Low Energy Architecture and Low Carbon Cities: Exploring Links, Scales, and Environmental Impacts

Francesco Pomponi and Bernardino D’Amico
Additional contact information
Francesco Pomponi: Resource Efficient Built Environment Lab (REBEL), Edinburgh Napier University, Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
Bernardino D’Amico: Resource Efficient Built Environment Lab (REBEL), Edinburgh Napier University, Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-6

Abstract: Projected population growth and urbanization rates will create a huge demand for new buildings and put an unprecedented pressure on the natural environment and its limited resources. Architectural design has often focused on passive or low-energy approaches to reduce the energy consumption of buildings but it is evident that a more holistic, whole-life based mindset is imperative. On another scale, the movement for, and global initiatives around, low carbon cities promise to deliver the built environment of tomorrow, in harmony with the natural boundary of our planet, the societal needs of its human habitants, and the required growth for economic prosperity. However, cities are made up of individual buildings and this intimate relationship is often poorly understood and under-researched. This multi-scale problem (materials, buildings, and cities) requires plural, trans-disciplinary, and creative ways to develop a range of viable solutions. The unknown about our built environment is vast: the articles in this special issue aim to contribute to the ongoing global efforts to ensure our built environments will be fit for the challenges of our time.

Keywords: low carbon cities; low energy buildings; sustainability transitions; shelter; building stock; building lifetime; carbon flux (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9189/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9189/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:9189-:d:440246

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().