Sustainable Cities and Communities
Explore the multi-disciplinary research around sustainable cities and communities.
Key issues and initiatives on how we can make cities more sustainable
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It is expected that by 2030, two-thirds of the world population (5 billion people) will live in a city, presenting countless global challenges affecting urban inhabitants and the wider environment.
The below PLOS articles explore the multi-disciplinary research around sustainable cities and communities. They address key issues and initiatives on how we can make cities cleaner and more sustainable, including improving air quality, green urban planning, mitigating urban sprawl, and improving community resilience in the face of increasing hazards.
Open, multi-disciplinary research will play a pivotal role in effectively addressing these challenges and minimizing the negative urban impact on climate change and public health in the coming years. Successful research will facilitate conversations and empower decision-makers to enact positive real-world change in cities and their communities.
With a strong commitment to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, our focus lies on publishing research that can bring about tangible, real-world impact, while ensuring maximum accessibility, especially to those who can benefit from it most.
Combatting urban air pollution research
It’s no surprise that an increase in urbanization often sees a rise in the volume of environmental air pollution. The below articles explore the disproportionate burden of air pollution in urban environments and offer insights and guidance that are essential to improve cleaner air quality in a sustainable city.
Urban disaster risk reduction research
Adapting to an increasing number of recurring and emerging hazards caused by factors such as climate change is becoming increasingly necessary worldwide. Urban environments can be particularly affected by these disasters, given the concentration of the population, and the often devastating effect on infrastructure.
The below articles explore a range of current and potential disaster factors within the context of larger communal environments and focus on the critical phases of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) – mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Rapid rise in urban sprawl: Global hotspots and trends since 1990
PLOS Sustainability and Transformation
Reclaiming green spaces research
From expansive community parks to solitary street trees, green spaces in towns and cities provide a wide range of benefits to residents, their communities, and the ecosystems that rely on these non-developed habitats. They are important for mental health and wellbeing, as well as creating necessary bio-diversity for wildlife like pollinators.
The articles below examine the role green spaces play in our lives and offer motives and solutions to encourage more green spaces in a sustainable built environment.
Using smartphone-GPS data to quantify human activity in green spaces
PLOS Computational Biology
PLOS Sustainability and Transformation
Our commitment to sustainability
We’re proud to be a signatory of the UN SDG Publisher’s compact to advance the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the Open Access research we publish and the actions we take across our business.