Special Issue on Technologies for Positive Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

Introduction:

Climate change is a century-long challenge, not only threatening the health and safety of human beings but also causing irreversible damages on the ecosystem. Rapid urbanization has reshaped physical environments, resulting in many unexpected climate-related consequences such as urban heat islands, urban flooding, and air pollution, further increasing cities’ vulnerability to climate impacts. There is an urgent need to advance technologies that support decarbonization and to develop efficient strategies that enhance adaptation capacity and reduce climate-related risks. This special issue aims to connect researchers across fields such as architecture, landscape, urban planning and design, ecology, geography, environmental science, atmospheric science, engineering and occupational health, to explore technologies for positive climate mitigation and adaptation.

The special issue welcomes contributions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Environmental Disasters and Climate Change
• Urban Climate Modeling and Impact Assessment
• Health and Well-being in the Built Environment
• Urban Heat Island Effect Control Strategies
• Urban Anthropogenic Heat Emissions and Environmental Pollution
• Relationship Between Low-carbon Development and Climate-resilient Environment
• Technologies, Models and Methods for Decarbonization
• Uptake and Integration of Renewable Energies
• Urban Design Methods Based on Thermal Comfort Evaluation
• Resilient City Construction Based on Climate Change Assessment
• Performance-based Urban Renewal Strategies
• Protection of Urban Architectural Heritage Through Mitigation and Adaptation
• Role of Urban Ecological Infrastructure in Climate Regulation
• Ecological Corridors and Climate Adaptation
• Ecosystem Services Value in Urban Climate Resilience Assessment
• Urban Climate Adaptation and Ecological Restoration Based on Nature-Based Solutions
• Urban Landscape Facilities and Climate Control
• Spatial Equality in Climate Adaptation
• Big Data Processing for Urban Climate and Environmental Management
• Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Climate Adaptation

Important deadlines:

• Submission starts: July 15, 2025
• Submission deadline: January 31, 2026
• All papers are expected to be published before April 30, 2026.
• Accepted papers will be published in the earliest issue.

Submission instructions:

To submit your manuscript, please go to Human Settlements and Sustainability at https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/human-settlements-and-sustainability/ and follow the procedures for manuscript submission. When prompted for 'Enter Manuscript Information', you can select Special Issue ‘VSI: Positive Climate’. Author Submission Guidelines can be found at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/hssust/default2.aspx.   

Before submitting your paper to the special issue to the journal, please send your long abstract (1,000 words) or full paper to the Leading Guest Editor of Professor Bao-Jie He (baojie.unsw@gmail.com, baojie.he@cqu.edu.cn) to confirm whether your paper is suitable for the special issue. 

While submitting your paper, please indicate the name of the Special Issue in your cover letter. All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed following the established policies and procedures of the journal. The final papers will be selected for publication depending on the results of the peer-review process and the reviews of the Guest Editors and Editor-in-Chief.

Guest editors:

• (Dr.) Bao-Jie He, Centre for Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Cities, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China. Email: baojie.he@cqu.edu.cn
• (Dr.) Deo Prasad, School of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Email: d.prasad@unsw.edu.au
• Siliang Yang, Mott MacDonald, United Kingdom. Email: siliang.yang@mottmac.com
• A/Prof. (Dr.) Shen Wei, The Barlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London (UCL), UK. Email: wei@ucl.ac.uk