Editorial

Citation

Yang, J. (2014), "Editorial", Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 3 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-06-2014-0035

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Volume 3, Issue 2

The smart and sustainable development of the built environment is about innovation and integration. Recently I was invited to speak at the 2014 International Workshop on Sustainable Urban Renewal of High Density Cities in Hong Kong. The workshop explored the holistic issues of the urban system - newly build vs the retrofit, design vs delivery, expansion vs control, community vs governance, and high-tech intervention vs behaviour change. How we make these interconnected matters work in harmony may shed light into how we can combat future challenges as a whole. Another aim of the workshop was to identify international, multi-disciplinary research teams to collaboratively address these issues. This "explore, identify, debate, agree on and cooperate" approach is a true reflection of the essence of the SASBE journal. I will seek out the opportunity to work with workshop delegates to produce a special issue on sustainable urban renewal, which is a growing concern, as well as an opportunity in many countries.

Speaking of special issues, SASBE intends to cover timely innovation topics and world issues including those in developing economies. We have already produced a Special Issue about the development of the gulf region (Volume 2 Issue 3). The Special Issue on Africa's achievement is also progressing. Which region or country will be featured next? South America, the USA, or China? If you are interested in developing a special issue on regional development or the advancement of specific technical domains, please contact me or a member of SASBE's Editorial Advisory Board. To add variety and diversity, I also hope to feature opinions of international experts in SASBE. In the last issue, I asked a colleague Professor Douglas Baker, an expert of infrastructure and airport development, to talk about breaking silos in the Guest Editorial. Expert opinions are welcome as full-length papers or short guest editorials.

Also on SASBE's development, after on-time production of two volumes of quality papers, it is time for us to prepare for Science Citation Indexing (SCI) submission. As an important first step, SASBE has just been accepted for inclusion in Scopus, the world's largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. I will continue working with the Emerald team on the indexing, ranking and citation of our journal by world authorities.

Within this issue, the five papers are a good mix of reflection, stocktaking and showcasing innovation and integration in our field. First up, Buckman et al. pose an important question on what constitutes smart buildings. Drawing upon academic and industrial literature and experience, they review the scope and current definitions to form a clear explanation of both smart and intelligent buildings.

Modern office buildings need to deliver high-energy efficiency - but how do these buildings affect the usability for the occupants? Through a study of interviews, post-occupancy evaluations and annual reports of user organisers, Meistad investigates the potential for combining improvements in energy efficiency and ways to achieve synergy between buildings and user organisations.

In an urban planning setting, the paper by Marins continues to probe energy issues. She examines the potential of energy efficiency and the level of emission reduction as a result of integrated solutions through energy planning at the scales of districts and neighbourhoods.

Sanchez et al. believe most barriers and enablers of sustainable projects are related to procurement issues. In their paper they present a holistic view on applied incentives and potential incentives through a review of the literature and current state-of-practice. They propose a framework for evaluating the green procurement practice throughout the lifecycle of road construction projects.

Earthmoving is unsustainable. But when it has to be done, truck dispatching is worthy of examination because of the potential for emission reduction and cost saving. The paper by Kaboli and Carmichael investigates how appropriate allocation of trucks to excavators and dump sites will affect unit emissions and unit costs, thereby helping reduce the impact of earthmoving operations.

Jay Yang