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Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 10684

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lucia Saganeiti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering (DICEAA) University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: urban planning; territorial/landscape/habitat fragmentation; geographic information systems; urban sprawl; urban sprinkling; land take; land use/land cover change; urban expansion forecast; urban modeling; spatial analysis; transformations sustainability assessment; indicators engineering; resilience and urban risks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lorena Fiorini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering (DICEAA) University of L’Aquila, Via G. Gronchi, 18, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: environmental analysis and management; urban planning; land use change; geographic information system; indicator engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The new challenges posed by the Next Generation EU necessitate taking measurements of territorial transformations through specific indicators. Spatial planning and land management systems play a crucial role in addressing the issues of policy reform and investment, ecological transition and sustainability in its three dimensions: environmental, economic and social. To this end, adherence of these transformation indicators to the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda is fundamental to measuring the progress and speed of transformation and implementing advances driven by new policies in the field of urban and territorial planning. With the implementation of these new policies at the European level, further changes in land use and land cover, major spatial transformations and the realization of new practices and policies are expected. These transformations, if unmeasured and unplanned, may profoundly prevent the achievement of sustainable development goals and policies aimed at reducing or eliminating land take by 2050.

One of the challenges to which the scientific community will have to respond in the short-to-medium term concerns the development of methodological frameworks and tools for assessing the effects and monitoring the results of these new transformations at different spatial scales. Suitable approaches to integrated planning and change monitoring are still lacking, and decision-makers need to be equipped with decision support systems to design policies and actions that ensure long-term sustainable land use and are in line with local priorities and broader European and global goals.

Under these assumptions, this Special Issue was launched with the aim of collecting research concerning the study and in-depth examination of these phenomena through the use of indicator engineering or, more generally, techniques for monitoring territorial transformations, and more specifically, land take phenomena, the different dynamics of urban patterns and ecosystem service assessment.

References
  • Romano, B.; Zullo, F.; Fiorini, L.; Marucci, A.; Ciabò, S. Land transformation of Italy due to half a century of urbanization. Land use policy 2017, 67, 387–400, doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.06.006.
  • Romano, B.; Zullo, F.; Fiorini, L.; Ciabò, S.; Marucci, A. Sprinkling: An Approach to Describe Urbanization Dynamics in Italy. Sustainability 2017, 9, 97, doi:10.3390/su9010097.
  • Romano, B.; Fiorini, L.; Zullo, F.; Marucci, A. Urban growth control DSS techniques for de-sprinkling process in Italy. Sustainability. 2017, 9, 1852, doi:10.3390/su9101852.
  • Saganeiti, L.; Mustafa, A.; Teller, J.; Murgante, B. Modeling urban sprinkling with cellular automata. Sustainable Cities and Society 2020, 65, 102586, doi:10.1016/j.scs.2020.102586.
  • Saganeiti, L.; Favale, A.; Pilogallo, A.; Scorza, F.; Murgante, B. Assessing urban fragmentation at regional scale using sprinkling indexes. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3274, doi:10.3390/su10093274.
  • Marucci, A., Fiorini, L., Saganeiti, L., & Donolo, R. M. (2022). Indicators for monitoring the Sustainability of Transformations in Territorial Planning, doi: 10.31428/10317/10580

Dr. Lucia Saganeiti
Dr. Lorena Fiorini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • indicator engineering
  • sustainability of transformation
  • decision support system
  • land take
  • Next Generation EU
  • Agenda 2030

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1785 KiB  
Article
Digital Twins Facing the Complexity of the City: Some Critical Remarks
by Maria Rosaria Stufano Melone, Stefano Borgo and Domenico Camarda
Sustainability 2025, 17(7), 3189; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17073189 - 3 Apr 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1600
Abstract
The concept of a digital twin (DT), rooted in mid-20th-century ideas, has recently gained significant traction even outside software simulation and engineering modeling. The recent advancements in computational power and the development of model integration methodologies have enabled the creation of virtual replicas [...] Read more.
The concept of a digital twin (DT), rooted in mid-20th-century ideas, has recently gained significant traction even outside software simulation and engineering modeling. The recent advancements in computational power and the development of model integration methodologies have enabled the creation of virtual replicas of complex physical objects. The success of DTs in engineering has also pushed for the exploration of their use in other domains, especially where complex systems are at stake. One of these cases, which is the focus of this paper, is the modeling of cities and the way they are transformed via technologies into so-called smart cities. In these systems, the huge amount of data that are made accessible and constantly updated via sensor networks suggests that one can use DTs dedicated to the urban scenario as data-driven decision-making devices. However, the concept of a DT was not developed for socio-technical systems and requires careful analysis when applied to urban scenarios. While technologies and information systems have become integrated into city management, this has not reduced the complexity of the city. Relying only on sensory data for city modeling and management seems pretentious since detectable data (what is made accessible via sensor networks) do not seem suitable to inform on all important aspects of the city. Urban DTs hold promise, yet their development necessitates careful consideration of both opportunities and limitations. For this goal, it can be helpful to exploit an ontological analysis due to its neutral and systematic approach and to look at a city as a system of intertwined relationships across its components, such as places, agents, and knowledge. The variety of interactions that the components manifest highlights aspects of the city that the type of data we can collect today leaves unexplored. The paper presents a preliminary example of this issue by studying cases of city squares. The final part of this paper is a call to analyze DTs’ potential role in urban contexts and become aware of the intrinsic limitations of the data they rely upon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU)
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19 pages, 3074 KiB  
Article
Voluntary Planning and City Networks: A Systematic Bibliometric Review Addressing Current Issues for Sustainable and Climate-Responsive Planning
by Luigi Santopietro and Francesco Scorza
Sustainability 2024, 16(19), 8655; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198655 - 7 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1410
Abstract
Over the years, energy saving and climate change have sparked a challenge in developing innovative spatial and urban planning tools, methods, and approaches for urban areas and territorial management. This challenge has pointed out a gap in the traditional planning framework in tackling [...] Read more.
Over the years, energy saving and climate change have sparked a challenge in developing innovative spatial and urban planning tools, methods, and approaches for urban areas and territorial management. This challenge has pointed out a gap in the traditional planning framework in tackling energy and climate issues, highlighting the need for renovated spatial planning practices. The current effective measures carried out by the complex network of stakeholders (public and private) are fragmented, and the role of city networks in shaping decisions and interventions has emerged. In particular, among the approaches for urban and territorial planning and the development of climate-responsive measures, this research adopts a specific focus on voluntary planning. The authors, through a literature review and an analysis of nine city networks, investigated how this approach addresses energy and climate issues and how it is linked to the city networks in designing investments and interventions within the urban context. From the authors’ perspective, city networks are the operative component in designing local experiences and applications, contributing to achievement of the global energy and climate targets according to the current policies. In this context, successful results with respect to climate and energy challenges is expressed in the degree of the awareness and the commitment achieved by the local communities. Moreover, reaching the climate and energy goals is a representation of the outcome of the interaction between the (public or private) actors involved and the degree of a city’s climate-responsiveness, rather than from a normative constraint or an institutional framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU)
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28 pages, 16516 KiB  
Article
Air Quality and Environmental Effects Due to COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran: Lessons for Sustainability
by Simona Tondelli, Ebrahim Farhadi, Bahareh Akbari Monfared, Mehdi Ataeian, Hossein Tahmasebi Moghaddam, Marco Dettori, Lucia Saganeiti and Beniamino Murgante
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15038; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215038 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3004
Abstract
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic spread can be considered a disastrous crisis that, in a given geographical area, significantly affects the increase in mortality rate with direct and indirect impacts on different scales and social, economic, political, and ecological factors. The [...] Read more.
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic spread can be considered a disastrous crisis that, in a given geographical area, significantly affects the increase in mortality rate with direct and indirect impacts on different scales and social, economic, political, and ecological factors. The effects of this crisis can be more intense in urban areas with high population density. Due to the more significant presence of vulnerable groups, the risk of death increases significantly. This research describes the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Tehran, the 37th most populated city in the world. The concentration of six air pollutants (carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter with a diameter of fewer than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) and the Air Quality Index (AQI) were measured in 22 urban regions of Tehran before (20 March) and from (21 March to 10 February) the lockdown, in air pollution evaluation stations. In order to conduct this research, first, the values of the air pollutant indices of the 22 districts of Tehran in the two previous periods (before 20 March) and during quarantine (21 March to 10 February) were obtained from the air pollution measurement stations of the 22 districts of Tehran, together with the results. After the operationalization and quantification of the indicators according to the research objectives, they were entered into the ArcGIS environment, and the spatial analysis of each pollutant was performed, before and during the quarantine. Finally, it was found that the AQI was reduced from 74.95 to 54.15. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU)
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15 pages, 4509 KiB  
Article
Indicators Affecting the Urban Resilience with a Scenario Approach in Tehran Metropolis
by Ebrahim Farhadi, Ahmad Pourahmad, Keramatollah Ziari, Hassanali Faraji Sabokbar and Simona Tondelli
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12756; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912756 - 7 Oct 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2758
Abstract
Urban resilience refers to the capacity of an urban system to fully recover from unforeseen calamities. This study aims to assess the physical resilience indicators used to measure urban resilience in Tehran, the political and economic capital of Iran, and to pinpoint the [...] Read more.
Urban resilience refers to the capacity of an urban system to fully recover from unforeseen calamities. This study aims to assess the physical resilience indicators used to measure urban resilience in Tehran, the political and economic capital of Iran, and to pinpoint the most significant direct and indirect influences on urban resilience. The research process divided into two parts. The environmental scanning approach (reviewing papers and published sources, interviewing specialists, and monitoring conferences) and the literature review were employed in the first part to compile a database of the key information on the elements impacting physical resilience. The most significant factors impacting physical resilience over the next ten years were requested to be identified by specialists and intellectuals in the second part. Finally, the MicMac program was used to analyze the data after 29 variables were specified in Delphi. In light of the trace-analysis-dependence diagram, which depicts the instability of the influential factors and the persistence of their impact on other variables, the results demonstrate that Tehran’s physical resilience is in an unstable condition. According to the results, the factors that have the maximum impact on other variables are granularity drivers, emergency evacuation capacity, rescue and security spaces (emergency, fire station, and police station), impermeability, rate of the amendment and retrofitting measures in the buildings of each zone, building age, and the compatibility of land uses. The variables that are most susceptible to change from other variables include the distribution status of dangerous land uses, the quality of the buildings, the rate of historically vulnerable buildings, the vulnerability of internal and external roads, the rate of improvements and retrofitting measures in buildings in each zone, as well as historically vulnerable historical buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU)
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Review

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24 pages, 1760 KiB  
Review
Top-Down or Bottom-Up? Space Syntax vs. Agent-Based Modelling in Exploring Urban Complexity and Crime Dynamics
by Federico Mara and Valerio Cutini
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4682; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104682 - 20 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 574
Abstract
Understanding the complexity of urban systems remains a significant challenge for researchers and practitioners in urban planning and governance. Cities function as multifaceted systems composed of interconnected subsystems with nonlinear interactions, making the design of effective interventions to enhance sustainability and liveability particularly [...] Read more.
Understanding the complexity of urban systems remains a significant challenge for researchers and practitioners in urban planning and governance. Cities function as multifaceted systems composed of interconnected subsystems with nonlinear interactions, making the design of effective interventions to enhance sustainability and liveability particularly challenging. Spatial modelling has gained prominence in recent decades, fuelled by advances in digital technologies and the advent of digital twins as decision support tools. To fully harness these innovations, it is essential to grasp their underlying principles, strengths, and limitations, and to select the most suitable modelling approach for specific applications. This paper examines two contrasting spatial modelling paradigms: top-down and bottom-up. Specifically, it focuses on Space Syntax and Agent-Based Modelling as representative tools of each approach, analyzing their potential applications in urban planning. This discussion delves into the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies in analyzing crime dynamics—selected as a representative application field—at the micro-urban scale. It highlights the insights each approach offers, emphasizing their contributions to understanding the spatial and environmental factors influencing crime patterns. Finally, this paper explores the potential for integrating these methodologies to develop hybrid models that capture both spatial structure and emergent behaviours, offering enhanced support for sustainable urban policies and planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Urban Transformation in the Context of Next Generation EU)
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