Air pollution is a widespread problem that impacts both indoor and outdoor spaces, posing serious risks to human health and well-being. Both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution have detrimental effects on human health and the climate, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disorders, respiratory illnesses, and global warming. Many cities throughout the world, including those in the UK, have explored the potential of blue-green infrastructure (BGI) as a strategy in addressing air quality. BGI is a nature-friendly strategy of working with green spaces - such as street trees, parks or gardens; and blue elements such as rivers, wetlands, canals or lakes to address climate change and environmental degradation while promoting the creation of resilient and liveable cities. However, BGI’s efficacy varies depending on design, scale, and location; therefore, customised strategies are needed for various urban settings. According to this systematic review of the latest research (years 2015 to 2025) on BGI and air pollution; road-side trees, green walls, and wetlands as a blue infrastructure help in filtering outdoor pollutants. By reducing pollutant concentrations and fostering sustainable urban environments, green infrastructure may have a great potential to enhance outdoor air quality in comparison to indoor air quality. The systematic review also points out the need for policy frameworks to include evidence-based strategies into urban planning, ensuring that outdoor BGI is accessible, equitable, and effective in addressing air pollution and climate challenges. Trans-disciplinary research is necessary to optimise BGI deployment to develop future British cities that prioritise sustainability, clean air, and public health.

This study aims to identify, analyze, and prioritize the key constraints affecting the conservation and management of urban heritage sites in Saudi Arabia while evaluating viable solutions to address these challenges. Although previous research has acknowledged these constraints, comprehensive prioritization of their impact and systematic evaluation of alternative strategies remain limited. To address this gap, the study adopts an expert-driven approach and employs the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to assess the relative importance of seven critical constraints and five potential solutions. The findings reveal that lack of awareness and appreciation (LAA) (27%) is the most significant constraint, followed by an inadequate legal framework (ILF) (23%) and a lack of professional expertise (LPE) (20%). Rapid development and urbanization (RDU) (4%) and insufficient funding and resources (IFR) (2%) rank lowest. Among the proposed solutions, improving legislation and enforcement (ILE) (37.7%) emerged as the most effective strategy, followed by raising public awareness (RPA) (24.1%) and fostering partnerships (FP) (19.6%), while allocating adequate resources (AAR) (3.5%) was deemed least influential. Based on these results, the study proposes a final FAHP-based decision-making framework for enhancing heritage conservation in Saudi Arabia. This framework integrates expert judgment with fuzzy logic to systematically prioritize challenges and align them with the most impactful interventions. It provides policymakers, planners, and heritage professionals with a structured tool for developing targeted, data-informed strategies that promote the sustainable preservation and revitalization of urban heritage sites. In doing so, the framework also supports heritage tourism and aligns with national development goals.

Many cities are currently rethinking their urban planning with the aim of prioritizing proximity between places of residence and essential services. This approach, promoted mainly in European countries under the concept of the “15-minute city,” seeks to minimize travel times through the use of active modes of transport, such as walking and cycling. To achieve this, a balanced redistribution of urban services is proposed, harmonizing land use with improvements in active transportation infrastructure. However, in Latin America, urban development continues to favor fragmentation, with growth that relies on long commutes and encourages reliance on private vehicles, undermining public transport systems and limiting access to sustainable modes. This study evaluates pedestrian accessibility in the city of Manizales (Colombia), applying a cumulative opportunities potential (COP) model for six types of facilities. The results show a concentration of services in central areas and a marked spatial inequality affecting urban peripheries. To reduce the socio-spatial gap and improve the quality of life, it is suggested to promote proximity policies that improve the distribution of opportunities and strengthen walking access for all inhabitants.

The cultural characteristics of traditional residences in the Pearl River Delta are facing the threat of disappearance, posing a severe challenge to the inheritance and development of these architectural cultural genes. To address this crisis, this study selects Hakka traditional enclosed dwellings in Huizhou (HTEDH) as the research object, based on a literature review and field investigations. Through expert interviews, seven experts rated the importance of cultural genes in HTEDH, and a widely-adopted Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to establish a comprehensive memes identification and judgment matrix for HTEDH. The model categorizes the architectural cultural memes of HTEDH into four main clusters: spatial layout, exterior and structure, materials and craftsmanship, and decoration, with 35 sub-genes identified as indicators within these categories. Consistency checks and weight calculations were performed using the AHP method. Based on the calculated weights, the architectural cultural memes were ranked in terms of structure and priority. The results of this study provide an importance ranking of the architectural cultural genes of HTEDH and construct a ranking index system. Additionally, questionnaires were distributed to local residents to obtain the proportion of liking for each architectural cultural gene of HTEDH. The research method and results, which combine importance ranking with public preference, provide a foundation and decision-making reference for protecting residential cultural memes in the Pearl River Delta region. The proposed ranking offers an appropriate evaluation criterion for applying architectural genes in rural landscape conservation and development, facilitating the inheritance and development of traditional residential architectural cultural memes.

The healthcare sector is a significant contributor to global energy consumption, particularly within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market, due to stringent requirements for maintaining indoor thermal comfort for patients, staff, and visitors in hospital wards, rooms, and intensive care units. This study presents a novel approach employing a Machine Learning-based Linear Regression Algorithm to predict indoor adaptive thermal comfort within the inpatient medical wards. The methodology establishes a robust correlation between key indoor environmental parameters including air temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity, and thermal comfort indices, including Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD). Real-time measurements of indoor environmental conditions were conducted in selected hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan, utilizing calibrated sensors to capture ambient temperature, wet bulb globe temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, light intensity, and CO₂ levels. This empirical data was integrated with responses from thermal comfort questionnaires, assessing the perceptions of patients, medical staff, and visitors regarding thermal sensation, acceptability, preference, and overall comfort. The adaptive ML-based, predictive analysis identified optimal thermal comfort ranges for hospital wards, recommending indoor air temperatures between 22.0°C and 23.0°C, relative humidity levels between 50% and 55%, and air velocities between 0.1 and 0.2 m/s. The findings revealed a significant impact of overcooling and undercooling on PMV and PPD levels, emphasizing the need for precise HVAC system control to enhance both energy efficiency and occupant comfort. This research contributes to advancing adaptive thermal comfort modeling in healthcare facilities, offering insights for sustainable HVAC management and improved patient outcomes.

This article aims to take a cross-sectional look at what may be some of the urban planning strategies that allow us to deal with the sustainable future of our territories, relying on the necessary link between the two main realities where we live, and which are apparently anthagonic: the Urban and the Rural Worlds. To do this, this study is structured in a series of sections that address the subject from different perspectives, but respond to a common argument discourse that allows them to be put in mutual relationship. From this perspective, some preliminary questions are introduced that must be taken into account in the study of the urban-rural relationships, to then identify the most important work topics. The scenario study has helped to develop a methodological and strategic discourse that can contribute to the improvement of these relationships, and the paper finishes with some conclusions of the study. This document seeks to provide some reflections and tools that can help to address the problem of our cities and our territories in the search for a better quality of life.

The push towards achieving 100% access to wastewater services in Indonesia necessitates the development of cost-effective non-sewer systems. Decentralized wastewater treatment systems, such as septic tanks, are prevalent but often fail to meet effluent quality standards. This study aims to evaluate the performance of various Fabricated Wastewater Treatment Plants (F-WWTP) with test methods adopted from Japanese test methods and adapted to conditions in Indonesia to determine processing unit standards to meet domestic waste quality standards set by the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry. The study was conducted in two stages: opinion polls through stakeholder meetings and performance testing of three small-scale F-WWTPs in Bandung, Indonesia. Stakeholders included various governmental and research institutions. The F-WWTP tested included configurations of anaerobic, anaerobic-aerobic, and anaerobic-anoxic biofilter systems. The performance evaluation was based on physical, chemical, and biological parameters, such as COD, BOD, TSS, and ammonia concentrations, monitored over 12 weeks. Effluent quality varied among the F-WWTPs, with COD concentrations ranging from 25.70 to 215.0 mg/L, BOD from 7.02 to 133.3 mg/L, TSS from 2.98 to 38.70 mg/L, and ammonia from 1.76 to 52.80 mg/L. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA showed no significant difference in pollutant removal efficiency among the F-WWTPs. The average BOD/COD ratio indicated moderate biodegradability, aligning with findings from other studies. When properly configured and maintained, decentralized wastewater treatment systems can achieve the effluent standards Indonesian regulations require. This study highlights the necessity for reliable performance testing and certification to ensure the quality of decentralized systems, preventing market entry of substandard products. Future research should focus on long-term field performance and developing more efficient treatment configurations.

The slum management model is also part of effective development efforts that need to be improved and developed in an integrated, directed, planned, and sustainable manner. The objectives of this study are; (1) To find out how the pattern of slum management in Kendari City, and (2) Providing a Collaborative Model for Sustainability of Slum Management. It was conducted using a qualitative descriptive approach with observation, naturalistic, and phenomenological methods to reveal phenomena that occur based on observations and information obtained in the field. The results of the study confirmed that the slum management strategy can only be implemented with a new approach, namely the paradigm of network optimization towards welfare. This paradigm does not only prioritize the infrastructure aspect which connotes the economy can realize prosperity independently. Effective slum management is to synergize all management resources in an institutionalized sustainable collaboration model. Slum management in applying a patterned network optimization approach in 3 (three) major parts; (1) management of access to intra-community resources, (2) management of network access to government organizations, and (3) Optimization of non-government network management, in a sustainable collaboration for slum management can be more effective.

This study examines the lifecycle of the Dubai Water Canal construction, focusing on risk mitigation strategies implemented across its four distinct phases. By incrementally addressing potential risks, the project minimized exposure to uncertainties and ensured the quality and safety of the end product. Key findings highlight the minimal impact on urban growth and emphasize the importance of comprehensive feasibility studies, geological assessments, and environmental impact assessments in identifying and managing risks. The study uniquely contributes to the discourse on urban development by highlighting the effectiveness of a phased approach in large-scale projects. The research methodology involved detailed environmental and technical assessments, stakeholder engagement, and continuous monitoring throughout the project. Our conclusions underscore the need for proactive risk management, thorough planning, and sustainability to ensure the resilience and success of similar infrastructure initiatives globally.

Future Cities and Environment aims to tackle the environmental impact of cities and challenges to their long-term sustainability, on both the local and global scale. Through high quality and multi-disciplinary research on developments being introduced in our existing cities, as well as those which could become reality in the cities of the future, the journal provides a forum for discussion on a more enlightened approach to city design. We publish research in the areas of transport, urban planning, architecture and design, and energy and infrastructure and accept both fundamental and applied research, critical reviews and case studies, including experimental development, demonstration and computer modelling. For more information on our submission and author guidelines. As a fully open access journal, all FCE publications have a broad audience from around the world and are free to read and download.