A call for submissions has been issued by BEPAM on Regenerative and Future-Proofed Smart Built Environment: Targeting Circularity, Resilience and Social Value Realisation. The deadline for submissions is 31st January 2026.
Objectives of the Special Issue
With the growing emphasis on restoring and preserving, if not enhancing, our planet and its finite resources, coupled with the rapid transition towards a digitalised world, it is imperative that the built environment sector actively contributes to this transformation. Recognising that the built environment can also benefit from such advancements, this Special Issue objectives are to:
- Advance the understanding of regenerative built environments by exploring design, construction, and operational practices that restore, if not improve, planetary health and deliver positive outcomes for both people and the planet, harmonised with nature.
- Facilitate the transition towards a smart built environment by articulating how digital technologies, data-driven insights, and AI-enabled systems can accelerate circularity, resilience, and the realisation of social value.
- Promote the adoption of circular economy principles in the built environment by identifying strategies for achieving resource efficiency that replace the ‘end-of-life’ notion with reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering materials across production, distribution, and consumption processes.
- Strengthen resilience in the built environment by examining adaptive strategies, technologies, and governance frameworks that enable urban systems and communities to maintain continuity during shocks and stresses, while evolving proactively and continuously towards sustainability.
- Facilitate social value realisation within the built environment discourse by identifying pathways for maximising wider economic, social, and environmental benefits that extend beyond direct financial performance and contribute to community well-being.
- Promote innovative approaches to embedding social value in planning, designing, procurement, and delivery of built environment projects.
- Bridge theory and practice by showcasing innovative case studies, frameworks, and policy instruments that illustrate how regenerative, circular, digital and socially responsive practices can be integrated into real-world projects, with a view to also unveiling innovative principles underlying these leading-edge best practices.
- Provide evidence and insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and businesses on the integration of social value, digitalisation and circularity into the built environment and asset management.
- Support global sustainability agendas, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by showcasing pathways for governments, industry, and academia to collaborate on systemic transformation.
Anticipated themes
- The special issue would welcome submissions related to the following indicative, hence not exhaustive range of themes:
- Regenerative Design, Procurement, Construction, and Operational Practices – Exploring innovative approaches across the built asset lifecycle that restore and regenerate ecological systems
- Circular Economy in Materials, Products, and Processes – Applying circularity principles to design, construction, and operations of built assets to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste.
- Resilient Built Environment Strategies and Governance – Strengthening adaptive capacity through technologies, planning approaches, and governance frameworks that enhance resilience to future challenges.
- Digitalisation and Smart Technologies – Using digital platforms, AI-enabled tools, and smart technologies to accelerate circularity, resilience, and regenerative practices.
- Decision-Support and Assessment Frameworks – Developing tools, metrics, and frameworks that enable evidence-based decision-making for a regenerative built environment.
- Social Value Realisation and Community Wellbeing – Maximising economic, social, cultural, and environmental benefits of the built environment beyond financial performance.
- Capacity Building, Education, and Policy Pathways – Advancing awareness, education, training, and policy interventions that support the transition towards regenerative and future-proofed built environments.
- Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement – Encouraging partnerships across disciplines, sectors, and communities to co-create regenerative and future-proofed built environments.
Full details of the call can be viewed here.
