Dear Colleagues,

The growth in the world population that lives in urban environments has gained unprecedented momentum and is considered one of the 21st century’s most impactful changes (UN 2016). Many countries are facing continuous challenges in meeting the rigid demand for more high-quality urban housing. To meet the growing demand, urban regeneration is becoming a critical approach to improve our urban life quality (Chen, Jia et al. 2008). Unlike the traditional new-built project, urban regeneration is characterized by large-group stakeholders with diverse attributes, multiple project goals from micro to macro perspectives, and a strong impact on in situ end-users. The construction management of urban regeneration ought to lie in its abovementioned significant characteristics.

Today, urban regeneration is entering the era of sustainability, where large-scale physical change is no longer the focus (Akotia and Opoku 2018, Liu, Fu et al. 2021). Sustainable construction management, such as collaborative governance, public engagement, and green technology, are inevitably taken into consideration. Despite indications of significant growth, sustainable construction management of urban regeneration has not been without challenges and barriers. Up to now, plenty of research has contributed to achieving urban sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the context of urban regeneration (Haapio 2012, Kohon 2018, Zhu, Li et al. 2020). However, over-reliance on conventional theory where close engagement with theoretical debates is lacking may mislead the practices under dynamic social change. For instance, since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced the global social, economic and environmental order. The conventional SDGs have presented high fragility since only one-third of these are likely to be achieved (Naidoo and Fisher 2020). In urban regeneration, the connotation of sustainable construction management not only highlights the practices from the micro project to macro urban scope by involving large-scale stakeholder groups but includes the rethinking of sustainable pathways from a dynamic and comprehensive perspective.

Therefore, this Special Issue will provide an opportunity for researchers worldwide to exchange new ideas. The scope is global and multi- and transdisciplinary. It calls for papers addressing the critical research questions in this field, employing innovative methodologies and data sources, contributing to theoretical debates, or showcasing the fundamental patterns worth paying more attention to. In the context of urban regeneration, full papers on (but not limited to) the following specific topics are invited:

1. Rethinking construction management in the agenda of urban regeneration
2. Sustainable construction management and approaches for urban regeneration
3. Sustainable urban resilience
4. Planning and design of urban regeneration
5. Urban health and project management
6. Collaborative governance and public involvement
7. Community management in urban regeneration

References

Akotia, J. and A. Opoku (2018). "Sustainable regeneration project delivery in UK: A qualitative Analysis of practitioners’ engagement." Journal of Facilities Management.

Chen, H., et al. (2008). "Sustainable urban form for Chinese compact cities: Challenges of a rapid urbanized economy." Habitat International 32(1): 28-40.

Haapio, A. (2012). "Towards sustainable urban communities." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 32(1): 165-169.

Kohon, J. (2018). "Social inclusion in the sustainable neighborhood? Idealism of urban social sustainability theory complicated by realities of community planning practice." City, culture and society 15: 14-22.

Liu, G., et al. (2021). "Research on the collaborative governance of urban regeneration based on a Bayesian network: The case of Chongqing." Land Use Policy 109: 105640.

Naidoo, R. and B. Fisher (2020). Reset sustainable development goals for a pandemic world, Nature Publishing Group.

UN (2016). The New Urban Agenda. A. R. Habitat III Secretariat.

Zhu, S., et al. (2020). "The impacts of relationships between critical barriers on sustainable old residential neighborhood renewal in China." Habitat International 103: 102232.

Prof. Dr. Guiwen Liu
Prof. Dr. Edwin H.W. Chan
Dr. Queena K. Qian
Dr. Taozhi Zhuang
Guest Editors

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• urban regeneration
• construction management
• sustainability
• design and planning
• collaborative governance
• urban resilience
• urban health
• community management