Currently, one in eight people live in neighborhoods with social inequality and around one billion people live in precarious conditions. The significance of where and how to live and in what physical, spatial, social, and urban conditions has become very important for millions of families around the world because of mandatory confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, many homes in poor condition do not meet the basic requirements for residential environments in the current framework. Theoretical models for the urban evaluation of this phenomenon are a necessary starting point for urban renewal and sustainability. This study aims to generate a model for evaluating homes in a situation of social inequality (hereinafter Vrs) with indicators on physical, spatial, environmental, and social aspects. The methodology used in this study evaluates housing, taking into consideration habitability factors (physical, spatial, and constructive characteristics), as well as the qualitative characteristics assessing the satisfaction of users with the adaptation and transformation of the housing and its surroundings. The application of 51 indicators distributed in four previous parameters was established for this study. This quantification identifies the deficiencies of the dwellings and sets the guidelines for the establishment of future rehabilitation policies for adapting the dwellings to current and emergency scenarios. The innovation of this study is the construction of a tool for social research surveys designed to include individual indicators from the dwellings’ users, to provide a more dependable representation of the problems found in Vrs. The results of this research identified the deficiencies of precarious housing and could be used for applying effective proposals for improvement of habitability and their surroundings in the future. Furthermore, the results showed that when all the indicators were considered, the level of lag reached would be similar to that of a real housing situation, further confirming the suitability of the methodology applied in this investigation. Full article

Social housing built in the middle of the last century in Spain suffers from poor thermal insulation conditions that cause situations of discomfort and energy poverty. For this reason, the energetic refurbishment of the envelope of this social building stock is necessary to overcome these situations and reduce energy consumption aimed at achieving interior comfort for its occupants. The goal of this work is to optimize a constructive solution that combines cool roof techniques with the use of thermal insulation applied to the refurbishment of the roof of buildings belonging to a quarter of social housing in Seville, Spain. The optimization analysis is based on the computation of the energy performance of the roofs when the energy retrofitting measure is applied, considering a variety of combinations of solar reflective coatings and insulation layer thickness, performing a dynamic analysis that accounts for the aging effect of the cool coats on the monthly roof energy performance and on the economic balance for the whole life cycle (LC) span. Economic and energy optimization analysis show that a suitable combination of cool roof emissivity and insulation layer thickness produces significant savings in the operational energy and in the economic profitability of the proposed retrofitting measure: the optimum combination obtained provides for the entire life cycle timespan an energy savings of 5.71 GJ/m${}^2$ and a cost savings equivalent to the $63.1\%$ of the total costs when compared to the non-refurbished roof. The application of a time-dependent pattern for the changes on time produced by the aging effect on the cool roof emissivity, and its effects on the optimization of the combination of cool roof and insulation layer, can be considered novel in literature, both from an energy and an economic point of view. Full article

New environmental challenges, coupled with the fact that 80% of the residential buildings that will exist in Europe in the year 2050 have already been built, mean that rehabilitation and restoration must be prioritised over new buildings. Construction is one of the largest generators of CO₂. Using prefabricated and industrialised products and systems can help to mitigate its harmful effects thanks to the greater control and environmental evaluation that can be carried out on these products from their manufacture until the end of their useful life (LCA). In the county of the Sierra de Cádiz (Andalusia, Spain), there are 85 water mills, many of which are derelict and in disuse, which, due to their location, size, and characteristics, are ideal for rehabilitation and restoration for residential use. Taking the “El Rodezno” mill as a case study, this paper proposes rehabilitation strategies using prefabricated industrialised elements that have a low environmental impact. The methodological discussion takes as its starting point the process of design and testing that Alvar Aalto applied in 1940 and from subsequent studies that have confirmed a research structure based on the project design and the built project with the appropriate field of study and confirmation of the applicable strategies and solutions. To this end, this article is written on the basis of the two main phases of Alvar Aalto’s method, using the same terms that the Danish architect defined: Scientific Observation, for the study of preceding works and projects in light prefabrication and for the analysis of certain construction products and systems that, based on other research, have evaluated their LCA, and Construction Period, for the rehabilitation strategies of the “El Rodezno” mill, considering the studies and analyses of Scientific Observation. For the roof solution, we took as an example the rehabilitation of the roof carried out with the same methodology, construction criteria, and prefabricated products analysed in this article and used in the intervention strategies in “El Rodezno”. The paper concludes with the validity of the methodology applied to test the starting hypotheses that lead to intervention strategies that confirm the environmental and economic advantages of industrialised prefabrication, the importance of the design and synergy that results from combining different construction systems, and technologies that improve the acceptance of prefabrication by the inhabitant and boost the circular economy. Full article

Population aging is becoming a major challenge in many countries. This paper deals with the elderly’s specific needs in the public open space as it can play a significant role in their social inclusion and could be especially relevant in deprived areas. The main goal is to build a model to evaluate the vulnerability of the public space by focusing on the elderly’s needs, using indicators. A previous analysis of the scientific and policy-oriented literature and of the technical standards and regulations linked with accessibility and social aspects that affect the elderly in urban areas was performed to identify the main dimensions for evaluation. The interjudge agreement technique was applied to validate the indicators with a panel of experts in technical and social disciplines. The model was applied to a vulnerable area in Castellón (East Spain), based on indicators adapted to the specific context features. The agreement level reached by experts was used to weight the indicators. The application of the model permitted the vulnerability in the suggested dimensions to be estimated and a global integrated index of vulnerability in the area to be calculated. It could assist in urban planning decision making toward age-friendly and, therefore, inclusive cities. Full article

Energy poverty is a social problem that is accentuated in a climate change future scenario where families become increasingly vulnerable. This problem has been studied in cold weather, but it also takes place in warm climates such as those of Mediterranean countries, and it has not been widely targeted. In these countries, approximately 70% of its building stock was built during 1960–1980, its renovation being an opportunity to reduce its energy demand, improve tenants’ quality of life, and make it more resilient to climate change. In the retrofitting process, it is also important to consider tenants’ adaptability and regional scenarios. In this sense, the present work proposes an assessment model of retrofitting projects that takes into consideration energy consumption, comfort, tenants’ health, and monetary poverty. For this, the Index of Vulnerable Homes was implemented in this research to consider adaptive comfort in the energy calculation as well as the adaptability to climate change. A case study of 40 social housings in Seville, Spain, was analyzed in 2050 and 2080 future scenarios, defining the impact in energy poverty of the building retrofitting projects. Full article

The provision of housing for the elderly in Spain has been approached from a public policy perspective to understand social housing and the allocation of specialized social services. The lockdowns in cities and the need to remain at home with social isolation and social distance has especially affected the most vulnerable groups, creating situations that widen the gap in the provision of adequate housing. Research is being carried out by a team of researchers at the University of Málaga, funded by European FEDER funds awarded by the Andalusian Regional Government (VIDA project), to analyze the main characteristics connected with “ideal” adequate housing for a vulnerable senior person living alone or in social isolation due to the quarantine period. In this study, we draw a line between the need for adequate housing, the chance to remodel, and the opportunity to propose new Spanish legal approaches from an architectural perspective within the scope of alternative typologies of housing. This article deals with the preliminary findings of the research connected to the architectural review, exploring key elements for senior housing design, and highlighting the need to approach the issue by proposing a new regulation. Full article

This article presents a methodological proposal to address the urban issue from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Different tools have been developed for this purpose: the Aura Method and the Aura Matrix. The Aura Matrix of relationships built from the SDGs, along with the conceptual proposals to which the project must respond, allows for the definition of a methodological framework of action, defined as the Aura Method, applicable to any project that aims to respond to the urban scale from a more sustainable and healthy approach and within the framework of the above-mentioned goals. Two proposals for the Solar Decathlon Latin America of the Aura Team from the University of Seville (2015 and 2019) in Cali, Colombia, and their comparison, are presented as case studies. The scope of the 2019 proposal based on the use of these tools is more rigorous and bold with respect to the requirements defined by the SDGs than the 2015 proposal, based on the millennium goals. This reinforces to a great extent the resilience of the urban scope under study and its capacity to face serious situations in terms of citizens’ health, such as the pandemic we are currently suffering, and improves life quality. The main findings lay on the defined Aura Matrix and Aura Method tools as pragmatic opportunities to translate conceptual approaches such as G3: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’ into practical decisions and urban design proposals to improve the quality of life and health of citizens. Full article

Achieving sustainable urban environments is a challenging goal—especially in existing cities with high percentages of old and obsolete buildings. This work analyzes the contribution of roof refurbishment to sustainability, considering that most roofs are currently underused. Many potential benefits of refurbishment can be achieved, such as the improvement of the energy performance of the buildings and the use of a wasted space for increasing green areas or for social purposes. In order to estimate the degree of the improvement, a vulnerable area in Castellón (east Spain) was selected as a case study. A thorough analysis of the residential building stock was undertaken. Using georeferenced information from the Cadastral Office we classified them according to typology, year of construction and roof type. Some refurbishment solutions were proposed and their applicability to the actual buildings was analyzed under different criteria. The theoretical benefits obtained in the neighborhood such as energy and carbon emissions savings were evaluated, together with the increase of green areas. Moreover, other social uses were suggested for neglected urban spaces in the area. Finally, a more accurate analysis was performed combining different solutions in a specific building, according to its particular characteristics. Full article

In order to contribute to climate neutrality within the EU in 2050, it is necessary for administrations to play a driving role through green public procurement for building renovation (GPPBR). Among the main barriers that slow down the GPPBR, a lack of knowledge of the parties involved can be highlighted. Faced with this scenario, the aim of this article is to provide a compilation, as a preliminary state of the art, of the most important environmental measures to bring to the GPPBR specifications. The methodology used for this compilation and critical analysis consisted of a systematic search for laws, regulations and guides prepared by Spanish public administrations, as well as looking into other international information sources, mainly collected from the EU. Despite the fact that related technical information is abundant, it is scattered and at times impractical. This study can be useful as a basis for both drafting specifications and highlighting the need to develop other specific and advanced technical procedures to assist GPPBR professionals. Full article

Is it possible to carry out eco-sustainable rehabilitations on specially protected buildings? This is the main question and starting point for this research. We will use the tower of the Church of “Santiago Apóstol” in Montilla as a case study; with its most remote antecedents in the 15th century, it is an emblematic building of one of the most important cities in the Cordovan countryside and is listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest (Bien de Interés Cultural or BIC) as of 2001. The application of eco-efficiency criteria in the rehabilitation of this type of building might stimulate the reactivation of the construction sector in the rural area, positively impacting the promotion of a circular economy. To this end, a general methodology has been established for carrying out eco-sustainable renovations on this type of building, which defines indicators for evaluating the eco-sustainability of such interventions. This methodology is applied to the case study of this important building in Montilla to ensure that a feasible intervention has been proposed, aligned with three basic pillars of sustainability that considers its environmental, economic, and social impact. Full article