Land Governance and Socio-Economic Sustainability: Insights from Territorial Planning and Land Use Transitions Under Climate Disruptions
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 78
Special Issue Editors
Interests: land use; urban climate; resilience assessment
Interests: land use; territorial governance; urban and rural planning
Interests: land use; contemporary transformations of spatial structure; spatial and regional planning; local and regional development; rural geography
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, land governance has become increasingly central to addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, socio-economic vulnerability, and spatial inequality. Particularly in rural and mountainous regions, climate disruptions, as manifested by more frequent extreme weather events, environmental degradation, and shifting land use dynamics, expose the limits of conventional governance and planning approaches. These areas often lack institutional flexibility, making them especially susceptible to the cascading impacts of ecological stress and economic marginalization. At the same time, they are critical to regional ecological balance, food security, and cultural continuity. Understanding how spatial strategies and adaptive land-use mechanisms respond to these disruptions is essential for guiding more equitable and resilient forms of development.
The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to give insights into how adaptive spatial strategies and evolving land-use patterns contribute to socio-economic sustainability under climate-induced pressures. The collection seeks to bridge theory and practice by highlighting governance innovations and planning tools that enhance local and regional resilience. By focusing on land-based systems and their governance in the face of disruption, this issue aligns closely with the journal’s emphasis on sustainability-oriented land policy, spatial planning, and social-ecological systems.
This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:
- Climate-responsive spatial planning and policy;
- Land use transitions over the past decades;
- Governance and institutional adaptation under uncertainty;
- Socio-economic dimensions of land system resilience;
- Territorial planning for risk-prone or marginal areas;
- Integrated strategies for ecological and livelihood security.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Majid Amani-Beni
Dr. Yang Chen
Prof. Dr. Jerzy Bański
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
- land governance
- spatial planning
- adaptive land use
- climate disruptions
- socio-economic sustainability
- land use transitions
- territorial resilience
- environmental change
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
