Aims & Scope
npj Urban Sustainability is an open access, online-only journal for urban scientists, policy makers and practitioners interested in understanding and managing urbanization processes. The journal publishes high-quality research on sustainable urbanization and how cities and their regions are reshaping to meet major economic, social and environmental challenges. Papers published in the journal may also support Sustainable Development Goal 11, 'Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable', and explores how this goal interacts with the other Sustainable Development Goals in urbanization processes.
The journal welcomes critical studies, case studies and impact studies, including policy solutions for existing cities and regions, and projects for new urban developments. Papers are also encouraged that report collaborations between policy makers and practice communities, and research that more generally supports innovation in urban governance and planning.
Topics of interest to the journal include, though are not limited to, the following:
- Dynamics of urbanizing regions: urban distribution, metabolism and informatics, and urban scaling and density changes due to growth or shrinkage of urban regions.
- Sustainable environments in new and existing cities: ecology, architecture and city planning.
- Urban data: integration of innovative technology and solutions that emerge from collection and analyses of urban data, including both large and fine-grained spatial and temporal data.
- Economic, social and environmental challenges: empirical and theoretical implications of urban change in relation to inequality, climate change, food, health, energy and accountability.
- Urbanization in the Global South and developing countries is of particular interest.
As well as original research papers the journal also publishes critical reviews and thought-provoking perspectives. A full list of content types, including article guidelines, can be found here.
