Collection

Towards Sustainable Urban Future

Submission status
Closed

The pace of urbanization is unprecedented across the globe; by 2050, the world’s urban population is expected to nearly double. An increased pace of urbanization brings economic fortune; nearly 80 percent of global GDP comes from urban areas. Cities have appeared as the engine of growth and prosperity. As everything is increasingly concentrated in cities the quality of housing, basic infrastructures and services, health, education, recreation, employment, and urban food systems have been deteriorated in cities in most parts of the world especially in the developing economies.

If well-planned and well-managed, urbanization can be a powerful tool for sustainable development for both developing and developed countries. Several successive initiatives such as Mellinuim Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDDR), and New Urban Agenda 2016 (Habitat III) have been initiated at the global level to ensure future urban sustainability. At the same time in the technological frontier, the revolution in digital technology, innovation in satellite remote sensing and drone, electric vehicles, clean/green energy, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) have offered immense potentials to promote future urban sustainability by redefining the ways cities are planned, designed, financed, developed, governed and managed. However, to date research linking the issues of urban sustainability, governance (at multiple levels and scales) and technological innovation has been limited. Therefore, we seek papers that address the future urban sustainability from multiple perspectives going beyond the disciplinary divide. Especially we welcome papers that deepen/broaden our understanding about- how various global initiatives and technological breakthrough have been making impacts on the sustainability of cities by ending poverty and hunger, reducing inequalities, promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth, promoting sustainable consumption and production, fostering urban resilience, reducing disaster risks, mitigating and adapting to climate change, protecting the environment, and improving human health, well-being and livability of cities.

The Topical Collection welcomes theoretical, empirical, case study, and review research contributions. The papers may represent a variety of theoretical perspectives and different methodological approaches. The major criteria in the review and the selection process concern the significance of the contribution to address the future urban sustainability from a trans-disciplinary perspective.

Editors

  • Mustafa Saroar Mustafa Saroar

    Mustafa Saroar

    Professor Mustafa Saroar lectures on Sustainable Urban Management at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bangladesh. He worked for many institutions including Unicef, UNDP, FAO, GIZ, and CGIAR institutions. He has presented as a key-note and invited speaker at more than 30 high impact international conferences, seminars, and workshops held in North America, Europe, Oceania, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Prof Saroar is very often invited as an expert panel discussant on issues of Urban Sustainability by government agencies, international organizations, and industry.

Articles (3 in this collection)