The papers in this issue cover a wide range of topics and activities dedicated to the improvement of the overall quality and sustainability of the built environment for people with lesser means. As architecture is concerned with the translation of theory into practice and therefore dependent on the continuous interaction with practitioners and scholars form other disciplines, this issue pursues an integrative approach. It addresses aspects on the a macro level (urbanistic concepts, global sustainability, new construction economies, capacity building strategies), the medium level (housing requirements, structural systems, in-door climate control) and the micro level (material research) and links them in efforts to find comprehensive solutions to sustainable architecture and urban design.