Urban Planning in a Time of Crisis

Dear Colleagues,

Urban planning in times of crisis involves developing and implementing solutions that ensure safety, spatial order and efficient functioning of a city or commune in the face of sudden threats, such as natural disasters, economic crises or epidemiological situations. The aim of these activities is not only to minimize losses and quickly restore the efficiency of infrastructure, but also to protect the public interest, ensure spatial order and sustainable development, taking into account social, economic, and environmental needs. The main threats include the following: spatial chaos, inadequacy of existing solutions to new challenges, growing conflicts of interest, and insufficient resources to respond effectively. A crisis can lead to disorganization of the functioning of the city, deterioration of the quality of life of residents or loss of control over spatial development. Corrective actions include the following: developing integrated crisis management plans, strengthening cooperation between various services and levels of administration, implementing solutions that improve the resilience of infrastructure, as well as active social participation in the planning process. It is also crucial to organize regulations, develop public–private partnerships and ensure transparency and efficiency of decision-making processes. This makes it possible not only to respond effectively to crises, but also to build lasting spatial order and the city's resilience to future threats.

In this Special Issue, we are looking for studies that address contemporary urban design issues. We are interested in research results that address multi-threaded solutions to the crisis in the social, ecological, climate, technological, and security fields.

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

• Resilience of cities to climate, social and economic threats.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting decarbonization through the development of green infrastructure and energy efficiency.
• Sustainable development and circular economy in urban areas.
• Strengthening social integration and combating inequalities, ensuring equal access to services and public spaces.
• Development of compact, dense and well-connected cities, limiting the sprawl of buildings in specific local examples
• Modernization and adaptation of urban infrastructure to new challenges, including pandemics and extreme weather events.
• Protection and development of green and blue infrastructure – parks, green areas, water reservoirs – to improve the quality of life and adapt to climate change.
• Active mobility (pedestrians, cyclists) and sustainable public transport.
• Flexible, multifunctional urban spaces, easily adaptable to changing needs.
• Integration of urban planning with the environment – strengthening urban, suburban and rural connections.
• Public safety, health protection and efficiency of crisis response systems in urban design
• Preservation of cultural heritage and local identity while being open to innovation and diversity.
• Development of social participation and transparency of planning processes
• Local economy, innovation and creation of crisis-resistant jobs in urban areas
• Maintaining high quality of the urban environment – clean air, water, reducing noise and pollution

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

Prof. Dr. Kinga Rybak-Niedziółka
Dr. Janusz Marchwinski
Dr. Luis Araújo Santos
Prof. Dr. Eduardo Natividade-Jesus
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.

• resilience of urban spaces
• sustainability in planning of the built environment
• green-blue infrastructure, energy consciousness in urban planning
• social equality and quality of life in urban spaces
• multifunctional spaces and flexibility in urban design
• resident safety in urban design