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Activating sustainability concept in practices is a critical issue that achieves sustainable development of the whole cities. The sustainable city is a rather recent concept, which has managed to gain increasing attention over the last decades, both through the international community and through grass root movements. This special issue on Improving Sustainability Concept: From Theories to Successful Practices aims to explore how the sustainable city can be translated from theory to practice. Upon discussing the topic of urban planning, participants take a close look at the matter of living in an eco-city, as the concept regards the integration of land-use and transportation systems which is a solution to improve the efficiency of cities. Paying close attention to this issue allows for a balance between land-use and the environment, accordingly, the spread of land can continue but not at the expense of greenhouse gas emissions. It is believed that this balance could be achieved by adopting a long-term political engagement plan as retrieved from the experience of the cities that implemented customized strategic plans. The conflicting interest of growth is found to be an obstacle when it comes to applying radial strategies. Subsequently, governments avoid adopting these concepts and would rather think of them as a constant process.
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The following topics are a part of the raised discussion on the concept of sustainability, but it also includes different themes according to authors’ interests:
1. Sustainable urban design
2. Mobility in urban design
3. Energy consumption
4. Energy performance simulation in design process
5. Materials and technology
6. Life cycle assessment for materials
7. Occupancy comfort
8. Energy efficiency in (heating–cooling–lighting)
9. Waste and water recycling
10. Economic efficiency and life cycle cost in building
11. Nature and green building challenges
12. Ecological and cultural sensitivity
13. Planning coastal areas and waterfronts
14. Sustainability indices In Architecture
15. Green Facades
16. Protect and restore water resources
17. Promote sustainable and regenerative material resources cycles
18. Build a greener economy
19. Enhance social equity, environmental justice and community quality of life
20. Renewable energy harvesting and biophysical matrix
21. Renewable energy production at community scale
22. Public awareness and education on renewable energy
23. Governance and policy making for renewable energy
24. City infrastructures and renewable energy distribution