Sustainable Transformation of Urban and Region: Design, Planning and Governance

Dear Colleagues,

The connotation of green low-carbon circular transformation development is the mode formed by resource-saving and environmentally friendly low-carbon, with the concept of green low-carbon circular development being pertinent in the fields of production, circulation, and consumption. Urban and regional areas are important carriers and growth poles of world sustainable development, as well as one of the main driving forces for the continuous progress of human civilization. However, the sustainable transformation of urban and regional areas, for the future of mankind, is facing a greater challenge because of the increased pressure brought about by climate change. This Special Issue of Sustainability aims to actively assess the role of interactions between economies, resources, and the environment in urban and regional areas, exploring sustainable development modes of green and low-carbon eco-cities, and the new theory and methodology of urban design, planning, and governance. Therefore, we must achieve the sustainable transformation of urban and regional economies, which is not only a key issue and one of the main advances in urban and regional innovation research but also an important task for human beings to obtain the objectives of sustainable development, especially the key path to achieve the 11 SDGs that aim to construct inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human habitats. This Special Issue aims to promote theoretical and methodological innovation in urban and region design, planning, governance, as well as urban geography, regional economies, and regional ecological economies, which are of great significance for achieving the sustainable development targets of world cities and regional economies and strengthening the ability of the response and mitigation of global climate change.

At present, the sustainable transformation of urban and other regions mainly faces the following urgent problems. The first is the theory and mode innovation of sustainable urbanization and green and low-carbon eco-cities. The second is sustainable urban and regional design and planning in terms of quantitative expression, evaluation, and innovation. The third is the mechanism and effect of the sustainable transformation of urban and regional economies. The fourth is the interaction mechanism and coordination of urban and regional economies and ecological environment and carbon and other effects, such as the accounting, dynamic simulation, and sustainable development of urban and regional economies. The fifth is the path of governance to achieve the sustainable transformation of urban and regional areas. The purpose of this Special Issue is to focus on the above scientific issues that urgently need to be solved, and to bring together well-known scholars from different disciplines, such as urbanization, urban and regional design and planning, urban and regional governance, the sustainable development of regional economies, and ecological economies, to explore and analyze the modes and policies of innovation of urban and regional design and planning, sustainable transformation, and sustainable development modes and governance policies of regional economies. The theme of this Special Issue, titled “Sustainable Transformation of Urban and Region: Design, Planning, and Governance”, is highly connected with Sustainability’s theme of social economy, science, and comprehensive methodologies of sustainable development. We aim to actively promote the interdisciplinary integration and innovative breakthrough of sustainable development at multi-disciplinary, cross-regional, and multi-spatial scales, which will help to cope with response and mitigate the pressure of global climate change, as well as promote the realization of the goals of more sustainable urbanization, urban and regional planning innovation, eco-city construction, and sustainable transformation and sustainable development of urban and regional areas.

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

• Theory and mode innovation of green and low-carbon eco-city development;
• Regional and urban design and planning theory and method innovation;
• Sustainable transformation of regional economies and theory and method of regional ecological economies;
• Experiences, lessons, modes, and policies of green transformation in resource-based cities;
• Big data and information technology and methods application in urban and regional design, planning, and governance.

Prof. Dr. Suocheng Dong
Prof. Dr. Zehong Li
Dr. Bing Xia
Guest Editors

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• sustainable transformation
• urban and region governance
• green development
• regional economies
• eco-economies
• urban planning
• low-carbon eco-city