Bridging the Nexus of Smart, Clean, and Resilient Cities: From Theory to Practice
A special issue of Urban Science (ISSN 2413-8851). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Planning and Design".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 165
Special Issue Editors
Interests: resilient city; environmental management; urban sustainable development; public policy; resource policy
Interests: strategic mineral resource security; resource constraints and green transformation; policy simulation and evaluation; resource geopolitical risk; resilience of mineral resource industrial chains
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rapid urbanization and climate instability, coupled with increasing material scarcity, necessitate a paradigm shift in how cities are planned and managed. This Special Issue explores the focus on the critical "nexus" between smart technologies, clean energy transitions, circular economy practices, and urban resilience. The scope is multidisciplinary, welcoming research that links digital innovations—such as AI, IoT, and Digital Twins—with resource recovery, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy integration, and disaster risk reduction strategies. The primary purpose is to examine how intelligent systems can be leveraged to simultaneously decarbonize urban environments and enhance their capacity to withstand and recover from acute shocks and chronic stresses.
While existing literature often addresses "Smart Cities", "Sustainable Cities", and "Resilient Cities" as separate domains, substantial gaps remain regarding their convergence through circularity. Smart technologies are essential not only for energy efficiency but also for the precise mapping and extraction of "urban minerals" from the built environment. This Special Issue supplements existing literature by investigating the trade-offs and co-benefits within this triad. It seeks to move beyond isolated case studies to offer systemic insights into how data-driven governance, clean technologies, and closed-loop resource management can jointly foster a robust, future-proof urban reality.
Dr. Lingna Liu
Prof. Dr. Jianping Ge
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- urban resilience
- natural resource resilience
- smart city technologies
- low-carbon transition
- climate adaptation
- resource security and recovery
- digital twins
- sustainable infrastructure
- nature-based solutions
- urban metabolism
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