“Quantum Computing and the City”*

Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Quantum Computing and the City”*

Journal: Cities
Publisher: Elsevier
Journal metrics: Impact Factor 6.6, CiteScore 10.9
Submission deadline: 31 October 2026

This special issue explores how quantum computing and associated quantum technologies may reshape urban planning, governance, infrastructure, and policy. It invites interdisciplinary research that connects quantum computation, sensing, communication, and AI with urban systems, positioning quantum innovations as potential enablers and disruptors of more adaptive, efficient, equitable, and sustainable urban futures.

Why this issue matters

• Quantum computing offers new capabilities for handling large‑scale, complex urban problems such as transport‑network optimisation, climate‑adaptation modelling, and integrated‑energy‑grid management that exceed the capacity of classical systems.

• When combined with digital twins, smart grids, and emergency‑response systems, quantum technologies raise important questions about urban governance, equity, regulation, and institutional readiness.

• The SI aims to move beyond generic “smart‑city” narratives and help build a global research agenda for quantum‑enabled urbanism that links physics, computer science, urban studies, and public policy.

Key themes and research topics

Contributions can be conceptual, theoretical, methodological, empirical, design‑oriented, or policy‑focused and should clearly advance urban planning, design, governance, or management. Topics include (but are not limited to):

• Quantum computing and urban infrastructure

  • Quantum‑algorithmic optimisation of transport networks, energy grids, waste‑management, and logistics.

  • Quantum simulation for high‑resolution urban‑climate and environmental‑risk modelling.

• Quantum sensing, communication, and security

  • Use of quantum sensing for environmental monitoring (air quality, hydrology, subsurface infrastructure).

  • Quantum‑communication and post‑quantum cryptography for secure urban‑data and critical‑infrastructure systems.

• Quantum‑enabled urban AI and data analytics

  • Quantum‑machine‑learning and quantum‑AI applications for mobility‑management, land‑use planning, and disaster‑resilience.

• Urban policy, governance, and ethics

  • Governance frameworks, regulatory models, and city‑level strategies for integrating quantum technologies.

  • Equity, inclusion, and justice in quantum‑enabled cities (e.g., access, digital divides, privacy, and surveillance‑related risks).

• Responsible, ethical, and sustainable quantum urbanism

  • Critical and speculative studies on responsible‑quantum‑AI, ethical‑quantum‑sensing, and “beyond‑smart‑cities” paradigms.

  • Environmental and energy‑footprint implications of deploying quantum hardware and data‑centres in dense urban environments.

Guest editors

• Prof Tan Yigitcanlar, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

• Prof Yuan Lai, Tsinghua University, China

• Prof Araz Taeihagh, National University of Singapore, Singapore

• Prof Steven Jige Quan, Seoul National University, South Korea

• Prof Yanjie Fu, Arizona State University, USA

Submission details

• Submission platform: Cities’ Editorial Manager:
  https://www.editorialmanager.com/JCIT

• When submitting, select article type “VSI: Quantum Computing and the City”.

• Manuscripts can be submitted at any time before the 31 October 2026 deadline and will be published in the latest regular issue, with branding and virtual grouping as part of the Special Issue.

• All submissions deemed appropriate will undergo double‑blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers.

This SI is ideal for urban planners, urban‑policy scholars, computer scientists, engineers, physicists, and sustainability‑oriented policy‑analysts who wish to explore how quantum technologies can support resilient, equitable, and data‑driven urban futures.

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