Urban Planning and Sustainable Land Use—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

We are now living in a world that is characterized by rapid urbanization, resulting in widely different patterns of land-use changes in different countries and regions. Highly diverse and intensive anthropogenic activities have therefore necessitated the reorganization of the urban landscape in the form of either sprawl or compact land use patterns. In either form, it is common to see excessive and irrational land uses, which carry significant burdens in natural resources and environment and cause various eco-environmental problems, such as farmland loss, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity reduction, the urban heat island effect, and climate change. Indeed, the multiscalar relevance and localized influences of rapid urbanization have long made it one of the most prominent issues regarding the sustainable development of our globe. Many urban planners, land-use researchers, and policy makers have devoted themselves to the understanding of spatial patterns in different contexts, their diverse driving forces, and their long-term effects on various aspects of a society. A commonly shared view among scholars is that it is imperative to pursue sustainable land development patterns that accommodate the diverse requirements of urbanization while minimizing detrimental social and ecological impacts.

This Special Issue seeks to compile literature regarding contemporary urban planning and land use in different areas from a wide range of disciplines, with an ultimate aim of contributing to the global challenge of sustainable urban development. Original and innovative scholarly papers that address the simultaneous processes/spatial transformation of urban planning and land use are welcomed, preferably those making use of state-of-the-art spatial technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, big data, and social networks. Planning approaches and policy analyses are also welcomed, since authorities and governance modes play a vital role in evolutions of urban planning and land use in many countries or regions across the world.

Relevant topics include but are not limited to the following areas:

• Urban design and urban planning;
• Urban–rural land use and sustainable development;
• Application of Geo-informatics in urban planning and land use;
• Planning and public policy analysis in urban areas;
• Urban vibrancy and urban spatial pattern;
• Regional land use and development;
• Sustainable land use goals for SDGs;
• Sustainable urban land management approach;
• The theory or method of using urban big data to monitor urban development;
• Low-carbon oriented urban spatial structure optimization.

Dr. Qingsong He
Dr. Jiayu Wu
Prof. Dr. Chen Zeng
Dr. Linzi Zheng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

• urban planning
• land use
• sustainable development
• public policy analysis
• urban vibrancy
• big data
• spatial optimization