Modern cities are developing exponentially and thus ensuring mobility is one of the key challenges. The solution can be viewed as the determination of optimal vectors of strategic city development, including transport as a sub-system. One dominant theme in respective research discourse is...

In the past, both researchers and policymakers have often underlined the important role cities have to play in reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meanwhile, city networks have become increasingly active in approaching international...

This study is a novel attempt to analyze the patterns and trends of urbanization in medium to large cities in Central Asia. It encompasses a broad range of parameters, and employs an evidence-based approach to outlining strategic directions and actions for fostering green and resilient urban...

Several indicator and index frameworks have been reported to assess management efficiency and promote transparency, facilitating decision-making and innovation. However, they cannot be applied in cities with limited information, making them impractical. This study proposes a Sustainable Urban...

Effectively assisting urban designers in developing resilient urban areas requires innovative approaches. Moreover, using spatial analysis is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the conceptual design depending on different specifications. Even though these concepts are closely related, they...

Urban planning, through design and land use allocation, affects urban climate dynamics and patterns at different atmospheric layers and spatial scales. Climate sensitive planning and design draws attention to the consideration of climate parameters for decision making. Seeking to contribute to...

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is increasingly recognized as an effective urban planning strategy, aiming for the harmonious development of urban spatial structures and rail transit systems, thus fostering sustainability. This study addresses the limitations of existing research in...

Based on corrected nighttime light data and firm-level data from 1998 to 2010, we use an urban sprawl index that properly captures the subtle differences in density distribution within cities, extend a hyperbolic distance specification within a parametric stochastic framework to the analysis of...

This study investigates the impact of green open spaces in reducing the probability of flooding and open waste burning in urban areas in Indonesia's three largest metropolitan cities: Surabaya, Jakarta, and Medan. This study employs urban village microdata from the 2014 and 2018 Village...

How sustainable are Ghana's cities? This Strategy measures sustainability along three dimensions-the enabling Urban System, People & Economy, and Environment-each of which has four building blocks. This approach is premised on the idea that city systems (infrastructure, governance, institutions,...

Climate change severely challenges our ecosystem and society, affecting urban residents' socioeconomic activities. Thus, assessing severe weather risk is crucial for evaluating urban sustainability; understanding trends, causes, and impacts on socioeconomic development; and supporting the United...

As urbanization accelerates globally, air pollution-particularly PM2.5-is becoming an increasingly significant threat, not only to public health but also the environment. In-depth research on the impact of China's Zero-Waste City pilot policy on PM2.5 concentration offers valuable insights into...

Urban eco-environmental management is a key focus in the modernization of national governance systems and governance capacity. Advanced information technology should be used to identify ecological problems in urban areas accurately while enhancing the environmental management capacity to promote...

Urbanization disrupts natural water, energy, and nutrient cycles, but integrating green and blue infrastructures (BGI) can mitigate these effects by facilitating processes like evapotranspiration, soil water infiltration, and root nutrient absorption. In Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR),...

City-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data is necessary as an input into identifying, planning, and monitoring urban climate change mitigation actions. Until recently, the availability of emissions data at the city level required the existence of a local emissions inventory, produced through...

Approximately 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are generated through consumption in urban areas, which means that decarbonization of cities is essential to limit climate change to 1.5 to 2 °C. While per capita emissions in low- and middle-income countries remain low so far, prompt action...

This technical note serves as a primer on smart city solutions for climate mitigation in urban areas. It introduces a subset of solutions that have shown great promise in the path toward decarbonization. Note that this primer note does not endorse one solution over another. Each city should...

To promote green innovation in China, the emphasis on digital industry integration is crucial. Using panel data from 283 cities (2005-2021), this study examines the impact of digital industry convergence (DIC) policy on urban green innovation (GI). The research employs the...

This report is following a Living Spaces peer-learning visit in Malmö that took place between 9 and 11 October 2024, hosted by the City Architect and City Planning Department in Malmö. Malmö, Sweden's third-largest city, has undergone significant transformation since the industrial decline of...

This report is following a Living Spaces peer-learning visit in Malmö that took place between 9 and 11 October 2024, hosted by the City Architect and City Planning Department in Malmö. Malmö, Sweden's third-largest city, has undergone significant transformation since the industrial decline of...

A Local Green Deal is a local tailor-made action plan to accelerate and scale-up a city's sustainability transition. It builds on and joins up existing strategies - e.g. sustainable energy and climate action plans, circular economy plans, resilience or economic development plans - legislation,...

Cities around the world are responsible for ever-growing shares of people, assets, and economic activities vulnerable to climate disasters. They are also responsible for the majority of the world's carbon emissions. Cities in low- and middle-income countries still have a window of opportunity to...

Digital twin technologies play a very important role in the provision of smart cities. However, it is not clear which innovative strategies should be implemented first on how to optimize digital twin technologies for sustainable smart cities. The main performance indicators should be identified...

Nigeria and Singapore are two countries that bear some historical similarities as well as differences. Singapore has emerged as a poster child for sustainable urban development while Nigeria lags very far behind in this area. This paper analyses if, and what lessons can be drawn from Singapore...

Sustainability and participation have become two priorities of urban policies. They are usually considered perfectly synergistic, but they are not. This chapter aims to disentangle the imbroglio of sustainability coupled with participatory processes in the theory and practice of urban planning...

Daylight is essential for ecosystems and for the physical and mental well-being of people. In densely populated cities, only a small proportion of total daylight is available to support urban greenery and most people have little daily exposure to natural daylight. Despite this, many cities have...

Christopher Alexander argued that modernist approach to architecture prioritizes innovation, abstraction, and mechanistic efficiency at the expense of human-centered and organic values. According to Christopher Alexander, this shift has led to a proliferation of buildings that are visually...

The West African region, one of the largest urban agglomerations in Africa has over decades experienced rapid rate of urbanization. The urbanization processes have been associated with manifold environmental and socioeconomic challenges including inefficient urban infrastructure, unaffordable...

This paper proposes a Sustainability Assessment for the social, economic, and environmental evaluation of gated housing projects, corresponding to the indicators of accessibility, connectivity, compatibility, nodality and containment, identity, diversity, density, and adaptability. The main aim...

In January 2022, Slovenia's government adopted the strategic plan to stop using coal for electricity production by 2033. The plan calls for the closure of the Velenje coal mine and comprehensive economic and social restructuring for the region. As a result, the city of Velenje is progressively...

REACHOUT is a pioneering initiative under the European Green Deal that aims to transform urban resilience against climate challenges. With a focus on city-oriented climate services, REACHOUT collaborates with a diverse range of European cities to co-create tailored climate information tools....