Resilient Land Use and Sustainable Regional Development: Insights from SD2025

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Vice-Dean for Sustainable Development, Department of Management and Quality, Faculty of Applied Sciences, WSB University, Dabrowa Górnicza Campus, 41-300 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland; and Vice-Coordinator of VALORIZA - Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (IPP), 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
Interests: sustainable development; territorial governance; cross-border cooperation; land use planning; regional development
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Guest Editor
Researcher at Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Campus, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa
Interests: environmental management; sustainable development; climate change adaptation; water resource management; land use planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Considering the dynamics of global challenges—ranging from climate change to rapid urbanization and socio-economic disparities—sustainable land use and territorial governance have emerged as critical pillars for fostering resilient and inclusive regional development. This Special Issue, motivated by the VII International Congress on Sustainable Development (SD2025) held in Cape Town, South Africa, aims to bring together cutting-edge research and innovative practices addressing the complexities of land management, environmental sustainability, and regional planning, particularly in peripheral and cross-border regions.
We invite scholars to submit contributions that explore interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development, focusing on how land use strategies, governance frameworks, and environmental policies can drive resilience, economic energy, and social equity. This Special Issue highlights best practices, novel methodologies, and policy-oriented solutions supporting the transition towards sustainable, adaptive, and innovative societies.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Sustainable land use planning and management;
  • Territorial governance and regional strategies;
  • Cross-border and inter-regional cooperation;
  • Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation;
  • Circular economy and land resource efficiency;
  • Climate change adaptation in land use practices;
  • Smart cities, smart regions, and sustainable infrastructure;
  • Sustainable tourism and cultural landscape management;
  • Public policies for environmental management and resilience;
  • Connectivity, accessibility, and sustainable transport systems in regional development.

We welcome original research articles, case studies, reviews, and policy analyses that contribute to advancing knowledge and practice in these areas. Submissions from diverse disciplinary perspectives and international contexts are highly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Rui Alexandre Castanho
Prof. Dr. Luís Carlos Loures
Dr. Chané Bruyn
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 Land Use Territorial Governance Regional Development Cross-Border Cooperation Ecosystem Services Climate Change Adaptation Circular Economy Smart Cities and Regions Environmental Management Sustainable Tourism

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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