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Sustainability
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Pathways to Urban Sustainability and Natural Hazards Management
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Pathways to Urban Sustainability and Natural Hazards Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 3546

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hariklia D. Skilodimou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geology, University of Patras, ZC 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: GIS; geological mapping; environmental geology; natural hazards; land use planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. George D. Bathrellos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Geology & Geodynamics, Sector of General, Department of Geology, University of Patras, ZC 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: natural hazards; urban planning; geomorphology; modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, urban areas have shown very high growth. At present, more than 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this percentage will increase to about 70% by 2050. This rise will cause continued urban sprawl and development.

On the other hand, urban growth has been associated with negative impacts in the environment, such as increased energy use, pollution, traffic congestion, overconsumption of natural resources, biodiversity loss, and a decline in community cohesiveness. Moreover, urban sprawl can increase natural hazard occurrences and the impact of natural disasters worldwide.

The scope of this Special Issue is to present scientific pathways leading to urban sustainability and natural hazard management. Addressing and resolving environmental challenges as well as proper natural hazard management in urban areas are very important to ensure the good quality of life of citizens.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome in this Special Issue. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Air, water and soil pollution/degradation, waste, hazardous materials incidents, pipelines, radiological events, transportation, salinization, desertification, fires, land use changes, dam failure, natural resource depletion, coastline changes, loss of biodiversity in urban areas;
  • Sustainable urban areas: land use, urban planning, climate changes, natural resource supply, renewable sources of energy, ecosystem and farmland protection, innovative building construction and transportation, smart buildings, smart cities, education, practices and strategies;
  • All types of atmospheric, hydrologic, geologic and geomorphologic phenomena which could be hazardous and affect human life and activities in urban areas,
  • Natural hazard mapping, risk assessment, prevention, protective actions, education, innovative risk management technology, preparedness, response, recovery, and treatment.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Hariklia D. Skilodimou
Dr. George D. Bathrellos
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

  • urban areas
  • environmental challenges
  • natural resources
  • natural hazards
  • sustainability management
  • urban planning
  • mapping hazard and risk assessment
  • innovative technology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4383 KiB  
Article
Environmental Risk Assessment in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Mountains of Northern Pakistan: Palas Valley, Kohistan
by Noor Ul Haq, George Kontakiotis, Hammad Tariq Janjuhah, Fazlur Rahman, Iffat Tabassum, Usman Khan, Jamil Khan, Zahir Ahmad and Naveed Jamal
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16679; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416679 - 13 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1882
Abstract
Forest cover in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountains of northern Pakistan has changed dramatically due to community dynamics such as population growth, household dynamics, and intensive economic activity for people’s livelihoods. Demographic development is one of the major factors influencing forest cover [...] Read more.
Forest cover in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountains of northern Pakistan has changed dramatically due to community dynamics such as population growth, household dynamics, and intensive economic activity for people’s livelihoods. Demographic development is one of the major factors influencing forest cover change in a previously sparsely populated environment. An abrupt upsurge in population exerts adverse effects on the local natural resources, specifically forests. The present research shows an increase in population from 1980 to 2017, the development of human settlements, and a long-term decline in forest cover. This study was conducted in the Palas valley in the HKH mountains using GIS and remote sensing (RS) technology. Analysis of the changes between 1980, 2000, and 2017 was done using ArcGIS and the maximum likelihood algorithm for supervised classification of Landsat MSS TM ETM+ and Sentinel 2A satellite images. We used Euclidean distances and buffer analysis techniques to identify that most changes occurred within 1 to 3 km of the settlement’s proximity in each period. We also found changes in forest cover to be much greater near settlements than elsewhere in the study area. According to the findings of the study, population explosion and other socio-economic factors have imposed excessive pressure on vegetation cover, resulting in the loss of 17,076 ha of forests in the remote Palas valley. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathways to Urban Sustainability and Natural Hazards Management)
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Review

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26 pages, 3332 KiB  
Review
Current and Previous Green Technologies, Their Efficiency, Associated Problems, and Success Rates to Mitigate M. aeruginosa in Aquatic Environments
by Zobia Khatoon, Suiliang Huang, Ahmer Bilal, Hammad Tariq Janjuhah, George Kontakiotis, Assimina Antonarakou, Evangelia Besiou, Mengjiao Wei, Rui Gao, Tianqi Zhang and Ling Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8048; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108048 - 15 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1023
Abstract
Frequent M. aeruginosa outbreaks pose a major risk to public health and have a detrimental effect on aquatic ecosystems. Researchers are looking into ways to stop and control M. aeruginosa blooms, a problem that affects both the aquatic environment and human health significantly. [...] Read more.
Frequent M. aeruginosa outbreaks pose a major risk to public health and have a detrimental effect on aquatic ecosystems. Researchers are looking into ways to stop and control M. aeruginosa blooms, a problem that affects both the aquatic environment and human health significantly. It is important to develop proper monitoring methods to identify M. aeruginosa blooms. However, the existing control and monitoring techniques have some drawbacks that limit the field’s applicability. Therefore, we must improve current methods for effectively monitoring and controlling M. aeruginosa blooms. Mitigation strategies should be customized for particular bodies of water utilizing techniques that are fast, economical, and field-applicable. This review critically identifies and evaluates green technologies, especially those focused on the presence of M. aeruginosa in freshwater, and compares and discusses problems with these green technologies. Furthermore, they were characterized and ranked according to their cost, effectiveness, and field applicability. A few suggestions for improvements were provided, along with ideas for future research projects that would take anticipated environmental changes into account. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathways to Urban Sustainability and Natural Hazards Management)
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