Urban Sustainability in Historic Cities
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 728
Special Issue Editors
Interests: conservation and restoration of historic gardens; biotic and abiotic interactions within historical gardens and sites; vegetation dynamics in urban area; environmental plant science; evolutionary and ecological responses to environmental stress factors; consequences of plant migration and adaptation; conservation of genetic resources and biodiversity; conservation of endemic, rare, and relic species; mediterranean ecosystems; emission of plant Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): its ecological interaction with the environment and relations to stress resistance
Interests: cultural heritage; dissemination; conservation; management of an historic building; historic building and its environment
Interests: characterization of geomaterials utilised in architectural heritage and study of their decay mechanisms; improvement of micro and non-destructive devices for the assessment of the superficial mechanical properties of geomaterials; evaluation of sustainable products and technologies for the preservation of architectural heritage, particularly earthen buildings
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In the context of globalisation, historic towns and cities have to face new challenges in order to link and harmonize their heritage roots with novel sustainability measures. In Europe, numerous urban sites with valuable heritage significance are experiencing progressive and harmful abandonment; several of them have been completely left and are now described as ‘ghost towns’, whereas others are still inhabited, even if they are experiencing depopulation, social and economic decline, and depletion as a consequence of globalization. Economic decline and depopulation of rural areas started in the early 1900s and increased after World War II, resulting from the excessive urban growth that characterized social dynamics in the twentieth century. The rate of emigration accelerated between 1950s and 1960s when inhabitants of isolated and mostly mountain villages searched for better economic opportunities and more comfortable lifestyles in urbanized areas. Unfavorable locations, ending of industrial or commercial activities, isolation, lack of employment opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, viability and services, progressive aging of the local population, and natural disasters, particularly earthquake and floods, are the major drivers of abandonment. Recently, there has been increasing interest and attention for so-called ghost towns at the political and popular level and several projects gave rise to initiatives for their re-awakening. The cultural process leading to the regeneration of neglected hamlets, towns, and cities takes into consideration both tangible and intangible heritage values, which contribute in preserving the site identity and maintaining the collective memory of local communities. The objective of this Special Issue is to collect studies focusing on measures, programs, and projects for reawakening and reusing historic hamlets, towns, and cities, which take into account cultural heritage, cultural identities, and memories on one hand, and ICT and digital heritage for sustainable urban regeneration and for improving cultural heritage accessibility on the other hand. This Special Issue will collect high quality papers that contribute novel approaches and proposals for the regeneration and valorisation of historic endangered sites. Regeneration and reuse are meant as a development strategy in the meantime, as a measure for preserving cultural identities and memory roots. Both experimental papers and reviews will be considered, which are related to examples in historic context.
Dr. Silvia Fineschi
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Christian Degrigny
Dr. Silvia Rescic
Co-Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- heritage science
- cultural identities
- tangible and intangible heritage
- building and urban rehabilitation
- industrial heritage
- landscape architecture
- digital humanities
- climate change；biodiversity
- information and communication technologies
- KET
- Industry 5.0
- Innovation strategies
