Low-Carbon and Sustainable Urban Design in a Digital and Smart Transition

Humanity is moving towards a new era defined by digitalization, sustainability, and low-carbon development. Frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and new energy solutions are gradually being integrated into every aspect of our lives, profoundly transforming how we live, work, travel, and spend our leisure time. Disruptive technological concepts—like the metaverse, autonomous vehicles, urban agriculture, intelligent logistics, and smart low-carbon buildings—are reshaping lifestyles and will ultimately be reflected in the spatial forms that surround us, altering the very features and configurations of our living environments.

As a result, new spatial phenomena are quietly emerging: blurred boundaries between functions, the fusion of reality and virtuality, distributed layouts, enhanced spatial experiences, and more energy-efficient operations.

In this Research Topic, we aim to use design as a research method to make trend predictions and forward-looking assessments of future urban spaces, environments, and scenarios, and to examine the innovative significance of design studies from the perspectives of technology and social development. By exploring this topic, we hope to provide design thinking and value in addressing the question of how to achieve a balance between quality of living and environmental sustainability in the future renewal of urban spaces. This research will contribute to micro-scale design decisions in renewal projects, macro-scale urban planning and management, and the expansion of academic ideas and perspectives.

The scope of this topic includes, but is not limited to:

1. Exploring the changes in urban life brought about by the rise of cutting-edge technologies, using literature review and case analysis;
2. Investigating the development trends of sustainable “living-space” forms in the context of digitalization, and attempting to construct a vision and model for the future reconstruction of the urban built environment;
3. Proposing new urban spaces based on fundamental models of future social spaces, with a focus on specific spatial scales;
4. Approaching urban renewal from a low-carbon, micro-renewal perspective, and using performance simulation, BIM-CIM, and other technologies to quantitatively calculate, analyze, and optimize future urban renewal strategies.

We welcome all types of manuscripts, including literature reviews, case studies, and original research.

Article types and fees

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

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... 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:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: low-carbon, sustainable, urban design, architectural space, smart city, digital life, disruptive technologies

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.