Next-Generation GeoAI for Sustainable Urban Development: Methods, Data, and Applications
DETAILS
CALL FOR PAPERS
Next-Generation GeoAI for Sustainable Urban Development: Methods, Data, and Applications
Journal: City and Environment Interactions
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission Deadline: 28 February 2027
Introduction
Cities are increasingly at the forefront of global sustainability challenges — including climate change, environmental degradation, and rapid urbanisation. Recent advances in Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) provide powerful tools for analysing city-environment interactions and monitoring environmental processes — informing evidence-based urban planning and policy.
This Special Issue explores emerging GeoAI methods and applications for sustainable urban development — including spatial machine learning, graph-based models, remote sensing analytics, and urban digital twins. Contributions examine how advanced geospatial data and AI techniques can enhance the modelling, monitoring, and prediction of urban environmental dynamics — supporting resilient, equitable, and sustainable cities.
Scope & Significance
This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research that leverages GeoAI to support evidence-based urban planning, climate adaptation, and sustainable development — with particular emphasis on methodological innovation and real-world applicability. It invites contributions that advance both methods and applications of GeoAI in the context of sustainable urban development.
Six Core Thematic Areas
Theme 1 — GeoAI Methods for Urban Analysis
Spatial machine learning and deep learning for urban environments
Bayesian and probabilistic GeoAI approaches for uncertainty quantification
Multi-scale and hierarchical modelling of urban systems
Explainable AI (XAI) and interpretable GeoAI for planning decisions
Theme 2 — Remote Sensing and Earth Observation for Urban Sustainability
Integration of satellite imagery with AI models
Detection and monitoring of environmental phenomena
Data fusion across spatial resolutions and sensing modalities
Temporal analysis of urban environmental change
Theme 3 — Urban Digital Twins and Simulation
Development and application of urban digital twins for sustainability planning
Coupling GeoAI with simulation models
Real-time data integration and predictive modelling
Scenario testing for climate resilience and infrastructure planning
Theme 4 — Human-Centred and Participatory GeoAI
Integration of citizen sensing and participatory data collection
Modelling human perception and behaviour
Equity-aware and justice-oriented urban analytics
Socio-environmental vulnerability and climate justice
Theme 5 — Urban Environmental Applications
Climate adaptation and resilience
Air quality, urban microclimate, and environmental health
Sustainable land use, green infrastructure, and ecosystem services
Urban waste management and circular economy
Energy, mobility, and infrastructure systems linked to environmental outcomes
Theme 6 — Data, Platforms, and Open Science
Use of open geospatial data in urban GeoAI
Data quality, bias, and representativeness in GeoAI
Reproducibility, benchmarking, and transferable frameworks
Scalable and deployable GeoAI systems for policy and practice
List of Topic Areas
Manuscripts are invited on themes including, but not limited to:
Spatial machine learning and deep learning for urban sustainability analysis
Graph-based models for urban system representation
Explainable and interpretable GeoAI for urban planning decisions
Satellite imagery and AI integration for environmental monitoring
Urban digital twins — development, application, and scenario testing
Real-time data integration and predictive modelling for climate resilience
Citizen sensing, participatory GeoAI, and community-engaged urban analytics
Equity-aware and climate justice-oriented urban analytics
Air quality, urban heat islands, and microclimate modelling
Green infrastructure and ecosystem services assessment using GeoAI
Sustainable land use planning and urban expansion monitoring
Urban waste management and circular economy applications of GeoAI
Open geospatial data, reproducibility, and benchmarking in GeoAI research
Socio-environmental vulnerability mapping and climate risk assessment
Transferable GeoAI frameworks for policy and planning practice
Guest Editors
Dr. Pengyuan Liu (Executive Guest Editor — Contact for Inquiries) University of Glasgow, UK Email: pengyuan.liu@glasgow.ac.uk
Dr. Binyu Lei University of Birmingham Dubai, UAE
Dr. Meiliu Wu University of Glasgow, UK
Dr. Matias Quintana Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore
Dr. Junjie Luo Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, China
Key Deadlines
Manuscript Submission Opens: 1 May 2026 Manuscript Submission Deadline: 28 February 2027
Submission Guidelines
Submit your manuscript via Editorial Manager:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/cacint/default.aspx
Click "Submit New Manuscript" and select Article Type:
"VSI: GeoAI for Sustain. Cities"
from the dropdown list.
For author guidelines, visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/city-and-environment-interactions/publish/guide-for-authors
All submissions must be original and must not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission. All articles will be reviewed by no fewer than two independent experts.
Why Publish in This Special Issue?
Special Issue articles are downloaded twice as often within the first 24 months compared to regular issue articles
Special Issue articles attract 20% more citations in the first 24 months
Articles are published together on ScienceDirect — easy for researchers to discover your work
All articles reviewed by no fewer than two independent experts
About the Journal
City and Environment Interactions, published by Elsevier, is a fully open access peer-reviewed journal with a CiteScore of 5.9 and Impact Factor of 3.8. It is dedicated to advancing research on the interactions between cities and their environments — providing an international platform for interdisciplinary scholarship exploring urban sustainability, environmental monitoring, climate adaptation, and the role of data and technology in shaping equitable and resilient urban futures worldwide.
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