A comparative study of gender differences in healthy office building strategies.

Background: The health of office workers has become a major concern under the pressure of increasingly fierce job competition. As countries have gradually promoted healthy buildings, there is an urgent need to create and construct healthy office environments. Although the WELL Building Standard proposed management and design strategies based on the principles of health and medicine, it does not consider group characteristics or gender differences. Purpose: This study aims to apply the theory of planned behavior to healthy building design and supplement the important role of gender and group characteristics in behavioral guidance based on architectural strategies and user behaviors to improve the relevant building evaluation system. Methods: This study adopted a questionnaire survey and structural equation model. Four WELL-certified healthy office buildings in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, were selected for the survey. Based on the theory of planned behavior, structural equation models for men and women were established, compared, and analyzed. The factors affecting the health behaviors of the two groups and the actual effectiveness of various building optimization strategies were discussed, and an optimization direction for gender differences was proposed. Results: The findings indicated differences between male and female staff in their individual characteristics and implementation of health behaviors. Management strategies, subjective design strategies in assistance and guidance, and objective design strategies in spatial planning can promote the health behaviors of the two groups. However, the design strategies of result feedback and detail optimization only appeared to have a significant positive effect on female staff, whereas the intelligent automation design strategies only had an obvious intervention effect on men's health behaviors. Significance: This study found that the theory of planned behavior in the field of social psychology could be applied to relevant research on architectural design and emphasized the influence of gender. It can not only provide the optimization direction for the evaluation standards of relevant healthy buildings but also promote the implementation of health behaviors in office groups and provide new ideas for promoting the development of healthy buildings.

Spatiotemporal distribution of green-certified buildings and the influencing factors: A study of U.S.

Green building development is a global strategic plan aimed at addressing environmental burdens and reducing energy consumption in the building sector. Currently, research does not adequately reveal the spatiotemporal patterns of green-certified building development and the factors that influence it. To address this gap, this study investigates the dynamic distribution of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects in the U.S. by incorporating time effects into spatial regression models. The results reveal that (1) significant regional variations in the spatiotemporal distribution of green-certified buildings (global Moran's index for 2017, 2019 and 2021 are 0.0172, 0.0327 and 0.0622 respectively). (2) Demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and policymaking factors explain the observed patterns (the mean values of the coefficients of population size, the Caucasian demographic proportion to the total population, income inequality, regional price parity, and average annual temperature were 8236.1383, -18.9113, -533.1024, 365.1813 and 227.1735 respectively). (3) Expedited permitting, reduced fees, and property tax credit or exemption (p-values less than 0.01) are significant policy instruments that promote the implementation of LEED certified projects. The findings offer pivotal insights that enable targeted interventions, informed decisions, and effective resource allocation. Furthermore, it furnishes a reference for strategically siting green building initiatives in the next phase, encompassing zero-energy buildings, green technologies, and low-carbon solutions. Enhancing understanding of complexities in U.S. green-certified building practices, this research acts as an evidence-based cornerstone across sectors. Urban planners can leverage these insights to allocate resources efficiently and steer green-certified projects, for impactful environmental sustainability and community progress. Policymakers can customize incentives based on drivers of adoption, promoting equitable distribution. Meanwhile, construction stakeholders can optimize strategies through decoding temporal and spatial adoption patterns, leading to prudent resource use and project success.

Residents' participation in energy performance certification for collective action on climate change: the case of EnerGuide.

Introduction: Although governments have launched energy performance certification (EPC) programs to increase residential energy efficiency, residents' perception and acceptance of these programs have been little studied. This study contextualizes residents' intentions to participate in EPC programs in terms of their attributions to and attitudes toward climate change to find mediating factors and effects to help trigger collective action to reduce residential sector energy demand. Methods: This study employed a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach to empirically analyze a survey conducted on 400 residents of Edmonton, Canada, who participated in the Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, EnerGuide. Results and Discussion: Using EnerGuide, a Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, as an example, this study establishes a framework to explain that local residents' internal and external attributions to climate change elicit positive attitudes (need to take action), increasing their recognition of energy efficiency program benefits, which further promotes their EnerGuide program acceptance and participation intentions. This study also reveals the mediating effects between variables. Residents' attitudes toward climate change mediate the relationship between internal/external attributions and EnerGuide program acceptance, and they indirectly impact residents' program acceptance and participation intentions, with this effect moderated by energy efficiency program benefits. Residents' program acceptance also mediates the relationship between climate change attitudes/energy efficiency program benefits and the intention outcome. Implication: The study provides an example of the use of climate change discourse to motivate residents' energy efficiency program participation.

Energy justice in education sector: The impact of student demographics on elementary and secondary school energy consumption.

Reducing school energy costs has become an important issue, while the energy saving should consider different school systems and student backgrounds. This study investigated the impact of student demographics on energy consumption in elementary and secondary schools and explores the difference of energy consumption in different types and levels of school systems. Data were collected from 3672 schools (including 3108 elementary and 564 secondary schools, respectively) in Ontario, Canada. The number of students whose first language is not English, the number of students who receive special education services, the number of school-aged children who live in low-income households, and student learning ability are all inversely proportional to energy consumption; student learning ability has the largest negative impact. The partial correlation between student enrollment and energy consumption has a trend of gradually increasing as the grade levels increase in Catholic elementary schools, Catholic secondary schools, and public secondary schools; however, the correlation shows a gradually decreasing trend with the increase in grade levels in public elementary schools. This study is helpful for policy-makers to clarify the energy implications of various student backgrounds and the energy consumption difference in different types and levels of school systems to facilitate their formulation of effective policies.

A clustering review of vegetation-indicating parameters in urban thermal environment studies towards various factors.

People in outdoor areas suffer from more heat stress than indoors during warm seasons due to the lack of shelters or cooling facilities. This problem is pressing with urban heat island and continuous global warming. Researchers have explored various strategies for ameliorating thermal stress, coining the term 'outdoor thermal environment (OTE)' for this area of study. It has been found that the OTE is affected by vegetation and other factors (i.e., geometry) of a location. There have been many studies on vegetation, with these conducted at various levels and using different methods. Several parameters have been used to characterise vegetation and have been found to statistically correlate with many thermal indices (i.e., physiologically equivalent temperature, PET; universal thermal climate index, UTCI etc.). This article reports on a review of journal papers that investigated the climatic regulations of vegetation. In this study vegetation-indicating parameters were clustered according to the methods, scope, and thermal indices. Studies involving large scales preferred general indicators (e.g., NDVI, vegetation cover etc.) whereas specific, detailed parameters (e.g., crown sizes) were more frequently used in studies of micro levels. Outdoor thermal environment studies involving vegetation were mostly conducted in regions with high heat stress levels. Also, remote sensing and meteorological station observation were more frequently used in large-scale studies, while small-scale studies preferred simulation and field measurements. Their findings were expressed by the statistical correlation between vegetation parameters and thermal indices. For instance, NDVI, LAI, and crown size were negatively correlating with temperatures. The findings of this study help inform directions for future vegetation studies regarding outdoor thermal environment designs. Researchers would be clearer on selection methods and thermal indices regarding their targets and supporting tools.

A study of physical factors influencing park cooling intensities and their effects in different time of the day.

The quality of residents' lives have been negatively affected by problems resulting from global warming and urban heat island. Investigators have explored several ways to mitigate those problems. They found that vegetation (especially trees) and water surfaces played a significant role in the adjustments of climate. Sites with more vegetation and larger-size waterbodies were cooler. However, the cooling effects of these elements were affected by contextual factors. For instance, cooling intensities of both vegetation and water surfaces fluctuated through the day. To further explore this phenomenon, this study investigated the cooling effects of trees and large waterbodies at different times of the day by means of field measurement. It was found that leaf area index (LAI) and distance from the sea (DFS) had a significant impact on park cooling intensities (PCI). Park points with more trees (indicated higher LAI) and those located closer to the sea were cooler. In addition, their cooling effects varied depending on the time of the day. LAI showed significant microclimatic adjusting effects late in the evening. Increasing the LAI by 1 point could help increase the PCI by 0.31 °C (18:00, R2 = 0.2421). In contrast, rising DFS resulted in PCI decrease by more than 2 °C (12:00 p.m., R2 = 0.4327). Cooling performances of the two factors were significant at different time periods of the day, that is, in the noon (the sea) and evening (trees) respectively. Further, the cooling effects of the trees might be affected by the distance from the sea. Findings from this study provided new understandings towards the climatic conditions of waterside cities.

Electricity consumption variation of public buildings in response to COVID-19 restriction and easing policies: A case study in Scotland, U.K.

A growing number of studies have showed energy demand changes during COVID-19; this study aims to further disclose the impact of the restriction and easing policies on the energy consumption of public buildings where occupants' usage and activities are regulated in response to the pandemic. This study analyzes half-hourly electricity consumption data of 35 public buildings covering 6 building types in the Perth and Kinross Council area in Scotland, U.K., over the span of 2020 and 2021. The results show that the restriction has a greater impact on the electricity reduction in the first year of the pandemic than that in the second year. In response to the restriction, the electricity use intensity of all public buildings reduces significantly (p < 0.001) except office buildings with no significant reduction (p > 0.05); secondary schools have the highest electricity consumption reduction (275.04 kwh/day), while museums have the lowest reduction (58.62 kwh/day). In addition, the electricity consumption and electricity use intensity of museum, library and school buildings are inversely proportional to the restriction intensity, while this is opposite for office buildings. Combing restriction intensity and mobility data, this research reveals the different impacts of the restriction policies on the electricity consumption of public buildings during the pandemic, which reflects people's changing attitudes and behaviors towards COVID-19. The results provide a reference basis for energy management to develop more realistic energy demand policies based on public building types and to optimize the electricity supply load and energy profile during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderation effect of urban density on changes in physical activity during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Various social distancing measures were carried out in many cities worldwide during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). These measures have led to decreased physical activity levels and higher health risks among urban populations. Strong evidence has been established that built environment characteristics can stimulate physical activity and thus improve public health during non-pandemic periods. Urban density was arguably one of the most important built environment characteristics. However, little is known about whether high urban density amplifies or attenuates the decline in physical activity during the pandemic. Based on two-wave physical activity data collected before and during the pandemic (in January and May 2020, respectively), we used moderation analysis to compare the changes in physical activity levels between people living in low- and high-density neighborhoods. Our results showed that people living in low-density areas have a smaller decrease in physical activity conducted in neighborhood, compared to those living in high-density areas. Our findings suggest that a flexible and porous urban development strategy could enhance the resilience of a city during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

The impact of COVID-19 on higher education building energy use and implications for future education building energy studies.

Although COVID-19 has significantly changed the higher educational sector, there are few studies revealing how this pandemic has changed the energy use of higher education buildings. This study was conducted not only to disclose the energy use change under COVID-19 but also to identify the corresponding facilities management strategies for future learning and teaching delivery modes under virtual campuses. This study collected the energy use data of 122 buildings across five campuses in Griffith University, located in Southeast Queensland, Australia, during the COVID-19 academic year (February 17, 2020, to February 21, 2021) and during a typical normal academic year (February 18, 2019, to February 16, 2020) by PI Vision Platform, and compared the data using the t-test and multiple linear regression. The results indicated that learning and administration activities became off campus during the pandemic, while research activities remained on campus. During the COVID-19 academic year, an amount of 9,646,933 kWh energy or around 24.88 kWh/m2 of energy use intensity was saved, which accounted for 16% of the total energy use per academic year. Specifically, the shutting down of air conditioning in academic buildings, administration buildings, retail buildings and teaching buildings during COVID-19 saved 4,566 kWh (1.13 kWh/m2), 966 kWh (0.8 kWh/m2), 1,472 kWh (1.4 kWh/m2) and 860 kWh (1.3 kWh/m2) of electricity use per week, respectively, which accounted for 51.5%, 44.3%, 48.3% and 57.1% of total energy use per week during this period, respectively. Based on this analysis and the changing educational environment, this study also speculated on the energy implications of future teaching and learning practices, which provided guidance to the facilities management under virtual campuses.

Urban greenery cushions the decrease in leisure-time physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic: A natural experimental study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and related social distancing measures have altered the daily lifestyles of people worldwide. Although studies on this disease are emerging rapidly, less is known about the impacts of COVID-19 and urban greenery on leisure-time physical activity, which is critical to maintain health for urban residents during the pandemic. In this study, we used a natural experimental research design to identify whether urban greenery cushions the decrease in leisure-time physical activity caused by the pandemic and related social distancing measures in a high-density city. The two-wave physical activity data (before and during the pandemic) were collected for urban residents in neighborhoods with high or low levels of greenery. The results of difference-in-differences model suggest that urban greenery mitigated the decrease in physical activity during the pandemic. People who lived in greener neighborhoods experienced a lesser decrease in the leisure-time physical activity level than those who lived in less green neighborhoods. Additionally, people who lived in greener neighborhoods experienced increased levels of physical activity related to visits to country parks during the pandemic. These findings suggest that urban green spaces play a significant role in shaping physical activity and providing a refuge for the public during crises. Our study is among the first to investigate the impact of urban greenery on pandemic-induced changes in leisure-time physical activity in densely populated Asian cities, and our findings shed light on the potential protective role of urban greenery on public health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Privacy and Well-Being in Aged Care Facilities with a Crowded Living Environment: Case Study of Hong Kong Care and Attention Homes.

This study aims to understand the relationship between bedroom privacy and well-being of the elderly in aged care facilities with a compact living situation. A majority of studies on this topic were carried out in a low-density population context. The crowded living situation might compromise the well-being of residents. This study proposed five architectural parameters to measure bedroom privacy in aged care facilities: total open surface per unit, openness/solid ratio per bed, height of partition wall, number of people per unit, and personal control over bedroom privacy. SF-12 v.2 Health Survey was used to collect information on physical and mental health status. The study surveyed nine Care & Attention homes and their 213 residents in Hong Kong. The total open surface per unit and the openness/solid ratio per bed were positively associated with the physical health of residents. The height of partition walls was associated negatively with their physical and mental health conditions, and the number of people per unit was negatively associated with their physical health. More than half of respondents preferred a single unit with high partition walls; however, 40% of respondents preferred low partition walls. The provision of privacy for the elderly should be balanced with their needs for social interactions; total open surface per unit, openness/solid ratio per bed and height of partition wall should be taken into consideration. The study provides evidence and design guidelines for improving privacy in aged care facilities with a compact living environment.

The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias.

Previous studies have documented numerous health benefits of conducting regular physical activity among older adults. The built environment is believed to be a key factor that can hinder or facilitate daily physical activity, such as walking and exercising. However, most empirical studies focusing on environment-physical activity associations exhibited residential self-selection bias with cross-sectional research design, engendering doubts about the impact of built environment on physical activity. To reduce this bias, we assessed physical activity behaviors of 720 Hong Kong older adults (≥65 years) residing in 24 public housing estates. The Hong Kong public housing scheme currently provides affordable rental flats for 2.1 million people or approximate 30% of total population. The applicants were allocated to one of 179 housing estates largely by family size and flat availability. Built environment characteristics were measured following the '5Ds' principle: (street network) design, (land-use) diversity, density, distance to transit, and destination accessibility. Multilevel mixed models were used to explore the associations between the built environment and the different domains of physical activity (transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while controlling for potential estate-level socioeconomic and individual confounders. We found that transportation walking was positively associated with the number of bus stops and the presence of Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations. Recreational MVPA was positively related to the number of recreational facilities. However, land-use mix was negatively related to transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational MVPA. The findings of this study support a threshold effect in the environment-physical activity associations. Furthermore, large-scale public housing schemes involving random or semi-random residence assignment in many cities may provide opportunities to explore built environments and physical activity behavior, with the potential to overcome residential self-selection bias.

Legibility of floor plans and wayfinding satisfaction of residents in Care and Attention homes in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: Focusing on Hong Kong Care and Attention homes which provide residential care, meals, personal care and limited nursing care for older people, this study aimed to understand the impact of floor plans' legibility (layout and complexity) on residents' wayfinding satisfaction and self-reported health status. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in nine Care and Attention homes. Space syntax, a well-established method, was used to evaluate the legibility of their floor plans via calculating the integration value. RESULTS: Familiarity with Care and Attention homes did not influence the residents' satisfaction with wayfinding. The integration value had a significant impact on residents' satisfaction with wayfinding. No relationship was observed between integration value and self-reported health status. CONCLUSION: Increasing complexity in floor plans appears to negatively affect residents' wayfinding satisfaction. These data suggest that circulation patterns should be improved for better wayfinding.

Commuting Mode Choice in a High-Density City: Do Land-Use Density and Diversity Matter in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is a densely populated and transit-oriented Chinese city, which provides an ideal urban environment with which to study the various successful facets of land use policy as a model for potential replication to curb increasing car use in other Chinese cities. We examine the commuting mode choice of 203,900 households living in 4768 street blocks in Hong Kong from 2011 census. A street block is the smallest planning unit, made up of one or more housing estates with a homogenous built environment and socioeconomic status. The built environment is measured using the five Ds framework, an international dimensioning framework for classifying and measuring attributes of the built environment for physical activity and travel behaviors. Generalized, multi-level mixed models were applied to detect the associations between travel choice and built environment characteristics, while adjusting for socioeconomic status. Design and destination accessibility had greater effects on the choices to walk and take public transport than on the choice to drive. Density and diversity had only marginal effects on mode choice. Unexpectedly, distance to the urban center had the opposite effect on automobile use to that found in Western studies. Hong Kong residents living close to the urban center were more likely to drive for commuting trips. The contrasting findings between our study and Western studies suggest that the associations between a high-density built environment and travel choice vary with urban context.

Do Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) and Established Urban Neighborhoods Have Similar Walking Levels in Hong Kong?

A sharp drop in physical activity and skyrocketing obesity rate has accompanied rapid urbanization in China. The urban planning concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely advocated in China to promote physical activity, especially walking. Indeed, many design features thought to promote walking-e.g., mixed land use, densification, and well-connected street network-often characterize both TODs and established urban neighborhoods. Thus, it is often assumed that TODs have similar physical activity benefits as established urban neighborhoods. To verify this assumption, this study compared walking behaviors in established urban neighborhoods and transit-oriented new towns in Hong Kong. To address the limitation of self-selection bias, we conducted a study using Hong Kong citywide public housing scheme, which assigns residents to different housing estates by flat availability and family size rather than personal preference. The results show new town residents walked less for transportation purpose than urban residents. New town residents far from the transit station (800-1200 m) walked less for recreational purpose than TOD residents close to a rail transit station (<400 m) or urban residents. The observed disparity in walking behaviors challenges the common assumption that TOD and established urban neighborhoods have similar impact on walking behavior. The results suggest the necessity for more nuanced planning strategies, taking local-level factors into account to promote walking of TOD residents who live far from transit stations.

Quality of Life (QoL) Survey in Hong Kong: Understanding the Importance of Housing Environment and Needs of Residents from Different Housing Sectors.

This study presents a Quality of Life (QoL) survey to understand the influence of the housing environment and needs of residents from different housing sectors. The research focuses on Hong Kong where living conditions have become the main affect for people's QoL. Through a household survey using a standard instrument "Word Health Organisation (WHO) Quality of Life-BREF", the article found that among the four WHO QoL domains (Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relations And Environment), Environment, particularly its constitute aspect housing environment was the most influential factor for overall quality of life for the public rental housing sector where low-income people live. This research also found that different groups of people have differing needs of their housing environments: the low-income group needs better location and privacy while the medium and high-income groups need better architectural quality. Based on differentiating their needs and wants, this research argues for prioritizing the low-income group's needs for effectively improving their QoL.

Contextualizing green building rating systems: Case study of Hong Kong.

The paper reports on a research study undertaken on the differentiation of green building certification systems at an international, national and local level. Through a cross comparison, authors are able to explain the differences by the contextualism theory which could be traced back to the fundamental divergence on lifestyles, preferences, urban morphology besides climatic variations. The discussion is derived from a study of three green rating systems representing international, national and local systems with reference to intentions, mechanisms and benchmarks to facilitate objective assessments. For the case of Hong Kong, local challenges are identified and compared with counterparts at a national level. Two residential projects having certified by the 'modified, localized' national system is selected for a case study for synopsis with a view to explain the cause and effect of transferability versus non-transferability of assessment credits and protocols. Introducing and applying national and international systems to a local context can detect flaws in local design practices that may be ignored in the local rating system.