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Urban Sustainability Futures
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Urban Sustainability Futures

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 April 2022) | Viewed by 26938

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mary J. Thornbush

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
Interests: smart cities; spatial analysis; climate change adaptation; sustainable agriculture; food security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this Special Issue in the journal of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) is to consider future ‘utopias’ for cities based on human impacts on the urban environment. Authors are asked to envision the optimal future relating to their areas of (urban) expertise and relate these to long-term (future) temporality. They are asked to contemplate the question: What would you change in the city if it helped to achieve sustainability? A wide range of topics can be encapsulated in this approach within the auspice of an integrated (environmental) sustainability. Other spatial scales can also be accommodated here based on multiscalar and integrated approaches; and cross-temporal approaches are also well-suited to this Special Issue. Submission types include original research articles (5000–7000 words) or comprehensive reviews (up to 8000–13,000 words).

Dr. Mary J. Thornbush
Guest Editor

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.

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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

  • urban futures
  • utopias
  • urban greening
  • sustainable cities
  • energy smart cities

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review, Other

4 pages, 357 KiB  
Editorial
Introducing the Special Issue on Urban Sustainability Futures
by Mary J. Thornbush
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11964; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911964 - 22 Sep 2022
Viewed by 947
Abstract
The city represents a focus of study that could be utilized to compile sustainability research [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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Research

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32 pages, 3736 KiB  
Article
Achieving Sustainable Urban Development with an Ageing Population: An “Age-Friendly City and Community” Approach
by Jianbo Han, Edwin Hon Wan Chan, Queena Kun Qian and Esther Hiu Kwan Yung
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8614; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158614 - 2 Aug 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6062
Abstract
The ageing population tends to be seen as a burden of cities’ future development. Thus, the public funds for older residents’ wellbeing are at risk of being cut back under the economic austerity due to the prevalent neoliberalism policy atmosphere. However, some cities [...] Read more.
The ageing population tends to be seen as a burden of cities’ future development. Thus, the public funds for older residents’ wellbeing are at risk of being cut back under the economic austerity due to the prevalent neoliberalism policy atmosphere. However, some cities set good examples to turn their older citizens into active contributors to sustainable urban development (SUD) by developing age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC). Taking Hong Kong as an example, this study aims to raise a strategy for policymakers, especially at the municipal level, to incorporate the concept of AFCC in SUD. Data were retrieved for our analysis from a published report of the Hong Kong Public Policy Research Fund project. A total of 15 AFCC and SUD policy factors were identified by using factor analysis. The correlations between these policy factors were evaluated and visualised in a synergetic effect network. According to the network, this study indicates that developing the silver hair market can be a suitable entry point to realise SUD by adopting an AFCC development. Isolation prevention, social sustainability and low-energy-consumption development are the supportive policy factors for the silver hair market. Specifically, respect, discrimination prevention, communication and information, age-friendly facilities, environmental safety and public transportation accessibility are five AFCC policy factors incorporated in the policy integration to enhance older residents’ wellbeing further. This study is an innovative attempt to develop a comprehensive model for the synergy between sustainable urban development and an age-friendly city and community using a correlation network. This study also provides a reference for other city governments to respond to population ageing positively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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23 pages, 3942 KiB  
Article
Exploring Fruit Tree Species as Multifunctional Greenery: A Case of Its Distribution in Indonesian Cities
by Edi Santosa, Anas Dinurrohman Susila, Winarso Drajad Widodo, Nizar Nasrullah, Ismi Puji Ruwaida and Rismita Sari
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7835; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147835 - 13 Jul 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3481
Abstract
Planting multifunctional trees (e.g., fruit species) in cities can promote genetic conservation, economic activity, ecosystem services, and social cohesion. However, in Indonesia, the relationship between the abundance of fruit tree species and different city characteristics, including their involvement in the national smart city [...] Read more.
Planting multifunctional trees (e.g., fruit species) in cities can promote genetic conservation, economic activity, ecosystem services, and social cohesion. However, in Indonesia, the relationship between the abundance of fruit tree species and different city characteristics, including their involvement in the national smart city project, is still unknown. In this study, published reports and field surveys were used to evaluate the fruit tree distribution and its relationship with the characteristics of 224 of 514 Indonesian cities in order to identify tree species for multifunctional city greenery. This is the first study on the distribution of fruit tree species at the national level. The study identified 151 fruit species of 90 genera and 40 families, including large-sized fruits, such as avocados, breadfruit, coconuts, durians, jackfruit, and mangos. On average, cities contained 54 tree species, of which 21 (38.9%) were fruit trees. These findings indicate that cities are important contributors to the genetic conservation of local fruit trees, which can be further evaluated as new city greenery. However, a city’s involvement in the smart city project bore no relationship (p > 0.05) with the number of identified fruit species. Conversely, non-fruit species tended to be more diverse in smart cities. Since the presence of fruit species is associated with the city population, geographic position, climate, altitude, and attitude towards the fragility of sustainable conservation, introducing and maintaining these species as city greenery requires advocacy to city stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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17 pages, 3840 KiB  
Article
A Conceptual Framework for Large-Scale Event Perception Evaluation with Spatial-Temporal Scales in Sustainable Smart Cities
by Olga Pilipczuk
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5658; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105658 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6134
Abstract
The harmony relationship between people and places is crucial for sustainable development. The smart sustainable city concept is widely based on making efforts to understand this relationship and create sustainable communities. The placemaking process is highly dependent on people’s perception of places, events [...] Read more.
The harmony relationship between people and places is crucial for sustainable development. The smart sustainable city concept is widely based on making efforts to understand this relationship and create sustainable communities. The placemaking process is highly dependent on people’s perception of places, events and situations in which they find themselves. Moreover, the greater the event scale, the more essential the research concentrated on them. A certain number of scientific papers have focused on the event management and event perception; however, there is still a research gap in works regarding sustainable development concepts. Thus, to fill this gap, the framework for large-scale event perception evaluation was created. Moreover, the cognitive map of large-scale event perception based on the Szczecin city citizens’ opinions was created. In order to acquire the opinions, a questionnaire with spatial–temporal measurement scales was applied. The representativeness estimation method, natural event ontology and framework for image interpretation were used for event segmentation. The storm phenomenon scenes were selected for picture measurement scale creation. The most significant factors of large-scale event perception were identified based on the questionnaire results. Finally, the cognitive map of global event perception factors is presented. By applying the analysis presented in this paper in various industries, relevant policies related to different dimensions of the citizens’ well-being could be created by governments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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14 pages, 3716 KiB  
Article
Spatial–Temporal Interaction Relationship between Ecosystem Services and Urbanization of Urban Agglomerations in the Transitional Zone of Three Natural Regions
by Xiang Pan, Peiji Shi and Na Wu
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310211 - 7 Dec 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2167
Abstract
Clarifying the spatial interaction relationship between urbanization and multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is a prerequisite for reducing the impact of urbanization on the ecological environment and coordinating urbanization and ecological environmental protection. Urbanization is especially significant for ecologically fragile areas, where ecosystems are [...] Read more.
Clarifying the spatial interaction relationship between urbanization and multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is a prerequisite for reducing the impact of urbanization on the ecological environment and coordinating urbanization and ecological environmental protection. Urbanization is especially significant for ecologically fragile areas, where ecosystems are particularly sensitive to changes in urban patterns. This study considered the Lan–Xi (LX) urban agglomeration in three natural transitional regions using socio-economic, ecological environment, and other data, through a variety of methods, to supersede administrative boundaries and to explore the relationship between urbanization and ESs on a grid scale. The results revealed a significant negative spatial correlation between the levels of urbanization and comprehensive ESs, indicating that rapid urbanization has led to a decline in regional ESs. However, with the rapid urbanization trend from 2010 to 2018, the ESs in the LX region showed an upward trend because the implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects greatly offset the decline in ESs caused by urban expansion. We found a positive correlation between nutrient purification and the levels of urbanization among various ESs and four principal types of spatial–temporal interactions between ESs and urbanization levels. Among them, the high–high cluster areas occupied the smallest proportion, and the low–low cluster areas occupied the largest proportion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research, Other

12 pages, 248 KiB  
Review
Smart Cities as Hybrid Spaces of Governance: Beyond the Hard/Soft Dichotomy in Cyber-Urbanization
by Oleg Golubchikov and Mary J. Thornbush
Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10080; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610080 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2468
Abstract
This paper problematizes the dichotomy of hard (technocratic) and soft (societal) approaches to the smart city. Smart cities are reviewed as hybrid spaces that transcend the sum of the social and the technical. By providing platforms for enabling, monitoring, digitalizing, formalizing, and amassing [...] Read more.
This paper problematizes the dichotomy of hard (technocratic) and soft (societal) approaches to the smart city. Smart cities are reviewed as hybrid spaces that transcend the sum of the social and the technical. By providing platforms for enabling, monitoring, digitalizing, formalizing, and amassing information about collective and personal experiences and behaviors, smart cities accelerate the customization of existing urban services and establish new spaces of socialization, accumulation and regulation, including in hitherto hard-to-reach realms of everyday and personal life. These experiences signify the emergence of cyber-physical-social spaces, featuring the hybridization of the digital, governance, and sociocultural domains. The production of such hybrid spaces of governance is reviewed through 50 urban-level strategies for smart cities in different countries across the world. The analysis confirms the tendencies towards a hard/soft fusion and the ever-deepening interpenetration of the digital, physical, and social elements in smart cities. This suggests epistemological problems of separating the hard and soft domains. However, this integration still creates political and analytical tensions that are arguably evident in the early stages of the digital transition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)

Other

12 pages, 266 KiB  
Perspective
After the Contagion. Ghost City Centres: Closed “Smart” or Open Greener?
by Philip Cooke
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3071; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063071 - 11 Mar 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4009
Abstract
This paper has three main objectives. It traces the “closed” urban model of city development, critiques it at length, showing how it has led to an unsustainable dead-end, represented in post-Covid-19 “ghost town” status for many central cities, and proposes a new “open” [...] Read more.
This paper has three main objectives. It traces the “closed” urban model of city development, critiques it at length, showing how it has led to an unsustainable dead-end, represented in post-Covid-19 “ghost town” status for many central cities, and proposes a new “open” model of city design. This is avowedly an unsegregated and non-segmented utilisation of now often abandoned city-centre space in “open” forms favouring urban prairie, or more formalised urban parklands, interspersed with so-called “agritecture” in redundant high-rise buildings, shopping malls and parking lots. It favours sustainable theme-park models of family entertainment “experiences” all supported by sustainable hospitality, integrated mixed land uses and sustainable transportation. Consideration is given to likely financial resource issues but the dearth of current commercial investment opportunities from the old carbonised urban model, alongside public policy and consumer support for urban greening, are concluded to form a propitious post-coronavirus context for furthering the vision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Sustainability Futures)
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