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The elderly are more prone to develop depression from physical, psychological, and economic changes, and 25.7% of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) elderly population suffer from depression. Color therapy is a widely accepted treatment to solve the depressive symptoms of the elderly. The color preference of the Seniors’ Happiness Centre—in Ajman UAE—a residential space for the elderly, could improve the quality of life, including depression symptoms. This paper explored the relationship between the color preference of the resident bedroom space and the depressive symptoms. As a methodology, using color images as stimuli, the physiological and psychological responses of the 86 elderly participants to the proposed color preference of the resident bedroom interiors—observed through a viewing box to simulate 3D space perception—were compared and analyzed to investigate the relationship between the color preference and depression by a survey with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement. The results showed that the elderly’s preference for warm colors is higher than that of cold colors, and each room needs a different color scheme because the elderly, 65 and above, have different visual characteristics. There was no significant difference between the left and right alpha wave values of the prefrontal cortex of the participant group. The main reason is that the brain waves are minute electrical signals and appear different from person to person. The color scheme on one side of the wall with increased saturation seemed to improve depressive symptoms effectively. It was found that psychologically, healthy elderly reacted positively to the single-color scheme of the Blue cool color, but elderly with depression reacted well to the contrast color scheme of the Blue-Yellow/Red cool color. This study will serve as critical data to propose more color preferences for the Seniors’ Happiness Center suitable for the elderly by studying the response to more diverse colors in the UAE.

Dubai was one of the top three real estate destinations in the world for investment in 2020. This paper aims to understand the order of preference for various housing determinants by housing consumers in Dubai. As a methodology, a survey was conducted on Dubai residents, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed to identify the housing determinants and consumers’ preferences. In addition, the respondents’ demographic characteristics identified priorities by income, place of residence, age, gender, and type of house. The results showed that housing consumers place importance on housing price and rent (0.0918), and the investment value (0.0866). However, there was no serious consideration for social and psychological factors, other than safety (0.0730). Regarding gender, men place more importance on the housing price and rent (0.113), and the investment value (0.110). In comparison, women place more importance on factors such as the convenience of transportation (0.104), safety (0.093), and residential environment (0.082). In the age groups, the interest in the educational environment (0.081) among the 40-year-olds was relatively high. In terms of monthly income, the higher the income, the higher the interest in investment value (0.086).

Purpose This study aims to evaluate The Springs’ indoor environment, one of the iconic townhouse-type residential buildings in Dubai, more efficiently for the integrated evaluation of the indoor environment with the weights of indoor environmental factors such as thermal, indoor air, lighting and acoustic. Design/methodology/approach The weights of the indoor environment factors were derived for the integrated evaluation to reflect the residents’ preferences. Based on the post-occupancy evaluation (P.O.E.) survey, the weights according to the gender, age group and indoor spaces followed a comparison and analytical processes. Findings This paper had found the priority of residents’ needs for each space in The Springs project. In summer, thermal comfort was the most important factor for living room and the master bedroom. In winter, the priority for living room and kitchen was the indoor air quality. Research limitations/implications As it is the first research survey for housing project in Dubai, it needs to be extended to other housing projects in Dubai. To increase the reliability of the weights calculated through this study and the applicability of the integrated indoor environmental evaluation, more in-depth P.O.E. survey is needed with wide range of survey participants. Social implications This paper will help developing guidelines for future renovation based on the comparative analysis among thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, lighting comfort and indoor air comfort. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to analyze the condition of early housing projects in Dubai. The data can be used to increase not only the design quality and marketability of housing projects in Dubai but also the condition of residents’ health status to avoid sick building syndrome from approximately 20 years old buildings.

Indoor air pollutants have various emission patterns and are influenced by indoor microclimate, the physical properties of building materials, and types of chemical substances. The difference in these emission patterns affects the prediction via simulation. This paper aims to extract factors that have an important influence on selecting empirical models by examining the emission pattern of formaldehyde (HCHO) from building materials. As a methodology, Small Chamber Pollutant Emission Test was used for six different flooring and wallpaper specimens, and HCHO was sampled and analyzed using HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography). The result showed that the higher the linear relationship between emission intensity and time, the more appropriate the first-order reduction model, such as flooring-A ( R2 = .99), flooring-B ( R2 = .94), wallpaper-A ( R2 = .99), and wallpaper-C ( R2 = .98). The emission pattern of HCHO in building materials is classified into three types: In type I ( R2 = .00–.11), the emission of chemical substances reaches the maximum after the start of the experiment and decreases relatively rapidly. Type II ( R2 =.00–.41), the emission pattern having the shape of a vertex with a refined concentration ascending and a gentle descending and is a type in which the suitability is significantly high in the concentration descending section, and Type III ( R2 = .33–.60), which shows a mild linear increase and decreases trend in the ascending and concentration dropping sections. It is a type that indicates the suitability with the predicted value in a meaningful way in the entire area. Even though many previous studies focused on the concentration descending section in different materials ( R2 = .51–.95), it was confirmed that the emission characteristics in the initial concentration ascending section are also critical points for simulation model selection since R2 of ascending section of Type II (.67–.70) and Type III (.77–.93) turned out statistically meaningful except Type I (.02–.25).

In 2020, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (SHUROOQ) initiated the Sharjah Sustainable City (SSC) project, with an investment of 2 billion AED (approximately 545 million USD) covering an area of 668,900 km2. This pioneering residential community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provides its residents with access to renewable energy storage solutions while adhering to the highest standards of green economy and environmental sustainability. This paper aims to examine the urban planning components of SSC and establish suitable priorities for these elements. To achieve this, we first reviewed and extracted sustainable urban planning elements from existing research. These elements were then organized hierarchically for an expert survey, which was conducted via email. The results were subsequently analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Our findings revealed that the transportation system sector was deemed most important, with a score of 0.283, followed by the energy/building sectors at 0.263. Conversely, the park/green area held relatively lower importance, with a score of 0.092. Upon examining the relative importance of 15 specific planning elements (lower criteria), energy-efficient building design emerged as the most critical aspect (0.121). Other highly valued elements included public transportation-oriented development (0.115) and the use of renewable energy (0.102). In contrast, building greening (0.029), establishment of accessible greenway and green matrix in residential areas (0.029), and creation of hydrophilic features for the water circulation system (0.026) were perceived as less significant. This study is expected to serve as foundational data for the future implementation of the SSC master plan in Sharjah. Moreover, it offers valuable insights and a methodology for sustainable urban planning that can be adopted or adapted globally. The worldwide applicability of this research fosters knowledge transfer, international cooperation, and innovation, thereby promoting sustainable development, urban resilience, and progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

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Indoor air pollution has become a pressing issue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to poor ventilation, inadequate airtightness, and using chemicals in building materials. Accordingly, the UAE is currently experiencing more cases of sick building syndrome (SBS) than any other country. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the bake-out strategy in reducing indoor air pollutants in a new apartment building in the UAE. The study evaluated a reduction in toluene (C7H8), ethylbenzene (C8H10), xylene (C8H10), styrene (C8H8), and formaldehyde (HCHO) at room temperature and relative humidity. The airtight unit without winter bake-out had higher indoor concentrations of hazardous chemicals than the ventilated units, and the emission of dangerous substances increased with temperature. Moreover, harmful chemicals were only effectively reduced with ventilation times of at least seven days after the heating period. The release rate of contaminants after the bake-out was lower than before. The indoor concentration of hazardous chemicals was lower when bake-out and mechanical ventilation were combined, resulting in a reduction of 92.8% of HCHO. Furthermore, units with a certain amount of ventilation maintained a low indoor pollutant concentration, regardless of whether a bake-out was performed.