Contemporary neighborhood livability differs across countries due to implementation of sustainable policies within the building sector. This paper aims to showcase these differences among Germany, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina through a comparative case study analysis of two contemporary housing developments from each country. Representative neighborhoods from the aforementioned countries that were selected for analysis were located in Munich, Rijeka, and Sarajevo. The residential environment livability analysis method was used in order to pinpoint and compare results of each of these cases, and to assess their livability. The highest number of livability criteria among analyzed cases were found in Munich, while the lowest were found in Sarajevo. The conclusion is that this is happening due to German authorities actually implementing sustainable building standards in housing development prescribed by sustainability policies, while the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina completely, and Croatian authorities partially, go around these policies and bend to the will of investors, regulating residential urban development to the detriment of end users.

BACKGROUND Indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms affects children's health and academic perfor-mance. The aim of this pilot study was to determine IAQ in elementary schools different in their inter-nal and external characteristics, in settings of COVID-19 epidemics. METHODS IAQ parameters: fine particulate matter (PM2,5) mass concentration, CO2 concentration, tempera-ture and relative humidity were measured in parallel in four elementary schools/classrooms during October (non-heating season) and four months (including holiday in January) of heating season. IAQ parameters were measured in settings of anti-epidemic restrictions (≤13 students in classroom, frequent ventilation). RESULTS During October, except in one school, PM2,5 concentrations were below the upper recommended value (25 μg/m³), but started rising in all schools in the heating season. The highest concentrations of PM2,5 were registered in two schools with closed or shortly opened windows. CO2 concentrations were mostly in the recommended range (up to 1000ppm) except in the school with constantly closed windows and in three schools in February when concentrations were higher. Except in one, the same school, and in January, both temperature and relative humidity were out of the recommended range (24,0-27,0°C in non-heating; 20,0-24,0°C in heating season; and 45-55%), with temperature mainly above and relative humidity mainly below it in three schools. The largest deviation in temperature and relative humidity were registered in urban schools. Registered differ-ences may be explained by different internal and external characteristics. CONCLUSION Despite anti-epidemic restrictions, most of the measured IAQ parameters were out of the recom-mended values in heating season. In addition, further deterioration of IAQ could be expected if all students had been presented in the classroom. Finally, to assure a healthy school environment in heating season, further optimisation of both indoor and outdoor conditions is needed in both pandemic and non-pandemic settings.

Presently, almost all human activities (agriculture, transport, industry, construction sector, etc.) have an adverse impact on the environment. The construction sector in the EU alone accounts for a big part of the total energy consumption and emission of CO2. Two-thirds of the energy used in the construction sector in Europe goes to housing. As the number of residents grows, the requirements for new housing increase, causing an additional increase in energy consumption and new CO2 emissions for construction, maintenance, lighting, ventilation, cooling, and heating. Benefits of detailed planning of sustainable development of the construction sector are manifold. The most important benefits are sustainable use of resources, economic and social development of communities, increasing employment rates, improvements of living conditions and protection of the environment. Two scenarios for the development of an energy-efficient construction sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on housing facilities are developed, in order to address the needs and benefits of detailed planning. Both scenarios analyze the effects on job creation, the impact of used construction materials on the environment and eco balance of local products. The difference in the solutions confirms the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to the planning of sustainable systems so that not only technical, but also economic and social benefits can be evaluated thanks to the combination of methods used.

The building sector is responsible for 40% of the current CO 2 emissions as well as energy consumption. Sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings are currently being evaluated, not only based on thermal insulation qualities and energy demands, but also based on primary energy demand, CO 2 reductions and the ecological properties of the materials used. Therefore, in order to make buildings as sustainable as possible, it is crucial to maximize the use of ecological materials. This study explores alternative usage of sheep wool as a construction material beyond its traditional application in the textile industry. Another goal of this research was to study the feasibility of replacement of commonly used thermal insulations with natural and renewable materials which have better environmental and primary energy values. Building physics, energy and environmental characteristics were evaluated and compared based on hygrothermal simulation and ecological balance methods. The observations demonstrate that sheep wool, compared with mineral wool and calcium silicate, provides comparable thermal insulation characteristics, and in some applications even reveals better performance.

Architecture design today has become far more challenging then it traditionally used to be. On top of accustomed thermal insulation thickness and heating demand, architects need to design new or renovate existing structures in compliance with the primary energy demand, CO2 reductions, as well as ecological properties of the building materials. These properties are essential for a holistic assessment. Researches and demand for ecological building materials have been growing dramatically, particularly for insulating materials from renewable resources. Conventional design, constructions and conventional materials are still predominantly used in the world, particularly in BiH and Turkey. The aim of this paper is to present a comparison between the use of conventional methods, constructions and materials against alternative solutions of renewable insulations materials application in the wall constructions. The conventional walls are predominantly made of cement, bricks, Styrofoam, plaster and paint. For the innovative walls, materials used for a wall 1 are: brick, wood fibre insulation, plaster, coat render, and for wall 2: timber, sheep’s wool insulation, brick, OSB board and plaster. The tests results indicate the amount of primary energy and CO2 emission which could be saved if renewable materials are used not only for insulation but for the construction as well. Findings also show great demand for a new clean technology in brick production that will save energy and CO2 emission. Additionally, renewable materials have more ecological and fewer health damaging aspects. Keywords: wall construction, natural insulation materials, primary energy, global warming potential, health

There are many, often relatively anecdotal, observations suggesting that agricultural activities affect lichens. However, the nature of the ' agricultural effect' involved is much less clear. Agriculture practices can involve anything from the use of pesticides, to inorganic fertilisers, to ammonia volatilised from animal waste, or pollution from farm vehicles. The nature, scale and extent of the effect will depend on the differential sensitivity of lichens to the cocktail of chemicals involved and the extent of their dispersal under the particular conditions. The result is a fascinating field of research to separate the different factors involved. Surprisingly little has been written on this subject. Currently, much of the published work has sought to demonstrate the impact of farms or farming without identifying the agents responsible. This is a necessary prelude to further investigation. Valuable advances have been made by categorising lichen species as ' acidophilous ' or ' nitrophilous ', even though the nature of the chemicals responsible are still unknown. Moreover, there is little comparative work reported. In northern Europe, the assemblage of epiphytic species observed around an active farm may, superficially, resemble that of a dust-impregnated mediterranean tree. But how close is the resemblance, and is it related to nitrogen enrichment? In order to try to develop this field of study further, Dennis Brown and Han van Dobben organised a small international workshop that met in Wageningen, the Netherlands, between 16th and 18th April 1993. The meeting was supported by the European Environmental Research Organisation and attended by researchers from ten countries. Although judged a successful exchange of ideas, for various reasons, no proceedings were produced. Some speakers' work was already in press, while others appeared, for example, in publications linked to the IAL symposium ' Progress and Problems in Lichenology in the Nineties ', held in Sweden. More recently, it was proposed that, to further develop this field of study, the original participants at the Wageningen workshop should be invited to submit manuscripts to form the nucleus of an issue of The Lichenologist devoted to ' agricultural effects '. This issue is the result and shows part of the range of studies and approaches reported at the earlier meeting. Some articles have been developed further than the original reports, whereas others remain relatively preliminary studies but ones that were judged to have the potential to stimulate further research. If this issue stimulates more discussion, debate and even disagreement, which finally helps clarify how farming may influence lichens, then the original workshop will be judged to have had a wider influence than just an enjoyable meeting, skilfully organised by Han van Dobben.