Strategic Spatial Planning in Urban and Regional Sustainability Transitions
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (11 March 2025) | Viewed by 21156
Special Issue Editors
Interests: inclusive planning; integrated development strategies; liveable cities
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In the shared context of co-existing challenges to urban sustainability (e.g., energy crisis, food security, flooding risks, etc.), cities and regions in the world see changing values in society that are associated with ongoing sustainability transitions (including but not limited to the energy transition, circular transition., etc.). It has led to various new spatial claims to the limited land resource: making room for water, producing bio-based materials and creating space for renewable energy while coping with existing (urgent) demands for housing, food, etc. How to strategically solve the conflicts of interest in the use of space by coordinating spatial claims supported by various discourses of sustainability transitions becomes a new question for spatial planning.
In response to this question, it is necessary to deepen the understanding of the issues at hand-, i.e., the nature of sustainability transitions, their spatial implications on land use changes, and associated social implications. Furthermore, from the perspective of strategic spatial planning, conflicts of interest in land use are also issues related to (the lack of) multi-level and multi-actor governance. Only with these improved understandings can visions and strategies for future scenarios (more coordinated urban and regional development) be made. Thus, as guest editors of this Special Issue, we encourage trans-disciplinary approaches, linking scientific research with planning practice and education, to break the silos of knowledge production and dissemination.
The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to give insights into Strategic Spatial Planning in Urban and Regional Sustainability Transitions. The aim is to identify, explain and deal with issues related to conflicts of interest in land use in cities and regions due to co-existing but not yet coordinated discourses of sustainability transitions. We call for papers that can join the in-depth discussions on 1) the understanding of the current issues and 2) new (participatory/collaborative) ways of vision- and strategy-making for more coordinated urban and regional development for sustainability transitions. The subject fits the journal’s scope because of its focus on land use changes. It is mainly in line with the subject area of “Urban contexts, urban planning and urban–rural interactions” while at the same time, also relevant to “Land-related aspects of achieving the UN Sustainability Goals”.
This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that address one or more of the following themes:
- Land use changes as consequences of spatial claims: social and spatial implications of sustainability transitions.
- (Changing) conflicts of interest in land use as a result of lack of stakeholder engagement: multi-level and multi-actor governance in sustainability transitions.
- Vision- and strategy-making as a participatory/collaborative planning process: towards integrated and coordinated land use planning for sustainability transitions.
Contributions from urban geography, political science and spatial planning are especially welcome. Papers from other fields on urban and regional studies are also highly welcome. As indicated earlier, the link between scientific research with planning practice and education is encouraged.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Lei Qu
Dr. Remon Rooij
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
- strategic spatial planning
- land use changes
- sustainability transitions
- urban and regional development
- multi-level and multi-actor governance
- stakeholder engagement
- spatial justice
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.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.