Sustainability and Urban Stream Daylighting Research

Dear Colleagues,

The daylighting (deculverting) of streams enhances ecological diversity and biodiversity, improves the quality of the public realm, and is a cost-effective solution to infrastructure maintenance, among many others. Although in practice, since the late 1970s, stream daylighting has not received sufficient attention in the academic literature, as the global community grapples with the impacts of human degradative behaviour over the past few decades, nature-based solutions (NbS) such as stream daylighting are gaining prominence especially with regard to climate change.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality inter- and cross-disciplinary research papers on stream daylighting vis-à-vis environmental, economic, and social sustainability and their interconnections. For example, among others, in terms of environmental sustainability, this Special Issue invites contributions that investigate, among others, the connections between stream daylighting, urban form, and/or environmental impacts such as reducing pollution and ameliorating climatic stressors (e.g., through stormwater management interventions; alleviating the urban heat island effect; and rainwater harvesting). In terms of economic sustainability, contributions are invited on ecological economics such as valuation studies of stream daylighting’s eco-services, and the monetary valuations and trade-offs of stream daylighting projects. In terms of social sustainability, this Special Issue invites contributions on the connections between stream daylighting and land use planning, spatial (in)equity/(in)justice (e.g., gentrification), inclusion and exclusion, and the cultural aspects of in daylighting projects (e.g., heritage, education).

As the first of its kind dedicated to stream daylighting, this Special Issue will offer a valuable contribution to the ongoing research on stream daylighting, serving as a reference point for interested academics and practitioners.

Assoc. Prof. Luna Khirfan
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.

• Stream daylighting
• Deculverting
• Nature-based solutions
• Blue infrastructure
• Ecosystem services
• Natural capital
• Trade-offs
• Lost rivers
• Land use planning
• Spatial justice