Sustainable Cities in the Digital Age: Harnessing Smart Technologies for Urban Innovation

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Sustainable Cities in the Digital Age: Harnessing Smart Technologies for Urban Innovation”, invites original research, applied case studies, and critical reviews that address the practical implementation of smart technologies for sustainable urban development. Cities worldwide face complex challenges—ranging from climate change and rapid urbanization to resource scarcity and socio-economic disparities. The “smart city” paradigm offers transformative pathways, but success depends on the effective integration of digital infrastructure, policy frameworks, and community engagement.

For this issue, we particularly welcome submissions that demonstrate evidence-based outcomes from the deployment of IoT systems, AI-powered analytics, digital twins, blockchain platforms, and other emerging technologies, highlighting their measurable contributions to resilience, efficiency, inclusivity, and environmental performance.

Scope:

We welcome interdisciplinary contributions, with subtopics including (but not limited to) the following:

1. Climate and Environmental Monitoring

• IoT-based air and water quality monitoring systems;
• AI for predicting and mitigating climate hazards (heatwaves, floods, wildfires);
• Digital solutions for urban biodiversity tracking and green space management.

2. Smart Infrastructure and Energy Systems

• Smart grids and renewable energy integration (solar, wind, bioenergy);
• Energy efficiency optimization in buildings through AI and IoT;
• Demand-side energy management and microgrid technologies.

3. Urban Mobility and Transport Innovation

• Intelligent transport systems and real-time traffic optimization;
• Low-carbon mobility solutions: EV charging networks, e-bikes, and shared mobility platforms;
• Autonomous vehicle integration and safety governance.

4. Digital Twins and Predictive Modelling

• Simulation platforms for sustainable urban planning and zoning;
• Infrastructure lifecycle management through predictive analytics;
• Emergency and disaster response planning using digital replicas.

5. Urban Governance and Citizen Engagement

• Blockchain-enabled transparent governance, land registries, and budgeting;
• Open data platforms for participatory decision-making;
• E-governance tools to reduce administrative inefficiencies and corruption.

6. Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency

• Smart waste management systems and waste-to-energy innovations;
• Water reuse and recycling supported by IoT monitoring;
• Material flow tracking for circular construction practices.

7. Public Health and Urban Wellbeing

• Health data analytics for pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance;
• Smart lighting, ventilation, and noise management for healthy living environments;
• Digital platforms for mental health and community wellbeing support.

8. Urban Inclusivity and Social Equity

• Bridging the digital divide through accessible smart services;
• Inclusive design for persons with disabilities in smart infrastructure;
• Equity assessment frameworks for technology access and benefit sharing.

9. Urban Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Tools

• Indicators for tracking carbon neutrality and net-zero goals;
• AI-assisted multi-criteria assessment for sustainability performance;
• Comparative studies on urban sustainability across regions and income levels.

10. Ethics, Policy, and Data Governance

• Ethical AI deployment and algorithmic transparency in urban contexts;
• Privacy-preserving technologies for urban data collection;
• Policy frameworks to regulate emerging urban technologies.

Purpose:

This Special Issue aims to provide a scholarly and practical platform for knowledge exchange, advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)—with links to SDG 7 (Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). By focusing on scalable and context-sensitive solutions, it seeks to guide policymakers, technology developers, and planners toward actionable pathways for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities.

Contribution to Sustainability:

Aligned with the journal’s mission, this Special Issue will contribute by assessing and quantifying the impact of smart city innovations on environmental quality, social inclusion, economic resilience, and governance transparency. It will also highlight tools and metrics for measuring urban sustainability and offer insights into regulatory and policy dimensions of smart urban transformation.

Dr. Mohammed N. Abdulrazaq Alshekhly
Prof. Dr. Alhassan H. Ismail
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.