Sustainable Cities, Communities, and Higher Education: Long-Term Results and Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Higher education institutions (HEIs) act as key agents in shaping sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), exerting a significant influence on broader social and environmental sustainability within urban contexts. Far beyond their conventional functions of teaching and research, HEIs assume a pivotal role in fostering civic engagement, cultivating community partnerships, driving innovation ecosystems, advancing urban regeneration, and promoting social responsibility. Through their strategic planning, governance frameworks, and infrastructural decisions, these institutions shape the social, built, and natural environments in which they are embedded. Over time, the integration of sustainability principles into campus operations, curricula, and outreach activities enables HEIs to function as living laboratories, demonstrating models of sustainable development and influencing policy, behavior, and environmental conservation across the wider urban landscape.

This Special Issue invites contributions that reflect on long-term results and future perspectives—how HEIs contribute to resilient, inclusive, and liveable cities and sustainable communities.

Possible topics include the following:

• Promotion of the sustainability-driven research projects of HEIs and collaboration between departments fostering multidisciplinary teams to respond to local and global sustainability challenges.
• Campus and city regeneration projects led by universities, and the long-term impact on urban renewal, public space, and community resilience.
• Role of HEIs in supporting sustainable mobility and low-carbon campuses as models for surrounding cities.
• University influence on society by developing biodiversity protection projects on campus, promoting environmental awareness, conducting research, engaging communities, and inspiring responsible ecological behavior among students and citizens.
• HEIs influence society by advancing social inclusion and accessibility through inclusive education, research, outreach programs, equitable policies, accessible campuses, and partnerships that empower underrepresented groups and promote equal opportunities for all.
• Waste management and circular economy initiatives in HEIs—exploring how universities minimize waste generation, promote material reuse and recycling, integrate circular design principles in procurement and operations, and act as catalysts for wider urban transitions towards circularity.
• Sustainable architecture and campus design as drivers of environmental performance and cultural change within HEIs, examining approaches such as energy-efficient building design, adaptive reuse of existing structures, and the integration of sustainable materials and design principles into the curricula of academic departments—such as architecture, civil engineering, and related fields.

Contributions should be submitted in the form one of the three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper, or review) and should address the topic of the Special Issue.

Dr. Silvia Di Salvatore
Dr. Inês Ribeiro
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 conceptual papers 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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies 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 1400 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.

• sustainable cities and communities
• sustainability in HEIs
• social inclusion and accessibility
• sustainable architecture and campus design
• urban biodiversity protection
• sustainable mobility and low-carbon campuses
• waste management and circular economy