Geospatial Analysis and Modeling of Urban Greening for Sustainability in Developing Countries

Dear Colleagues,

Urbanization rates of third world countries have been increasing during recent decades. Predictions show that the rate of urbanization will become much faster in developing countries in the future. Asian and African regions are becoming more critical due to their high population density and high level of urbanization. During the past decades, rapid and unplanned urbanization has negatively affected the decrease in vegetation cover in urban regions due to the expansion of impervious surfaces such as building, parking lots, pavements, and other constructions. These rapid changes in urban green space have negative impacts, including environmental pollution, climate change, fewer crops, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, urban heat island, and breakdown of ecological cycles. Urban greening is becoming a hot issue due to the high level of negative impacts associated with urbanization. Hence, the use of geospatial analysis and modeling of urban greening will help to introduce proper sustainable urban planning in developing countries, especially for Asian and African cities.

During the past decades, many scholars have focused on the urban greening concept not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Geospatial analysis provides fruitful outcomes on the studies related to the urban greening, not only regarding horizontal expansion but also the vertical growth of green space. The use of remote sensing data portrays spatial and temporal variation of the green space, and it can be useful to capture changing patterns and for future predictions. Thus, the modeling of urban green area/volume provides vital information and helps to develop sustainability at local, regional, and global levels.

In this Special Issue, we will focus on geospatial analysis and modeling of urban greening for sustainability in developing countries. We wish to showcase your research papers, case studies, conceptual or analytic reviews, and policy-relevant articles toward helping the efforts of achieving sustainability in urban areas in Asia and Africa.

Prof. Dr. Yuji Murayama
Dr. Matamyo Simwanda
Dr. Manjula Ranagalage
Dr. Hao Hou
Guest Editors

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• Availability of GIS and Remote Sensing for urban green space/volume
• Geospatial analysis of urban greening
• Urban green volume
• Prediction and modeling of the future urban green space/volume
• Scenario analysis for green area/volume
• Urban ecosystem services
• Importance of urban greening concept for urban sustainability