Special Issue "Sustainable Geography"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nikolaos Stathopoulos
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Guest Editor
Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, BEYOND Centre of EO Research & Satellite Remote Sensing, 15236 Athens, Greece
Interests: geographic information systems (GIS); remote sensing; spatial analysis; natural environment; environmental hazards/disasters; water resources; climate change
Dr. Kleomenis Kalogeropoulos
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Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Kallithea, 17671 Athens, Greece
Interests: geographic information systems (GIS); spatial data infrastructures (SDI); spatial analysis; cartography; human geography; physical geography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to Tobler’s First Law of Geography, “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things”. This statement could not have found better application and proof than the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the whole planet. The main spreading mechanism (i.e., social proximity), as well as the main containment measure (i.e., social distancing), have brought the significance of “space” even more dynamically to the forefront and linked it more inextricably than ever with the concepts of survival, conservation, and preservation. However, even before the pandemic monopolized global survival, the effects of climate change (floods, air/water pollution, desertification, water scarcity, etc.) threatened (and continue to threaten) human acquis, with “life” being the most important aspect, placing thus the spatial reference and the specific–unique conditions of each affected spatial unit in the foreground. Furthermore, contemporary social analysis of the world’s population, as well as future trends (e.g. GDP, urbanization, unemployment, health, transportation), as a result of the cataclysmic but unequally geographically distributed industrial, technological, and economic development, could not have real substance far from the necessary condition of “spatial influence”. Therefore, no one today could argue successfully regarding any aspect of “Sustainable Life” (climate, resources, economy, health, etc.) without recognizing and taking into account the catalytic influence of “position” and “space”. In a few words, “Sustainability” and “Geographical Space” are two interconnected rings in the same chain and if one of them breaks, the whole chain breaks. Thus, focusing on this interconnection, Sustainability is a broadly used perception in Geographical research and vice versa. A significant aspect of these research purposes is to understand how physical processes and social patterns occur and evolve at a variety of spatial scales. The ultimate goal of Geography is to explore all these patterns and processes in order to provide answers on the contemporary challenges that mankind is facing. Thus, the concept of “Sustainable Geography” relates to actions that cover a wide range of topics from physical to human geography. The aim of these actions is to find the best practices towards natural interaction between the human and physical world.

This Special Issue intends to create a unique reference point in the existing literature as it focuses on presenting innovative and contemporary methodologies, techniques and tools, significant case studies and thorough reviews, covering the widest range possible of the integrated contemporary concept of “Sustainable Geography”.

We are welcoming original and high-quality research and review papers, from both stakeholders and researchers around the world, focusing on topics related to various aspects of Sustainable Geography.

The main areas and topics are suggested below:

  • Sustainable Geography, Remote Sensing & GIS
  • Sustainable Geography and natural resources
  • Sustainable Geography and natural disasters
  • Sustainable Geography and environment
  • Sustainable Geography and SDGs
  • Sustainable Geography and social interactions
  • Sustainable Geography and education
  • Sustainable Geography and health

Dr. Nikolaos Stathopoulos
Dr. Kleomenis Kalogeropoulos
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • Sustainable Geography
  • natural environment
  • human geography

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
A GIS-MCDA-Based Suitability Analysis for Meeting Targets 6.3 and 6.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4153; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084153 - 08 Apr 2021
Viewed by 494
Abstract
Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in the 2030 Agenda, goals 6.3, regarding clean water and improve of water quality, and 6.5, regarding integrated water resources management, highlight the need for the implementation of successful environmental water quality monitoring programs of transboundary [...] Read more.
Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in the 2030 Agenda, goals 6.3, regarding clean water and improve of water quality, and 6.5, regarding integrated water resources management, highlight the need for the implementation of successful environmental water quality monitoring programs of transboundary river waterbodies. In the present study, the designation of high priority areas for water quality monitoring of Drin transboundary watershed is performed using a suitability model, a GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) approach that takes into consideration the most important conditioning factors that impose pressures on rivers. Based on the results, the methodological approach used manages to sufficiently delimit the areas with increased need for water quality monitoring in the Drin watershed, and the validation procedure produces a correlation coefficient of 0.454 (statistically significant at a 0.01 level). Limitations arise in the case of a lack of detailed information or inaccurate input data and due to the inconsistency among the input data and the different methodological approaches regarding the information collection of each country involved. These restrictions foreground the need for cooperation between the countries involved regarding the exchange of scientific knowledge and common legislation, so as to achieve integrated, effective, and sustainable management of water resources of the area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Geography)
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Article
Drought Identification and Trend Analysis Using Long-Term CHIRPS Satellite Precipitation Product in Bundelkhand, India
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1042; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031042 - 20 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 950
Abstract
Drought hazard mapping and its trend analysis has become indispensable due to the aggravated impact of drought in the era of climate change. Sparse observational networks with minimal maintenance limit the spatio-temporal coverage of precipitation data, which has been a major constraint in [...] Read more.
Drought hazard mapping and its trend analysis has become indispensable due to the aggravated impact of drought in the era of climate change. Sparse observational networks with minimal maintenance limit the spatio-temporal coverage of precipitation data, which has been a major constraint in the effective drought monitoring. In this study, high-resolution satellite-derived Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data has been used for computation of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The study was carried out in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India, known for its substantial drought occurrences with poor drought management plans and lack of effective preparedness. Very limited studies have been carried out in assessing the spatio-temporal drought in this region. This study aims to identify district-wide drought and its trend characterization from 1981 to 2018. The run theory was applied for quantitative drought assessment; whereas, the Mann-Kendall (MK) test was performed for trend analysis at seasonal and annual time steps. Results indicated an average of nine severe drought events in all the districts in the last 38 years, and the most intense drought was recorded for the Jalaun district (1983–1985). A significant decreasing trend is observed for the SPI1 (at 95% confidence level) during the post-monsoon season, with the magnitude varying from −0.16 to −0.33 mm/month. This indicates the increasing severity of meteorological drought in the area. Moreover, a non-significant falling trend for short-term drought (SPI1 and SPI3) annually and short- and medium-term drought (SPI1, SPI3, and SPI6) in winter months have been also observed for all the districts. The output of the current study would be utilized in better understanding of the drought condition through elaborate trend analysis of the SPI pattern and thus helps the policy makers to devise a drought management plan to handle the water crisis, food security, and in turn the betterment of the inhabitants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Geography)
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Article
Resilience–Vulnerability Analysis: A Decision-Making Framework for Systems Assessment
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9306; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229306 - 10 Nov 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 803
Abstract
The terms ‘resilience’ and ‘vulnerability’ have been widely used, with multiple interpretations in a plethora of disciplines. Such a variety may easily become confusing, and could create misconceptions among the different users. Policy makers who are bound to make decisions in key spatial [...] Read more.
The terms ‘resilience’ and ‘vulnerability’ have been widely used, with multiple interpretations in a plethora of disciplines. Such a variety may easily become confusing, and could create misconceptions among the different users. Policy makers who are bound to make decisions in key spatial and temporal points may especially suffer from these misconceptions. The need for decisions may become even more pressing in times of crisis, where the weaknesses of a system are exposed, and immediate actions to enhance the systemic strengths should be made. The analysis framework proposed in the current effort, and demonstrated in hypothetical forest fire cases, tries to focus on the combined use of simplified versions of the resilience and vulnerability concepts. Their relations and outcomes are also explored, in an effort to provide decision makers with an initial assessment of the information required to deal with complex systems. It is believed that the framework may offer some service towards the development of a more integrated and applicable tool, in order to further expand the concepts of resilience and vulnerability. Additionally, the results of the framework can be used as inputs in other decision making techniques and approaches. This increases the added value of the framework as a tool. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Geography)
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