Urban Planning Innovation Based on Big-Data, AI, and Digital Technology

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid urbanization, climate change, aging populations, and the urgent need for sustainable and resilient development have posed unprecedented challenges for contemporary cities. In response, urban planners and policymakers increasingly adopt advanced data-driven techniques utilizing big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technologies to improve urban environments. Urban big data—from mobile phone records, sensor networks, social media, satellite imagery, and various IoT devices—offers unprecedented opportunities to gain a deeper insight into complex urban dynamics, human behaviors, and environmental interactions.

AI-based techniques, including machine learning, deep learning, and predictive modeling, enhance the analytical capacity of urban planners by providing robust forecasts, simulations, and scenario planning capabilities. Digital technology advancements, such as digital twins, urban informatics platforms, and smart city infrastructures, are reshaping the decision-making processes and management practices of urban areas, offering transformative solutions for creating more sustainable, livable, and equitable cities.

Thus, integrating big data analytics, AI, and digital technologies represents a significant scientific and practical frontier in urban planning innovation, which is crucial for addressing contemporary urban issues effectively.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) that provide novel insights into the integration and application of big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technologies within the field of urban planning. This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative theoretical contributions, methodological advancements, and empirical studies that leverage these cutting-edge tools to address current urban challenges.

Potential contributions may include, but are not limited to, the innovative use of urban big data for spatial analytics, AI-driven predictive models of urban growth and mobility, digital twin applications for urban simulation, and smart technology deployment aimed at enhancing urban sustainability and resilience. Papers emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches, combining urban science, computational methods, and urban governance insights, are particularly welcomed.

This Special Issue aligns closely with the journal's mission of promoting interdisciplinary research and innovative solutions that contribute to sustainable urban and regional development, spatial planning strategies, and data-driven policymaking.

We look forward to your valuable contributions. This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Urban Big Data and AI Applications: Spatial analytics with multi-source urban data, machine learning for urban growth and mobility prediction, and deep learning for traffic and land use modeling.
• Computer Vision and Urban Image Analysis: Streetscape quality assessment, automated change detection from imagery, and semantic segmentation for land use classification.
• Digital Twins and Smart Urban Systems: Simulation-based planning, real-time infrastructure monitoring, predictive maintenance, and IoT-enabled urban management.
• Human Behavior, Mobility, and Social Dynamics: pedestrian flow modeling, micro-mobility usage prediction, behavioral pattern detection, agent-based urban simulations, and impacts on urban space, landscape, infrastructure, and land use.
• Urban Sustainability, Resilience, and Planning Theory: AI-enhanced planning theory, data-driven carbon and energy management, urban heat islands, and climate adaptation strategies.

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

Dr. Hee-Chul Kim
Prof. Dr. Sungjoo Hwang
Prof. Dr. Seungho Yang
Dr. Jihyon Hwang
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.

• • Urban planning innovation
• • Big data analytics
• • Artificial intelligence (AI)
• • Digital technology
• • Data-driven urban governance
• • Sustainable and resilient cities
• • Urban informatics
• • Integrating AI with planning theory.