Sustainable Urban Development: Strategies, Tools, and Transformations

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore innovative strategies, planning tools, and interdisciplinary approaches aimed at supporting sustainable urban development, particularly in small and medium-sized cities. The focus will be on emerging responses to the challenges of climate change, energy transition, spatial transformation, and socio-economic resilience. Emphasis will be given to the integration of blue and green infrastructure as vital systems for climate adaptation, urban water management, and biodiversity enhancement.

We invite contributions that examine how to integrate sustainable architecture, urban planning, and policy design with energy efficiency, energy storage, smart city tools, and circular architecture. Scalable and context-sensitive solutions based on participatory governance and cross-sectoral collaboration are encouraged.

This Special Issue aims to fill a gap in the current literature by promoting systemic, place-based strategies that link the ecological, technological, and social dimensions of sustainability. It will provide actionable insights to support the transition toward climate-neutral, resilient, and inclusive cities.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/about

Prof. Dr. Marta Skiba
Dr. Alicja Maciejko
Dr. Rafał Dudzik
Dr. Małgorzata Sztubecka
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.