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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2022) | Viewed by 27474

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giuliano Poli

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Guest Editor

Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy
Interests: integrated evaluation models; spatial multi-criteria decision analysis; GIS based modelling; ecosystem services assessment; decision support systems

Dr. Daniele Cannatella

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Guest Editor

Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: complex adaptive systems theory; regional design; landscape-based adaptation and mitigation; GIS based modelling and mapping

Dr. Sabrina Sposito

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Guest Editor

PhD in Urban Design and Planning accomplished in the Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy
Interests: urban resilience and circular urban metabolism; hydro-based scenarios; urban-rural settings; culture-led urban regeneration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change has been strongly characterising the Holocene since the beginning of the pre-industrial era in terms of pressures and impacts stressing life support systems and affecting territories and society. Cities have a mutual relationship with climate, as they influence the latter, and in turn, need to cope with the increasing unpredictability and uncertainty arising from the alteration of climate patterns. A broad spectrum of approaches focusing on climate change provides decision-makers, academics, practitioners, and citizens with data, information, models, integrated evaluation frameworks, and holistic solutions to support sustainable urban development.

However, climate-compatible policies and territorial governance, integrated design strategies, and local practices aiming to enhance awareness of sustainable development and promote climate-resilient pathways still struggle to build upon the understanding of the complex interaction among climate, environment, and society to operationalise the vast amount of current climate knowledge.

Concurrently, adaptation and mitigation solutions, for their being context-specific and time-dependent, still find difficulties in being systematically evaluated, adopted, and replicated in adaptive decision-making addressing broader societal objectives.

We are pleased to invite you to send us contributions that address interlinkages among climate, biophysical environment, and society in pursuing sustainable urban development. Contributions can address emerging trends, provide innovative conceptual and methodological cross-disciplinary approaches for evaluating, designing, and planning strategies, and challenge current assumptions in thinking about climate change, climate knowledge, and sustainable urban development.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Data-driven approaches to investigate interactions between climate knowledge, urban systems, and landscape;

Resilient responses targeting natural hazards and environmental, social, and economic change;

Local approaches to adaptive climate management, bottom-up practices of urban regeneration, and valorisation of territorial assets and heritage to cope with climate change;

Territorial governance for climate-adaptive decision-making;

Decision support systems, GIS-based modelling, and multi-criteria decision analysis to assess climate change scenarios and/or adaptation pathways;

Ecosystem services assessment and management.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Giuliano Poli
Dr. Daniele Cannatella
Dr. Sabrina Sposito
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.

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Keywords

adaptation strategies
climate knowledge
climate resilience
decision support systems (DSS)
GIS-based modelling and mapping
integrated evaluation
mitigation
multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)
territorial governance
sustainable urban development

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 3837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Territorial Governance for Sustainable Development: A Multi-Level Governance Analysis in the Italian Context

by Sara Bianchi and Anna Richiedei

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2526; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032526 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2698

Abstract

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda is known for its holistic and global dimension, as demonstrated by the saying “no one left behind”. However, local governments still struggle to take tangible actions and to reallocate resources for implementing Sustainability Strategies. With the aim to improve multi-level governance for sustainable development with complex and cross-sectoral policies, the research investigates how much Regional Sustainable Development Strategies (RSDS) and public authorities’ structures are mutually consistent. Starting from the existing governance framework at the regional and local levels (Province and Metropolitan City), the study analyzes: the organizational structures/functions of the public institutions and the integration between their competences and the RSDS targets. The case study is the Lombardy Region in Italy. The analyses were conducted through a review of key legislations and regulations, and the introduction of a homogeneous reading grid that identifies the principal “Invariant Functional Macro Areas” (IFMA) of local authorities. The paper highlights the structural weakness in implementing and localizing EU strategic Agendas and examines the extent to which public offices are currently structured to adequately address the RSDS challenges. The research shows how sectoral fragmentation of competence can collide with the holistic layout of sustainability: new integrated approaches are needed to strengthen cross-sectoral dialogue and cooperation within and between public institutional bodies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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22 pages, 2713 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Strategic Environmental Assessment as a “Front-Line” Tool to Mediate Regional Sustainable Development Strategies into Spatial Planning: A Practice-Based Analysis

by Barbara Maria Frigione and Michele Pezzagno

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2378; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032378 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3546

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations calls upon all signatory countries to localize its goals through National and Regional Sustainable Development Strategies (SDS). As in Italy the SDS constitute the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Plans and Programmes (P/P), the question arises as to whether the SEA can represent a fundamental tool for SDS. Although the mutual relationship between 2030 Agenda goals and SEA is recognized in the literature, there is a lack of focus on SDS and SEA. The SEA monitoring system is an essential instrument to redirect P/P trajectories, although it represents a constant weakness of the SEA process. Opening a discussion about the relationship between SDS and SEA, the present contribution aims at assessing SEA monitoring potential in mediating the 2030 Agenda SDS’s objectives into P/P. To this end, the study delves into the SEA monitoring structure through a qualitative and comparative approach, the feasibility of which is illustrated by an application to a set of spatial plans. Results show both good potential and the criticalities of the SEA monitoring system, which allow us to outline practical inputs to update SEA monitoring guidelines and new paths to foster the mutual relationship between the SDS and SEA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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17 pages, 4134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Port Cities Creative Heritage Enhancement (PCCHE) Scenario Approach: Culture and Creativity for Sustainable Development of Naples Port

by Gaia Daldanise and Massimo Clemente

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8603; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148603 - 14 Jul 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2694

Abstract

In the international debate, creative and cultural responses to climate change and environmental sustainability are increasing in policies and practices. Creativity and cultural heritage enhancement can guide the definition of new trajectories of sustainable urban development, particularly in port-city interaction areas. In Europe, port-city interaction areas have been transformed into laboratories of cultural and creative experimentation for the sustainable management of cultural heritage and the urban quality of public spaces. Starting from the studies developed on the main measurement frameworks of creative cities and sustainable development policies, the paper aims to investigate the possibility of developing a “Port-cities Creative Heritage Enhancement” approach to assess and plan possible cultural and creative transformations of historical-architectural buildings, industrial archaeology, and symbolic urban spaces in the port-city interaction areas of Naples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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21 pages, 3848 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping Pervious Surfaces and Canopy Cover Using High-Resolution Airborne Imagery and Digital Elevation Models to Support Urban Planning

by Anna Codemo, Angelica Pianegonda, Marco Ciolli, Sara Favargiotti and Rossano Albatici

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6149; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106149 - 18 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2815

Abstract

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) has a key role in improving human and environmental health in cities and contributes to several services related to climate adaptation. Accurate localization and quantification of pervious surfaces and canopy cover are envisaged to implement UGI, address sustainable spatial planning, and include adaptation and mitigation strategies in urban planning practices. This study aims to propose a simple and replicable process to map pervious surfaces and canopy cover and to investigate the reliability and the potential planning uses of UGI maps. The proposed method combines the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), extracted from high-resolution airborne imagery (0.20 m), with digital elevation models to map pervious surfaces and canopy cover. The approach is tested in the Municipality of Trento, Italy, and, according to a random sampling validation, has an accuracy exceeding 80%. The paper provides a detailed map of green spaces in the urban areas, describing quantity and distribution, and proposes a synthesis map expressed as a block-level degree of pervious surfaces and canopy cover to drive urban transformations. The proposed approach constitutes a useful tool to geovisualize critical areas and to compare levels of pervious surfaces and canopy cover in the municipal area. Acknowledging the role of green areas in the urban environment, the paper examines the potential applications of the maps in the policy cycle, such as land use management and monitoring, and in climate-related practices, and discusses their integration into the current planning tools to shift towards performative rather than prescriptive planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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18 pages, 17207 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial-Temporal Heterogeneity for Commercial Building Carbon Emissions in China: Based the Dagum Gini Coefficient

by Tian Ma, Yisheng Liu and Meng Yang

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5243; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095243 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2554

Abstract

There is great potential for carbon emission reduction in commercial buildings. Determining the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of CCBCE (China’s commercial building carbon emissions) is crucial for developing differentiated emissions mitigation policies. This paper estimated CCBCE and then adopted a method involving the visualization of spatial data, Dagum Gini coefficient, and kernel density estimation to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics and regional differences in China’s eight economic regions in 2006–2019. The results indicate that: (1) The CCBCE displayed a general upward trend, increasing from 400.99 million t (tons) to 853.23 million t. The CCBCE from electricity accounted for the largest share (65.93% in 2009). Moreover, Guangdong was the only high-emission province in 2019 with 77.8 million t CCBCE. (2) The contribution rate of the different economic regions to incremental carbon emissions made a significant difference, and inter-regional differences (61.81%) were much higher than intra-regional differences (7.99%). (3) The greatest intra-regional differences were found in the Southern coastal economic region (average Gini coefficient up to 0.4782). For inter-regional differences, the disparity between the Northern coastal economic region and Northwest economic region was greatest. Further, the regional differences presented a trend of increase. The study concludes that effective measures should be taken to reduce the CCBCE in each region and narrow the regional gap of CCBCE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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22 pages, 6036 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Assessing the Potential Impacts of Urban Expansion on Hydrological Ecosystem Services in a Rapidly Urbanizing Lake Basin in China

by Hongwei Guo, Ji Han, Lili Qian, Xinxin Long and Xiaoyin Sun

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4424; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084424 - 8 Apr 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2815

Abstract

Hydrological ecosystem services (HESs) such as water purification and water supply are important for providing other ecosystem services such as drinking water, recreation, and human health. Land use change caused by urbanization is a direct driver affecting the provision of HESs. The quantification and integration of HES into watershed management and urban planning have become increasingly important. In this study, we highlighted an integration of the InVEST and CLUE-S models to simulate and predict future changes of HES in a rapidly urbanizing lake basin, namely the Nansihu Lake basin of China. The spatiotemporal patterns of HESs including water yield, water purification, and sediment export in the past five decades (from 1980 to 2015) have been revealed through our integrated modeling approach. Furthermore, urbanization and land use change scenarios till 2030 were developed using land use, topography, climate, and soil data. It is found that due to the rapid expansion of urban land, water yield, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) export has increased by 5.5%, 7.38%, and 7.02%, respectively, while the sediment export has decreased by 4%. As a result, the risks of flooding and water quality degradation increased. Under a hybrid ecological and farmland redline policy (EFRP) scenario, the HESs have all been significantly improved compared to the level in 2015. This research can help to predict the future changes in HESs for land use management and ecological and environmental protection in the Nansihu Lake basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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25 pages, 8149 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial-Temporal Variation and Tradeoffs/Synergies Analysis on Multiple Ecosystem Services: A Case Study in Fujian

by Min Li, Peng Zheng and Wenbin Pan

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3086; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053086 - 7 Mar 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3043

Abstract

The rapid urbanization process has severely affected the ecological security and ecosystem services (ESs) in China’s southern province of Fujian, and threated the sustainable development of the local economy and society in the last two decades. This study mapped the spatial-temporal variation of four types of ESs and evaluated the tradeoffs/synergies among the ESs in Fujian Province from 2000 to 2020 on the three scales of the province, city and county. The results showed that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the three ESs functions of soil conservation service, carbon storage service, and habitat quality decreased, while the function of food supply service increased. (2) At the provincial scale, soil conservation services, carbon storage services, and habitat quality were in a synergistic relationship, and food supply service was always in tradeoffs relationships with soil conservation services, carbon storage services, and habitat quality. At the prefecture-level scale, the tradeoffs/synergies among ESs vary among prefecture-level cities. At the county scale, the Moran’s I index of bivariate spatial autocorrelation was consistent with the correlation coefficient, and the tradeoffs/synergies between ESs showed significant spatial heterogeneity. (3) Based on the correlation analysis method, the Ecosystem Service Tradeoff-synergy Degree (ESTD) model and bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis can clearly show the relationship between various ESs, and the research results are relatively consistent. The spatial distribution of four ecosystem services in Fujian province showed a specific aggregation pattern. High—high concentrations and low—low concentrations are strong. Low—high agglomeration and high—low agglomeration are weak. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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25 pages, 42441 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Outdoor Thermal Environments of Main Types of Urban Areas during Summer: A Field Study in Wuhan, China

by Kun Li, Xuefei Li and Keji Yao

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020952 - 14 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2572

Abstract

Under the influence of the urban heat island effect, the thermal environments of urban built-up areas are poor, leading to the loss of urban vitality and the extreme deterioration of thermal comfort. In this paper, the outdoor thermal environment in Wuhan’s main urban area is studied via the use of field measurements. From June to August in the years 2015 to 2017, 20 measurement points were selected for monitoring from 08:00 to 19:00 h, which were located in spaces such as residential areas, parklands, commercial streets, and college/university campuses. The measurements for the same types of land and different types of land use are analyzed. A comprehensive thermal environment index is used to quantitatively evaluate the overall situations of thermal environments. The results showed that the cooling effect of vegetation shading was stronger than the effect of water evaporation and the maximum temperature difference between the two cooling methods reached 6.1 °C. The cooling effect of the canopy shading of tall trees was stronger than the effect of grassland transpiration and the maximum temperature difference was 2.8 °C. The streets with higher aspect ratios might improve the ventilation, but the wind speeds remained low, which did not provide a strong cooling effect. This study helps urban planners understand the thermal environment of Wuhan or similar cities with hot summer and diversified urban areas, and puts forward suggestions to reduce the heat island effect from the aspect of building layout, green coverage, shading mode, and street aspect ratio, so as to establish sustainable cities that are climate adaptable and environmentally friendly. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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23 pages, 9373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technical and Economic Analysis of Modernization of Solar Power Plant: A Case Study from the Republic of Cuba

by Emiliia Iakovleva, Daniel Guerra, Pavel Tcvetkov and Yaroslav Shklyarskiy

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 822; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020822 - 12 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3021

Abstract

The problem of increasing the efficiency of existing power plants is relevant for many countries. Solar power plants built at the end of the 20th century require, as their shelf lives have now expired, not only the replacement of the solar modules, but also the modernization of their component composition. This is due to the requirements to improve the efficiency of power plants to ensure the expansion of renewable energy technologies. This article presents a technical and economic analysis of the choice of solar power plant modernization method, which consists of (1) a method for calculating the amount of power generation; (2) the modeling of solar power plants under specific climatic conditions; (3) the analysis of electricity generation using different types of PV modules and solar radiation trapping technologies in Matlab/Simulink; and (4) the technical and economic analysis of a 2.5 MW solar power plant in the Republic of Cuba (in operation since 2015), for which four different modernization options were considered. All the scenarios differ in the depth of modernization; the results of the analysis were compared with the existing plant. The results of the study showed that the different modernization scenarios respond differently to changes in the inputted technical and economic parameters (cost per kWh, inflation rate, losses, and power plant efficiency). The maximum NPV deviations among the considered scenarios are: a 1% increase in inflation reduces NPV by 2%; a decrease in losses from 20% to 10% increases the NPV by 2.5%; a change in cost from EUR 0.05 to EUR 0.1 increases the NPV by more than 3.5 times. The dependence of the economic results was also tested as a function of three factors: solar module efficiency, inflation, and the price per 1 kWh. It was found that the greatest influence on the NPV of the proposed model is the price per 1 kWh. Based on this analysis, an algorithm was developed to choose the most effective scenario for the conditions of the Republic of Cuba for the modernization of the existing power plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Climate, Environment, and Society for Sustainable Urban Development)

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