• 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.
  • PhD student Diba Malekpour-Koupaei presents at 2019 ISU Research Day
    PhD student Diba Malekpour-Koupaei presents at 2019 ISU Research Day
  • 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

02 Aug 2019 - Researchers develop novel process to study how trees affect building temperatures, air flow in extreme heat
21 Jun 2019 - Three Iowa State University researchers have received a $50,000 National Science Foundation grant for an August workshop on “Redesigning the Urban-Rural Interface (RURI) along the Mississippi Watershed.” Ulrike Passe and Kimberly Zarecor, associate professors of architecture in the College of Design, and Janette Thompson, Morrill Professor of natural resource ecology and management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, are organizing the workshop, which will be Aug. 12–13 in Ames. The event is intended to guide development of a sustainable urban systems research and action agenda for mid-sized metropolitan areas within the Mississippi River watershed, with a focus on relationships and connectivity among urban and rural landscapes and communities, Passe said.
20 Apr 2019 - Diba Malekpour Koupaei, PhD student in the Department of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, presented the team’s research findings on the impact of occupancy schedules on energy consumption of residential neighborhoods at the 2019 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design (SimAUD) at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta on April 8th. In her presentation, titled “A Technique for Developing High-Resolution Residential Occupancy Schedules for Urban Energy Models”, Malekpour showcased the team’s newest findings in term of using the energy-use survey results to enhance the accuracy of current energy modelling approaches. For more information about the conference, refer to: http://www.simaud.org/2019/program.php You can now access the full article from SimAUD proceedings, available at: http://www.simaud.org/proceedings/download.php?f=SimAUD2019_Proceedings_HiRes.pdf

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