Intelligent Transportation Systems and Sustainable Smart Cities

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid expansion of cities, urban transportation infrastructures are stretched to full capacity, trying to keep pace with the growing needs of an expanding population. In such settings, as would be expected, traffic congestion is fast becoming a chronic problem, leading to wasted time, increased fuel consumption, and growing levels of stress. The environmental impact also becomes severe, with vehicle emissions contributing heavily to air pollution that threatens citizen's health and magnifies climate change. These problems are further magnified by the infrastructure, which is often outdated and ill-equipped to handle the volume of traffic. This Special Issue (SI), “Intelligent Transportation Systems and Sustainable Smart Cities”, explores the potential of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) to offer new solutions to this complex urban transportation problem. We consider the role of ITSs as an agent of change, which would enable our cities to become more sustainable, more effective, and ultimately more livable environments.

(1) Focus, Scope, and Purpose:

Focus: This SI focuses on the development, implementation, and practical impacts of ITSs in relation to the realization of sustainable and intelligent urban settings. Our interest is not confined to a prospective review of ITSs per se, but we request papers that focus on how these systems are being as well as can be strategically used for greater sustainability goals within the context of a smart city framework.

Scope: We invite submissions that cover a wide range of topics related to ITSs, including but not limited to the following:

• AI and Machine Learning in Traffic Management;
• Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Smart Cities;
• Real-Time Data Analytics for Traffic Optimization;
• Smart Parking Solutions and Management;
• Sustainable Transportation Planning and Policy;
• ITSs for Public Transportation Enhancement;
• Case Studies of Successful ITS Implementation;
• Data Privacy and Security in ITSs;
• Social and Economic Impacts of ITSs.

Purpose: This SI aims to be a vibrant network of the finest researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers, where sharing of state-of-the-art research, insights, and evidence of best practices in ITSs will inspire sustainable urban development. We consider this collection as a trigger for knowledge development, collaboration, and finally the driver of more efficient, sustainable, and citizen-centric urban transportation systems.

(2) Supplementing Existing Literature:

While a significant amount of research has been devoted to both ITSs and smart cities independently, this Special issue will bridge the gap by putting a specific focus on the intersection of the two. It shall explore the synergistic relation between ITSs and sustainable urban development by illustrating how ITSs could be one of the drivers in realizing environmental, social, and economic sustainability objectives in smart cities.

This SI is expected to generate valuable contributions to the ongoing debates on smart city development and provide actionable insights to develop more efficient, sustainable, and citizen-centered urban transportation systems.

Dr. Da Lei
Dr. Lin Zhang
Dr. Enhui Chen
Dr. Mingzhuang Hua
Dr. Wendong Chen
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. Electronics 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.

• intelligent transportation systems
• smart cities
• sustainability
• urban mobility
• traffic management
• connected vehicles
• autonomous driving
• smart parking
• data analytics
• artificial intelligence