Smart Energy Solutions for Sustainable Urban Growth

In our rapidly urbanizing world, adopting smart urban energy solutions holds the potential to transform cities and steer them toward sustainability. These solutions encompass innovative technologies, policies, and practices to revolutionize energy production, distribution, and consumption within urban landscapes. Despite significant advancements, cities still face challenges in integrating renewable energy sources, optimizing energy efficiency, and ensuring equitable access to energy. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of smart grids, energy storage systems, and digital technologies in addressing these issues. However, there remains a gap in understanding the holistic impact of these solutions on socio-economic development, environmental stewardship, and urban resilience. This research topic aims to bridge these gaps by exploring the multifaceted dimensions of smart urban energy solutions and their transformative potential.

This research topic aims to delve deeper into the transformative role of smart urban energy solutions in fostering sustainable cities. We strive to expand on the concept of transformation by exploring different types and dimensions, ranging from technological advancements to societal shifts. Specifically, we seek to examine how these solutions can catalyze transformations such as technological innovation, socio-economic development, environmental stewardship, and urban resilience. By addressing these areas, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of how smart urban energy solutions can drive sustainable urban growth.

To gather further insights into the boundaries of sustainable urban energy solutions, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Innovative smart grid, renewable energy, energy storage, and efficiency technologies for urban areas
- Business models, financing, and market mechanisms for scaling smart energy solutions
- Processes for integrated smart urban energy and climate action planning
- Digital technologies for energy management, monitoring, and public engagement
- Integrated sustainable energy planning and policymaking for cities
- Decentralized and community-centered energy solutions like urban microgrids and peer-to-peer trading
- Urban climate action plans, emissions monitoring, and management using smart technologies
- Analysis of socioeconomic, environmental, and health impacts of smart energy transitions
- Case studies evaluating successful and failed examples of urban smart energy transformation

We welcome contributions spanning technical, economic, political, environmental, social, and policy dimensions surrounding smart solutions for sustainable urban energy and climate action. However, purely technical submissions without an explicit link to sustainable development objectives for cities will be considered outside the scope for this collection.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Smart Urban Energy, Sustainable City Growth, Energy Solutions, Urban Sustainability, Smart Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Green Technologies, Sustainable City Solutions, Artificial Intelligence, IoT

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.