Call for Papers for Buildings & Cities Special Issue on Urban Expansion

How can urban expansion be undertaken more sustainably, how can expansion be contained and appropriate strategies created for rapid and modest urban growth? 

This special issue explores the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of urban expansion; when, where and how expansion can and should be contained; and when, where, and how it can and should be managed in an orderly, inclusive, and sustainable manner. 

When cities grow in population, economic output and cultural amenities, they need more physical space. Such space can be created through densification and/or by expanding their footprints into the rural periphery. Urban expansion in geographic space is often ill-defined and its measurement and projection into the future are controversial. ‘Sprawl’ is detrimental to the surrounding countryside, costly in terms of infrastructure, excessive waste in energy and resources, and increased GHG emissions. But the regulatory containment of urban expansion is problematic as it can result in land and house price inflation, making cities less affordable. The speed of urban expansion has consistently been underestimated especially in the Global South where expansions occur in a disorderly and unplanned manner with negative consequences for inhabitants.

This special issue explores whether and where preparing for urban expansion is appropriate; how urban expansion can be undertaken more sustainably; how and where expansion needs to be contained; what are the appropriate strategies for balancing densification and expansion; and how the appropriate expansion strategies can be effectively implemented.

Critical analyses of experiences in planning and managing both urban containment and orderly urban expansion are sought that draw pragmatic lessons, for both slow and rapidly growing cities. Such analyses must embrace the many challenges in planning for projected urban expansion in the face of regulatory limitations, local resistance, climate change (e.g. flooding, sea level rise, and mudslides), fiscal and financial constraints, and persistent rural-urban migration.

Download the complete CfP here >PDF

The deadline for abstract submission is December 3rd, 2021.

If you have a question, please contact the editors:

Richard Lorch richard@rlorch.net (editor buildings & cities)

Shlomo Angel sangel@stern.nyu.edu (guest editor, Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University)