Digitalization and Transformation of Regions and Cities

Dear Colleagues,

Cities and regions are currently confronted with societal challenges such as digitalization, demographic change, adaption to climate change, and migration, in addition to overlapping crises (war, a global health crisis, economic hardships, ecological problems, and energy supply issues). Digitalization has an impact on spatial planning and development in various fields. Likewise, the use of digital tools such as AI, visualizations, and platform solutions brings new requirements for the design of planning, decision-making, and participation processes. This, in turn, has consequences for the planning tools and the competencies of spatial planners and other actors in the planning and development process.

Cities and regions that are confronted with crises are under pressure to adapt and react as they undergo vast transformative processes. It is still unclear whether these new spaces open up opportunities, which may manifest as, e.g., model spaces for new innovative spatial development perspectives or new forms of governance and participation. The general questions here are: What opportunities arise for cities and regions in the course of digitalization and transformation? Could they distinguish themselves as places that promote smart, creative, and, from the perspective of sustainable development goals, sustainable solutions? How could these manifest themselves?

This Special Issue addresses a wide range of approaches to exploring and answering these questions by presenting case studies from across the globe that encompass both quantitative and qualitative empirical research, as well as original theoretical contributions.

Prof. Dr. Karina Pallagst
Prof. Dr. Sascha Henninger
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• digital transformation
• urban and regional planning practices and policies
• smart aging
• sustainable urban and regional development
• transformation for climate and/or ecosystem protection
• comparative urban and regional development
• transformation
• artificial intelligence in spatial solutions