Sustainable Urban Planning Models for New Smart Cities and Effective Management of Land Take Dynamics

Dear Colleagues,

The subprime crisis of 2007 and the health emergency of COVID-19 have highlighted the economic, social and environmental shortcomings of urban systems. The most difficult challenge of the 21st century is therefore related to our ability to carry out effective interventions on cities in order, on the one hand, to mitigate urban genetic anomalies (urban sprawl, urban sprinkling, etc.), and on the other to preclude further land consumption. In particular, the alterations of the natural balances resulting from the irreversible intervention of soil sealing are manifest and tangible: rises in temperatures, floods and landslides, droughts and fires, atmospheric and acoustic pollution, and the degradation and depletion of the soil and natural landscapes.

Since the 1972 "Stockholm Conference", the European Union has brought to the attention of the technical tables of governments the need to plan actions aimed at reducing the negative effects caused by land use focused on the maximization of productivity and related economic interests. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and the recent financial recovery instrument "NextGenerationEU" represent the current global effort developed by Member States in an attempt to improve the future of urban development and create new smart cities that are more resilient and have fewer negative impacts on the environment. It is therefore imperative to pursue the efficient management of the existing real estate assets and an adequate regulation of new building according to compensatory schemes focused on maximizing the quality and extension of the green area—also in consideration of the current relevance of the ESG criteria (Environmental, Social and Governance).

In this context, there is also the need for an appropriate assessment of the risk of investments related to the economic–financial, social, and environmental issues generated by the phenomenon of land consumption in the urban environment. Public and private subjects involved in the preparation of sustainable urban plans and projects require the use of appropriate methodological approaches that allow fir the evaluation and determination of the most significant factors in the land consumption’s reduction at all territorial scales.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. The aim is to collect innovative scientific contributions on the assessment and evaluation frameworks concerning, but not limited to: indicators and indices based systems, real estate evaluation models, geographic information systems, urban planning compensation schemes and financial operative tools that can support the decision processes that occur during public–private partnerships in the determination of the economic-financial, social and environmental risks related to land consumption reduction.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marco Locurcio
Dr. Francesco Tajani
Dr. Debora Anelli
Guest Editors

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