This book is an edited collection of seven chapters on the theme of ‘people and space interactions in different settings’. Using a variety of problems, it showcases a rich set of solutions to the global challenges of functional, sustainable and responsive habitats in both urban and rural environments. The book deals with cultural landscapes, sustainable housing settings, the environment and human response, spatial epidemiology, neighbourhood and health, and the subjectivity-objectivity continuum in man-environment research. The studies apply a variety of social research methods and strategies relevant to the study of human interaction with its environment. Collectively they serve as templates for direction in modern social science research methodology built on evidence-based scientific inquiry of the built environment. It can guide both young and seasoned researchers in considering appropriate responses to various social research problems, including assessing various options in research process innovation. A recurrent lesson from the individual studies, and significant contribution of the volume, is that each research endeavor needs to be based on a firm philosophical grounding as this goes a long way in determining the type of data to be collected, and the ways that they are analysed and interpreted. Taking a cross-disciplinary perspective, this edited collection should be of interest to scholars of geography, anthropology, sociology, epidemiology, urban planning, architecture, and above all environment-behaviour studies.

This edited book gathers research studies presented at the 5th International Symposium on Formal Methods in Architecture (5FMA), Lisbon 2020. Studies focus on the use of methodologies, especially those that have witnessed recent developments, that stem from the mathematical and computer sciences and are developed in a collaborative way with architecture and related fields. This book constitutes a contribution to the debate and to the introduction of new methodologies and tools in the mentioned fields that derive from the application of formal methods in the creation of new explicit languages for problem-solving in architecture and urbanism. It adds valuable insight into the development of new practices solving identified societal problems and promoting the digital transformation of institutions in the mentioned fields. The primary audience of this book will be from the fields of architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, AEC, landscape design, computer sciences and mathematics, both academicians and professionals.

This book is organized into three sections, from exploring the major theories of scientific research in ‘Feng Shui’ including from School Approach and Compass School Approach, to providing case studied in 'Feng Shui' applications for the built environment.

Proceedings from MediaCity 4: MediaCities, the International Conference, Workshops and Exhibition mounted at the University at Buffalo May 3-5, 2013. Edited by Jordan Geiger, Mark Shepard and Omar Khan.

This volume focusses on ashlar masonry, probably the most elaborate construction technique of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, from a cross-regional perspective. The building practices and the uses of cutstone components and masonries in Egypt, Syria, the Aegean, Anatolia, Cyprus and the Levant in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC are examined through a series of case studies and topical essays. The topics addressed include the terminology of ashlar building components and the typologies of its masonries, technical studies on the procurement, dressing, tool kits and construction techniques pertaining to cut stone, investigations into the place of ashlar in inter-regional exchanges and craft dissemination, the extent and signifi cance of the use of cut stone within the communities and regions, and the visual eff ects, social meanings, and symbolic and ideological values of ashlar.

This conference proceedings LNCS 12782 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9 th International Conference on Distributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions, DAPI 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, which took place in July 2021. The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. The papers of DAPI 2021, Distributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions, are organized in topical sections named: Smart Cities; IoT, Sensors and Smart Environments; Learning and Culture in Intelligent Environments; Designing Intelligent Environments.

This book reports on research and developments in human–technology interaction. A special emphasis is given to human–computer interaction and its implementation for a wide range of purposes such as health care, aerospace, telecommunication, and education, among others. The human aspects are analyzed in detail. Timely studies on human-centered design, wearable technologies, social and affective computing, augmented, virtual and mixed reality simulation, human rehabilitation, and biomechanics represent the core of the book. Emerging technology applications in business, security, and infrastructure are also critically examined, thus offering a timely, scientifically grounded, but also professionally oriented snapshot of the current state of the field. The book gathers contributions presented at the 5th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET 2021, August 27–29, 2021) and the 6th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies: Future Systems (IHIET-FS 2021, October 28–30, 2021), held virtually from France. It offers a timely survey and a practice-oriented reference guide to researchers and professionals dealing with design, systems engineering, and management of the next-generation technology and service systems.

The drive towards environmentally friendly buildings and infrastructure has led to a growing interest in providing design solutions underpinned by the core principles of sustainability to balance economic, social and environmental factors. Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of sustainability on project evaluation presents new directions, reflecting the need to recognise the impact of climate change and the importance of sustainability in project evaluation. The aim is to provide a new approach to understanding design economics in the context of the changing policy environment, legislative and regulatory framework, and increasing economic, environmental and social pressure as result of the sustainability agenda. The book follows a structured approach from theories and principles in the earlier chapters, to the practical applications and emerging techniques focusing on value and social, economic and environmental considerations in making design decisions. It starts with the policy context, building on various theories and principles such as, capital cost, value of design and resource-based theories, the new rules of measurement (NRM) to explore cost planning, the relationship between height and costs, key socio-economic and environmental variables for design appraisal, eco-cost/value ratio (EVR), whole life theory and the treatment of carbon emission as external costs, productivity and efficiency, fiscal drivers and legal framework for carbon reduction, procurement and allocation of risks in contracts. Case studies, practical examples and frameworks throughout reinforce theories and principles and relate them to current practice. The book is essential reading for postgraduate students in architecture, building and quantity surveying and is also a valuable resource for academics, consultants and policy-makers in the built environment.

In the rapidly expanding public space debate of the past few years, a recurring theme is the ’loss of publicness’ of contemporary urban public places. This book takes up the challenge to find an objective way to prove or disprove this phenomenon. By taking the reader through a systematic and multi-disciplinary literature review it asks the deceptively simple question: ’What is publicness?’ It answers this by first developing a new theoretical approach - ’The dual nature of public space’, and secondly a new analytical tool for measuring it - ’The Star Model of Publicness’. This pragmatic approach to analysing public space is tested then on three new public places recently created on the post-industrial waterfront of the River Clyde, in the city of Glasgow, UK. By seeing where and why certain public places fail, direct and informed interventions can be made to improve them, and through this contribute to the building of more attractive and sustainable cities. By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to shed light on this ’slippery’ concept, this book shows how urban design can complement other disciplines when tackling the complex task of understanding and improving the built environment’s public realm. It also bridges the gap between theory and practice as it draws from empirical research to suggest more quantitative approaches towards auditing and improving public places.