While interest in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in Latin American housing has been growing over the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted its critical importance due to increased residential occupancy time, exposure to indoor pollutants, and their implications for health. Recognising the climatic, cultural, infrastructural, and socio-economic diversity of the region, this study presents a bibliometric review of research and policy advances with the aim of examining progress towards effective pathways for sustainable housing, focusing on the integrated vision of energy efficiency, IEQ, and regulations as the key thematic axes. This review, conducted using the Scopus database, synthesises findings, methodological practices, and policy developments from 2013 to 2023. Based on the qualitative thematic analysis of studies included in the narrative synthesis, the results reveal that energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality frameworks in the region are still insufficient and fragmented, hindering improvements in residential energy efficiency and thermal comfort, particularly in low-income housing. This study underscores the urgent need for updated public policies with the explicit incorporation of IEQ and health indicators, stronger enforcement of energy efficiency and building regulations, and the improved dissemination of IEQ benefits to promote sustainable governance. Further research on evaluating the long-term impacts of implemented policies and interventions in public health is also essential to address ongoing social, political, and environmental challenges in the region.

Natural ventilation was analysed in a low-income dwelling to control open or closed windows according to a dynamic simulation process in sub-humid warm climate. A selective algorithm to control natural ventilation was determined in an annual period per hour with the following findings: a) an algorithm to select open or closed windows was determined, b) comfort hours per year were evidenced with open, closed windows and selective algorithm to operate natural ventilation, and c) the schedule and periods of ventilation control were presented. Meteonorm® data were used on an hourly basis in Design Builder® simulations and the Meteorological System data based on 30 years of measurements were used to determine the comfort range. Conclusions: the potential benefits to be obtained by applying this ventilation strategy with a selective algorithm are observed in sub-humid warm climate.

Public health has multidisciplinary challenges involving a combination of physical, mental, and social welfare. Two limitations to quantifying indoor pollutants (gases, chemical compounds, and suspended particles) are the high cost and the complexity of available measurement systems. Under this scenario, an experimental approach was used to develop a low-cost system to measure variables that affect human and environmental health. Calibration, validation, and technical adjustment processes were conducted in an extreme-climate location in southern Mexico, following domestic and international standards. The key results showed the feasibility of using low-cost tools to measure pollutants in developing countries. 57% of the data for H2S had a result above 150 ppm, which is considered harmful to human health. On the other hand, developing the measurement system in the studied locality showed the importance of having data to measure environmental pollution levels according to each region's habits and customs. Sensors and open access systems were used as these can directly benefit resource-constrained researchers and the public and private sectors interested in measuring environmental and comfort variables to promote universal access to knowledge.

Los espacios urbanos desempeñan un papel crucial en la búsqueda por mejorar condiciones de salud humana y ambiental debido a su alta concentración de usuarios y su potencial para implementar de estrategias de mitigación y prácticas sustentables frente a los crecientes niveles de CO2 del ambiente. Los espacios urbanos patrimoniales presentan un reto mayor por su elevado índice de ocupación y a las restricciones normativas para su conservación. Además, el turismo local y foráneo, como fenóme-no socio-económico dinámico, requiere estrategias compatibles con protocolos de calidad ambiental ante los retos sociales actuales. El objetivo de este estudio, fue identificar las condiciones térmicas que influyen en la comodidad de los usuarios al ocupar espacios públicos, y proponer estrategias sustenta-bles de mejora. Se utilizó un método experimental para monitorear el comportamiento térmico en una calle conectada con el centro histórico de Guana-juato, que cuenta con clima templado, y se calificó el estrés térmico en espacios exteriores a través de un índice internacional. Los resultados muestran la necesidad de reducir el estrés térmico de acuerdo con los meses de medición, que derivaron en es-trategias de mejoramiento efectivas para espacios urbanos patrimoniales enfocados en la movilidad sustentable.

In the present work the thermal performance of a habitable space with mixed mode ventilation is shown. Space located in a dwelling representative of the housing register by type and surface, data from CONAVI (2017). Results of operating temperature for a base case and six virtual evaluation models (MEVi) are presented, varying the interior air volume, using Design Builder® calculation tool. The main objective was to determine the model with less use of active systems by varying the volume of indoor air with a certain comfort range, according to each thermal condition, when using mixed mode ventilation. Key results: A) Heating and cooling needs were determined in three thermal conditions, B) by increasing the volume of indoor air, there was a decrease in comfort hours per year, and a clear tendency to keep the window open for three thermal conditions, C) it is demonstrated that, in the thermal conditions: cold sub humid, warm sub humid and temperate sub humid, that occur in the state of Guanajuato Mexico, the volume of indoor air is directly proportional to the energy demand by year.