Dear Colleagues,

Currently, 55% of people in the world live in cities. According to the UN, this figure will increase to 68% in 2050. Human migration and the new economic models imposed by globalization are profoundly changing the physiognomy and configuration of our cities. Accelerated urban sprawl, suburbanization, gentrification, favelization, etc. are relatively recent phenomena that have been standardized in many of the main cities of the planet during the last few decades. Nevertheless, many medium-sized cities are currently experiencing phenomena of this nature as a result of imbalances in their urban growth patterns. This Special Issue seeks contributions involving relevant experiences and case studies, innovative frameworks, or new analysis methodologies in topics such as:

• imbalances in urban growth;
• urban sprawl processes in megacities;
• spatial analysis of city development patterns;
• uncontrolled urban phenomena (suburbanization, favelization, etc.);
• gentrification and new socioeconomic urban trends;
• rural–urban migration phenomena; and
• urban transformations related to new types of mass tourism (e.g. Airbnb).

References:

Aguilar, A. G. Peri-urbanization, illegal settlements and environmental impact in Mexico City. Cities 2008, 25, 133 145

Arribas-Bel, D.; Nijkamp, P.; Scholten, H. Multidimensional urban sprawl in Europe: A self-organizing map approach. Comput. Environ. Urban Syst. 2011, 35, 263–275

Espina, J.M.; Mori, S.; Nomura, R. An Analysis of Environment Behavior Relationships towards the Design of a Local Mixed-used Street: Based on Behavior Settings of Belgium Street in Cebu City, Philippines. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3230.

Ewing, R. Is Los Angeles-Style Sprawl Desirable? J. Am. Plan. Assoc. 1997, 63, 107–126.

Do, D.T.; Mori, S.; Nomura, R. A Comparative Study of User Behaviors on Unimproved and Improved Street Spaces in Da Nang, Vietnam. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3457.

García-Ayllón, S. Rapid development as a factor of imbalance in urban growth of cities in Latin America: A perspective based on territorial indicators. Habitat Int. 2016, 58, 127-142

Garcia-Ayllon, S. Urban Transformations as an Indicator of Unsustainability in the P2P Mass Tourism Phenomenon: The Airbnb Case in Spain through Three Case Studies. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2933.

García-Ayllón, S. Retro-diagnosis methodology for land consumption analysis towards sustainable future scenarios: Application to a Mediterranean coastal area. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 195, 1408–1421.

Garcia-Ayllon, S. Urban transformations as indicators of economic change in post-communist Eastern Europe: Territorial diagnosis through five case studies. Habitat Int. 2018, 71, 29-37

Sun, J.; Liu, L.; Müller, K.; Zander, P.; Ren, G.; Yin, G.; Hu, Y. Surplus or Deficit? Spatiotemporal Variations of the Supply, Demand, and Budget of Landscape Services and Landscape Multifunctionality in Suburban Shanghai, China. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3752.

Wang, Y.; Shaw, D.; Yuan, K. Gated Neighborhoods, Privatized Amenities and Fragmented Society: Evidence from Residential Experience and Implications for Urban Planning. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4301.

Dr. Salvador García-Ayllón Veintimilla
Guest Editor

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• urban growth patterns
• megacity urbanization
• unbalanced urban sprawl
• suburbanization
• gentrification
• smart city planning
• rural–urban migration
• territorial sustainability