Advancing Green and Blue Infrastructure for Sustainable Metropolitan Regions: Challenges, Opportunities and Innovations
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 241
Special Issue Editors
2. Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, Epoka University, Tirana, Albania
Interests: landscape research; urban and regional planning; architecture; blue–green infrastructure; nature-based solutions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: anthropogenic impacts on land degradation; water resource management; nature-based solutions; sustainable urban planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are launching this Special Issue (SI) as a venue for sharing with the general public the latest research on blue-green infrastructure (BGI) as a prerequisite for building effective nature-based solutions to combat emerging metropolitan challenges towards more climate-resilient and sustainable urban transformations. The aim is to compile the most recent research studies on understanding, analyzing, mainstreaming, and planning BGI in metropolitan areas and build on this existing knowledge to enlighten new visions, fostering multifunctional urban BGI through innovative methods.
We invite all types of contributions (original research, reviews, communications, viewpoint, etc.) focusing on novel methodologies and original scientific contributions concerning concepts, technologies, methodologies, and tools fostering BGI for more resilient and sustainable metropolitan areas, with a particular focus on the following themes/topics:
- Design and implementation of urban blue-green infrastructure;
- Blue-green infrastructure as a nature-based solution for climate resilience in metropolitan regions;
- BGI contributions to ecosystem service and biodiversity conservation;
- Innovations in sustainable urban water systems (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, permeable surfaces);
- Emerging tools to monitor and manage GBI;
- Spatial planning for multifunctional spaces and sustainable urban development;
- Case studies highlighting successes and challenges in different metropolitan regions;
- Policy frameworks supporting the development and maintenance of GBI in cities;
- Governance challenges and opportunities in managing GBI in metropolitan regions;
- Public-private partnerships and community-driven GBI initiatives.
Dr. Artan Hysa
Dr. Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
Dr. Fanxin Meng
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
- sustainable urban development
- landscape connectivity
- water management
- climate change
- urban resilience
- natural hazards
- ecosystem services
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