Special Issues

Land publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

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Land Management for Climate-Responsive Development
edited by , Kristoffer Berse, Yusfida Ayu Abdullah and Naim Laeni
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 1149 | Submission Open
Keywords: land development; land management; land use; land value capture; land tenureship; climate adaptation; climate mitigation; resilience; urban and regional planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land–Climate Interactions)
Community-Based Land Dynamics in Urban Transformation: Perceptions, Reconfigurations, and Sustainable Land-Use Strategies
edited by , , , Jiaying Shi and
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1047 | Submission Open
Keywords: perception of land-use changes; land-use reconfiguration in urban communities; sustainable land management strategies; technological innovations in land system analysis; qualitative and quantitative research
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Sustainable Urban and Rural Planning for Tourism: Designing a Better Future for Residents
edited by , and Juan Antonio Parrilla-González
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 812 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainable tourism urban and rural planning; decisions on sustainable urban and rural tourism planning; tourism planning and sustainable development in urban– rural destinations; residents in the context of urban and rural tourism planning; social sustainability of destinations and community-based tourism; tourism planning in emerging destinations
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Territorial Impact Analysis of Rural Policies: Approaches, Methods and Results from a Multidisciplinary Point of View (Second Edition)
edited by , Barbara Forcina and Petri Kahila
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 381 | Submission Open
Keywords: rural development and regional policies for rural areas; rural proofing; socio-economic and climate– environmental indicators of rural development; sustainable innovation in rural areas; institutional innovations in rural policies; impact assessment of rural policies; distribution of policy support among rural areas; econometric models for impact evaluation of policy schemes for rural areas; community-led local development partnerships
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Evaluating and Managing Historic Landscapes
edited by , , János Gyergyák and Ágnes Borsos
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 265 | Submission Open
Keywords: historic landscapes; evaluation methods; digital tools; heritage conservation; community engagement; landscape protection
Emerging Technologies Towards Sustainable Urban Transitions
edited by and
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 249 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainable urban transitions; artificial intelligence; sustainable land management; smart cities; cultural heritage; sustainable transportation; heat islands; urban microclimate; urban regeneration
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
The Economic Value in Rural–Urban Landscapes
edited by Carlo Costantino, and Riccardo Gulli
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 216 | Submission Open
Keywords: rural and urban development; innovative tools; participatory processes; landscape integration; new european bauhaus; nature-based solutions; ecological networks; sustainable tourism; adaptive reuse; agriculture
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Just Agriculture and Food Systems Futures—Exploring/Enacting Different Relationships to Land
edited by Colin Charles Dring and Alesandros Glaros
submission deadline 30 Sep 2025 | Viewed by 199 | Submission Open
Keywords: land justice; just food futures; relational futurities; just agricultural futures; food temporalities
(This special issue belongs to the Section Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus)
Soil Security of Peatland Ecosystems: Risk Assessment, Pollution Prevention and Restoration
edited by and Marios Drosos
submission deadline 1 Oct 2025 | 7 articles | Viewed by 8900 | Submission Open
Keywords: peatlands; soil security; restoration; peatland ecosystems; water regime of peatlands
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land, Soil and Water)
Technological and Social Innovations in Urban Ecosystems: Perspectives on Green and Blue Infrastructure
edited by , Aline A. Cavalari Corete and Giuliano Maselli Locosselli
submission deadline 10 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2293 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban forest; urban greening; green infrastructure; blue infrastructure; socio-environmental issues; nature-based solutions; ecological patterns and processes in urban environments
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Urban Risk and Climate Resilience Planning: Tools for Managing Land Use Under Uncertainty submission deadline 10 Oct 2025 | Viewed by 862 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban analytics; machine learning for urban planning; land use modelling; digital twins; geospatial analysis; multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA); big data in land management; sustainable development policy; public-private partnerships (PPP); just transition; green infrastructure planning; soil protection policies; integrated urban planning; urban policy innovation; brownfield regeneration; circular urban planning; sustainable land management; geographic information systems (GIS); ESG urban assessment; smart planning tools; predictive modelling; environmental and health risk evaluation
Advances in Urban Flood Modeling: Exploring the Impacts of Land Use, Climate Change, and Green Infrastructure on Flood Risks and Mitigation Strategies submission deadline 14 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1430 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban flood; waterlogging; land use; urban expansion; impervious surface; green infrastructure; historical flood investigations
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land–Climate Interactions)
Cultural Heritage Preservation as a Basis for Sustainable Development and Transformation of Historic Urban Landscapes
edited by , , and Zachary Mark Jones
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 9095 | Submission Open
Keywords: cultural heritage; sustainable development; historic urban landscape; urban transformation; resilience; cultural landscapes
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Systems and Global Change)
Computational Design and Planning for Socio-Environmental Sustainability of Landscapes and Communities
edited by , Bo Zhang and
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 6 articles | Viewed by 8331 | Submission Open
Keywords: socio-environmental sustainability; climate change adaption; environment impact assessment; smart cities; green infrastructure; environmental modeling
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Land-Use Systems from Resource-Nexus Perspectives submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 6831 | Submission Open
Keywords: SDGs; resource coupling; resource policy; water-energy-food-materials-land nexus; sustainable development
(This special issue belongs to the Section Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus)
Rural-Urban Interaction in Terms of the Spatial Pattern and Local Development
edited by , Rongjun Ao, Wensheng Zheng, and
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 5681 | Submission Open
Keywords: rural– urban integration; urban agglomeration network; population flow network; urban and rural transportation network; urban-rural land transition; innovation network; rural revitalization
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Innovative Approaches in Urban Planning: Enhancing Community Engagement and Heritage Conservation submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 4822 | Submission Open
Keywords: innovation in urban planning; community engagement; heritage preservation; sustainability; simulative modeling; participatory design
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus: Pathway to Low-Carbon Transition
edited by
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 2714 | Submission Open
Keywords: climate change; energy transition; environmental; social; and governance frameworks; sustainable development; low-carbon transition; social impact assessment; environmental sustainability
(This special issue belongs to the Section Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus)
Place-Based Urban Landscape Design Planning: Theory, Methodology and Practice
edited by , Weizhen Chen and
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2481 | Submission Open
Keywords: locality; sense of place; local culture; place attachment; landscape design and planning; cultural landscape heritage; urban memory; urban gentrification; landscape narrative; landscape justice; environmental psychology; landscape perception; place experience; interdisciplinary approaches; sustainable development
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space (Second Edition)
edited by
submission deadline 15 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 2349 | Submission Open
Keywords: rational land use; sustainable urban space; urban planning and design; spatial optimization; public participation and governance; land-use policy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Celebrating World Food Day—Rural Economic Transformation and the Green Development of Agriculture in Developing Countries
edited by , Mercedita Sombilla and
submission deadline 16 Oct 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 8772 | Submission Open
Keywords: rural transformation; structural transformation; inclusive growth; sustainable agriculture; food security; green development; institutional innovation; policy support; investment in agriculture and rural
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)
Optimisation of Environmental, Economic and Social Impacts in Natural Resource Management
edited by
submission deadline 20 Oct 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 7256 | Submission Open
Keywords: natural resources management; societal needs; economic opportunities; sustainable development goals; environmental impacts
Blue-Green Infrastructure and Territorial Planning
edited by , and Adriana Piperno
submission deadline 20 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 902 | Submission Open
Keywords: blue-green infrastructure; hybrid infrastructure; nature-based solutions; sustainable territory planning; climate change adaptation; sponge watersheds
Policies, Programs and Tools for Conservation and Sustainability in Tropical Landscapes submission deadline 22 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 9506 | Submission Open
Keywords: agricultural landscapes; payment for environmental services; land-use change; conservation policies; land– environment governance; tropical ecosystems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Systems and Global Change)
Sustainable Development of the Territory and Use of Natural and Cultural Resources to Improve the Quality of Life of Residents, 2nd Edition
edited by , María Montserrat Cruz González, Francisco Xabier Sánchez Sellero and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 6 articles | Viewed by 10079 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainability; sustainable territory; sustainable development; sustainable management; sustainable development goals (SDG); regional and local development; natural and cultural resources; water resources; forest exploitation; mining resources; renewable and non-renewable energy resources; natural spaces; improvement in biodiversity; quality of life; sustainable tourism
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land, Biodiversity, and Human Wellbeing)
Building Resilient and Sustainable Territories submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 9073 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainability; resilience; development; territory; public policies; climate change adaptation; ecosystem services; natural resource management
Understanding Disasters in a Changing Landscape: Causes, Impacts and Mitigation Strategies submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 8047 | Submission Open
Keywords: floods; soil erosion; landslide; sediment dynamics; wildfire-induced changes in land use patterns; post-disaster rehabilitation and resilience building; modelling advances in flood; soil erosion; sediment; or landslide hazards; impacts; and mitigation; technological innovations for early warning systems; land-related hazards and risk assessment; geomorphology changes after land alternations; wildfires; impact assessment; mitigation strategies; uncertainty
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land, Soil and Water)
Rural Development Strategies in the EU: Strengthening Agricultural Sectors and Local Economies submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 7544 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainable rural development; rural development programs and strategies; vision for rural areas; agricultural development; local economic development
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)
Planning for Sustainable Urban and Land Development, Second Edition submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 4 articles | Viewed by 6381 | Submission Open
Keywords: sustainable urban development; urban renewal; urban commercial space; social sustainability; urban green space; urban resilience
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Urban Ecosystem Services: 6th Edition submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 5 articles | Viewed by 5655 | Submission Open
Keywords: assessing natural capital and ecosystem services; compact cities; ecology in cities; ecosystem services; ecosystem disservices; and well-being; ecosystem service degradation; edible green infrastructure; green infrastructure; green space; green walls; healing garden design; landscape architecture and urban design; mapping and assessing ecosystem services; modelling ecosystem services; nature-based solutions; social-ecological systems; sustainable urbanism; urban agriculture; urban biodiversity and ecosystem services; urban biosphere reserve; urban ecosystems; urban forest; urban geography and development; urban– rural interface; urban sustainability
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Nature-Based Solutions for Landscape Governance and Modification in Urban–Rural Areas
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 3913 | Submission Open
Keywords: nature-based solution; landscape governance; land modification; urban renewal and regeneration; sustainable urbanization; brownfields; human– environment systems
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Contemporary Challenges for Urban Built Environment and Landscape Conservation: Social, Cultural and Economic Issues submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3757 | Submission Open
Keywords: heritage conservation; cultural landscape; built environment; urban planning; economic evaluation; reuse; participation; social value; decision-making; sustainable development
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Sustaining the Past and Future: Innovative Approaches to Design, Heritage and Environmental Sustainability
edited by , and Clara Stella Vicari Aversa
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 3203 | Submission Open
Keywords: integrating conservation; land consumption; cultural heritage; green areas and water edges; architectural and urban regeneration; waterfront regeneration; architectural heritage and design; landscape restoration; green and blue infrastructure; sustainable cultural tourism; re-use of heritage building; regenerate cities and architecture; sustainable design; regenerative design; climate-resilient design
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Estimation of Forest Biomass from High and Medium Spatial Resolution Satellite Imagery
edited by Adélia Sousa and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1975 | Submission Open
Keywords: image classification; spectral indices; sustainability; stand structure; datasets; multiple scale; modeling; forest biomass; carbon sequestration
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land – Observation and Monitoring)
Geospatial Data for Landscape Change (Second Edition)
edited by
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1974 | Submission Open
Keywords: space-time landscape analysis; landscape quality assessment and monitoring; LULC change detection; landscape 3D mapping and monitoring; landscapes in a changing climate; people’ s perception of landscape change; changes in landscape analysis approaches; landscape geospatial visualization; geospatial data of moon and mars landscape mapping
Optimizing Land Development: Trends and Best Practices
edited by and Aneta Chmielewska
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1932 | Submission Open
Keywords: land development; optimization strategies; land use dynamics; human– environment dynamics; contemporary trends; best practices; land/land-use/land-cover change; land management
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
Computer Vision and Machine Learning Methods for Land Use Land Cover Change Modelling and Forecasting submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1890 | Submission Open
Keywords: land use/land cover forecasting; land cover change simulation; vegetation monitoring; landscape change; remote sensing; land management; land degradation; deep neural networks
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Innovations – Data and Machine Learning)
Feature Papers for Land–Climate Interactions Section: Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS
edited by
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1499 | Submission Open
Keywords: land– climate interactions; remote sensing; GIS; biogeochemical cycles; land use/land cover change; environmental impact assessment; data fusion; sustainable land management
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land–Climate Interactions)
Feature Papers for Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions Section: 2nd Edition
edited by
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1289 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban landscapes; urban land use change; urban heat island and climate change; urbanization impacts on ecosystems and their services; biodiversity; wildlife; and nature conservation in urban ecosystems; urban planning and governance of green-blue infrastructures; green infrastructure and nature-based solutions; sustainable cities; environmental justice in cities; technology for cities and big data
(This special issue belongs to the Section Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions)
The Relationship Between Landscape Sustainability and Urban Ecology submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1226 | Submission Open
Keywords: landscape sustainability; urban ecology and biodiversity; urban and regional planning; resilience; smart cities and communities; green infrastructures    
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Virtual Land and Virtual Property Markets: The Real (Virtual) Estate Discipline During the Digital Transformation. Is the Metaverse a New Frontier for Land Investment?
edited by Aurora Greta Ruggeri and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1113 | Submission Open
Keywords: land; metaverse; land investment; virtual land; real estate; virtual estate
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues)
Challenges and Future Trends in Land Cover/Use Monitoring
edited by , , and Monika Przeor
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1073 | Submission Open
Keywords: land monitoring; land mapping; land cover; land use; land classification; land change detection; information fusion; multi-source registration; spectral imaging; machine learning; optical and microwave data
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land – Observation and Monitoring)
Energy-Water-Land Nexus Under Low-Carbon Globalization
edited by
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 999 | Submission Open
Keywords: renewable energy siting; social– ecological impacts; photovoltaic panels; land occupation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus)
Synergistic Use of Time-Series Remote Sensing, Deep Learning, and AI for Land Transformation Monitoring
edited by
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 767 | Submission Open
Keywords: time-series remote sensing; deep learning; artificial intelligence (AI); machine learning; land transformation; land use change; land cover mapping; synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery; natural hazard monitoring; environmental monitoring; change detection; multi-sensor data integration; predictive modeling; urbanization; climate change impacts; geospatial analysis; sustainable land management; temporal analysis; hazard assessment; remote sensing applications
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Innovations – Data and Machine Learning)
Modeling Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Land Development
edited by Emre Tepe
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | Viewed by 582 | Submission Open
Keywords: spatio-temporal modeling; urban growth; land use changes; spillover effects; marginal effects; spatial dependencies; machine learning; urban simulation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Land Governance Technology and Institutional Reform for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals with Environmental and Social Aspects (Second Edition) submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 506 | Submission Open
Keywords: arid hydrology; carbon research; carbon emission rights trading; cultivated land protection; economic analysis; environmental economics; environmental law; environmental management; environmental modelling; environmental social governance; human rights protection in host country; industrial land transformation and upgrading; land ecological restoration; land management; sustainable land use; urban flood; urban rural planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Use, Impact Assessment and Sustainability)
The Impact of Urban Planning on the Urban Heat Island Effect
edited by , Blanca Arellano and Adriana Inés Olivares-González
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | Viewed by 351 | Submission Open
Keywords: urban heat island; urban planning; urban climate; green infrastructure; climate adaptation; thermal comfort; building energy efficiency; legislation; public policies; and projects aimed at the management of urban heat islands; urban heat island; urban planning; and inequalities; public health and social adaptation to the risk of the urban heat island effect; climate justice
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land–Climate Interactions)
Climate Adaptation and Recovery Strategies: Reimagining Governance in Urban Regions
edited by , Kathryn Moore, and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | Viewed by 323 | Submission Open
Keywords: climate crisis; landscape strategies; landscape governance; climate adaptation; landscape design; regional approaches; landscape approaches; governance; landscape environmental policy; indigenous knowledge
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land–Climate Interactions)
Carbon-Focused Land Use Strategies: Pathways to Climate Resilience
edited by , Shifu Wang and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | Viewed by 307 | Submission Open
Keywords: carbon sequestration; land-based climate mitigation; agroforestry; soil carbon management; forest restoration; carbon markets; sustainable land management; land use strategies; sustainable community; policy and governance; technological innovations; climate resilience
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Use, Impact Assessment and Sustainability)
Deep Learning of Climate Change and Extreme Events, Hydrological Processes and Land Use Dynamics Relationships (Second Edition)
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Oct 2025 | 1 articles | Viewed by 290 | Submission Open
Keywords: deep learning techniques; climate change impact; extreme event forecasting; hydrological data analysis; land use change monitoring; predictive environmental modeling; remote sensing applications; disaster risk assessment; water resource optimization; ecosystem service evaluation; sustainable development strategies; environmental decision support
(This special issue belongs to the Section Land Systems and Global Change)
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