Sustainable Geography and Urban Planning: Urban Ecology, Livability, Nature Connection, and Water-Sensitive Urban Design

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite you to submit articles for inclusion in a Special Issue of Sustainability entitled “Sustainable Geography and Urban Planning: Urban Ecology, Livability, Nature Connection, and Water-Sensitive Urban Design.” In the face of growing challenges related to climate change, the urgent need for urban adaptation, the biodiversity crisis, dynamic urbanization, and deepening inequalities—both spatial and social—redefining the interrelationships linking the urban, natural, and social environments has become essential. This Special Issue will therefore promote an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to research on the urban fabric, viewed as a complex socio-ecological system. Our aim is to shed new light on the challenges of planning sustainable cities, drawing on emerging trends and knowledge in climate adaptation, ecology, and social justice, as well as on the resulting implications for residents’ quality of life. We encourage the submission of contributions that not only identify the challenges facing contemporary cities but also present innovative and sustainable urban models, along with policies that support the development of green cities based on the integration of nature with urban infrastructure. We welcome a variety of formats, including empirical research, literature reviews, case studies, theoretical concepts, and examples of good practices.

Thematic Scope (Suggested Article Topics)

• Climate-resilient cities—adaptive planning and climate change adaptation strategies;
• Ecological urban planning and its impact on urban biodiversity;
• Nature-based solutions (NBSs) in urban and spatial planning for cities and their surrounding suburbs;
• Green-blue infrastructure and its integration with the city’s technical infrastructure as an example of climate change adaptation;
• Sponge city concept;
• Quality of life indicators and health–environment relationships in urbanized environments;
• Environmental justice and inequalities in access to nature in cities;
• Urban landscape transformations in the context of urbanization and cultural heritage;
• Designing friendly and inclusive public spaces;
• Gentrification and social changes as an outcome of urban revitalization and renaturalization;
• Circular urban metabolism and adaptive resource management;
• Urban agriculture, food security, and circular food systems;
• Public participation and co-management in urban planning;
• Urban transformations in the context of post-growth and just transition;
• Interdisciplinary approaches and research methods in geography and urban planning;
• Integrated stormwater management in cities;
• The role of water in shaping microclimate, biodiversity, and ecosystem services in cities;
• Decision support tools for urban spatial planning in the context of climate change adaptation.

Dr. Alicja Edyta Krzemińska
Dr. Anna Zaręba
Dr. Mariusz Adynkiewicz-Piragas
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.

• sustainable urban development
• urban landscape
• climate resilience
• climate change adaptation
• sponge city
• green-blue infrastructure
• environmental justice
• urban ecology
• urban hydrology
• urban water resource management
• gentrification and revitalization
• urban food systems