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Sustainability
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Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities
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Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities

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 (1 January 2022) | Viewed by 23809

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Victoria A. Beard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 14850 and World Resources Institute, Washington, DC 20002, USA
Interests: comparative urbanization; inequality and poverty; informality; community-based planning; collective action; sustainable cities; water and sanitation infrastructure
Prof. Dr. Edgar Pieterse

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, Bremner Building, Lower Campus, Lovers Walk, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
Interests: radical social economies; sustainable infrastructure; adaptive urban governance; speculative urban experiments; urban innovation systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the tenuousness of our understanding of what constitutes sustainable, healthy, and livable cities. It makes us question statements like, “The argument has been proven, the data is clear: compact and connected cities are better for people and the environment” (https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2016/03/31/compact-and-connected-cities-are-better-for-people-and-the-environment/). Compact city advocates argue in favor of increased urban population density on the basis of two powerful arguments: (1) climate change mitigation and energy efficiency gains, and (2) greater productivity and innovation derived from urban agglomeration. It has long been accepted that patterns of urban sprawl that characterize cities in the global North are unsustainable and to be avoided. It is equally well understood in the global South that urban population densities do not necessarily equate to healthy and livable cities. These different perspectives are further complicated when officials mandate “social distancing” to protect public health. Simply put, contextual (landscape, environment, and spatial economies) and qualitative (historical, cultural, social) dimensions of cities, urban living, and urban form matter. This Special Issue comprises papers that drill down, problematize, and rethink compactness and urban density as incontrovertible planning and design principles of sustainable cities.

Prof. Dr. Victoria A. Beard
Prof. Dr. Edgar Pieterse
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

  • compact cities
  • urban sustainability
  • livable cities
  • healthy cities
  • informality
  • climate change
  • urban planning
  • population density
  • rapid urbanization
  • urban expansion
  • urban infrastructure and services
  • housing

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6720 KiB  
Article
Green Densities: Accessible Green Spaces in Highly Dense Urban Regions—A Comparison of Berlin and Qingdao
by Olaf Mumm, Ryan Zeringue, Nannan Dong and Vanessa Miriam Carlow
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1690; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031690 - 1 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4229
Abstract
Recreational green spaces are associated with human thriving and well-being. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic a spotlight has been shed on the interconnection between access to these spaces, human well-being and social equity. Containment measures enacted in many cities effectively precluded people from [...] Read more.
Recreational green spaces are associated with human thriving and well-being. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic a spotlight has been shed on the interconnection between access to these spaces, human well-being and social equity. Containment measures enacted in many cities effectively precluded people from reaching distant recreational areas during the pandemic and consequently, recreational areas close to home became particularly important. Urban density is often associated with building or population density with the assumption that if either parameter has a high value, the availability of open (green) space is low. Certain densities are associated with specific spatial qualities. Addressing challenges of sustainable development, a detailed evaluation of density is necessary to allow evidence-based arguments, planning and decision-making. In this study we develop a multi-scale analysis method for quantifying and assessing green infrastructures from settlement unit to building level to reach a differentiated view on density, arguing that density can be organized in different ways achieving very different qualities. For this purpose, we use geospatial-data analysis and in-depth neighborhood studies to compare two cities in Asia and Europe, revealing different ways of organizing density in the built environment and identifying a derivation of approaches for sustainable development in dense urban regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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16 pages, 2251 KiB  
Article
Regional Development Quality of Yangtze River Delta: From the Perspective of Urban Population Agglomeration and Ecological Efficiency Coordination
by Zhenxiao Xu and Yongqiang Yin
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12818; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212818 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1901
Abstract
With the deepening of the development process of regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta, integration and high quality have become the key paths of regional development. On the basis of the panel data of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban [...] Read more.
With the deepening of the development process of regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta, integration and high quality have become the key paths of regional development. On the basis of the panel data of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, from 2008 to 2018, this paper uses a DEA model to calculate the ecological efficiency of each city. On the basis of the visual expression of the population agglomeration degree, with the help of ArcGIS platform, the coupling coordination between the population agglomeration and the ecological efficiency is calculated by using the coupling degree model. The results show the spatiotemporal pattern changes of the coupling coordination degrees of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration between population agglomeration and ecological environment, modeling the impact of urban population growth on the ecological environment. The research provides a scientific basis for determining the goal of urban population development, for coordinating the relationship between populations and the environment in urban development, and for realizing regional sustainable and high-quality development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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27 pages, 6681 KiB  
Article
Appropriate Housing Typologies, Effective Land Management and the Question of Density in Muscat, Oman
by Wolfgang Scholz
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12751; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212751 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4131
Abstract
The Sultanate of Oman has been undergoing massive changes in the last 50 years. The Gulf State transformed from a very traditional and isolated country into a wealthy and modern state. After Sultan Said was enthroned in 1970, the young Sultan Qaboos, who [...] Read more.
The Sultanate of Oman has been undergoing massive changes in the last 50 years. The Gulf State transformed from a very traditional and isolated country into a wealthy and modern state. After Sultan Said was enthroned in 1970, the young Sultan Qaboos, who passed away in 2020, began to modernise Oman’s economy and society. Today, widespread, single-family houses are the prevailing residential building type, with an urban sprawl characterised by mono-functional zoning and a dependency on motorized individual transport with long commuting distances. All these conditions have been strongly supported by governmental planning policies. Since this urban sprawl causes unsustainable land consumption, this study addresses options for urban development and housing typologies aiming at a compact city with a higher density. However, the term density has to reflect local cultural and climatic conditions and, in time of the pandemic as special focus of this issue, has to be critically discussed and reviewed. Thus, this study identifies, as a base line study in Muscat Capital Area, Omani residents’ housing needs by an online questionnaire survey focusing on housing layouts, features and locational preferences, exploring alternatives to the current situation. Findings are that housing needs do not necessarily demand a single-family building but can be achieved better by different housing layouts, at the same time supporting social distances measures via outdoor options during the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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13 pages, 3082 KiB  
Article
Crowded Cities: New Methodology in COVID-19 Risk Assessment
by Somik V. Lall and Sameh N. Wahba
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7167; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137167 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2387
Abstract
In this paper, we provide a novel approach to distinguish livable urban densities from crowded cities and describe how this distinction has proved to be critical in predicting COVID-19 contagion hotspots in cities in low- and middle-income country. Urban population density—considered as the [...] Read more.
In this paper, we provide a novel approach to distinguish livable urban densities from crowded cities and describe how this distinction has proved to be critical in predicting COVID-19 contagion hotspots in cities in low- and middle-income country. Urban population density—considered as the ratio of population to land area, without reference to floor space consumption or other measures of livability—can have large drawbacks. To address this drawback and distinguish between density and crowding, it is important to adjust for measures of floor space as well as open space and neighborhood amenities. We use a dataset on building heights, representative of cities worldwide, to measure densities based on floor area consumption per person as well as apply this measure to develop a COVID-19 hotspot predictive tool to help city leaders prioritize civic and medical resources during the pandemic. We conclude by outlining priority interventions that could enable city leaders and local governments to transform crowded cities into livable places. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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28 pages, 4199 KiB  
Article
Densify and Expand: A Global Analysis of Recent Urban Growth
by Shlomo Angel, Patrick Lamson-Hall, Alejandro Blei, Sharad Shingade and Suman Kumar
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3835; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073835 - 31 Mar 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6686
Abstract
Serious concerns with accelerating global warming have been translated into urgent calls for increasing urban densities: higher densities are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions, especially those related to vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT). In order to densify meaningfully in the coming decades, cities [...] Read more.
Serious concerns with accelerating global warming have been translated into urgent calls for increasing urban densities: higher densities are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions, especially those related to vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT). In order to densify meaningfully in the coming decades, cities need to make room within their existing footprints to accommodate more people. In the absence of adequate room within their existing footprints, cities create more room through outward expansion, typically resulting in lower overall densities. We introduce a quantitative dimension to this process, focusing on the population added to a global stratified sample of 200 cities between 1990 and 2014. In three-quarters of the cities we studied, the areas built before 1990 gained population and thus densified significantly. On average, however, only one-quarter of the total population added to the 200 cities in the sample in the 1990–2014 period were accommodated within their 1990 urban footprints, while three-quarters were accommodated within their newly built expansion areas. That resulted in an overall decline in average urban densities during the 1990–2014 period despite the near-global, decades-old and rarely questioned consensus that urban expansion must be contained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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17 pages, 3263 KiB  
Article
The Impact Assessment of Increasing Population Density on Jeddah Road Transportation Using Spatial-Temporal Analysis
by Mohammed Aljoufie
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1455; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031455 - 30 Jan 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2937
Abstract
This paper aimed to measure and analyze the impact of temporal population density changes on transportation in Jeddah, a fast-growing city in Saudi Arabia. Local cooperative interpretation is first used to quantify the temporal population density and transportation changes for three sample districts [...] Read more.
This paper aimed to measure and analyze the impact of temporal population density changes on transportation in Jeddah, a fast-growing city in Saudi Arabia. Local cooperative interpretation is first used to quantify the temporal population density and transportation changes for three sample districts in Jeddah from 2007 to 2014. Three temporal indicators were developed to measure the impact of increasing population density on transportation: (1) District Road Density Index (DRDI); (2) District Parking Index (DPI); and (3) District Trip Index (DTI). Then, a statistical analysis was conducted to examine the temporal relationship between population density and transportation for the years 2007 and 2014, by performing a Pearson correlation analysis, a paired t-test and a bootstrap for paired samples test. The results of temporal indicators revealed a significant change in population density in Jeddah from 2007 to 2014, which seems to indicate intensified demand for transportation infrastructure. The Pearson correlation analysis indicated a strong positive relationship between population density variables and temporal impact indicators. Both a paired t-test and a bootstrap for paired samples test results indicated the effect of population density changes on transportation changes in Jeddah as a result of population density regulation changes in Jeddah from 2007 to 2014. This study presents sophisticated tools to study the impact of temporal population density change on transportation in a fast-growing city, which will facilitate the measurement and evaluation of urban sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Urban Population Density and Sustainable Cities)
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