Supply Chains in Sustainable Cities
A special issue of Urban Science (ISSN 2413-8851). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Economy and Industry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 38415
Special Issue Editors
Interests: supply chain; lean management; learning factories; multicriteria decision making; fuzzy logic
Interests: construction management; quantity surveying; lean management; Industry 4.0
Interests: decision making; sustainability; learning factories; project management
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We invite you to contribute a manuscript to an upcoming Special Issue entitled “Supply Chains in Sustainable Cities”, which aims to deepen our understanding of the integrated logistics and mobility systems that support both goods and people in increasingly complex urban environments.
This Special Issue is motivated by the urgent need to reduce nearly 70% of the global CO2 emissions attributed to urban areas, which come primarily from transport networks used for both personal and freight mobility. By breaking down traditional barriers between logistics and passenger transport, we aim to highlight comprehensive supply chains that alleviate congestion, reduce emissions and improve urban resilience.
In many cities, freight vehicles account for a substantial share of urban traffic, and integrating these delivery systems with public transit and shared micro‑mobility could cut peak‑hour emissions by approximately 20%. Yet, truly sustainable urban supply systems must also be resilient to factors such as natural disasters, global container disruptions and rising cyber threats. In addition, we must not forget the total cost of ownership (TCO) of green technologies, especially if they explicitly consider hidden costs such as congestion delays or carbon pricing.
Finally, we seek contributions that showcase the application of Industry 4.0 technologies (AI-based routing, big data, digital twins or connected sensor networks) that enable the establishment of smarter and more adaptive urban systems for both people and goods.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to present research by academics and practitioners on robust, data-driven strategies that combine urban logistics and mobility. We aim to highlight how integrated infrastructures can alleviate congestion and emissions, and how Industry 4.0 technologies, such as AI-optimized routing, IoT-enabled asset tracking, digital twins, and blockchain-based traceability, are enabling the establishment of smarter and more adaptive urban systems.
We believe your expertise would significantly advance the discourse on sustainable urban logistics and mobility, helping shape policy and practice in smart cities worldwide.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and collaborating with you to advance this important field of study.
Prof. Dr. Angel M. Gento
Prof. Dr. Molusiwa S. Ramabodu
Dr. Yesica Pino
Dr. Juan L. Elorduy
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Urban Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1600 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
- logistics
- sustainability
- mobility
- accessibility
- circular economy
- lean manufacturing
- urban construction
- risk management
- resilience
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