Sustainable Urban Futures Research Articles

Inclusion and Exclusion in Urban Public Space: Contemporary Challenges in Vienna and Helsinki

Public spaces facilitate interactions among people from diverse backgrounds and serve as arenas that offer valuable insights into societal dynamics. They have the potential to promote inclusion, yet they can also foster exclusionary practices. Focusing on the years 2022 and 2023, and the cases of Vienna and Helsinki, this article examines how different actors, from the city administration to local stakeholders and young people, perceive and negotiate inclusion and exclusion in public space. Through a multi-method analysis, including background research, expert interviews, and focus groups, we identified four key challenges that define the negotiation of inclusion and exclusion in public space and outline the perspectives, tensions, and policy measures connected to them. Our empirical material underscores how public space is a critical resource that is essential for fostering sustainable and resilient urban futures. Local governments need to be aware of the overlapping and contradictory effects of policies on various groups, and balance between universalistic and particularistic policy measures to address vulnerabilities and diverse community needs effectively. Taking a proactive perspective helps to address future crises while identifying ways of involving the perspectives of diverse stakeholders in such processes.

Sustainable Urban Planning: A Comparative Study of Green City Initiatives Around the Worldqq

Sustainable urban planning has become increasingly imperative in addressing environmental challenges and promoting resilient, livable cities globally. a comparative study of green city initiatives across different regions, examining strategies, successes, and challenges in integrating sustainability principles into urban development. Key focus areas include sustainable infrastructure, green spaces, energy efficiency, waste management, and community engagement. By analyzing case studies and current practices, this study aims to identify best practices and lessons learned from leading green cities, highlighting innovative approaches that enhance urban sustainability and quality of life for residents. Ultimately, the research underscores the importance of holistic planning approaches and collaborative governance in achieving sustainable urban futures amidst urbanization pressures and climate change impacts.

China's green building revolution: Path to sustainable urban futures

This paper critically examines the significant strides China has made toward sustainable urban development, emphasizing the evolution of green building practices since 2015. Through a detailed analysis of green building policies under China's 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, as well as the General Code for Building Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Utilization, this study highlights the progressive integration of sustainability in construction. Notable advancements include the implementation of stringent energy efficiency standards and the incorporation of renewable energy technologies, which have collectively shifted the paradigm of architectural practices in urban China. Moreover, the paper draws upon several case studies, such as the Shanghai Chenghuaxinyuan Project and Mini Sky City, to illustrate the tangible outcomes and the effectiveness of these policies in real-world settings. These examples not only demonstrate significant reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions but also reflect the scalability and replicability of such initiatives in other urban contexts. Key findings suggest that China's proactive policy landscape has catalyzed a national movement towards environmentally responsible construction, setting a global benchmark for sustainable urban development. The paper argues that these policy-driven initiatives have important implications for practitioners, who are encouraged to adopt innovative construction technologies and sustainable practices. For policymakers, the study underscores the necessity of continuous support for research and development in green technology, coupled with robust regulatory frameworks to sustain momentum in the green building sector. Finally, the paper offers comprehensive recommendations aimed at enhancing the efficacy and adoption of green building practices, proposing that future policy directions should focus on integrating smart city technologies to further optimize energy use and urban sustainability.

Navigating urban complexity: The transformative role of digital twins in smart city development

This research systematically explores the burgeoning field of Digital Twins (DTs) within smart cities’ framework and urban development. Anchored by three research questions, the study delineates the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of DTs at a city scale. It delves into the structure, operational dynamics, and diverse applications in various urban domains supported by case studies. Through a structured methodology employing the PRISMA framework, it includes an analysis of 64 pertinent studies from an initial pool of 519. The research synthesis highlights the dynamic nature of DTs, their multifaceted technological layers, and their instrumental role in shaping sustainable urban futures. Despite the promising outlook, the study also highlights several technological and real-world hurdles that need to be addressed to fully unlock the capabilities of DTs within urban environments.

Towards Sustainable Urban Futures: Integrating a Novel Grey Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for Optimal Pedestrian Walkway Site Selection

Today, urban development faces complex global challenges that require new approaches to influence its practices and policies. By prioritizing sustainability, mobility, and community resilience, we are moving towards a holistic approach that protects the well-being of residents and the environment. In this dynamic urban design environment, finding ways to identify pedestrian-friendly spaces and create safe, efficient, and sustainable urban environments is a major challenge, and it requires research that seeks to optimize this choice, especially in terms of integrating numerical modeling methods and a wide range of measurement tasks. This research is concerned with optimizing pedestrian accessibility, which directly contributes to reducing environmental impact, improving non-motorized transport, and reducing traffic congestion. It integrates a novel, mixed multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model that benefits from the use of Grey’s theory. This research’s purpose goes beyond addressing cities’ immediate challenges; it seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of sustainable urban planning. This study represents a pioneering effort to identify the challenges of optimal site selection for pedestrian walkways. By using a multi-criteria decision-making approach based on mathematical modelling and facility engineering, this effort addresses gaps in the current understanding of site selection criteria and aims to lead a paradigm shift toward a sustainable, efficient, and inclusive urban environment. The results show that the updated RANCOM-PIV greyscale is quite robust and reliable, when comparing the final results of the PIV greyscale and the MARCOS greyscale.

A participatory foresight approach to envisioning post-pandemic urban development pathways in Tokyo

Ensuring sustainable urban futures demands varied approaches, particularly with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which presents a unique situation and experience for reimagining urban futures. A considerable number of scientific inquiries have adopted participatory foresight approaches to imagining sustainable urban development pathways. However, not many have used a similar approach to envision urban development pathways in a post-COVID-19 era. Based on available evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 on urban forms and lifestyles and citizens’ experiences during the pandemic, such a study is imperative to better understand how people from different demographic groups envision an ideal post-pandemic city. Using the Greater Tokyo Area as a case study, we adopted the Q methodology to determine post-pandemic urban development pathways from the subjective viewpoints of diverse stakeholders. We identified four development pathways for an ideal post-pandemic city. The first pathway is a resilient city with good neighborhood accessibility and sustainable urban regeneration. The second and third pathways, shared by younger people, focus on pro-environmental climate change mitigation (city compactness, shared mobility) and pro-urban resilience, respectively. The final pathway imagines a post-pandemic city that is accessible, safe, and smart. We found that different age groups perceive their ideal cities differently, especially when emphasizing the nexus between pandemics and cities. The study illustrates the need to adopt more participatory approaches in designing future urban development pathways since varied perspectives of an ideal city exist among different age demographics. These approaches promote equitable, inclusive, and transparent urban planning, advancing community support for policymaking and implementation.

Rompendo o ciclo de emergência da justiça espacial

This paper examines the critical need to integrate prospective planning into territorial development processes for achieving spatial justice and sustainable urban futures. It highlights the limitations of a reactive approach to urban governance, particularly prevalent in Latin America, where weak institutions and unstable political systems often hinder long-term perspectives. The research emphasizes the importance of strategic foresight as a complementary tool to traditional planning practices. Territorial foresight facilitates the exploration of complex future scenarios, fostering collaborative learning and a shared vision among stakeholders. The study proposes a shift towards a proactive, foresight-driven approach that can help break the vicious cycle of addressing only immediate crises. By embracing prospective studies, urban planners and policymakers can gain insights into potential future trajectories, enabling them to anticipate challenges, adapt strategies, and make informed decisions aligned with long-term goals. This paper draws on discourse analysis to examine the work of Latin American institutions and scholars engaged in foresight studies. Ultimately, the paper advocates for a paradigm shift in urban governance, prioritizing long-term strategic vision. This is essential for overcoming the fragmentation of urban planning, addressing systemic inequalities, and laying the groundwork for more just, resilient, and sustainable urban territories.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS ON RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND MANAGEMENT IN URBAN DEVELOPMENTS

Urban centers face the mounting challenge of balancing resource demands with sustainable practices in the face of population growth and environmental concerns. Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a transformative technology with the potential to optimize resource efficiency and management within urban environments. This article investigates the multifaceted impact of ML algorithms on enhancing resource management and the associated challenges and considerations. It delves into successful ML applications in vital urban sectors, including smart grids, water conservation, and intelligent transportation systems. Through the analysis of case studies, the article quantifies improvements in resource efficiency and highlights the contributions of ML to data-driven decision-making. Crucially, it emphasizes the need for a holistic approach, addressing computational costs, data bias, privacy concerns, and ethical considerations to ensure the responsible and equitable deployment of ML. The article concludes by underscoring the ongoing evolution of ML and its pivotal role in shaping sustainable and resilient urban futures.

Assessing the dynamic social values of the ‘deep city’: An integrated methodology combining online and offline approaches

This monograph presents findings from original research on urban heritage transformations and advances existing scholarship on three grounds: (1) it offers tested combinations of methods to capture the social values of heritage; (2) it distils the complex, diverse social values generated by urban heritage and revealed by the use of these methods; and (3) it discusses the implications and potential applications of these methods for urban planning. Cities are multi-layered deposits of tangible historic features and intangible meanings, memories, practices and associated values. These dense socio-material assemblages have been conceptualised as the ‘deep city’, a concept that recognises dynamic relationships between past, present and future, whilst simultaneously repositioning heritage at the heart of sustainable transformation. However, methods for understanding people’s relationships with urban heritage are mostly applied piecemeal in urban planning and heritage management. Here, we introduce research involving a suite of social and digital research methods, which can be deployed rapidly in online and offline spaces to examine the social values generated by urban heritage. Three in-depth case studies, in Edinburgh, London, and Florence, reveal how these values are involved in urban place-making. Failure to take them into account in development and regeneration projects can result in fragmentation and/or marginalisation of communities and their place attachments. The research has important implications for urban planning, offering methods and tools for working with communities to create more socially sustainable urban futures.

How can Africa’s urban majority reframe sustainability agendas?

Reporting from ongoing research and planning with low-income residents in Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg, this field note discusses infrastructure-led sustainability transitions that are in progress, probable and possible from the perspective of Africa’s politically marginalized urban majority. Its authors probe to what extent efforts to advance more sustainable urban futures in African cities can foster climate justice – not only in terms of resource distribution and infrastructural access but also in terms of political rights, recognition and participation in decision-making about what those futures should or could be. They suggest different ways by which engaging with the infrastructural lives of politically marginalized urban subjects and collectives may allow reframing of dominant, donor-driven sustainability agendas.

African urban peripheries and informal development: A review of challenges and sustainable approaches to inclusive cities

ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between African urban peripheries and informal development that also aligns with the broader goal of creating inclusive and sustainable urban environments. The authors employed a literature review approach and examined the complexities of informal settlements. In the presentation of their findings, the authors focus on conceptualizing of informality beyond slum areas, unravelling urbanization complexities in African urban peripheries, analysing the emergence of informal development in urban peripheral zones, and addressing informal settlements in the context of SDG 11. The findings reveal the embeddedness of informal practices in African urban peripheries, and the emphasis on adaptability, hybridity, and the role of informal entities in shaping complex urban fabrics. Additionally, inclusivity, safety, resilience, and sustainability are emphasized within the context of SDG 11. The authors conclude that a holistic and collaborative approach is important for shaping inclusive and sustainable urban futures in African urban peripheries. Additionally, they propose strategies for upgrading and formalizing informal settlements, the provision of essential social services, creation of economic opportunities, enhancement of safety, and to foster resilience through adaptive strategies.

Unraveling the urban climate crisis: Exploring the nexus of urbanization, climate change, and their impacts on the environment and human well-being – A global perspective

<p>The accelerating pace of urbanization, coupled with the intensifying impacts of climate change, poses unprecedented challenges to both the environment and human well-being. In this review, we delved into the intricate interaction between climate change and urbanization and the various effects they have on the environment and human well-being, shedding light on the emergent urban climate crisis. Urban areas serve as epicenters for diverse socio-economic activities, yet they also contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. Through an interdisciplinary lens, we explored the root causes of the urban climate crisis, examining how rapid urbanization exacerbates climate change and vice versa. By synthesizing current research and case studies, we elucidate the various environmental and social ramifications of this nexus, ranging from urban heat island effects to heightened vulnerability to extreme weather events. Furthermore, we delve into the unequal distribution of climate risks within urban populations, highlighting the disproportionate burden borne by marginalized communities. Finally, the chapter presents strategies and interventions for mitigating and adapting to the urban climate crisis, emphasizing the imperative of holistic and equitable approaches that prioritize both environmental sustainability and human well-being. Overall, this review calls for concerted efforts to unravel the complexities of the urban climate crisis and forge a path toward resilient, sustainable, and equitable urban futures.</p>

Refugee and Migrant Integration in Urban Spatial Structures and City Development: Case Study of Busan, South Korea

With the increasing protracted displacements and overall worldwide migration in recent decades, local integration has been considered a durable solution. Accordingly, global agendas have recommended the inclusion of migrant populations, especially within urban frameworks, as cities have always been deemed as migrant hubs. This study examines the influence of migrant spatial integration in city development and municipal policy against the historic backdrop of Busan. From liberation (1945) to post-war industrialization (1960s–1980s), Busan experienced population surges with the inflow of refugees and migrants that historically changed government policies and urban development plans. Based on archival research, secondary data, and GIS mapping, this study explores the influence of migrant populations on the city demographics, physical development, and housing initiatives during different periods. The findings of this study highlight the “local turn” in migrant spatial integration and the production of new urban geographies that portray “humanitarian” and “migrant” urbanism, thereby offering insights into sustainable urban futures for migrant and displaced populations.

Climate Garden 2085: An easily applicable transdisciplinary public art-science experiment for transformative learning about climate change

AbstractClimate change education is inherently part of Education for Sustainable Development which has manifold aims to develop transformative learning from primary to tertiary pupils. Climate change is challenging as a school subject, as although it can improve pupils’ knowledge, it is less evident how such knowledge translates into decreasing the value-action gap. Climate change also transverses disciplinary boundaries and teachers struggle to incorporate it into the curriculum. We present a transdisciplinary art-science public experiment—theClimate Garden 2085, as a methodology which has proved a popular tool for schools to engage their pupils with climate change and sustainability. TheClimate Garden 2085is a participatory art-science work that engages school pupils as social groups, and in emotional ways with scientific questions related to the effects of climate change on plant species that are important for food production and gardening. Greenhouses simulating different climate change scenarios engage pupils in a tangible way with climate change effects on plants while accompanying plant science and art workshops allow them to carry out hands on experiments. The garden art-science intervention has so far been created 24 times, with more than 100 workshops, and reached around 40,000 people. It continues to attract major interest by teachers and schools. Based on qualitative observation and some quantitative data, we discuss possible reasons for the attractiveness of the methodology for schools and explore how it might affect awareness and behavioral changes of participants. We propose that the poetic nature of a garden and the length of engagement that the garden affords, combined with the embodied experience and time and place for discussions, has great potential for enabling reflection and action toward climate friendly and sustainable urban futures. We present the project here in order to encourage others to create their ownClimate Garden.

URBAN ECOLOGICAL FUTURES: Five Eco‐Community Strategies for more Sustainable and Equitable Cities

AbstractCities are critical sites for understanding, and potentially ameliorating, the effects of global ecological change, the climate emergency and natural resource depletion. Contemporary cities are sociomaterially connected through global markets, trade and transportation, placing ever‐increasing demands on the natural environment and generating dangerous pollutants and emissions. Current approaches to address these environmental crises are dominated by neoliberal forms of ‘green’ urban development, carbon accounting and techno‐economic solutions, which extend corporate control over cities and tend to entrench inequality. A more strategic approach for enabling ecologically sustainable and equitable urban futures is urgently needed. We present five strategies for urban ecological futures in the global North, derived from qualitative and ethnographic empirical research with international eco‐communities, which open up discussions about how to tackle this challenge by acknowledging the role and potential of: (1) non‐extractive community economies; (2) democratic processes of co‐operative action; (3) social approaches to resource management; (4) participatory collaborative governance; and (5) urban heterogeneity and social justice. We explore the relational, contested and contextual processes through which these approaches could become embedded in urban policy and planning, thereby offering the strategic capacity required to move towards truly sustainable cities.

‘Gluing’ alternative imaginaries of sustainable urban futures: When commoning and design met in the post-socialist neighbourhood of Mănăștur, Romania

Imagination is key to transforming societal values and everyday life practices towards sustainable urban futures by allowing us to see alternatives. We propose that glimpses into other futures exist, illustrated by bottom-up practices of urban commoning. By allowing the experience of alternatives on a human scale and in everyday life, commoning practices can help accelerate sustainability transitions. Using the case of a post-socialist Romanian neighbourhood, Mănăstur, we discuss how design might support the coproduction of alternative imaginaries by creatively engaging with practices of commoning. We do this through the lens of ‘gluing’, which we conceptualise as a situated, mediated, and relational approach to investigating this coproduction process. Rather than aiming for a direct transfer, replication or expansion of the visions generated through commoning, design could provide experiential tools that allow communities to shape their own futures, while making room for differences in perspectives and values. Our findings contribute to the fields of experiential and everyday futures, at the intersection with design and sustainability transitions. To democratise sustainable futures, we suggest that the coproduction of alternative imaginaries needs to involve co-designing with communities, material engagement with wider issues surrounding sustainability, and open-ended and ongoing processes that foster capabilities for collective action.

Assessing climate justice awareness among climate neutral-to-be cities

This paper sheds light on the importance of evaluating climate justice concerns when forging climate-neutral strategies at the city level. Climate justice can be a useful policy lever to develop measures that promote simultaneously greenhouse gas emissions reductions and their social justice dimension, thus reducing the risk of adverse impacts. As a result, evaluating policymakers’ awareness of (i) recognition (ii) distributive (iii) procedural, and (iv) intergenerational issues about the transition to climate neutrality might help identify where to intervene to ensure that decisions towards more sustainable urban futures are born justly and equitably. This study uses data from the European Mission on 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 and a principal component analysis to build an index of climate justice awareness. It then identifies control factors behind different levels of climate justice awareness. The empirical analysis suggests that the more cities are engaged in climate efforts, the more they implement these efforts considering also the social justice dimension. It also reveals that the geographical location and the relationship with higher levels of governance contribute to shape the heterogeneity in a just-considerate climate action by virtue of different governance structures, historical legacies, and economic, cultural, and political characteristics. Overall, the analysis unveils that the availability of governmental support in capacity building and financial advisory services, and the breadth of the city’s legal powers across different fields of action are positively related to justice awareness. Conversely, the perception of favourable geo-climatic conditions is negatively correlated. These relationships can be read as assistance needs that cities perceive in their pathway to just climate neutrality and highlight where future efforts in research and policy-making should focus in the following years to pave the way to a just transition.

MaaS Implications in the Smart City: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach

Cities worldwide are calling for smart mobility strategies to tackle the negative externalities of their transport networks. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to introduce a new mobility model that promotes smarter and more sustainable urban futures. Given the novelty of the concept, this paper explores the implications that might arise from the implementation of MaaS in today’s metropolises in relation to the six dimensions of smart cities: smart governance, smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, smart people, and smart living. To this end, 42 semi-structured interviews with MaaS stakeholders were conducted in Madrid (Spain). Thematic analysis identified a set of 35 urban implications. The success of MaaS requires more than the mere deployment of technologies and must be supported by the reorganisation of institutional structures, the reform of the regulatory scenario, the stimulation of innovation-based entrepreneurship, the promotion of environmental awareness, the encouragement of cultural transition, and the consideration of the public sphere. Overall, valuable insights are identified for policymakers when designing MaaS. Assessment of multiple stakeholders’ perspectives enables a holistic understanding of these strategies and thus maximises their potential to address the limitations of our complex mobility systems in meeting urban sustainability goals.

Green and blue spaces: crucial for healthy, sustainable urban futures

Scientific knowledge of the health benefits of urban green and blue spaces is not being translated fast enough into practical and policy changes. Such changes are needed to improve the liveability of communities in large urban areas and to address the dual and growing challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. A vast array of options can facilitate better design of urban settings to enhance natural environments and improve health. One is to increase tree coverage and green space to reduce the higher temperatures in cities and towns compared with rural areas. These green spaces can also provide respite during heatwaves, which are projected to increase in frequency and intensity because of climate change. 1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeSummary for policymakers. in: Masson-Delmotte V Zhai P Pirani A Climate change 2021: the physical science basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge2021: 3-32 Google Scholar Urban greening could also address the inequities that arise because poor and marginalised populations generally live in hotter areas of cities. 2 Jay O Capon A Berry P et al. Reducing the health effects of hot weather and heat extremes: from personal cooling strategies to green cities. Lancet. 2021; 398: 709-724 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (59) Google Scholar Access to green spaces, such as forests, parks, grasslands, and recreational areas, and blue spaces, such as rivers, oceans, seas, and lakes, improves health and wellbeing. 3 Cissé G McLeman R Adams H et al. Health, wellbeing, and the changing structure of communities. in: Pörtner H-O Roberts DC Tignor M Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge2022: 1041-1170 Google Scholar During the COVID-19 pandemic, green and blue spaces proved beneficial for mental 4 Pouso S Borja Á Fleming LE Gómez-Baggethun E White MP Uyarra MC Contact with blue–green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown beneficial for mental health. Sci Total Environ. 2021; 756143984 Crossref PubMed Scopus (191) Google Scholar and physical health, 5 Yang Y Lu Y Yang L Gou Z Liu Y Urban greenery cushions the decrease in leisure-time physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic: a natural experimental study. Urban For Urban Green. 2021; 62127136 Crossref PubMed Scopus (30) Google Scholar although it is important to note that these benefits were not felt equitably. In New York, for example, wealthy, White residents were more likely to use urban green space during the pandemic than people who self-identified as being part of non-exclusive, census-based race and ethnicity categories, (eg, Asian, Black, African American, Hispanic or Latinx, or Native American), 6 Bianca L Christopher K Christopher F Timon MP Who benefits from urban green spaces during times of crisis? Perception and use of urban green spaces in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban For Urban Green. 2021; 65127354 Google Scholar raising important questions about how to increase equitable use. Cooling cities through urban green infrastructure: a health impact assessment of European citiesOur results showed the deleterious effects of UHIs on mortality and highlighted the health benefits of increasing tree coverage to cool urban environments, which would also result in more sustainable and climate-resilient cities. Full-Text PDF

Participatory prototyping for learning: an exploration of expansive learning in a long-term urban participatory design process

ABSTRACT Today, participatory design (PD) has an increasing focus on sustainable urban futures. Given the complexity of designing with and for urban sustainability, PD in this context often takes place in long-term processes which involve evolving networks of actors operating from different perspectives on this issue. This paper highlights the need for collective learning in these processes and for clarifying how PD methods support it. Hence, we explore the value of learning theories, and – more particularly – the established learning theory of expansive learning to understand how these PD practices engage with learning. We focus on the value of more carefully addressing learning theories in one particular area of PD approaches, namely participatory prototyping. This is done by reflecting on a participatory prototyping trajectory in existing residential suburbs from which conclusions are drawn on participatory prototyping and on PD in a broader sense for supporting collective learning.