual spaces (physical and digital) within two dimensions (users and infrastructures) are designated over an IoT three-level model (information acquisition, interoperable communication, and data-driven decision). An IoT ecosystem (sensoriZAR) was implemented as a proof-of-concept of a smart campus at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Focused on CO2 and energy consumption monitoring, the results showed effectiveness through real installations, demonstrating the IoT potential as SDG-enabling technologies. These contributions allow not only experimental lab tests (from the authors’ expertise in several specialties of Industrial, Mechanical, Design, Thermal, Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering) but also a reference model for direct application in academic works, research projects and institutional initiatives, extendable to professional environments, buildings and cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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25 pages, 3734 KiB  
Article
Co-Housing Response to Social Isolation of COVID-19 Outbreak, with a Focus on Gender Implications
by Emanuele Giorgi, Lucía Martín López, Ruben Garnica-Monroy, Aleksandra Krstikj, Carlos Cobreros and Miguel A. Montoya
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7203; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137203 - 27 Jun 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4010
Abstract
COVID-19 forced billions of people to restructure their daily lives and social habits. Several research projects have focused on social impacts, approaching the phenomenon on the basis of different issues and scales. This work studies the changes in social relations within the well-defined [...] Read more.
COVID-19 forced billions of people to restructure their daily lives and social habits. Several research projects have focused on social impacts, approaching the phenomenon on the basis of different issues and scales. This work studies the changes in social relations within the well-defined urban-territorial elements of co-housing communities. The peculiarity of this research lies in the essence of these communities, which base their existence on the spirit of sharing spaces and activities. As social distancing represented the only effective way to control the outbreak, the research studied how the rules of social distancing impacted these communities. For this reason, a questionnaire was sent to 60 communities asking them to highlight the changes that the emergency imposed on the members in their daily life and in the organization of common activities and spaces. A total of 147 responses were received and some relevant design considerations emerged: (1) the importance of feeling part of a “safe” community, with members who were known and deemed reliable, when facing a health emergency; and (2) the importance of open spaces to carry out shared activities. Overall, living in co-housing communities was evaluated as an “extremely positive circumstance” despite the fact that the emergency worsened socialization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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37 pages, 8840 KiB  
Article
Identification of Measures to Strengthen Resilience in Homes on the Basis of Lockdown Experience during COVID-19
by Mar Alonso, Alberto Rubio, Teresa Escrig, Teresa Soto, Begoña Serrano-Lanzarote and Núria Matarredona-Desantes
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6168; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13116168 - 30 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2774
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the need to put population into lockdown require a reflection on the capacity of homes to adjust to a specific function for which they are not designed: ensuring the health and wellbeing of people during lockdown periods. Thus, the [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the need to put population into lockdown require a reflection on the capacity of homes to adjust to a specific function for which they are not designed: ensuring the health and wellbeing of people during lockdown periods. Thus, the government in the Comunitat Valenciana promoted a study to evaluate house suitability in this Spanish region through the Valencia Institute of Building. The information was obtained by directly asking people affected through an online survey. On the basis of a series of indicators proposed in the study, the level of resilience and measures that favour house adaptation to such an extreme situation are analysed. The ultimate purpose is to offer solutions to enhance house behaviour against similar risks. The information obtained will be further useful for regional regulations of house design to be amended, currently under revision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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19 pages, 1713 KiB  
Article
Heating Energy Consumption and Environmental Implications Due to the Change in Daily Habits in Residential Buildings Derived from COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of Barcelona, Spain
by Marta Monzón-Chavarrías, Silvia Guillén-Lambea, Sergio García-Pérez, Antonio Luis Montealegre-Gracia and Jorge Sierra-Pérez
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 918; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020918 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3773
Abstract
The COVID-19 crisis has changed daily habits and the time that people spend at home. It is expected that this change may have environmental implications because of buildings’ heating energy demand. This paper studies the energy and environmental implications, from a Life Cycle [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 crisis has changed daily habits and the time that people spend at home. It is expected that this change may have environmental implications because of buildings’ heating energy demand. This paper studies the energy and environmental implications, from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, due to these new daily habits in residential buildings at their current level of thermal insulation, and in different scenarios of thermal retrofit of their envelope. This study has a building-to-building approach by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for the residential housing stock in the case of Barcelona, Spain. The results show that a change in daily habits derived from the pandemic can increase the heating energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in residential buildings by 182%. Retrofitting all buildings of Barcelona, according to conventional energy renovation instead of nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB), will produce between 2.25 × 107 and 2.57 × 107 tons of carbon dioxide. Retrofitting the building stock using energy recovery is the option with better energy and emission savings, but also is the option with higher payback time for buildings built until 2007. The methodology presented can be applied in any city with sufficient cadastral data, and is considered optimal in the European context, as it goes for calculating the heating energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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26 pages, 41400 KiB  
Article
Why Pandemics, Such as COVID-19, Require a Metropolitan Response
by Shlomo Angel and Alejandro Blei
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 79; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010079 - 23 Dec 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2082
Abstract
We introduce evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States that lends support to future political efforts to include multi-county metropolitan areas as an additional and critical institutional layer—over and above municipalities, countries, states, or the federal government—for the effective management of [...] Read more.
We introduce evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States that lends support to future political efforts to include multi-county metropolitan areas as an additional and critical institutional layer—over and above municipalities, countries, states, or the federal government—for the effective management of present and future pandemics. Multi-county metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) accommodated 73% of the U.S. population and, as of 27 September 2020, they were home to 78% of reported cases of COVID-19 and 82% of reported deaths. The rationale for a renewed focus on these spatial units is that they are found to be densely interconnected yet easily identifiable locales for the spread of pandemics and, therefore, for their proper management as well. The paper uses available data on cases and deaths in U.S. counties as of 27 September 2020 to lend statistical support to four hypotheses: (1) The Onset Hypothesis: The onset of COVID-19 cases and deaths commenced earlier in multi-county metropolitan areas than in small-city counties or rural counties; (2) The Peak Hypothesis: The current peak of COVID-19 cases and deaths occurred earlier in multi-county metropolitan areas; (3) The Scaling Hypothesis: Multi-county metropolitan areas had more than their shares of COVID-19 cases and deaths than their shares in the population; and (4) The Neighbor Hypothesis: Levels of COVID-19 cases and deaths in counties within multi-county metropolitan areas were more strongly related to respective levels in their neighboring counties than small-city counties or rural counties. The reported statistical results demonstrate the value of adopting a metropolitan perspective on pandemics and working to empower effective institutional arrangements at the metropolitan level for managing the present and future pandemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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24 pages, 6965 KiB  
Article
A Mixed Approach on Resilience of Spanish Dwellings and Households during COVID-19 Lockdown
by Teresa Cuerdo-Vilches, Miguel Ángel Navas-Martín and Ignacio Oteiza
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10198; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su122310198 - 07 Dec 2020
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 5160
Abstract
The confinement by COVID-19 has meant a re-reading of housing for Spanish households, resulting in the only available and safe space to carry out daily activity. This complex phenomenon has generated a completely different way of inhabiting it, as well as of relating [...] Read more.
The confinement by COVID-19 has meant a re-reading of housing for Spanish households, resulting in the only available and safe space to carry out daily activity. This complex phenomenon has generated a completely different way of inhabiting it, as well as of relating to domestic spaces. For this reason, the home perception and its characteristics must be evaluated, highlighting those perceived as deficiencies, or as preferences in such an unusual context as lockdown, where the experience was different depending on the dwelling characteristics, and the family in question. To deepen in this double perception home-dwelling, a mixed method was used, with two online forms. The first is a quantitative questionnaire, while the second asks the participants for photographs and narratives about such images. More than 1800 surveys and 785 qualitative responses were obtained. From both approaches, the joint discourse arose, allowing an exploratory analysis of the current situation of the Spanish residential park, and the resilience demonstrated in this period by both households and their usual dwellings. This study should facilitate the development of new proposals on housing in contexts similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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31 pages, 6953 KiB  
Article
Eco-Efficient Analysis of a Refurbishment Proposal for a Social Housing
by Pilar Mercader-Moyano, Paula M. Esquivias and Radu Muntean
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6725; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12176725 - 19 Aug 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2491
Abstract
In recent years, the building sector has been turning towards intervening in the existing city building stock. In fact, it is generally accepted that the refurbishment of buildings based on sustainability must form the axis of reformulation of the building sector. Although energy [...] Read more.
In recent years, the building sector has been turning towards intervening in the existing city building stock. In fact, it is generally accepted that the refurbishment of buildings based on sustainability must form the axis of reformulation of the building sector. Although energy refurbishment is commonly accepted and recommended towards decarbonization of the building stock, an integral assessment towards implementing the principles of the circular economy must incorporate the environmental impact of the materials in order to get an eco-efficient refurbishment. The article presents the environmental analysis of a social housing located in Cadiz (Spain) and the improvements achieved by its refurbishment. This intervention is improved by incorporating eco-efficient materials based on the environmental and life cycle analysis (LCA). Those analyses are performed using EnergyPlus, Radiance, LCA standards, and Environmental Product Declaration of the products. The results shown that although an energy rehabilitation intervention can fulfil other eco-efficient aspects, an integral assessment should always be carried out in order to ensure that indoor comfort is achieved, daylighting and solar heat gains are balanced, and the environmental impact at product, use, and end-of-life stages of a building is minimized. Considering the constrains and limitations of the tools and databases, higher efforts should be done to solve them and provide useful resources for a decarbonized and circular building stock. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-pandemic Cities and Buildings: Strategies to Increase Their Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Health)
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