ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ENHANCEMENT OF RESIDENT WELL-BEING IN THE MODERNIZATION OF HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Abstract
The modernization of high-rise residential buildings has become one of the decisive urban policy challenges of the twenty-first century because cities are under simultaneous pressure from climate change, demographic growth, rising housing demand, infrastructure aging, and increasing expectations regarding public health and quality of life. In this context, the question is no longer whether existing vertical housing stock should be upgraded, but how such modernization can be organized in ways that reduce environmental burdens while materially improving the everyday lives of residents. This article examines the modernization of high-rise residential buildings through a dual analytical lens: ecological sustainability and resident well-being. Using an integrative review design grounded in recent international reports, health guidelines, and peer-reviewed studies, the paper synthesizes evidence on the environmental, social, and health dimensions of retrofit and urban renewal. The analysis demonstrates that environmentally oriented modernization cannot be reduced to façade insulation or energy savings alone. Effective modernization requires a systems approach that combines lower operational energy demand, reduced whole-life carbon, water efficiency, resilient landscape design, passive thermal regulation, safe and healthy indoor environments, accessible circulation, functional common spaces, and stronger neighborhood-level social infrastructure. The review also shows that high-rise living is not inherently detrimental to mental or social well-being; rather, outcomes depend on the quality of planning, management, architectural design, maintenance, accessibility, greenery, safety, and opportunities for social interaction. A narrow technocratic retrofit can reduce energy use yet worsen indoor air quality, summer overheating, or social exclusion if ventilation, shading, and everyday human use are ignored. By contrast, a human-centered and climate-sensitive modernization strategy can generate co-benefits in health, affordability, comfort, resilience, and community cohesion. The article proposes that the future of high-rise residential modernization lies in integrated urban governance, whole-life carbon thinking, and resident-centered design frameworks that treat housing as ecological infrastructure and as a social determinant of health.
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