Vulnerability and Resilience of Urban Planning and Design

Dear Colleagues,

Cities play an immeasurable role in our society and the way cities are planned and built directly impacts the quality of life of billions of people. Living in cities continues to be a desire for many people and, as urbanisation continues to accelerate worldwide, the quest for efficient and sustainable urban designs gains ever greater significance. As cities expand and urban populations rise, awareness of the vulnerability of the built environment and its transformation towards resilience are two aspects that gain paramount importance. Furthermore, cities are increasingly vulnerable to climate change and are now particularly at risk, experiencing intensified impacts that disrupt daily life and strain resources. Poorly planned urbanisation exacerbates these vulnerabilities, making it crucial for cities to implement resilient strategies and sustainable practices to mitigate these effects and protect their inhabitants.

Addressing these challenges requires innovative and adaptive methods to tackle each aspect and enhance the sustainability of urban areas while also ensuring equity for all inhabitants.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore cutting-edge research and practical solutions that focus on enhancing the resilience and reducing the vulnerability of urban environments. We seek contributions that delve into various aspects of urban planning and design, highlighting strategies, policies, and technologies that can help foster a comprehensive understanding of how urban planning and design can contribute to building resilient, sustainable, and equitable cities. We welcome interdisciplinary research that combines insights from urban planning, architecture, engineering, environmental science, social sciences, and other relevant fields. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

• Climate change;
• Urban design strategies for disaster risk reduction;
• Addressing social inequalities in urban resilience strategies;
• Socioeconomic resilience and community-based approaches;
• Infrastructure resilience and adaptive design;
• Collaborative planning;
• Urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions;
• Harvesting of renewable energy in the built environment;
• Governance and policy frameworks;
• Assessing and mapping urban vulnerabilities;
• Public health and urban design;
• Integration of smart city technologies;
• Urban climate effects (such as heat islands and street canyons);
• Transportation and mobility systems;
• Urban logistics;
• Active mobility;
• Urban transport energy and emissions;
• “Urban resilience planning in the South Global”;
• Industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9);
• Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11);
• Climate action (SDG 13).

Please note that proposed titles and abstracts (up to 250 words) can be submitted by April 2025 for preliminary feedback. Quality submissions may have a chance to receive a waiver of the Article Publication Fee. For any inquiries or further information, please contact the Guest Editor at [email protected].

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. João Pedro Monteiro
Prof. Dr. Eduardo Natividade-Jesus
Dr. Nuno Sousa
Prof. Dr. João Coutinho-Rodrigues
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. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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 resiliency
• climate adaptation
• governance
• mobility
• smart cities
• geographical information systems
• sustainable development
• green infrastructure
• socioeconomic resilient
• form and function