Planning and Designing Livable and Sustainable Regions: Integrating Urban and Regional Perspectives

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 2145

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: healthy community and community planning; urban planning and urban development
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: built environment; spatial assessment; social health; community governance
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Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, Hankou Road 22, Nanjing 210093, China
Interests: health cities; urban and regional planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the United Nations, most of the World’s population lives in urban areas, with the proportion projected to reach 68% by 2050, which has led to great changes in the economic development pattern, population structure, social transformation, climate change, ecological environment, etc. At the stage of high-quality development, livable and sustainable development is adapted to the needs of the urban and regional development transition period. Urban and regional planning and designing are essential, especially when guided by the goal of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable (United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11). Currently, there is a growing consensus across many academic fields that practice decisions can have a significant impact on the economic, environmental, and social wellbeing of regions. Along with cities and regions becoming increasingly interconnected, the challenges of achieving livable and sustainable development are becoming more complex. Research gaps remain that need to be addressed before the benefits of livability and sustainability can be fully integrated into the development of optimal urban planning and policies.

This Special Issue, titled “Planning and Designing Livable and Sustainable Regions: Integrating Urban and Regional Perspectives”, is dedicated to highlighting the latest advances in our understanding of the new findings (such as leading factors, influences, and mechanism), tools (such as artificial intelligence, geospatial analysis, computer modeling, and simulation), and perspectives (such as resilience, livability, and equity) of planning and designing regions in a livable and sustainable context.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • New findings and perspectives on livability and sustainability in urban and regional planning and designing;
  • Innovative approaches and tools for urban and regional planning and designing in the livable and sustainable context;
  • The effects and mechanism of planning and designing livable and sustainable regions;
  • The relevant implications of economic, environmental, and social urban and regional planning decisions.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Yuan Yuan
Dr. Yang Xiao
Dr. Jianxi Feng
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. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • livability
  • urban and regional planning
  • urban design
  • regional development
  • spatial planning
  • urban and regional resilience
  • community and neighborhood
  • habitat
  • human settlements
  • sustainable development goals

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 19403 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Land Cover Material Interaction of Urban Open Space on the Thermal Comfort of Crowds in High-Temperature Environments and Retrofit Strategies: Two Case Studies in the Nanjing Xinjiekou District
by Ying Tan, Chen Li, Haiyi Feng and Junyan Yang
Land 2024, 13(3), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030314 - 01 Mar 2024
Viewed by 604
Abstract
The increased frequency of extreme hot weather events in recent years poses a significant threat to the lives and health of urban residents. Consequently, the thermal comfort of urban open areas has garnered growing attention. The ground material in these urban open areas [...] Read more.
The increased frequency of extreme hot weather events in recent years poses a significant threat to the lives and health of urban residents. Consequently, the thermal comfort of urban open areas has garnered growing attention. The ground material in these urban open areas directly impacts the thermal environment, which significantly influences the comfort of crowds. This study aimed to assess the effect of land cover materials in urban center squares on the thermal comfort of people in high-temperature conditions. Eight types of land cover materials were selected from the two urban squares in the central district of Nanjing Xinjiekou. Physiological equivalent temperature (PET) calculations were performed by measuring the surface temperature, the air temperature, the humidity, and other relevant data to evaluate population thermal comfort. The findings indicated that grass provided the highest thermal comfort, with PET scores ranked as follows, from low to high: grass, permeable bricks, granite, concrete, basalt, bluestone, andesite, and asphalt. Additionally, factors such as color, roughness, and shade within the same material also impacted thermal comfort. Subsequently, using the ENVI-met 5.1 software, surface materials exhibiting superior thermal comfort were simulated for replacement, aiming to confirm the experimental results and propose retrofit strategies for improving urban square thermal comfort by optimizing material selection. The outcomes of this study hold significant implications for urban open space design and the overall well-being of city dwellers. The thermal environment in urban centers during high-temperature conditions can be improved by optimizing the choice of land cover materials in urban open areas, thereby enhancing the comfort of the population. Full article
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26 pages, 10388 KiB  
Article
The Mechanism of Street Markets Fostering Supportive Communities in Old Urban Districts: A Case Study of Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
by Yueyi Tan, Jusheng Song, Lei Yu, Yunxi Bai, Jianfeng Zhang, Man-Ha (Sylvia) Chan and Jeroen van Ameijde
Land 2024, 13(3), 289; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030289 - 26 Feb 2024
Viewed by 991
Abstract
In old urban districts with tenement buildings, street markets address the working class’s social and economic needs. They are pivotal in fostering supportive communities, in particular for low-income residents in sub-standard housing. However, their outdated overall environment impedes the delivery of adequate support [...] Read more.
In old urban districts with tenement buildings, street markets address the working class’s social and economic needs. They are pivotal in fostering supportive communities, in particular for low-income residents in sub-standard housing. However, their outdated overall environment impedes the delivery of adequate support to residents. Prior research on street markets has focused on those in the Americas and Europe, and has revealed the societal support values of these markets. However, studies on street markets in high-density cities like Hong Kong are lacking. This study introduces an evaluation framework to assess the impact of street markets on the development of supportive communities for Hong Kong’s sub-divided apartment residents. Employing the Pei Ho Street market in Sham Shui Po as a case study, an importance-performance analysis highlights critical but underperforming factors including public facilities, activity venues, commerce, and employment. Based on these findings, the study proposes four improvement strategies for the renewal of street markets in high-density communities, which could apply to other cities with similar high-density urban environments. It concludes that street markets in Hong Kong display unique spatial characteristics shaped by low-income lifestyles in a high-density urban environment, enriching daily social life and promoting sustainable community development. Full article
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