Sustainable Landscape in Rural Areas: Theories, Strategies, and Practices

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays more than 60 percent of the population with low and lower-middle income countries lives in rural areas. Progress in rural development plays a key role in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. However, the current strategies of rural development is seriously threatening the protection of natural capital, posing an increasing risk to rural sustainability.

Efforts on rural sustainability have been considered to be based on creating the sustainable landscape in rural areas, which carries rural production and life activities, and ecological processes through long-term collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Determining how to create sustainable landscape in rural areas requires the joint efforts of transdisciplinary research as the rural landscape grows more complex in the context of urban–rural integration, climate change, and carbon neutrality targets. There is still a significant gap from achieving the sustainable landscape goal in rural areas in theories, strategies, and practical experience. The important reason is that rural areas are greatly heterogeneous in climate, geography, social economy, and development stage, and corresponding sustainable solutions should be pertinent to the case.

Therefore, this Topic intends to encourage new exploration into actionable knowledge of the sustainable landscape in rural areas. Both original research papers and review papers are welcomed. Relevant themes include but are not limited to:

• New theories and technologies to create a sustainable landscape in rural areas;
• Evolution of landscape planning and design in rural areas;
• Landscape sustainability science;
• Spatial analysis and landscape simulation;
• Demonstration projects that showcase sustainable landscape planning/site design;
• Ecological restoration of rural landscapes;
• Tourism and rural development;
• Built environment and health in rural areas;
• Revitalizing traditional villages;
• Biodiversity conservation in rural areas.

Prof. Dr. Bo Hong
Prof. Dr. Zhe Li
Prof. Dr. Yike Hu
Prof. Dr. Liang Li
Dr. Kai Wang
Topic Editors