Integrating urban building energy modeling (UBEM) and urban-building environmental impact assessment (UB-EIA) for sustainable urban development: A comprehensive review

Yang Li and Haibo Feng

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025, vol. 213, issue C

Abstract: Rapid urbanization has increased energy demand and environmental impacts in urban buildings, highlighting the need to understand building interactions and energy transfer. This has led to various methodologies for large-scale building assessment, such as Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) and Urban-Building Environmental Impact Assessment (UB-EIA). Both have been separately and widely studied to support urban planning and building design, develop sustainable and smart cities, and enable stakeholders to optimize resource use and make informed decisions. However, a detailed comparative analysis of various UBEM and UB-EIA methodologies and their integrations have not been thoroughly reviewed in current existing research. To fill this research gap, this comprehensive review systematically investigated 157 articles to understand the evolution, methodologies, challenges of UBEM and UB-EIA. This review provides a holistic understanding, highlighting complementary strengths and identifying opportunities for integration to enhance urban building sustainability assessments. The findings of the review found that integrating UBEM and UB-EIA holds significant potential for enhancing urban sustainability usually through a comprehensive, data-driven approach. UBEM can serve as a foundation for UB-EIA by using similar data and methods, improving validation, and addressing gaps. UB-EIA's reliance on Building Information Management (BIM) can be enhanced by UBEM's detailed 2D and 3D models for precise EIA. This integration fosters more informed decision-making, promoting resilient and sustainable urban development by accurately reflecting complex urban interactions. Further research should explore the social and economic impacts of urban buildings using integrated UBEM and UB-EIA strategies for thorough and robust assessments.

Keywords: Urban building energy modeling; Urban building environmental impact assessment; Energy efficiency; Environmental impact; Urban sustainability; Life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115471

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