A special issue of Sustainability Analytics and Modeling (Open Access – Online ISSN: 2667-2596).
This Special Issue specifically emphasizes the role of assessment and evaluation methods and development strategies in supporting the development of the built environment and including citizens in the transformation of cities.
Special issue information:
AIMS AND SCOPE
Cities worldwide are facing unprecedented challenges, including air pollution, inadequate basic services and infrastructure, unplanned urban sprawl, energy security, open public spaces, and vulnerability to climate disasters. With urban areas and populations under increasing environmental and social pressure, cities have to be at the forefront of sustainability. Indeed, better urban development and management are needed to limit the impact of this unprecedented growth on the livability of cities. The UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 dedicates one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11) to cities and human settlements, to make them inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
Urban development is shifting trajectories, moving towards new solutions for sustainability, inclusion, and digitalization. While new theories and approaches on how to combine inclusivity, digitalization, and sustainability have been proposed and largely discussed, strong assessment methods and innovative tools and strategies for optimizing urban development are lacking. Complex problems, multi-stakeholders perspectives, and interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges pose significant obstacles to comprehensive measures that can support planners and urban partitioners in ensuring sustainable and inclusive transitions for cities worldwide.
This Special Issue specifically emphasizes the role of assessment and evaluation methods and development strategies in supporting the development of the built environment and including citizens in the transformation of cities. Thus, the Special Issue aims to mainstream interdisciplinary analytical methods from the best urban development practices that could foster sustainable urban development. By highlighting these recommendations, this Special Issue will shine a light on the significance of proper assessment methods and development strategies to inform and influence policy and decision-making in cities. We invite papers on state-of-the-art research and innovative approaches to sustainable, inclusive, resilient, digital and circular cities and urban development. Papers can include monitoring and assessment frameworks for, quantitative modeling and/or analytical approaches, as well as applications to empirical case studies that fit the scope of the journal. The research reported in the articles should be based on or inspired by real-world problems and should provide new insights into how to address the serious challenges associated with urban sustainability.
This special issue is dedicated to the 34th European Conference on Operational Research (EURO) 2025 in Leeds, UK. Participants of the EURO 2025 conference are encouraged to submit relevant work to this special issue. We also welcome submissions from the entire community of academics and practitioners working in the field of urban development and environmental management.
TOPICS COVERED
Sustainability Analytics and Modeling publishes articles that develop and apply quantitative methods of analytics and operations research to take on global sustainability challenges. These challenges are many and broad in scope. They involve poverty, hunger, health, well-being, education, equality, water, sanitation, energy, economies, industry, infrastructure systems, smart communities, consumption and production, climate, peace, and justice, among other topics, all of which are targeted by the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html).
Topics that are of interest for this special issue include, but are not limited to:
- Assessment methods and evaluation techniques for inclusive, resilient, and circular cities,
- Multi-criteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS) tools for the sustainability of the built environment,
- Digital tools to support inclusion and participation in decision-making processes,
- Balancing economic, environmental, and social objectives in urban development,
- Climate change mitigation and adaption, and resilience measures,
- Circular economy concepts for urban sustainability,
- Technological and organizational tools to increase transparency and collaboration between stakeholders,
- The role of policy and regulation for urban sustainability,
Manuscript submission information:
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The APC (Article Publishing Charge) will be covered by IFORS for all papers submitted by 31st December 2025. Submitted papers should be original works and should not have been previously published or currently considered for publication elsewhere. The manuscripts should be prepared according to the Guide for Authors available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/sustainability-analytics-and-modeling/publish/guide-for-authors.
All manuscripts should be submitted electronically using the journal’s online manuscript submission system at https://www.editorialmanager.com/samod/default.aspx. When prompted for the article type, please select “VSI: Shaping Sustainable Cities.“.
On the Attach Files screen, please submit the Manuscript, Highlights, Cover Letter summarizing the contributions of the paper, and Conflict of Interest Declaration (template available at https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/286/supporthub/publishing).
At the Review Preferences screen, you may suggest potential reviewers for this submission and provide specific reasons for your suggestion in the comments box for each person.
Manuscripts submitted after the deadline may not be considered for the special issue and may be transferred, if accepted, to a regular issue.
IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2025
Eligible submissions will be immediately submitted to the peer review process by the guest editors.
The guest editors guarantee a maximum time of three months for the initial peer review process.
Accepted papers will be published online immediately. Thus, papers submitted early will also be published well ahead of the scheduled publication date for the special issue.
Keywords:
Assessment Methods and Evaluation; Multi-criteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS) ; Inclusive, resilient, and circular cities; Climate change; Digitalization
Guest editors:
Sara Torabi Moghadam
Politecnico di Torino
DIST – Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, 39, 10125 Torino, ITALY
e-mail: sara.torabi@polito.it
Patrizia Lombardi
Politecnico di Torino
DIST – Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, 39, 10125 Torino, ITALY
e-mail: patrizia.lombardi@polito.it
Virginia Pellerey
Politecnico di Torino
DIST – Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, 39, 10125 Torino, ITALY
e-mail: virginia.pellerey@polito.it
Rossana Riccardi
Department of Economics and Management
University Degli Studi Di Brescia, Brescia (BS), ITALY
e-mail: rossana.riccardi@unibs.it
Cynthia Chen
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
e-mail: qzchen@uw.edu
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