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Land
Special Issues
Green Spaces and Urban Morphology: Building Sustainable Cities
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Green Spaces and Urban Morphology: Building Sustainable Cities

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 January 2026 | Viewed by 2302

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Milena D. Lakicevic

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: landscape architecture; urban green infrastructure; urban ecology; R program
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mirjana J. Miletić

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Interests: sustainable architecture; resilient urbanism; green building strategies; bioclimatic design; urban sustainability; cultural heritage and architecture; circular cities
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Greinert

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Guest Editor
Department of Geoengineering and Reclamation, Institute of Environmental Engineering, University of Zielona Góra, 15 Prof. Z.Szafrana St., 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland
Interests: reclamation of urban; industrial; traffic areas; soil protection and reclamation; landscape architecture; landscape engineering; spatial planning for environmental engineers and landscape architects; land arrangement and maintenance; landscape protection; the spatial economy of cities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As urbanization accelerates, cities face mounting environmental and social challenges. Green spaces—such as parks, green corridors, urban forests, and green roofs—play a vital role in addressing these issues. Their integration into urban morphology, or the physical form and structure of cities, can improve air quality, regulate temperature, manage stormwater, and support biodiversity. Beyond environmental benefits, green spaces also enhance well-being, social cohesion, and climate resilience. Understanding the relationship between green infrastructure and urban form is key to creating more sustainable, livable cities.

We invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit papers (original research articles and review papers) that explore the critical relationship between green spaces and urban morphology in the context of sustainable urban development. As cities face growing challenges from climate change, rapid urbanization, and social inequality, the integration of green infrastructure into urban design has become essential. We welcome theoretical contributions, empirical research, and case studies that examine how elements such as parks, green corridors, urban forests, and green roofs interact with the built environment to enhance urban resilience, ecological health, and human well-being.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Ecological planning and urban green infrastructure;
  • Nature-based solutions in urban planning;
  • Climate adaptation and urban morphology;
  • Social and health impact of urban green infrastructure.

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

Prof. Dr. Milena D. Lakicevic
Dr. Mirjana J. Miletić
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Greinert
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

  • green infrastructure
  • sustainability
  • urban design
  • climate resilient cities
  • circular cities

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 22364 KB  
Article
Assessment and Layout Optimization of Urban Parks Based on Accessibility and Green Space Justice: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City, China
by Shengnan Zhao, Xirui Wen, Yuhang Ge, Xuning Qiao, Yu Wang, Jing Zhang and Wenfei Luan
Land 2025, 14(10), 2055; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102055 - 15 Oct 2025
Viewed by 671
Abstract
Addressing the imbalance between supply and demand for urban parks necessitates an assessment of their service accessibility and spatial equity. This study integrates multi-source geographic data, uses multiple data sources to generate a population distribution with high spatial resolution, and constructs park service [...] Read more.
Addressing the imbalance between supply and demand for urban parks necessitates an assessment of their service accessibility and spatial equity. This study integrates multi-source geographic data, uses multiple data sources to generate a population distribution with high spatial resolution, and constructs park service areas with multiple time thresholds based on travel preference surveys. The network analysis method is used to evaluate the supply–demand ratio and spatial equity by using location entropy, Lorenz curves, and the Gini coefficient to identify the optimal location. The results reveal a significant difference in the supply–demand ratio of parks. Within the 5 min time threshold, only 14.68% of the pixels in the park supply area meet the needs of residents, while the proportions for the 15 min and 30 min time service area expands to 71.74% and 86.34%, respectively. The distribution of parks exhibits apparent spatial inequity. Equity is highest for the 15 min service area (Gini coefficient = 0.25), followed by the 30 min area (Gini coefficient = 0.27) and 5 min areas (Gini coefficient = 0.37). Among the 80 streets in the study area, the per capita green space location entropy of 11 streets is zero. A targeted site selection analysis for areas with park supply deficiencies led to the proposed addition of 11 new parks. After this optimization, the proportion of regions achieving supply–demand balance or better reached 80.38%, significantly alleviating the supply–demand conflict. This study reveals the characteristics of park supply–demand imbalance and spatial equity under different travel modes and time thresholds, providing a scientific basis for the precise planning and equity enhancement of parks in high-density cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Spaces and Urban Morphology: Building Sustainable Cities)
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33 pages, 9021 KB  
Article
Optimizing Urban Green Roofs: An Integrated Framework for Suitability, Economic Viability, and Microclimate Regulation
by Yuming Wu, Katsunori Furuya, Bowen Xiao and Ruochen Ma
Land 2025, 14(9), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091742 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1354
Abstract
Urban areas face significant challenges from heat islands, stormwater, and air pollution, yet green roof adoption is hindered by feasibility and economic uncertainties. This study proposes an integrated framework to optimize green roof strategies for urban sustainability. We combine deep learning for rooftop [...] Read more.
Urban areas face significant challenges from heat islands, stormwater, and air pollution, yet green roof adoption is hindered by feasibility and economic uncertainties. This study proposes an integrated framework to optimize green roof strategies for urban sustainability. We combine deep learning for rooftop suitability screening, comprehensive ecosystem service valuation, life-cycle cost–benefit analysis under varying policy scenarios, and ENVI-met microclimate simulations across Local Climate Zones (LCZ). Using Dalian’s core urban districts as a case study, our findings reveal that all three green roof types (extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive) are economically viable when policy incentives and ecological values are fully internalized. Under the ideal scenario, intensive roofs yielded the highest long-term returns with a payback period of 4 years, while semi-intensive roofs achieved the greatest cost-effectiveness (BCR = 4.57) and the shortest payback period of 3 years; extensive roofs also reached break-even within 4 years. In contrast, under the realistic market-only scenario, only intensive roofs approached break-even with an extended payback period of 23 years, whereas extensive and semi-intensive systems remained unprofitable. Cooling performance varies by LCZ and roof type, emphasizing the critical role of urban morphology. This transferable framework provides robust data-driven decision support for green infrastructure planning and targeted policymaking in high-density urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Spaces and Urban Morphology: Building Sustainable Cities)
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