Rural-Urban Transformation of Asian Megacities from a Social-Ecological Systems Perspective

Dear Colleagues,

Human history is marked by several great transformations, such as the beginning of agriculture in the Neolithic or the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century. In contemporary times, digitalization, climate change, and urbanization are often discussed as challenges of a similar dimension, leading to gradual but profound changes that drive the development of economies and societies and shape the environment. The rise of megacities has challenged traditional concepts of the “urban” and the “rural”, in terms of physical and service infrastructure, jobs, lifestyles, and consumption patterns. The flow of unprocessed and processed foods and raw materials as well as labor from rural to urban areas, and of remittances, information, and waste from urban to rural locations, are only some of the most obvious phenomena standing for the increasingly complex linkages and transformations with a profound economic, social, and environmental impact. Whereas in Western countries, growth rates of urban agglomerations are presently slowing down, West Africa and in particular Asia are the current hotspots of urbanization.

Against this background, we invite authors from different disciplines, such as life sciences, social sciences, economics, environmental geosciences, human geography, urban planning, and other related disciplines, to submit papers to this Special Issue on “Rural–Urban Transformation of Asian Megacities from a Social–Ecological Systems Perspective”. Multidisciplinary research that addresses multiple social–ecological facets in view of accelerating urbanization in Asia is particularly welcome.

Submissions could relate but are not limited to the following topics:

• Environmental impacts of urbanization: land, water, and biodiversity;
• Rural–urban food systems: quality, safety, and complexity;
• Economic opportunities and challenges of megacity development: land and labor markets;
• Impact of mega-urban development on lifestyles, consumption patterns, and (human) values;
• Social consequences of urbanization for urban and rural societies;
• Strategies to address sustainability challenges in metropolitan areas.

Prof. Dr. Eva Schlecht
Prof. Dr. Uwe Altrock
Prof. Dr. Matthias Gassmann
Prof. Dr.  Andreas Thiel
Guest Editors

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