• The model was incorporated into the urban building energy modeling platform – the Urban Modeling Interface (umi) – to understanding the impact of the vegetation on building energy consumption.
    The model was incorporated into the urban building energy modeling platform – the Urban Modeling Interface (umi) – to understanding the impact of the vegetation on building energy consumption.
  • Urban Modelling Interface: Energy Simulation
    Urban Modelling Interface: Energy Simulation
  • PhD student Diba Malekpour-Koupaei presents at 2019 ISU Research Day
    PhD student Diba Malekpour-Koupaei presents at 2019 ISU Research Day
  • A data collection done through a mini weatherization action project at Hyatt Middle School, Des Moines. 
    A data collection done through a mini weatherization action project at Hyatt Middle School, Des Moines. 
  • Community Growers youth learning GIS
    Community Growers youth learning GIS
  • Community Growers 2017
    Community Growers 2017
  • Tree Inventory in Des Moines
    Tree Inventory in Des Moines

Welcome to ISU Sustainable cities

We are an inter-disciplinary research team driven by a common goal of making our cities sustainable. Sustainable Cities project is currently funded by ISU PIIR (Presidential Initiative for Interdisciplinary Research).

Sustainable architecture requires integrating human behavior and decision-making about the built environment within an ever-larger range of spatial, political, and cultural contexts. In addition to building-occupant interaction, we are increasingly considering the roles of microclimate and social dynamics in supporting cities as they develop policies and incentives for improved energy utilization.

Blogs

01 Feb 2020 - A new network of researchers and community officials is working to find solutions to some of the biggest challenges within the Mississippi River watershed. Iowa State University hosted a workshop last summer during which 82 academic experts and local stakeholders discussed a variety of issues in the watershed, including nutrient runoff, erosion, flooding, heat island effects, urban sprawl and much more – with particular attention given to the urban-rural interface.
22 Jan 2020 - The Sustainable Cities Research Team recently received a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a framework for analysis of food, energy and water systems for greater Des Moines, which includes the city and the surrounding six-county area, and to formulate scenarios that could result in a more sustainable city. The team includes scientists from a wide range of disciplines at Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa and University of Texas at Arlington.
20 Jan 2020 - “Modeling and data infrastructure for human-centric design and operation of sustainable, healthy buildings through a case study,” a paper coauthored by Ulrike Passe, associate professor of architecture and director of the Center for Building Energy Research, has been published in the international journal Building and Environment, Volume 170, March 2020

Read more..

News:

Iowa State University and City of Des Moines partner on big data research project

New model

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University and the city of Des Moines have teamed up on a big data research project that could transform the way cities handle sustainability and mitigate climate change, particularly in marginalized neighborhoods. The ISU researchers are developing a prototype decision-making tool that integrates data-driven science and human behavior to address environmental and social challenges.. read more