White and “green” (vegetated) roofs have begun replacing conventional black (dark-colored) roofs to mitigate the adverse effects of dark impervious urban surfaces. The paper Economic comparison of white, green, and black flat roofs in the United States presents an economic …
Economic comparison of white, green, and black flat roofs Read more »
The impacts of human population size on the environment and natural resource consumption have long concerned scientists. Population growth is slowing and even reversing in some places, but this has not translated into reduced human consumption of natural resources and …
Long-term dynamics of household size and their environmental implications Read more »
Classical urban planning, which is clearly evident in Australian cities, uses a central business district (CBD) approach where urban amenities and ease of access to employment fall with the distance from the CBD. The research paper Simulating future societies in …
The Isobenefit Cities approach can deliver a higher and more equal quality of life Read more »
Australia’s multi-billion dollar commercial real estate and property sector is failing to meet even modest sustainability benchmarks, according to new research released by policy network Catalyst Australia. There are four clear leaders in the sector – Stockland, GPT Group, Dexus …
There are many outstanding examples of low carbon development, but it is yet to become mainstream, and how each city or development defines its carbon claim varies considerably. Although carbon certification is now widely adopted as a voluntary carbon market …
Decarbonising cities: certifying carbon reduction in urban development Read more »
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released The Roadmap on the Future Needs of Tall Buildings, in partnership with the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and the United Nations Educational, …
New research suggests extreme weather events like the recent UK floods do not necessarily make people more concerned about climate change. The Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) argues in the report After the Floods, Communicating Climate Change Around Extreme …
Guidance on communicating climate change around extreme weather Read more »
The Sustainable Organization Library (SOL) is an online library of around 8000 book chapters, case studies and research papers drawn from nearly 600 books and journal issues, focused on sustainability and social responsibility. Each item is individually tagged with its …
The accepted view that the Rapa Nui, the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island, degraded their environment so much that they destroyed its ability to provide for them now appears to be wrong. New research discussed in the COSMOS article Collapse …
New research challenges Easter Island “ecocide” theory Read more »
UTS is conducting an evaluation of the Who Cares about the Environment? research program and invites you to participate in an online survey by Friday 14 March 2014. Who Cares about the Environment? is a social research program that measures …
Evaluation of NSW “Who Cares About the Environment?” research Read more »