Urban Informatics and Sustainable Design for Smart Cities
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 December 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editors
Interests: information technologies and system; smart city; business IT; management; digital marketing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: strategic management of smart cities; smart city; strategic management of enterprises; logistics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Contemporary cities face complex challenges driven by technological progress, rapid urbanization, and the urgent need for sustainable development. Additionally, the ongoing digital transformation of urban environments offers new opportunities to enhance citizens’ quality of life, optimize resource use, and strengthen environmental and social resilience. In this context, urban informatics has emerged as a key discipline that integrates data, technology, and human-centered design to support informed decision-making and efficient urban management.
When combined with sustainable design principles, urban informatics provides a foundation for building smart cities that are not only technologically advanced but also socially inclusive and environmentally responsible. Smart cities should not be perceived merely as clusters of technologies but as dynamic ecosystems where innovation serves people, communities, and the planet.
This Special Issue focuses on the intersection of urban informatics, sustainable design, and smart city development, encouraging both theoretical and practical contributions. We welcome submissions that explore innovative methodologies, data-driven approaches, design concepts, and case studies that foster sustainable, resilient, and intelligent urban environments.
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Urban informatics and data analytics for smart cities;
- Sustainable and human-centered urban design;
- Smart city governance and management;
- IoT and digital twins for urban systems;
- AI- and data-driven decision-making for sustainable cities;
- Smart mobility and infrastructure planning;
- Social, environmental, and ethical aspects of urban technologies.
This Special Issue aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, and to serve as a platform enabling them to share insights, tools, and best practices that contribute to shaping the sustainable and intelligent cities of the future.
Dr. Gabriel Koman
Dr. Oliver Bubelíny
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- information technology
- smart cities
- data-driven organizations
- smart mobility
- artificial intelligence
- management
- sustainable cities
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
