Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development, Second Edition

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 3473

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Architecture & State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Interests: big data and smart city; housing and community planning; travel behaviour; urban development and spatial planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture & State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Interests: urban and rural development research and planning; housing and community development planning; urban renewal and social space
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Socio-Economic Geography, Institute of Spatial Management and Geography, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: spatial planning; urban analysis; optimization of urban space; spatiotemporal analysis; fuzzy set theory; changes in land use and land cover
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the Special Issue "Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development", we are happy to announce the opening of a second volume.

The buzzword "Sustainable development" has exerted significant impacts on urban planning, housing, land development and urban policy across the world. A common assumption made by researchers and authorities is that planning improves the sustainability of an area. Accordingly, various sustainable planning strategies have been adopted to promote high-quality urban and land development. Research in this area aims to unveil the sustainable implications of urban and land planning in a more holistic manner, thus shedding light on the dynamic relationships between different domains of planning and sustainability issues across the world.

For this Special Issue, we invite contributions that link planning strategies to sustainable urban and land development, either through empirical research or conceptual/theoretical works, examining any key processes, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Sustainable planning;
  • Urban and land development;
  • Smart city;
  • Urban vibrancy;
  • Urban resilience;
  • Social integration;
  • Urban green space;
  • Land spatial pattern.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Zongcai Wei
Prof. Dr. Yuting Liu
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Biłozor
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. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • sustainable urban development
  • urban renewal
  • urban commercial space
  • social sustainability
  • urban green space
  • urban resilience

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 88349 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Assessment of Street Environmental Quality Using Time-Series Street View Imagery Within Daily Intervals
by Puxuan Zhang, Yichen Liu and Yihua Huang
Land 2025, 14(8), 1544; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14081544 - 27 Jul 2025
Abstract
Rapid urbanization has intensified global settlement density, significantly increasing the importance of urban street environmental quality, which profoundly affects residents’ physical and psychological well-being. Traditional methods for evaluating urban environmental quality have largely overlooked dynamic perceptual changes occurring throughout the day, resulting in [...] Read more.
Rapid urbanization has intensified global settlement density, significantly increasing the importance of urban street environmental quality, which profoundly affects residents’ physical and psychological well-being. Traditional methods for evaluating urban environmental quality have largely overlooked dynamic perceptual changes occurring throughout the day, resulting in incomplete assessments. To bridge this methodological gap, this study presents an innovative approach combining advanced deep learning techniques with time-series street view imagery (SVI) analysis to systematically quantify spatio-temporal variations in the perceived environmental quality of pedestrian-oriented streets. It further addresses two central questions: how perceived environmental quality varies spatially across sections of a pedestrian-oriented street and how these perceptions fluctuate temporally throughout the day. Utilizing Golden Street, a representative living street in Shanghai’s Changning District, as the empirical setting, street view images were manually collected at 96 sampling points across multiple time intervals within a single day. The collected images underwent semantic segmentation using the DeepLabv3+ model, and emotional scores were quantified through the validated MIT Place Pulse 2.0 dataset across six subjective indicators: “Safe,” “Lively,” “Wealthy,” “Beautiful,” “Depressing,” and “Boring.” Spatial and temporal patterns of these indicators were subsequently analyzed to elucidate their relationships with environmental attributes. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating deep learning models with time-series SVI for assessing urban environmental perceptions, providing robust empirical insights for urban planners and policymakers. The results emphasize the necessity of context-sensitive, temporally adaptive urban design strategies to enhance urban livability and psychological well-being, ultimately contributing to more vibrant, secure, and sustainable pedestrian-oriented urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development, Second Edition)
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19 pages, 941 KiB  
Article
Residents’ Perceptions of Informal Green Spaces in High-Density Cities: Urban Land Governance Implications from Taipei
by Chen-Yi Sun, Tzu-Pei Chiang and Ya-Wen Wu
Land 2025, 14(7), 1466; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14071466 - 15 Jul 2025
Viewed by 299
Abstract
In high-density and land-scarce urban environments such as Taipei—a typical example of compact development in East Asia—informal green spaces (IGSs)—defined as unmanaged or unplanned vegetated urban areas such as vacant lots, street verges, and railway margins—play a growing role in urban environmental and [...] Read more.
In high-density and land-scarce urban environments such as Taipei—a typical example of compact development in East Asia—informal green spaces (IGSs)—defined as unmanaged or unplanned vegetated urban areas such as vacant lots, street verges, and railway margins—play a growing role in urban environmental and social dynamics. This study explores residents’ perceptions of IGSs and examines how these spaces contribute to urban sustainability and land governance. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines the literature review, field observations, and a structured public opinion survey in Taipei’s Wenshan District, the study identifies key perceived benefits and drawbacks of IGSs. Findings show that residents highly value IGSs for enhancing urban greenery, offering recreational opportunities, and promoting physical and mental health. However, concerns persist regarding safety, sanitation, and maintenance—particularly fears of waste accumulation, mosquito breeding, and risks to children. The results highlight the dual nature of IGSs as both vital ecological assets and potential sources of urban disorder. These insights underscore the need for inclusive, community-based governance models that can transform IGSs into legitimate components of green infrastructure. The study contributes to emerging discussions on adaptive urban land governance by proposing that informal spaces be strategically integrated into urban planning frameworks to enhance environmental equity, resilience, and citizen well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development, Second Edition)
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23 pages, 3781 KiB  
Article
Navigating the Path to Smart and Sustainable Cities: Insights from South Korea’s National Strategic Smart City Program
by Yookyung Lee, Seungwoo Han and Youngtae Cho
Land 2025, 14(5), 928; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14050928 - 24 Apr 2025
Viewed by 2676
Abstract
This study evaluates the progress of Korea’s National Strategic Smart City Program (NSSCP), a flagship R&D initiative, in advancing sustainable and intelligent urban development on a global scale. Utilizing the United Nations’ United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) framework, which integrates both sustainability [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the progress of Korea’s National Strategic Smart City Program (NSSCP), a flagship R&D initiative, in advancing sustainable and intelligent urban development on a global scale. Utilizing the United Nations’ United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) framework, which integrates both sustainability and smartness in city development, this research examines the program’s alignment with global standards. The findings reveal that the NSSCP contributes to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in areas such as health, energy, innovation, and sustainable communities. It also effectively addresses key dimensions of smart cities, including smart living, environmental stewardship, mobility, and economic vitality. Despite these achievements, this study identifies critical challenges, such as the absence of robust evaluation tools and an overemphasis on quantitative targets. This research is important in advancing the discourse on smart city development, offering insights into the efficacy of smart services and systems through the lens of the NSSCP’s cloud-based open data hub model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development, Second Edition)
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