Sustainable Urban and Rural Land Planning and Utilization

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable urban and rural land planning and utilization are important for the overall well-being and development of a country. Effective land planning and utilization can help safeguard natural resources, protect ecosystems, and mitigate environmental degradation. In climate change mitigation, sustainable land planning plays a significant role by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through measures like compact urban development, promoting public transportation, and preserving carbon sinks such as forests and grasslands. By optimizing land use patterns, countries can utilize resources more efficiently, reducing waste and enhancing resource productivity. This includes promoting sustainable agricultural practices, minimizing land degradation, and encouraging the efficient use of water and energy resources. Sustainable land planning fosters equitable access to housing, infrastructure, and services for all segments of society, reducing disparities and promoting social cohesion. Well-planned urban and rural areas are essential for economic growth and prosperity. Sustainable land planning attracts investment, stimulates job creation, and enhances the competitiveness of industries by providing efficient infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and a high quality of life for residents. Countries with robust land planning frameworks are better equipped to withstand and recover from shocks such as natural disasters, economic downturns, and pandemics. By incorporating resilience measures into land use planning, countries can build stronger, more adaptive communities that can bounce back more quickly from crises. Sustainable land planning respects and preserves cultural heritage sites, historic landmarks, and traditional landscapes. It integrates cultural considerations into development plans, ensuring that communities' unique identities and traditions are valued and celebrated. Sustainable land planning takes a holistic, long-term approach to development, considering the needs of present and future generations. By balancing economic growth with social equity and environmental conservation, countries can create resilient, prosperous, and livable communities that endure for generations to come.

With the developments of data science and big data, the quantitative analysis of land use and planning has been paying more and more attentions. Statistical data analysis methods have been widely applied to analyze land use and urban planning problems, such as land planning, land leasing, land cover, land use dynamics, residential land, industry land, commercial land, urban transport, and the corresponding government behavior.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Mathematical modelling.
• Data analysis methods.
• Data Pre-Processing of urban and rural land planning and utilization.
• Data system or platform of land planning and utilization.
• Deep learning and neural networks and application in land use and planning.
• Complex network of land planning and utilization.
• Software or programming of numerical simulation and data analysis.
• Application of data science in land use and planning.
• The policy of urban and rural planning and utilization.
• Future strategies of sustainable urban and rural land planning and utilization.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jing Cheng
Dr. Shanshan Wu
Prof. Dr. Miaojuan Peng
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.

• land planning
• land utilization
• mathematical modelling
• data analysis
• complex network
• deep learning
• software
• land policy