Sustainability and Regional Development: Foundations and Challenges for This Symbiotic Relationship

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

This topic is presented to the scientific community with the aim of stimulating further research on the symbiotic relationship between regional development and sustainability, as well as its foundations and emerging challenges. While historically both concepts have been central to numerous socio-economic processes within spatial economies, the contemporary form of economies (characterized by models of scale, technological and knowledge intensification, agglomeration, urbanization, and digital transformation) has brought the study of this relationship to the forefront of cutting-edge issues. On one hand, the environmental and climate challenges faced by modern society have highlighted the reconsideration of the mix between the economy, the society, and the environment at the core of scientific research, policymaking, and social practice, in the balance (equilibrium) of sustainability. On the other hand, the demand for regional development, which transcends the neoclassical view of “regional growth”, is now seen as the pursuit of harmonious coexistence among regional economies and the convergence of regional disparities towards economic, social, and territorial cohesion. This, in turn, necessitates balancing the trade-offs between economic efficiency, social equity, and regional prosperity, while optimizing the management of natural resources and productive factors. Within this context, the primary focus of this topic is on the study of the coexistence of the two types of balance (equilibrium) required by sustainability and regional development. These issues have largely been studied in an intradisciplinary context but yet necessitate more interdisciplinary focus. To this end, this topic raises critical questions about whether the model towards sustainability and regional development is ultimately singular and multidisciplinary in nature; what we currently understand about it from both theoretical and empirical perspectives; and what emerging challenges science and society will need to confront moving forward. All papers delving into these critical debates are welcomed, i.e., theoretical and empirical, research and review articles, quantitative and qualitative, and letters or full-length articles, which are foremost multidisciplinary.

Dr. Dimitrios Tsiotas
Prof. Dr. Serafeim Polyzos
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Real Estate realestate	-	-	2024	15.0 days *	CHF 1000	Submit
Regional Science and Environmental Economics rsee	-	-	2024	15.0 days *	CHF 1000	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	6.8	2009	20 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Urban Science urbansci	2.1	4.3	2017	24.7 Days	CHF 1600	Submit

* Median value for all MDPI journals in the first half of 2024.

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Published Papers