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Sustainability in Urban Development and Land Use

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2003

Special Issue Editors

College of Big Data Application and Economics (Guiyang College of Big Data Finance), Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China
Interests: urban design; multilayer networks; GIS; urban land-use; network optimization

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Guest Editor
1. College of Resources and Environment, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
2. Miyun Branch, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 101500, China
Interests: spatial complexity; the multi-functional process of urban and rural transition zone
College of Metropolitan Transportation, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
Interests: connected and autonomous vehicle ridesharing transportation and land use

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship between urban development and land use is intricate and mutually influential. Urban growth often necessitates the expansion of built-up areas, leading to changes in land use patterns. Conversely, the availability and suitability of land determine the scale, form, and sustainability of urban development.

The study of sustainability in urban development and land use is paramount in today's rapidly urbanizing world, it ensures harmonious coexistence between human activities and the natural environment, promoting economic growth while preserving ecological balance. The scientific significance lies in developing strategies that minimize resource depletion, reduce pollution, and enhance social well-being. Current research trends focus on innovative technologies, such as smart cities and green infrastructure, to optimize land use and enhance urban resilience. By integrating sustainability principles into urban planning, we can create more liveable, equitable, and environmentally friendly cities for future generations.

Therefore, research around the impact of sustainability in urban development and land use is of great importance. In this Special Issue, we invite conceptual, empirical, review or exploratory papers, which contribute to our understanding of the sustainability in urban development and land use. 

Dr. Rui Ding
Prof. Dr. Zhijun Song
Dr. Tongfei Li
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

  • urban and regional planning
  • land use and planning
  • urban development
  • urban/rural integration development urban/rural land use planning and allocation
  • impacts of land use and land cover on regional planning
  • sustainable urban/rural land management approaches
  • low-carbon-oriented land use
  • land use efficiency
  • resilience and sustainable urban systems

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2412 KB  
Article
The Drag Effect of Land Resources on New-Type Urbanization: Evidence from China’s Top 10 City Clusters
by Lei Liu, Weijing Liu, Liuwanqing Yang and Xueru Zhang
Sustainability 2025, 17(17), 7746; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177746 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 392
Abstract
Land resources are the basis of human production and life, and they face many challenges in the process of urbanization, such as the prominent contradiction between land supply and demand and the inefficient use of land, which in turn restricts the socio-economic development [...] Read more.
Land resources are the basis of human production and life, and they face many challenges in the process of urbanization, such as the prominent contradiction between land supply and demand and the inefficient use of land, which in turn restricts the socio-economic development and the promotion of urbanization. This paper takes China’s ten largest urban agglomerations as its research object and constructs a land resource drag effect model based on the C-D production function. The geographical weighted regression method is used to calculate the coefficient of the land drag effect. Combining kernel density analysis and spatial autocorrelation analysis, the paper reveals the temporal and spatial evolution patterns of the drag effect and discusses the impact of land resources on new urbanization and its temporal and spatial differentiation characteristics. The study shows that during the period of 2006–2022, China’s new-type urbanization as a whole rises, but the development of each urban agglomeration has significant differences, showing a spatial pattern of “east high, west low”; the drag effect of land resources shows a decreasing trend, but regional differences are obvious, showing a distribution of “east strong, west weak”; the kernel density curve of drag effect of land shows a “right-skewed-left-skewed” change, with the overall level weakening and the degree of concentration increasing; the drag effect of land resources shows significant positive global autocorrelation, and there are spatial proximity effect and spillover effect in space. The findings provide a theoretical basis for land resource utilization and spatial development in China’s new-type urbanization process. Therefore, it is necessary to implement differentiated land resource allocation and urban planning policies according to different types of urban spatial agglomeration and to give full play to the cooperative linkage effect of urban agglomerations in reducing the drag effect of land resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Urban Development and Land Use)
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23 pages, 1536 KB  
Article
Data Factor Marketization and Urban Industrial Land Use Efficiency: Evidence from the Establishment of Data Trading Platforms in China
by Weiwei Chen and Shunyi Li
Sustainability 2025, 17(6), 2753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062753 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1025
Abstract
Enhancing urban industrial land use efficiency (UILUE) is critical for addressing human–land conflicts and promoting sustainable urban development. However, the role of data trading in influencing UILUE remains insufficiently examined in the literature. This study explores the effect of data factor marketization (DFM) [...] Read more.
Enhancing urban industrial land use efficiency (UILUE) is critical for addressing human–land conflicts and promoting sustainable urban development. However, the role of data trading in influencing UILUE remains insufficiently examined in the literature. This study explores the effect of data factor marketization (DFM) on UILUE and its underlying mechanisms. Using data from 284 Chinese cities between 2006 and 2022, this study treats the establishment of data trading platforms as a quasi-natural experiment. A multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model is applied to evaluate the causal impact of DFM. The findings indicate that DFM significantly improves UILUE. This improvement mainly occurs through technological innovation and reduced land resource misallocation. Furthermore, the positive impact is more pronounced in cities with lower levels of market segmentation, stricter environmental regulations, and those located in the eastern region. This study offers valuable theoretical insights and practical implications for optimizing urban land use and advancing sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Urban Development and Land Use)
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