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Land
Special Issues
Reframing Urban Morphology: Heritage, Sustainability, and Contemporary Urban Transformation
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Reframing Urban Morphology: Heritage, Sustainability, and Contemporary Urban Transformation

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 November 2026 | Viewed by 2457

Editors

Dr. Emad Noaime

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Hail, Hail 2440, Saudi Arabia
Interests: urban planning; urban morphology; centre and urban centrality; heritage preservation; sustainable development
Dr. Mohammed Alnaim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Hail, Hail 55476, Saudi Arabia
Interests: urban planning; architecture; cultural studies; urban design; vernacular architecture; cultural heritage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Land explores new directions in urban morphology through the combined lenses of heritage, sustainability, and contemporary urban transformation by inviting contributions that move beyond descriptive readings of urban form to examine how morphology can engage with present-day urban challenges such as conservation, climate change, resilient urban development, mobility transitions, public space restructuring, and socio-spatial change. By bringing together theoretical reflection, methodological innovation, and case study-based research, this Special Issue aims to highlight the continued relevance of urban morphology for urban research and practice.

The overarching goal of this Special Issue is to advance urban morphology as both a theoretical and applied field by examining how urban form is shaped, inherited, transformed, and reinterpreted in response to contemporary urban challenges. It seeks to connect classical morphological scholarship with current concerns related to heritage conservation, sustainability, climate adaptation, socio-spatial change, mobility, public space, and digital transformation. We welcome theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions, including comparative and case study-based research, that demonstrate how morphological analysis can inform planning, design, regeneration, and heritage-sensitive urban development.

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

  • Theories and methods in urban morphology;
  • Heritage-sensitive urban morphology;
  • Historic urban landscapes and traditional urban fabrics;
  • Adaptive reuse and heritage-led urban regeneration;
  • Urban morphology and sustainability;
  • Climate-responsive urban form and resilience;
  • Public space and socio-spatial transformation;
  • Mobility, accessibility, and land-use change;
  • Urban morphology and smart cities;
  • GIS, big data, AI, and digital tools in morphological analysis;
  • Gentrification, migration, and changing urban fabrics;
  • Comparative case studies in urban transformation;
  • Urban morphology, planning, and design practice;
  • Informal settlements and peripheral urban growth;
  • Morphology-informed conservation and regeneration strategies.

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

Dr. Emad Noaime
Dr. Mohammed Alnaim
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-anonymized 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
  • heritage
  • sustainability
  • urban transformation
  • urban form
  • climate adaptation
  • resilience
  • historic urban landscape
  • adaptive reuse
  • public space
  • mobility
  • socio-spatial change
  • smart cities
  • digital urbanism
  • conservation

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

40 pages, 17086 KB  
Article
Heritage Values in Vernacular Settlement Morphology: An Integrated Framework for Climate-Responsive Conservation and Urban Regeneration
by Fatma Al Bulushi, Ahmad Adeel, Iman Al Ofi, Ercan Agirbas and Muhammad Mashhood Arif
Land 2026, 15(8), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081356 - 28 Jul 2026
Viewed by 543
Abstract
Vernacular settlements retain tangible fabric and intangible knowledge that can support climate-responsive conservation, adaptive reuse, and urban regeneration, yet these dimensions are often assessed separately. This study applies a values-based conservation framework to examine how heritage significance is expressed through settlement morphology, material [...] Read more.
Vernacular settlements retain tangible fabric and intangible knowledge that can support climate-responsive conservation, adaptive reuse, and urban regeneration, yet these dimensions are often assessed separately. This study applies a values-based conservation framework to examine how heritage significance is expressed through settlement morphology, material systems, environmental performance, community knowledge, and continuing use in two historic settlements and one contemporary neighbourhood in Oman. Heritage significance is interpreted through six interconnected domains: historical-continuity, architectural-spatial, environmental, material-technical, social-cultural, and functional-economic value. A comparative mixed-method case-study design combined field observation, photographic documentation, urban and architectural morphological analysis, semi-structured interviews, and building-performance simulation. The findings show that the historic settlements achieved greater built intensity through attached buildings, shared walls, limited setbacks, shaded routes, mixed functions, and layered public–private organization. Interview evidence associated these characteristics with privacy, shared-resource management, traditional construction knowledge, social continuity, adaptive reuse, and continued occupation. Simulation results indicated substantially lower cooling-energy demand in the representative vernacular dwellings, whereas the contemporary villas achieved higher daylight levels and thermal conditions closer to neutrality under mechanical cooling. The study concludes that vernacular heritage should neither be conserved as static physical fabric nor reproduced literally. Interventions related to tourism, infrastructure, accessibility, privacy, commercial reuse, and residential continuity should be negotiated among stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reframing Urban Morphology: Heritage, Sustainability, and Contemporary Urban Transformation)
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32 pages, 46535 KB  
Article
The Metamorphosis of Manama: Sustainable Integration of Leftover Heritage Buildings Through the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Approach
by Saad Hanif, Nazish Abid and Abbas Abdo Al Warafi
Land 2026, 15(7), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071231 - 8 Jul 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 764
Abstract
This study examines how the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, proposed by UNESCO, can support the integration of leftover heritage buildings while balancing conservation with sustainable urban development. Furthermore, it investigates how the HUL approach can contribute to Manama’s ongoing efforts toward UNESCO [...] Read more.
This study examines how the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, proposed by UNESCO, can support the integration of leftover heritage buildings while balancing conservation with sustainable urban development. Furthermore, it investigates how the HUL approach can contribute to Manama’s ongoing efforts toward UNESCO World Heritage inscription aligning with the Vision 2030. The research adopts an exploratory case study methodology, utilizing qualitative research techniques including document analysis and fieldwork. The data analysis follows the six-step process of HUL, which focuses on managing and safeguarding these leftover heritage buildings as part of urban heritage, while field observations provide direct evidence of physical deterioration and underutilization. The analysis reveals persistent fragmentation within the historic core of Manama, despite multiple conservation phases led by state authorities. Findings highlight that, while the heritage buildings were deprioritized during the post-modernization era, their integration through the HUL approach can act as a catalyst in sustainable urban development. By providing a framework, findings illustrate that such integration will enhance socio-economic vitality, contributing to Manama’s UNESCO inscription, after being on the tentative list for nearly a decade. The research findings are anticipated to inform Bahrain’s Development Strategy of the Vision 2030, which emphasizes continuous strategic planning to guide policy decisions, emphasizing sustainability-oriented planning that responds to national opportunities and constraints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reframing Urban Morphology: Heritage, Sustainability, and Contemporary Urban Transformation)
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31 pages, 89541 KB  
Article
Integrated Multiscalar Approach Based on Space Syntax Analysis: Case Study of a UNESCO Candidate Slow City in Mudurnu, Turkey
by Kıymet Pınar Kırkık Aydemir, Nihat Karakuş, Burak Kaan Yılmazsoy and Aslı İrem Aydın
Land 2026, 15(7), 1175; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071175 - 29 Jun 2026
Viewed by 433
Abstract
Pedestrian accessibility is a key determinant of spatial experience, cultural heritage visibility, and urban integration in historical cities. This study analyzes pedestrian accessibility in Mudurnu—a UNESCO Tentative List site and Cittaslow—using a multi-scale, integrated space syntax approach. By combining axial and segment analyses, [...] Read more.
Pedestrian accessibility is a key determinant of spatial experience, cultural heritage visibility, and urban integration in historical cities. This study analyzes pedestrian accessibility in Mudurnu—a UNESCO Tentative List site and Cittaslow—using a multi-scale, integrated space syntax approach. By combining axial and segment analyses, statistical validations, and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), the research examines the relationship between urban morphology and pedestrian movement potential. Spatial data developed through open-access maps and field validations were analyzed via depthmapX 0.8 and QGIS 3.40.11 software. Syntactic indicators—integration, connectivity, choice, and intelligibility—were calculated at global and local scales, alongside synergy and points of interest (POI) correlations. The results indicate that mobility is concentrated along the north–south Bolu–Yıldırım Beyazıt–Ankara axis, while secondary networks in traditional residential areas remain poorly integrated. Low intelligibility (R2 = 0.06) indicates local spatial configurations provide insufficient cognitive guidance, and moderate synergy (R2 = 0.33) suggests partial harmony between scales. Segment and KDE results highlight concentrated mobility, with secondary networks emerging after logarithmic transformation. Consequently, Mudurnu exhibits fragmented accessibility and low legibility. These findings demonstrate that multi-scale space syntax analysis is an effective decision-support tool for pedestrian-oriented planning and sustainable urban design in historical cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reframing Urban Morphology: Heritage, Sustainability, and Contemporary Urban Transformation)
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