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Sustainability, Strategic Management, Smart Governance and Smart Cities: 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 742

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of smart cities represents a comprehensive approach to the functioning of urban regions and affects various social areas such as culture, infrastructure, the environment, energy, and social services. In each of these areas, it pursues multiple interconnected goals that, together, create a system based on the principles of sustainable development. The entire systems consists of public administration, private sector, and civil society entities, without which the set goals would not be achieved. For these reasons, there is no international legally binding definition for the given concept or legal framework to precisely regulate the procedure for achieving these goals. Individual states follow their own "smart" concepts and methodologies, which are in line with global documents dealing with the above issue. In addition, the complexity of the smart city concept, combined with complicated urban problems and the pursuit of sustainable solutions, makes it a challenging task. Therefore, smart city policies must be strategically focused on a smart economy, a smart environment, smart management, smart housing, smart mobility, and smart people. Smart city strategies should also focus on institutional changes to provide context-sensitive outcomes in local urban areas. This may include changing the structure of smart policy creation to a bottom-up, community-based approach rather than one that begins within institutions and industries.

In this Special Issue, we aim to publish innovative multidisciplinary work on current trends and perspectives in strategic management, innovation implementation, working models, and best practices that could improve the environment, the economy, and social well-being in smart cities and territories. We are particularly interested in advances in governance models, simulation methods and data analysis, forecasting techniques, scenario planning, future designs, and complex system models that could contribute to improving critical thinking and decision-making in urban and territorial resilience and sustainable development.

Smart cities are more efficient, provide more opportunities for job creation, and ensure growth while also improving the social inclusion and engagement of residents. Increases in the level of functionality, long-term sustainability, and standard of living for residents in smart cities can be achieved through the creation of effective, targeted, and sustainable smart city strategies.

Prof. Dr. Tomáš Peráček
Guest Editor

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

  • smart city
  • strategy
  • sustainability
  • innovation

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 416 KiB  
Article
Foresight for Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery: A Delphi-Based Scenario Study for Smart Cities in 2030
by Ibrahim Mutambik
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 6660; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156660 (registering DOI) - 22 Jul 2025
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the future trajectories of last-mile delivery (LMD), and their implications for sustainable urban logistics and smart city planning. Through a Delphi-based scenario analysis targeting the year 2030, this research draws on inputs from a two-round Delphi study with [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the future trajectories of last-mile delivery (LMD), and their implications for sustainable urban logistics and smart city planning. Through a Delphi-based scenario analysis targeting the year 2030, this research draws on inputs from a two-round Delphi study with 52 experts representing logistics, academia, and government. Four key thematic areas were explored: consumer demand and behavior, emerging delivery technologies, innovative delivery services, and regulatory frameworks. The projections were structured using fuzzy c-means clustering, and analyzed through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), supporting a systemic understanding of innovation adoption in urban logistics systems. The findings offer strategic insights for municipal planners, policymakers, logistics service providers, and e-commerce stakeholders, helping align infrastructure development and regulatory planning with the evolving needs of last-mile logistics. This approach contributes to advancing resilient, low-emission, and inclusive smart city ecosystems that align with global sustainability goals, particularly those outlined in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Full article
24 pages, 3062 KiB  
Article
Sustainable IoT-Enabled Parking Management: A Multiagent Simulation Framework for Smart Urban Mobility
by Ibrahim Mutambik
Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6382; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146382 - 11 Jul 2025
Viewed by 262
Abstract
The efficient management of urban parking systems has emerged as a pivotal issue in today’s smart cities, where increasing vehicle populations strain limited parking infrastructure and challenge sustainable urban mobility. Aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the strategic [...] Read more.
The efficient management of urban parking systems has emerged as a pivotal issue in today’s smart cities, where increasing vehicle populations strain limited parking infrastructure and challenge sustainable urban mobility. Aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the strategic goals of smart city planning, this study presents a sustainability-driven, multiagent simulation-based framework to model, analyze, and optimize smart parking dynamics in congested urban settings. The system architecture integrates ground-level IoT sensors installed in parking spaces, enabling real-time occupancy detection and communication with a centralized system using low-power wide-area communication protocols (LPWAN). This study introduces an intelligent parking guidance mechanism that dynamically directs drivers to the nearest available slots based on location, historical traffic flow, and predicted availability. To manage real-time data flow, the framework incorporates message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocols and edge processing units for low-latency updates. A predictive algorithm, combining spatial data, usage patterns, and time-series forecasting, supports decision-making for future slot allocation and dynamic pricing policies. Field simulations, calibrated with sensor data in a representative high-density urban district, assess system performance under peak and off-peak conditions. A comparative evaluation against traditional first-come-first-served and static parking systems highlights significant gains: average parking search time is reduced by 42%, vehicular congestion near parking zones declines by 35%, and emissions from circling vehicles drop by 27%. The system also improves user satisfaction by enabling mobile app-based reservation and payment options. These findings contribute to broader sustainability goals by supporting efficient land use, reducing environmental impacts, and enhancing urban livability—key dimensions emphasized in sustainable smart city strategies. The proposed framework offers a scalable, interdisciplinary solution for urban planners and policymakers striving to design inclusive, resilient, and environmentally responsible urban mobility systems. Full article
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