Paul Osmond

UNSW Sydney | UNSW · Faculty of Built Environment

The circular economy and regenerative design approaches, although still emerging in the built environment, are important pathways to move away from the degenerative business-as-usual practices in the sector. In this paper, we investigate the perception, awareness, and practices of built environment professionals regarding the adoption of a combined...

Despite the increasing use of neighbourhood sustainability assessment tools (NSAT), their linear approach may be insufficient to tackle the global and local social and ecological challenges. The circular economy (CE) has recently emerged as a new pathway, adopted by corporations and public organisations. Understanding how to apply CE to existing co...

There is potential in applying the circular economy (CE) and regenerative design (RD) models for the redevelopment of urban areas as a response to the current linear and mechanistic practices that still contribute to exceeding planetary boundaries and reinforcing social inequalities. Despite these models' common roots, they are usually approached q...

Learning from nature may be the most important step towards improving cities in the context of environmental and climate issues. However, many of the current approaches to make cities greener or more sustainable are still linear and insufficient to deal with these growing challenges. In this scenario, the adoption of regenerative and circular lense...

Purpose This paper aims to examine the planning policy and legal framework governing the creation and operation of urban agriculture in Sydney, Australia’s global city. All levels of urban agriculture are considered – from domestic and small community gardens to large agribusiness – as all make an important contribution to agricultural production i...

The panel proposes that development in the Pacific Island countries is hampered by limited or lack of community capacity. Global attention towards the development issues, climate change, and security of the region is more augmented than ever, and consequently, development aid to the region has increased. Conversely, aid ineffectiveness in the Pacif...

Green infrastructure (GI) includes an array of products, technologies, and practices that use natural systems—or designed systems that mimic natural processes—to enhance environmental sustainability and human quality of life. GI is the ultimate source of the ecosystem services which the biotic environment provides to humanity. The maintenance and e...

Urban vegetation provides undeniable benefits to urban climate, health, thermal comfort and environmental quality of cities and represents one of the most considered urban heat mitigation measures. Despite the plethora of available scientific information, very little is known about the holistic and global impact of a potential increase of urban gre...

Green infrastructure (GI) can help moderate urban overheating and mitigate surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) by providing protection from solar radiation, cooling surfaces through evapotranspiration, and modifying heat exchanges through advection. However, more research is needed to determine the optimum amounts, compositions and configurations of...

The actual contribution of neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) tools to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in urban precincts is still unclear. This paper discusses the limitations and potentialities in the use of an NSA tool, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), in the context of São P...

Monitoring sustainability of urban form as a 3D phenomenon over time is crucial in the era of smart cities for better planning of the future, and for such a monitoring system, appropriate tools, metrics, methodologies and time series 3D data are required. While accurate time series 3D data are becoming available, a lack of 3D sustainable urban form...

The ‘green infrastructure typology’ (GIT) scheme is a standardised framework to map and classify urban landscapes into 34 standard classes, each defined by a specific land cover composition and spatial configuration of vegetation. Previous studies have confirmed that GIT classifications can be successfully derived from airborne remote sensing data;...

University campuses frequently occupy the leading edge of urban development, with sustainability as an increasing driver (Leal Filho, 2012). A university campus thus represents a useful 'living laboratory' to understand the formation and transformation of built form, towards more sustainable outcomes. The main campus of the University of New South...

Hard urban surfaces (concrete and asphalt) absorb solar radiation and re-radiate it as heat; and industry, transport and air-conditioning release waste heat to atmosphere. This urban heat island (UHI) effect is the most documented phenomenon of climate change. The interaction between global climate change and the local UHI is creating unprecedented...

This guide offers practical advice to homeowners, builders and designers embarking on a retrofit of an existing home. It focuses on relatively simple adaptations to improve a home’s comfort, while reducing energy bills and carbon emissions.

Despite the current evidence on the thermal benefits of vegetation and water bodies, further research is neededto investigate how cooling capacities are influenced by particulartypes, amounts, and spatial arrangements ofgreen infrastructure (GI). However, there are no commonly agreed typologies that can be confidently used tocompare and report the...

Urban greenery is a natural solution to cool cities and provide comfort, clean air and significant social, health and economic benefits. This paper aims to present the latest progress on the field of greenery urban mitigation techniques including aspects related to the theoretical and experimental assessment of the greenery cooling potential, the i...

Providing evidence of potential changes in the climate has become increasingly important as it is the first step towards adopting mitigation and adaptation measures and planning for urban resilience. In this study a statistical analysis of the ambient air temperature time series over Sydney, Australia during 1970–2016 has been carried out with the...

Climate change and the urban heat island effect pose significant health, energy and economic risks. Urban heat mitigation research promotes the use of reflective surfaces to counteract the negative effects of extreme heat. Surface reflectance is a key parameter for understanding, modeling and modifying the urban surface energy balance to cool citie...

Evidence of temperature moderation through green infrastructure has been largely documented and quantified by literature; however, the critique of available methods and indicators, and the advantage of one over another has not received the same attention. A systematic review was conducted of studies that quantified and reported on the relationship...

The local climate zones (LCZ) scheme has attracted the interest of climate researchers as it enables the standardized study of urban heat islands by combining thermal and physical parameters of built and natural structures. Most recent work on LCZ has concentrated on understanding air temperature differences , adapting the scheme to different conte...

Around the globe, cities seek to improve their resilience to face the stresses and shocks that are expected from global climate change and other threats. In implementing urban resilience policies, they are guided by different urban resilience conceptualisations. What is meant by the concept differs between scholars, governments, as well as internat...

The emergence of urban ecology as a field of research and practice reflects the rise of the city as principal human habitat, and the concurrent domination and alteration of the earth's ecosystems by human agency. It may be summarized as the study of the interactions between organisms, their physical environment as mediated by urban form, together w...

The elderly are particularly vulnerable to heatwaves and this research investigates the degree of thermal stress they experience and identifies a suitable index, using Thailand as the case study location. Several global heat stress indices were evaluated for their ability to predict thermal stress in the tropics: Universal Thermal Climate Index (UT...

Public policies and initiatives are constantly developed and redeveloped. These changes are influenced by practical aspects such as politics, funding and governance. Some may argue that this encourages innovation and reflects true democratic processes. Nevertheless, it also represents a challenge for dealing with complex issues that require sustain...

This document provides practical guidance for built environment professionals and regulatory agencies seeking to optimise development projects to moderate urban microclimates and mitigate urban heat island effects in major urban centres across a range of climates in Australia. The emphasis is on the public realm, and the scope is project-focused. T...

The aim of this report is to provide the evidence base for embedding urban ecology into laws, policies, strategic investment decisions and actions that inform and have a positive impact on the three major cities in NSW. The report draws on academic, peer-reviewed literature and ‘grey’ literature such as reports, conference presentations, newspaper...

This article reports on a Chinese application of the material input per service (MIPS) concept used to characterise and quantify the relationships between MIPS provided by a university campus. The case study area chosen is the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) campus. Materials flow accounting is applied to quantify the stock and flow of...

Cities currently host more than half of the world population, a number which is projected to continue to rise. Urban centres also create large percentages of national gross domestic product (GDP) and are important sources of employment but also generate large proportions of national greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change and fast technological pr...

In recent years, integrated networks of green spaces at city scale, or “green infrastructure” (GI), are seen increasingly as fundamental to the delivery of ecosystem services for human and environmental health. A range of models that assess the performance of specific aspects and elements related to GI have been developed in response. However, ther...

Blueprint for Living Cities: Policy to Practice will support and enhance the leadership of New South Wales (NSW) in the management of liveable and thriving cities. This document, adaptable for use by any urban stakeholder, shows the way for sustainable urbanisation in NSW. Blueprint for Living Cities announces seven priority areas for action based...

It has become increasingly important to study the urban heat island phenomenon due to the adverse effects on summertime cooling energy demand, air and water quality and most importantly, heat-related illness and mortality. The present article analyses the magnitude and the characteristics of the urban heat island in Sydney, Australia. Climatic data...

There is ample evidence of the cooling effects of green infrastructure (GI) that has been extensively documented in the literature. However, the study of the thermal profiles of different GI typologies requires the classification of urban sites for a meaningful comparison of results, since specific spatial and physical characteristics produce disti...

There is no consensus on a comprehensive classification for green infrastructure (GI). This is a consequence of the diversity of disciplines, application contexts, methods, terminologies, purposes and valuation criteria for which a GI typology is required. The aim of this systematic literature review is to evaluate the existing evidence on how GI i...

The elderly have a slower metabolism than the young, which affects their thermal perceptions and comfort, particularly in hot-humid climates. Understanding these differences is important to identify the thermal comfort levels of the elderly. The available data from Thailand is insufficient, so we analyzed the literature for a proxy to estimate the...

This paper proposes a typology to classify green infrastructure (GI) from a climatological perspective. This standardised classification scheme requires the logical division of GI features into vegetation layers, ground surfaces and building structures that are disaggregated into classes and sub-classes. These are combined in a double-entry matrix...

Recent studies in primary schools highlight a need to develop the adaptive comfort model for schoolchildren in classrooms. This study investigates the application of the principal methods underlying the adaptive comfort theory for children relating thermal comfort indoors to the prevailing mean outdoor temperature. Children’s sensitivity to indoor...

Local and global climate change increases the ambient temperature of cities by several degrees with important consequences on energy consumption, health and the economy. Advanced urban mitigation technologies contribute to decrease the ambient temperature and counterbalance the impact of urban heat islands. The present paper analyses and presents i...

Recent decades have seen urban resilience becoming a more popular term internationally both within academic and policy circles. However, relatively little attention has been paid by the literature to the policy implications of striving towards more resilient urban systems and the challenges introduced by the complex, multi-level and multi-actor pol...

The multiple environmental, social and economic benefits of green roofs are increasingly well understood among built environment practitioners and in the broader community. However, the issue of biodiversity protection and conservation of endangered flora in our densifying cities has received much less attention than benefits such as stormwater det...

The cooling effects of green infrastructure (GI) have been extensively investigated as part of the efforts to tackle the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Experts agree that further research is necessary to compare how thermal benefits are being provided by different types, amounts, compositions and distributions of urban vegetation across varied...

Several recent studies have focused on children's comfort criteria in schools, highlighting a need to develop an adaptive comfort model with application for children in naturally ventilated classrooms. This paper examines the influence of prior exposure to weather dynamics on children's indoor thermal comfort. The field study was performed in natur...

The validity of existing thermal comfort models is examined for upper primary school children in classroom settings. This is of importance to enhance productivity in the learning environment and to improve the control of artificial heating and cooling, including the potential for energy savings. To examine the thermal perceptions of children aged 1...

Defining thermal comfort in the elderly, particularly in the hot-humid climate zone, is an increasingly important issue. This paper is specifically aimed at identifying the gap in information on elderly perceptions of thermal comfort available in the existing literature. Research shows a 2–3°C rise in temperature can increase risk of morbidity and...

An urban ecosystem is a dynamic system. Therefore, regular monitoring through the use of measurable indicators will enable an assessment of performance and effectiveness. This paper presents a conceptual framework to facilitate the development of an inclusive model for the sustainability assessment of green infrastructure. The framework focuses on...

There was only one correction in corresponding author. It should be Parisa Pakzad.

In recent years, as environmental issues increasingly permeate the urban discourse, the more holistic term " sustainability " has become a watchword internationally. Numerous appraisal frameworks, sustainability indicators and rating tools of varying effectiveness have been developed to gauge the effectiveness of sustainability interventions. Urban...

Precipitation is a relevant climatic variable for building and urban design in hot climates, because of its potential to naturally mitigate heat excess in buildings and cities by evaporative cooling; and as a primary source of water to artificially reproduce this cooling mechanism, particularly in the humid tropics and subtropics. However, precipit...

An urban ecosystem is a dynamic system. Therefore, regular monitoring through the use of measurable indicators will enable an assessment of performance and effectiveness. This paper presents a conceptual framework to facilitate the development of an inclusive model for the sustainability assessment of green infrastructure. The framework focuses on...

1. Abstract The exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and biosphere is an important factor in global climate regulation. Consequently, it is important to examine how carbon flows and cycles between different pools and how carbon stocks change in response to afforestation, reforestation, deforestation, and other land-cover and land-use activitie...

Evaporative Cooling (EC) is increasingly being regarded as an effective method for building cooling, mitigation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) and for urban adaptation to climate change. As this cooling technique depends on the adequate supply of water, it is notable that most research gives little attention to water availability, and also that the re...

The challenges of heat-related mortality and morbidity call for research on the need for policy in tropical countries. This paper discusses gaps between current international policies concerning thermal-related issues in health and housing for the elderly. An extensive literature review addresses problem definition, determination of the policy impl...

This paper aims to explore the various building assessment systems in Malaysia; how do they work to define sustainability, how far the achievement is and what barriers are involved. The intent is to initiate a critical comparison among the approaches taken by different authorities and to see how far a ‘life cycle’ based assessment can be adopted fo...

This paper reviews the global sustainable building rating certifications, including evaluation of the 'life cycle' approaches in each system. With the rising demand to achieve " green " building and cities, the life cycle concept becomes more significant, with the result that some criteria in qualitative tools can be investigated quantitatively. We...

This research attempts to support the vision of UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiatives [1] in order to strengthen more life cycle applications by not only looking into environmental LCA, but also combining the socio- economic factors. For example, with more Life Cycle Sustainability Assessments (LCSA), it could overcome the ‘trade-off errors’ in sustain...

The principles of sustainability in the healthcare building sector are perceived differently by different healthcare building user groups. Based on a cross-sectional survey of hospital patients, staff, visitors and members of the public, this study found that issues relating to transport and accessibility were perceived as “more significant” by res...

There are environmental, economic and social benefits of installing green roofs on city buildings. The environmental benefits are lower building related operational carbon emissions, reductions in the urban heat island, increases in bio-diversity and reductions in storm-water run-off. Economically, the benefits are reduced roof maintenance costs, l...

Metabolic heat production is one of the key parameters in maintaining the body’s heat balance with the environment. Levels of accuracy and methods for estimation of metabolic rate for various activities are given in most of the commonly used standards, and estimated metabolic rates for an average adult are tabulated to be used where direct measurem...

Universities have a particular responsibility both to help define, and to become exemplars of, environmental best practice. Awareness is growing that universities can effectively teach and demonstrate the theory and practice of sustainability through taking action to understand and reduce the unsustainable impacts of their own activities. It is arg...

Metabolic rate (MET) mainly corresponds to the heat production of the human body which is used in the calculation of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) of thermal sensation. Metabolic rates for various activities are tabulated in most of the commonly used standards. However, existing tables for determination of metabolic rate are based on average adult...

Tourism is one of Malaysia’s major sources of income and continues to grow both in scale and scope. Concerning scale, the country recorded 23 millions arrivals in 2011 and contributes to RM58 billion (USD 18.8 billion) in tourism receipts. The strong and significant rise of tourism development over the past few decades is one of the most remarkable...

This paper examines the local community empowerment initiatives of selected resorts in Malaysia to get an insight of the different local community support practices implemented. This research also considers ways in which we may better understand how tourism facility development impacts on the lives of people living in and around the resort environm...

The objective of this Toolkit is to inspire, encourage and support universities to develop and implement their own transformative strategies for establishing green, resource-efficient and low carbon campuses. It will provide an opportunity to build stakeholder capacity to deliver systemic, institution-wide integration of sustainability principles i...

School buildings integrate three significant aspects of sustainability research ¿ building performance, energy consumption and indoor environmental quality. However, the specific role of thermal comfort is less well understood. Thermal comfort studies have largely concentrated on adults, and typically compare measurement of physical environmental f...

Tourist arrivals in Malaysia for 2002-2010 showed consistent growth, and currently about 24 million visitors are expected each year to visit Malaysia and join the resident population to enjoy the beauty and natural resources. According to the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, the number of visitors that support environmentally and socially responsible...

Schools are one of the building types necessarily of great interest when we consider the potential links between building performance, general sustainability, and the benefits of a healthy, productive and comfortable environment. Children spend long periods of time in classrooms, and a good indoor environment can help to optimise conditions for stu...