Special Issue "Sustainable Transformation in the Global South: Context-Driven Urban Design, Livelihoods and Development Challenges"

A special issue of Urban Science (ISSN 2413-8851).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Atiq Zaman
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Interests: circular economy; waste management; future cities; sustainability assessment; life cycle assessment; climate adaptation; sustainable construction; sustainable development goals; sustainable technology
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Mohammad Swapan
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Interests: green adaptation; informal green space; ecosystem services; TPB Models; place attachment; co-production; participation outcomes; PPP; disaster risk paradigm; informality; SDGs; resilient cities
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The New Urban Agenda (NUA) set out by United Nations in 2016, in line with the new Sustainable Development Goals, marks a clear direction of future research, especially in the discourse of urban planning, architecture, construction management, urban governance, urban environmental management and disaster management and resilience. There is also an increasing realisation of the need to promote the exchange of knowledge and share best practices and experiences between North and South. The rise of the Global South has elevated geospatial discourse to new heights demanding new insights into peripheral urbanisation, overexploitation and polarisation of resources, widening environmental vulnerability gap and trends in alienated mega-infrastructure development.

This calls for a revisiting of established theories of growth characteristics within the sociopolitical, economic and environmental realities of the Global South. Focusing on such vital development scenarios that characterise the Global South, this Special Issue aims to explore advanced and alternative theses around production and management of the sustainable built environment in the Global South. The issue will facilitate the generation of knowledge through innovative transdisciplinary approaches and alternative solutions to enable good governance, policy, regulations, codes, design criteria and, most importantly, emancipated voices and debates among global stakeholders of development in the South.

We are inviting submissions for the Special Issue “Transformation in the Global South: Context-Driven Urban Design, Livelihoods and Development Challenges”, which explores advanced and alternative theses around development and urbanisation in the Global South. This Special Issue is expected to widen our knowledge by exploring innovative transdisciplinary approaches and alternative solutions to enable innovative urban design, good governance and development and partnerships in the Global South to deliver sustainable livelihoods by addressing the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Special Issue will include a collection of original research articles, discussion papers or technical notes and review papers on (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Sustainable urban and regional development;
  • Urban informality;
  • Food security and sustainable livelihoods;
  • Sustainable consumption and waste management;
  • Development partnerships and governance;
  • Post-COVID-19 development challenges.

Dr. Atiq Zaman
Dr. Mohammad Swapan
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. Urban Science is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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

  • Climate change 
  • Disaster management 
  • Food security 
  • Global partnerships 
  • Global South 
  • Livelihood 
  • Post-COVID-19 challenges 
  • Rural–urban development 
  • Sustainable built environment 
  • Sustainable Development Goals 
  • Urban governance 
  • Urban informality 
  • Urbanisation
  • Waste management

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Spatial Analysis of Intra-Urban Land Use Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
Urban Sci. 2021, 5(3), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5030057 - 06 Aug 2021
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Currently, circa 30% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa resides in cities, and this figure is expected to double in 2040. The recent literature describes the urban expansion processes of African cities in much detail. However, the urbanization wave in Africa also leads [...] Read more.
Currently, circa 30% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa resides in cities, and this figure is expected to double in 2040. The recent literature describes the urban expansion processes of African cities in much detail. However, the urbanization wave in Africa also leads to important intra-urban land use dynamics, which have important consequences on the quality of life within existing cities, which has received less attention. This study aims to contribute to these information gaps by (1) analyzing the extent of the urban land use conversion in contrasting urban locations using satellite images for physical criteria-based classifications and (2) assessing the potential consequences of these intra-urban conversions on the quality of life. Intra-urban land use changes were documented based on satellite imagery for the period 2002–2020. Based on some representative attributes, Addis Ababa city was selected for the case study. Urban land use dynamics and population density changes were examined based on the selected case study neighborhoods and randomly identified land parcels in the city, respectively. Urban development strategies and programs that emerged over recent decades had caused intra-urban land use dynamics, which brought significant population density changes. Moreover, these changes have caused an unbalanced distribution of socio-economic amenities across the city. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Placemaking in Informal Settlements: The Case of France Colony, Islamabad, Pakistan
Urban Sci. 2021, 5(2), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci5020049 - 20 Jun 2021
Viewed by 596
Abstract
This paper provides an alternative perspective on urban informal settlements by analysing them as places of rural remnants, reservoirs of regional cultural heritage, and spaces entailing traditional sustainable elements that are brought to the urban realm by rural migrants. These socio-cultural and spatial [...] Read more.
This paper provides an alternative perspective on urban informal settlements by analysing them as places of rural remnants, reservoirs of regional cultural heritage, and spaces entailing traditional sustainable elements that are brought to the urban realm by rural migrants. These socio-cultural and spatial attributes of a settlement converge under the notion of a “place.” Placemaking analysis is thus contended to be appropriate for comprehensive understanding of an informal settlement. The selected case study of France Colony, Islamabad, employs the placemaking methodology framework to investigate sustainability values and practices from the day-to-day living of its inhabitants. Data collected through on-site interviews during transect walks in France Colony are then translated into four maps as a spatio-cultural documentation of the sustainable elements found in the informal settlement. The four maps relate to form and users, activities and amenities, image and characteristics, and access and linkages. This systematic analysis assisted in categorising the sustainability characteristics of the informal settlements according to the three pillars (social, economic, and environmental) of sustainability. The findings show that the organic placemaking, originating from everyday life, values, behaviour, and lifestyle of the informal dwellers, allows for a strong and vibrant resilient community to emerge. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop