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New Challenges in Digital City Planning
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New Challenges in Digital City Planning

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 3485

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Qingming Zhan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: smart urban planning; digital city; resilience city; urban climate; remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Huimin Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Interests: climate-resilient spatial planning; spatial governance of the built environment; smart city planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cities have become central to ensuring a sustainable future, with digital city planning serving as a crucial tool. The rapid growth in computational power, visualization, and the ability to quickly acquire and represent large datasets on most elements of cities at a high resolution has enabled digital city planning to seek optimized solutions to meet complex urban problems.

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

  • Progress, challenges, and opportunities of digital city planning;
  • City simulation and prediction with AI technology;
  • Scenario design and planning response for future change;
  • Digital technologies in urban planning and urban management;
  • AI technologies in urban analysis;
  • Digital twins for digital city planning;
  • Big data and planning applications.

Prof. Dr. Qingming Zhan
Dr. Huimin Liu
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. Buildings 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 2600 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

  • digital city planning
  • artificial intelligence
  • digital twins
  • urban sustainability
  • data-driven urban analysis

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 20144 KB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Distribution and Driving Factors of Historic and Cultural Villages in China
by Shuna Jiang, Naigao Lu, Zhongqian Zhang, Huanli Pan, Guoyang Lu and Shuangqing Sheng
Buildings 2025, 15(19), 3507; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15193507 - 28 Sep 2025
Abstract
Historic and cultural villages in China are increasingly challenged by rapid urbanization, uneven commercial development, and fragmented preservation mechanisms. Understanding their spatiotemporal distribution and the factors shaping it is crucial for advancing the integrated development of cultural heritage conservation, ecological sustainability, and socio-economic [...] Read more.
Historic and cultural villages in China are increasingly challenged by rapid urbanization, uneven commercial development, and fragmented preservation mechanisms. Understanding their spatiotemporal distribution and the factors shaping it is crucial for advancing the integrated development of cultural heritage conservation, ecological sustainability, and socio-economic growth. This study examines 487 historic and cultural villages using the nearest neighbor index (NNI) and kernel density analyses to reveal spatial differentiation patterns. Vector buffer analysis and the geographic detector method were further employed to identify the key drivers of village distribution. The results indicate that: (1) historic and cultural villages exhibit a distinctly clustered spatial pattern, characterized by “more in the southeast, fewer in the northwest; more in the northeast, fewer in the southwest” (NNI = 0.44, Z = –23.52, p = 0.00); (2) provincial-level spatial density demonstrates clear stratification, with high-density clusters concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, southern Anhui, the Fujian–Zhejiang–Jiangxi junction, and along the Yellow River in Shanxi–Shaanxi–Henan. From the fifth to seventh designation batches, kernel density peaks (maximum ~0.11 × 10−2) increased significantly, reflecting stronger spatial clustering; and (3) the spatial distribution of villages is jointly shaped by natural geography, socio-economic conditions, transportation infrastructure, visitor markets, and tourism resources. Among these, nighttime light intensity was identified as the most influential individual factor (q = 0.6132), while the combination of slope aspect and per capita disposable income emerged as the dominant factor pair (q = 0.966). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Digital City Planning)
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21 pages, 14613 KB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Driving Factors of Urban Expansion in the Chongqing Metropolitan Area Based on Nighttime Light Remote Sensing
by Shiqi Tu, Qingming Zhan, Ruihan Qiu and Changling Li
Buildings 2025, 15(18), 3306; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15183306 - 12 Sep 2025
Viewed by 262
Abstract
This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of urban expansion in the Chongqing Metropolitan Area by integrating multi-source big data and employing a suite of quantitative analytical methods. Drawing upon high-resolution remote sensing imagery, land-use datasets, socioeconomic statistics, and transportation network [...] Read more.
This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of urban expansion in the Chongqing Metropolitan Area by integrating multi-source big data and employing a suite of quantitative analytical methods. Drawing upon high-resolution remote sensing imagery, land-use datasets, socioeconomic statistics, and transportation network data spanning 2019 to 2023, the research revealed pronounced spatial and temporal heterogeneity in urban growth. Specifically, expansion manifested through a core-periphery spatial structure and temporal imbalances. The findings underscore a growing economic interconnectedness between core urban districts and peripheral cities such as Guang’an and Luzhou, giving rise to a multilayered and increasingly networked spatial-economic system. Moreover, urban expansion is shown to be tightly coupled with industrial distribution, transportation optimization, and regional integration strategies. In particular, the implementation of the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle has significantly facilitated cross-regional factor mobility and spatial restructuring, thereby accelerating coordinated development across the metropolitan area. Looking forward, urban expansion in the Chongqing Metropolitan Region is expected to continue leveraging transportation infrastructure and strategic industrial placement to advance regional economic integration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Digital City Planning)
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15 pages, 4361 KB  
Article
From 2D to 3D Urban Analysis: An Adaptive Urban Zoning Framework That Takes Building Height into Account
by Tao Shen, Fulu Kong, Shuai Yuan, Xueying Wang, Di Sun and Zongshuo Ren
Buildings 2025, 15(7), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071182 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 782
Abstract
The vertical heterogeneous structures formed during the evolution of urban agglomerations, driven by globalization, pose challenges to traditional two-dimensional spatial analysis methods. This study addresses the vertical heterogeneity and spatial multiscale problem in three-dimensional urban space and proposes an adaptive framework that takes [...] Read more.
The vertical heterogeneous structures formed during the evolution of urban agglomerations, driven by globalization, pose challenges to traditional two-dimensional spatial analysis methods. This study addresses the vertical heterogeneity and spatial multiscale problem in three-dimensional urban space and proposes an adaptive framework that takes into account building height for multiscale clustering in urban areas. Firstly, we established a macro-, meso- and micro-level analysis system for the characteristics of urban spatial structures. Subsequently, we developed a parameter-adaptive model through a dynamic coupling mechanism of height thresholds and average elevations. Finally, we proposed a density-based clustering method that integrates the multiscale urban analysis with parameter adaptation to distinguish urban spatial features at different scales, thereby achieving multiscale urban regional delineation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed clustering framework outperforms traditional density-based and hierarchical clustering algorithms in terms of both the Silhouette Coefficient and the Davies–Bouldin Index, effectively resolving the problem of vertical density variation in urban clustering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Digital City Planning)
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25 pages, 14621 KB  
Article
Thermal Environmental Impact of Urban Development Scenarios from a Low Carbon Perspective: A Case Study of Wuhan
by Kai Lin, Qingming Zhan, Wei Xue, Yulong Shu and Yixiao Lu
Buildings 2025, 15(2), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15020208 - 12 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1292
Abstract
Amidst the increasingly escalating global concern regarding climate change, adopting a low-carbon approach has become crucial for charting the future developmental trajectory of urban areas. It also offers a novel angle for cities to avoid high-temperature risks. This paper estimates carbon emissions in [...] Read more.
Amidst the increasingly escalating global concern regarding climate change, adopting a low-carbon approach has become crucial for charting the future developmental trajectory of urban areas. It also offers a novel angle for cities to avoid high-temperature risks. This paper estimates carbon emissions in Wuhan City from both direct and indirect aspects. Then, the ANN (artificial neural network)–CA (Cellular Automata) model is employed to establish three distinct development scenarios (Ecological Priority, Tight Growth, and Natural Growth) to predict future urban expansion. Additionally, the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting Model)—UCM (Urban Canopy Model) model is used to investigate the thermal environmental impacts of varying urban development scenarios. This study uses a low-carbon perspective to explore how cities can develop scientifically sound urban strategies to meet climate change challenges and achieve sustainable development goals. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The net carbon emission for Wuhan in 2022 is estimated to be approximately 20.8353 million tonnes. Should the city maintain an average annual emission reduction rate of 10%, the carbon sink capacity of Wuhan would need to be enhanced by 382,200 tonnes by 2060. (2) In the absence of anthropogenic influence, there is a propensity for the urban construction zone of Wuhan to expand primarily towards the southeast and western sectors. (3) The Ecological Priority (EP) and Tight Growth (TG) scenarios are effective in alleviating the urban thermal environment, achieving a reduction of 0.88% and 2.48%, respectively, in the urban heat island index during afternoon hours. In contrast, the Natural Growth (NG) scenario results in a degradation of the urban thermal environment, with a significant increase of over 4% in the urban heat island index during the morning and evening periods. (4) An overabundance of urban green spaces and water bodies could exacerbate the urban heat island effect during the early morning and at night. The findings of this study enhance the comprehension of the climatic implications associated with various urban development paradigms and are instrumental in delineating future trajectories for low-carbon sustainable urban development models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Digital City Planning)
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