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Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 14214

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qian Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Economics School, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Interests: urban and regional economics; industrial economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shihu Zhong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Applied Economics, Shanghai National Accounting Institute, Shanghai 201702, China
2. Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Interests: urban and regional economics; digital economy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, the proportion of human beings that live in cities has exceeded 56 percent, and this number is increasing every year. By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. While cities provide many opportunities for the development of human beings, they also pose development bottlenecks and crises. Hence, we are organizing this Special Issue, titled “Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects”, in the peer reviewed journal Sustainability.

We are pleased to announce that this Special Issue is open to submissions, and the deadline for submissions is the end of April 2025. This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality, rigorously peer reviewed, cutting-edge original research applying a multi-disciplinary academic approach to study how to improve the advancement of sustainable cities and urban regions. We welcome submissions on a broad range of topics, as follows: scientific and technical information on urban development; knowledge around sustainable development of cities and regions; empirical works on the sociocultural, political, economic, and health impacts of policies; assessments on distributional characteristics, equality, and justice in cities and regions; and theoretic or evidence-based explorations on the effectiveness, people’s inclusion, and improvement directions of the governance of sustainable cities and regions. This multidisciplinary open access Special Issue will help to disseminate and communicate scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries of how to advance sustainable cities and regions to researchers, academics, and the general public globally.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. All papers will be subject to the standard peer review process. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Advances in and reviews on the relationship between health and the urban environment;
  • Analysis on planning actions that focus on promoting sustainable cities and regions;
  • Impact assessments on issues such as green areas, mobility, sports, and social cohesion, arguably associated with sustainable development;
  • Cases on how scientific findings can be translated into prevention strategies and sustainable policies;
  • Theoretic explorations or case studies on the governance of urban sustainable facilities and services;
  • Theoretic or empirical analysis of people’s inclusion, equality, and justice in the governance of urban issues.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Qian Zhou
Dr. Shihu Zhong
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 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • regional economics
  • sustainable development
  • resilient city
  • technological innovation
  • spatiotemporal evolutionary

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 2003 KiB  
Article
Navigating Research Frontiers in China’s Rural Planning: A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainable Development
by Song Xu and Huichen Gao
Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010340 - 5 Jan 2025
Viewed by 787
Abstract
Since the onset of global industrialization, rural planning has evolved significantly in developed countries, establishing a comprehensive framework for sustainable development. However, China’s rural areas, rooted in longstanding agrarian traditions, face distinct challenges amid rapid urbanization and globalization, including land degradation, ecological degradation, [...] Read more.
Since the onset of global industrialization, rural planning has evolved significantly in developed countries, establishing a comprehensive framework for sustainable development. However, China’s rural areas, rooted in longstanding agrarian traditions, face distinct challenges amid rapid urbanization and globalization, including land degradation, ecological degradation, and rural depopulation. This study examines the progression of rural planning in China, with a focus on Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11): “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. Employing a bibliometric approach, we analyzed the literature from the Web of Science database, concentrating on influential publications, collaborative patterns among research institutions, and emerging research themes. Findings reveal that Chinese rural planning research has expanded rapidly since 2004, characterized by interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations. High-impact studies emphasize the transformation of rural settlements, land utilization, and urban–rural dynamics, reflecting an ongoing shift toward sustainable rural revitalization. Co-citation analysis identifies emerging themes such as resilience in rural development, land consolidation, and rural governance under environmental constraints. This study offers theoretical and empirical insights critical to advancing rural planning practices in China, proposing a framework for integrating sustainability into policy and guiding future research to optimize spatial layouts, preserve ecological resources, and support rural transformation aligned with China’s socioeconomic objectives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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25 pages, 593 KiB  
Article
Air Pollution and Corporate Innovation: Does Top Management Quality Mediate and Government Talent Policy Moderate?
by Rui Zhu, Kaili Ma, Xiyu Chen and Jingjing Zhao
Sustainability 2024, 16(17), 7615; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177615 - 2 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1065
Abstract
Air pollution not only poses significant threats to the physical and mental well-being of individuals, but it also has the potential to trigger a regional brain drain, thus inhibiting corporate innovation performance. This study explores the impact of air pollution on corporate innovation [...] Read more.
Air pollution not only poses significant threats to the physical and mental well-being of individuals, but it also has the potential to trigger a regional brain drain, thus inhibiting corporate innovation performance. This study explores the impact of air pollution on corporate innovation from the perspective of top management quality. We find that lower air quality significantly reduces the quality of corporate top management, thereby reducing their innovation output. However, local government talent attention alleviates the negative impact of air pollution on corporate innovation. Further analysis reveals that the local government’s environmental attention aggravates the negative effects of air pollution on corporate innovation. Finally, executive compensation alleviates the negative impact of air pollution on corporate innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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24 pages, 302 KiB  
Article
How Does Government Intervention Affect Community Residents’ Satisfaction with Public Services—Evidence from CSS (2021) in China
by Yapeng Li, Zihao Wang and Yuanyuan Zhu
Sustainability 2024, 16(17), 7326; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177326 - 26 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1704
Abstract
The traditional model of community public service in China is experiencing a nuanced transformation, which has been spurred by increased government involvement and the growing openness of communities in the realm of public governance. Recent scholarly inquiries have revealed a strong association between [...] Read more.
The traditional model of community public service in China is experiencing a nuanced transformation, which has been spurred by increased government involvement and the growing openness of communities in the realm of public governance. Recent scholarly inquiries have revealed a strong association between the level of government intervention and the satisfaction of residents with public services. This means that communities with higher levels of government intervention typically enjoy more comprehensive public facilities and services, thereby increasing residents’ satisfaction with community public services. This article analyzes 2021 social security system data and finds that government intervention often has a beneficial impact on improving residents’ satisfaction with public services, although it may also have negative effects in certain specific areas. In addition, the impact of government participation and community openness on residents’ satisfaction is moderated by various factors such as residents’ own economic statuses and education levels. To achieve this goal, government officials and community leaders should focus on improving the nature and degree of government intervention and community openness in order to more fully meet the needs of residents and increase their satisfaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
34 pages, 3072 KiB  
Article
Research on Evaluation of City–Industry Integration in Industrial Parks
by Mingqiang Xu, Yaoyao Luo and Dingyao Li
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 6906; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166906 - 12 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1685
Abstract
The original meaning of city–industry integration should be understood as the coordination, balance, reasonable layout, and mutual support between urban production functional areas and service functional areas, which both have urban populations as their core element. The evaluation of city–industry integration in industrial [...] Read more.
The original meaning of city–industry integration should be understood as the coordination, balance, reasonable layout, and mutual support between urban production functional areas and service functional areas, which both have urban populations as their core element. The evaluation of city–industry integration in industrial parks can be carried out from two aspects: land–industry integration and residence–industry integration. The secondary indexes of the former mainly include industrial land efficiency and service sector land efficiency, while the secondary indicators of the latter mainly include supporting rail transit and the matching degree between residence and environment. The output value, land use structure, enterprise profile, employment rates, investments, air quality, rail transit system and other data points regarding sample industrial parks were collected by means of geofencing as well as through the creation of an enterprise credit information database and development area yearbook. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) combined with expert scoring was used to determine the index weights and implement the evaluation of city–industry integration. This study found that city–industry integration in Beijing and the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zones is at the forefront of sample industrial parks, and the entropy weight evaluation method verified this evaluation result. The analysis of the benchmark development zone of city–industry integration shows that the Chengdu model and the Beijing model are worthy of reference for growing and mature industrial parks when promoting city–industry integration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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23 pages, 713 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study on the Agglomeration Degree and Influencing Factors of the Urban Creative Class in the Central Area of the Yangtze River Delta
by Yijie Li, Hanyu Zhu, Qianzhu Chen and Yi Su
Sustainability 2024, 16(13), 5501; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135501 - 27 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1015
Abstract
The creative class has become an important force in promoting sustainable urban development. Existing research has explored many factors for the agglomeration of the creative class, but there is still a lack of comparative studies from a heterogeneity perspective and on the design [...] Read more.
The creative class has become an important force in promoting sustainable urban development. Existing research has explored many factors for the agglomeration of the creative class, but there is still a lack of comparative studies from a heterogeneity perspective and on the design of cross-cultural adaptability factors, especially comparative studies across different regions in Chinese cities. This paper focuses on 27 central district cities in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, based on panel data from 2012 to 2019, and uses the location entropy method to measure the agglomeration degree of the creative class in different cities. Considering the cultural background of China, a model of influencing factors including five dimensions: economic foundation, living environment, cultural and educational environment, innovation environment, and ecological environment is constructed. The study finds: (1) The agglomeration degree of the creative class in the central urban cluster of the Yangtze River Delta is significantly higher than the peripheral level, forming an agglomeration distribution pattern led by Shanghai, with Nanjing, Hefei, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningbo, and other important node cities. The agglomeration degree of the creative class generally shows an upward trend. (2) The economic foundation, living environment, cultural and educational environment, innovation environment, and ecological environment all have a significant positive impact on the agglomeration of the creative class, among which the impact of the living environment, cultural and educational environment, and innovation environment is larger, while the economic foundation and ecological environment are relatively smaller. (3) There are differences in the influencing factors of the creative class agglomeration at the provincial levels of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui in the Yangtze River Delta. Compared with the more core provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the cultural and educational environment and ecological environment have a more significant impact, while the relatively peripheral Anhui province is more dependent on the city’s openness and innovation environment factors. This study reveals the spatial distribution rules and influencing factors of the creative class in the central cities of the Yangtze River Delta, providing insights for coordinated and sustainable regional development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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23 pages, 1647 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Urbanization on Industrial Transformation and Upgrading: Evidence from Early 20th Century China
by Jiale Wan, Qimeng Wang and Shuangyou Miao
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4720; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114720 - 1 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2627
Abstract
Urbanization is key to advancing national modernization and regional socioeconomic sustainable development. This paper empirically investigates the impact of urbanization on industrial transformation and upgrading in early 20th-century China, based on historical data from the initial stages of China’s economic development. We utilized [...] Read more.
Urbanization is key to advancing national modernization and regional socioeconomic sustainable development. This paper empirically investigates the impact of urbanization on industrial transformation and upgrading in early 20th-century China, based on historical data from the initial stages of China’s economic development. We utilized industrial and commercial data from China spanning 1910 to 1927 to construct a fixed-effect model, incorporating instrumental variables to ascertain the causal relationship between urbanization and industrial transformation and upgrading. Additionally, this study tested the hypotheses concerning the effects of human capital and transportation scale, which are identified as the primary channels influencing this relationship. Our findings reveal that (1) the development of urbanization in modern China has significantly promoted industrial transformation and upgrading, and this conclusion remains valid under various robustness tests and the examination of instrumental variables. (2) The improvement in urbanization levels has a more obvious promoting effect on secondary industry, commercial enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises, and the positive effect of urbanization on industrial transformation and upgrading is most prominent in the eastern region. (3) Modern Chinese urbanization promoted industrial transformation and upgrading by improving the level of human capital and expanding the scale of transportation. This paper provides historical empirical evidence to study the current social urbanization and industrial policy formulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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23 pages, 1879 KiB  
Article
Exploring Sustainable Planning Strategies for Carbon Emission Reduction in Beijing’s Transportation Sector: A Multi-Scenario Carbon Peak Analysis Using the Extended STIRPAT Model
by Yuhao Yang, Ruixi Dong, Xiaoyan Ren and Mengze Fu
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4670; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114670 - 30 May 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1502
Abstract
The transportation sector plays a pivotal role in China’s efforts to achieve CO2 reduction targets. As the capital of China, Beijing has the responsibility to lead the era’s demand for low-carbon development and provide replicable and scalable low-carbon transportation development experience and [...] Read more.
The transportation sector plays a pivotal role in China’s efforts to achieve CO2 reduction targets. As the capital of China, Beijing has the responsibility to lead the era’s demand for low-carbon development and provide replicable and scalable low-carbon transportation development experience and knowledge for other cities in China. This study calculates the CO2 emissions of the transportation sector in Beijing from 1999 to 2019, constructs an extended STIRPAT model (population, affluence, technology, and efficiency), employs ridge regression to mitigate the effects of multicollinearity among the eight indicators, reveals the extent and direction of influence exerted by different indicators on CO2 emissions, and predicts the development trends, peak times, and quantities of transportation CO2 emissions in nine scenarios for Beijing from 2021 to 2035. Finally, adaptive low-carbon planning strategies are proposed for Beijing pertaining to population size and structure, industrial layout optimization, urban functional reorganization and adjustment, transportation infrastructure allocation, technological research and promotion, energy transition planning, and regional collaborative development. The results are as follows: (1) The total amount of CO2 emissions from Beijing’s transportation sector exhibits a trend of gradually stabilizing in terms of growth, with a corresponding gradual deceleration in the rate of increase. Kerosene, gasoline, and diesel are the main sources of transportation CO2 emissions in Beijing, with an annual average proportion of 95.78%. (2) The degree of influence of the indicators on transportation CO2 emissions, in descending order, is energy intensity, per capita GDP, population size, GDP by transportation sector, total transportation turnover, public transportation efficiency, possession of private vehicles, and clean energy structure. Among them, the proportion of clean energy structure and public transportation efficiency are negatively correlated with transportation CO2 emissions, while the remaining indicators are positively correlated. (3) In the nine predicted scenarios, all scenarios, except scenario 2 and scenario 4, can achieve CO2 emission peaks by 2030, while scenarios 7 and 9 can reach the peak as early as 2025. (4) The significant advancement and application of green carbon reduction technologies have profound implications, as they can effectively offset the impacts of population, economy, and efficiency indicators under extensive development. Effective population control, sustainable economic development, and transportation efficiency improvement are viable means to help achieve carbon peaking and peak value in the transportation sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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24 pages, 1510 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Green Mergers and Acquisitions on Corporate Environmental Performance: Evidence from China’s Heavy-Polluting Industries
by Yingying Xu, Wen Wang, Honggui Gao and Huaxiong Zhu
Sustainability 2024, 16(9), 3796; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16093796 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 2828
Abstract
This study examined the impact of green mergers and acquisitions (green M&As) on corporate environmental performance. Applying the Differences-in-Differences (DID) model to a sample of Chinese heavy-polluting-industry companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2022, our study results [...] Read more.
This study examined the impact of green mergers and acquisitions (green M&As) on corporate environmental performance. Applying the Differences-in-Differences (DID) model to a sample of Chinese heavy-polluting-industry companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2022, our study results show that the adoption of green M&As by the listed Chinese heavy polluters can lower corporate environmental capital expenditure and significantly improve corporate environmental performance. Meanwhile, the positive effects of green M&As on environmental performance are also found to be stronger for state-owned enterprises, young enterprises, and enterprises located in areas with low financial investments in energy efficiency and environmental protection, according to a heterogeneity study conducted for this paper. The analysis of mediating effects shows that the green M&A of heavily polluting firms will have a catalytic effect on the improvement of firms’ environmental performance by promoting their green technological innovation and, in turn, their environmental performance. Furthermore, the moderating effect analysis demonstrates that the quality of the firm’s internal controls and the CEO’s prior environmental experience are both factors that can support the beneficial impact of green M&A on the enhancement of the firm’s environmental performance. This paper enriches the theoretical research system of green M&A and green investment driving mechanisms, and at the same time provides empirical support and strategic reference for the green strategy decision of heavy-polluting enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Cities and Urban Regions Development: New Challenges and Prospects)
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