• 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
  • 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

11 Mar 2019 - Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture has been awarded $29,999 by the seed grant program of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) at The University of Iowa for the research project "Extreme Heat Adaptation Strategies for Buildings and Neighborhoods in the Upper Midwest Using Novel Urban Energy Modeling Techniques," for the period July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.
17 Feb 2019 - Professors Ulrike Passe, Linda Shenk, and Caroline Krejci have been published in Taylor and Francis Online for their co-authored article on agent-based modeling (ABM), titled Agents of Change - Together: Using agent-based models to inspire social capital building for resilient communities. Topics in the paper include generating social capital, systems thinking, Agent Based Modeling, and bottom-up approaches to community resiliency. 
10 Dec 2018 - Jacklin Stonewall, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, presented the teams research agenda at the Smart and Connected Communities Workshop at the University of Washington, Seattle on December 10th and 11th; this was a sponsored event as part of the NSF-funded SCC-RCN project entitled, MOHERE: Mobility, Health, and Resilience: Building Capacities and Expanding Impact.  

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