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Land
Special Issues
Morphological and Climatic Adaptations for Sustainable City Living
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Morphological and Climatic Adaptations for Sustainable City Living

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2138

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Zhonghua Gou

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Guest Editor
School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: sustainable design; green building; building performance studies; urban green space
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Elmira Jamei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Sustainable Industries and Livable Cities, College of Engineering & Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Interests: sustainable built environment; smart cities and urban informatics; urban climatology and thermal balance; environmental urban planning and public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hing-Wah Chau

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Sport, Health and Engineering, Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia
Interests: sustainability and built environment; design for health and wellbeing; inclusive design; architectural and urban design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid urbanization of global cities, coupled with intensifying climate challenges such as heatwaves, flooding, and energy demands, underscores the urgent need for sustainable urban design. Urban morphology, the physical form and structure of cities, significantly influences environmental performance, including energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and resilience to climate stressors. As cities strive for sustainability, understanding how morphological and climatic adaptations can enhance livability while mitigating environmental impacts is becoming critical. This Special Issue aligns with Land’s scope, which emphasizes the interplay between urban land use, environmental sustainability, and human well-being, addressing the pressing need for innovative urban design solutions in the face of climate change.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) in order to provide insights into how urban morphology can be optimized to enhance sustainable city living. We aim to explore the integration of morphological adaptations with climatic factors in order to improve energy self-sufficiency, thermal comfort, and urban resilience, particularly in regions facing extreme climates. Contributions to this Special Issue will advance theoretical frameworks, empirical models, and practical design solutions, fostering sustainable urban land use and planning.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that explore the following themes:

  • Urban morphology optimization for energy efficiency (e.g., photovoltaic integration and passive cooling).
  • Climatic adaptation strategies for thermal comfort and heat island mitigation (e.g., greenery and ventilation corridors).
  • Resilient urban design for climate stressors (e.g., flood-adaptive structures and heatwave-resistant morphologies).

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

Prof. Dr. Zhonghua Gou
Dr. Elmira Jamei
Dr. Hing-Wah Chau
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-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

  • urban morphology
  • climatic adaptation
  • sustainable urban design
  • thermal comfort
  • energy self-sufficiency
  • urban resilience

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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24 pages, 7853 KB  
Article
Designing for Cooler Street: Case Study of Van City
by Nursevil Yuca, Şevket Alp, Sevgi Yilmaz, Elmira Jamei and Adeb Qaid
Land 2025, 14(12), 2313; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14122313 - 25 Nov 2025
Viewed by 951
Abstract
In the context of global climate change and rapid urbanization, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect has become a pressing environmental and public health concern, particularly in semiarid regions. This study evaluates the microclimatic performance of various urban design strategies aimed at enhancing [...] Read more.
In the context of global climate change and rapid urbanization, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect has become a pressing environmental and public health concern, particularly in semiarid regions. This study evaluates the microclimatic performance of various urban design strategies aimed at enhancing thermal comfort along a densely built-up street in Van, a medium-sized city located in Turkey’s semiarid climate zone. Using ENVI-met 5.7.2, nine alternative scenarios were simulated, incorporating different configurations of vegetation cover (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%), ground surface materials, and green roof applications (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%). Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and other thermal comfort indicators were assessed at multiple time intervals on the hottest summer day. Results indicate that increasing vegetation cover substantially reduces PET values, with a maximum reduction of 3.0 °C observed in the 75% vegetation scenario. While the scenario with no vegetation but light-colored pavements achieved a 1.8 °C reduction in air temperature at 2:00 p.m., the maximum PET value remained unchanged. Conversely, using dark-colored asphalt decreased the average air temperature by 1 °C and improved the thermal comfort level by reducing the PET by 0.4 °C compared to a non-vegetated scenario. The scenario with the highest overall greenery led to a 2.9 °C drop in air temperature and a 12.8 °C reduction in average PET at 2:00 p.m. compared to other scenarios. The study provides evidence-based recommendations for human-centered urban planning and advocates for the integration of microclimate simulation tools in the early stages of urban development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphological and Climatic Adaptations for Sustainable City Living)
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29 pages, 11017 KB  
Systematic Review
Decoding Morphological Intelligence: A Systematic Review of Climate-Adaptive Forms and Mechanisms in Traditional Settlements
by Xiaoyu Lin, Wenjian Pan, Jiayi Cong, Han Wang and Longzhu Zhang
Land 2026, 15(1), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010105 - 6 Jan 2026
Viewed by 737
Abstract
Traditional settlements exhibit remarkable climatic adaptability, representing a form of “Morphological Intelligence” developed over centuries. However, this inherent, physics-based wisdom remains underutilized in contemporary urban planning and design. This systematic review aims to decode such intelligence by analyzing the relationship between the morphological [...] Read more.
Traditional settlements exhibit remarkable climatic adaptability, representing a form of “Morphological Intelligence” developed over centuries. However, this inherent, physics-based wisdom remains underutilized in contemporary urban planning and design. This systematic review aims to decode such intelligence by analyzing the relationship between the morphological characteristics of traditional settlements and their thermal performance. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, literature retrieval and evaluation were conducted via the databases of Web of Science, Scopus, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for articles published during 2004~2024. A total of 82 related articles with available full texts were selected from 1227 records for in-depth analysis, including peer-reviewed journal articles and reputable conference publications. This study first presents an overview of bibliometric and methodological landscapes, revealing that research is increasingly concentrated in Asia’s tropical and subtropical climates, predominantly employing case studies and computational simulations. Secondly, we synthesize a few key climate-adaptive morphological features across macro- (e.g., settlement layout), meso- (e.g., street canyon geometry), and microscales (e.g., courtyards). The findings illustrate a reliance on methods and metrics developed for modern urban contexts, which could not fully capture the specific morphological characteristics of traditional settlements. Most importantly, this study summarizes four core principles of “Morphological Intelligence” in traditional settlements, i.e., strategic solar control, facilitated natural ventilation, use of thermal mass, and integration of natural elements and creation of thermal buffer zones. By identifying the limitations of existing investigations, this study highlights a few directions for future studies, including conducting more systematic multi-scalar integrated analysis, focusing on the development of dedicated quantitative metrics and analytical frameworks, delving into more mechanism-oriented investigation, assessing morphological resilience under urbanization, and translating principles into contemporary design guidelines. This study provides a foundational framework for translating the “Morphological Intelligence” of traditional settlements into actionable, evidence-based strategies for resilient and energy-efficient urban planning and design amidst climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morphological and Climatic Adaptations for Sustainable City Living)
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