Urban Science

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paulo Castro Seixas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centre for Public Administration and Public Policies (CAPP), Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP), University of Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: sustainability; governance; public policy; urban studies; territorial intelligence; cultural planning; international regions

Mr. Ricardo Cunha Dias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Doctoral fellow from FCT, I.P. to be developed at Centre for Public Administration and Public Policies (CAPP), Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP), University of Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: sustainable development; governance; citizen participation; spatial planning; regional development; e-governance; policy making; environmental analysis; territorial intelligence

Dr. Diogo Guedes Vidal

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor

Invited Assistant Researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology, Science for People & the Planet (CFE), Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: sociology; research methodology; human and non-human relations; possible natures; post-sustainability; climate change and social science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, city governments seek to apply new approaches to the production, organization, and circulation of information, focusing on the development of knowledge management (KM) for a digital transformation towards more intelligent and sustainable cities. This KM involves the identification of an indicator system that allows researchers to delimit and to monitor the suitable areas of intervention (more contextualization). KM also enables the creation of networks and forms of coordination of the multiple actors of the cities, as a factor of institutional innovation. However, and despite the great potential attributed to the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve the governance of cities, the most advanced cases are still mostly in a phase of technological infrastructure, in which many of the constraints to digital transformation are still felt. The purpose of this Special Issue is to encourage the sharing of best practices in KM systems applied to the governance of smarter and more sustainable cities. The editors believe that sharing such cases is fundamental to guide and, above all, to accelerate the ongoing digital transformation process. The Editors of this Special Issue encourage submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following topics and issues:

Learning cases that show the joint application of the concepts of Knowledge Management, Smart Cities, and Smart Governance
Learning cases on knowledge management systems used in the digital transformation of cities (applied to specific sectors/problem solving)
Good practices in the development and implementation of indicator systems in the delimitation and monitoring of urban policies and services
Good practices in urban planning and management using ICT to increase citizen participation in urban governance

Dr. Paulo Castro Seixas
Mr. Ricardo Cunha Dias
Mr. Diogo Guedes Vidal
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. Urban Science is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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.

Keywords

big and small data
communities of practices
territorial intelligence
urban acupuncture
digital acupuncture
learning case
smart cities
governance
knowledge management
sustainability
good practices

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1210 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Innovative Use of Plastic for a Clean and Sustainable Environmental Management: Learning Cases from Ghana, Africa

by Justice Kofi Debrah, Diogo Guedes Vidal and Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis

Urban Sci. 2021, 5(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5010012 - 22 Jan 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 9285

Abstract

Addressing the plastic problem requires rigorous attention and practical education for sustainability. Due to the common effective waste management practices in some parts of the world, the plastics’ menace is generally well recognized and controlled worldwide. However, some developing countries do not have acceptable waste management practices, resulting in significant environmental, social, and health cross-cutting issues. Plastic is a significant threat to the environment in Ghana, specifically the urban environment and oceans. The new paradigm shift of virtually using non-biodegradable plastics in all daily products sold increases plastic waste in the environment, which creates problems, such as choked drainage system and breeding places for insects. The scale of these issues requires innovative and practical ideas to help solve this problem. The paper shows how plastic waste is innovatively and creatively converted to artifacts and pavement blocks in Ghana. These innovative ideas have contributed to reduce the volume of plastic waste and enhance environmental sustainability in Africa. The community’s benefits involving friendly environmental activities are identified and represent learning cases from Ghana to the world, particularly to Africa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Knowledge Management and Smart Sustainable Cities: Learning Cases of Urban Governance)

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Review

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17 pages, 1228 KiB

Open AccessReview

Urban Compactivity Models: Screening City Trends for the Urgency of Social and Environmental Sustainability

by Nadine Lobner, Paulo Castro Seixas, Ricardo Cunha Dias and Diogo Guedes Vidal

Urban Sci. 2021, 5(4), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5040083 - 28 Oct 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3649

Abstract

Urban compactivity models are increasing around the globe, and sustainability has become the new buzzword. In recent decades, the focus of ecological responsibility has been shifted to the world’s cities, as they are the source of excessive consumption, major waste production, social inequalities, and global imbalances of economic wealth. This literature review is a contribution to the exploration of compactivity models that urgently aim at more sustainable forms of urban land-use, habitation, and transportation and considers: (i) compact cities; (ii) the 15-minute city; (iii) eco-villages/urban villages; (iv) transit oriented development; and (v) transit-corridor-livability. In the second section, we will address the debate on the need for governing authorities and the interdependence between micro-, meso- and macro dynamics for the implementation of transformational plans on a longue-durée. The work will be concluded with the presentation of a set of questions for exploring the need for a priority shift in political decision-making, the role of leadership articulation, and socio-economic inequity under the umbrella of environmental public anthropology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Knowledge Management and Smart Sustainable Cities: Learning Cases of Urban Governance)

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