Journal of the National Research University Higher School of Economics

Guest Editor

Dr. Steven Griffiths

Senior Vice President, Research & Development

Professor of Practice

Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Introduction

Urbanization, or the aggregation of people in and around cities, is a megatrend that will continue to be at the heart of global economic growth through the remainder of the 21st century.  Although there is no single agreed definition of a city, in essence a city is a settlement of more than a few thousand people that live, work and socialize together. Cities today occupy only about 2 to 3% of the earth’s surface but are home to roughly 55% of the world’s population, generate approximately 80% of global economic output, consume close to 66% of the world’s energy and generate more than 70% of the world’s carbon emissions [1]. By 2050 it is expected that nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in cities [1] and so the topic of sustainable future cities has become one of the most important but uncertain topics on the minds of global energy leaders [2].

The evolution and/or design of future cities that can sustainably meet these challenges depends on context, which includes population, population density and wealth [3]. Within a given context, a city’s sustainability and performance depends on how technologies and policies are mobilized to enhance energy, water, waste, healthcare, mobility, security, economic development and community engagement [4]. Of course, the effective mobilization of technologies and policies for the design and management of future cities is a complex systems challenge and is the focus of a growing number of industry, government and academic studies [5-9]. This Special Issue of “Foresight and STI Governance” will continue this exploration into the evolution of future cities with particular focus innovation strategies, technological trends, technological challenges and governance.

Suggested topics

Suggested contributions to the “Foresight and STI Governance” Special Issue on ‘Future Cities” include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Foresight studies for the envisioning of future cities beyond 2050
• Case studies to guide the design of future cities with particular focus on effective practices in energy, water, waste, healthcare, education, mobility, security, economic development and/or community engagement
• Strategies and approaches for the integrated planning and design of smart and sustainable cities
• The role of new technologies in future cites that are smart and sustainable
• New models for future city governance

Submission Procedure

The special issue is intended for publication in the summer of 2020. Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted by email to foresight-journal@hse.ru
Any questions on the submission and the special issues may also be directed to foresight-journal@hse.ru

Submission deadline 
1 August 2020

Contact
The editors of the special issue are happy to discuss initial ideas for papers, and can be contacted directly: Dr. Steven Griffiths – steven.griffiths@ku.ac.ae

1.         World Economic Forum, Circular Economy in Cities Evolving the model for a sustainable urban future. 2018.

2.         World Energy Council, 2019 World Energy Issues Monitor. 2019, World Energy Council: London.

3.         Shell, New Lenses On Future Cities. 2014.

4.         McKinsey Global Institute, Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future. 2018.

5.         Han, H. and S. Hawken, Introduction: Innovation and identity in next-generation smart cities. City, Culture and Society, 2018. 12: p. 1-4.

6.         McKinsey and C40 Cities, Focused acceleration: A strategic approach to climate action in cities to 2030. 2017.

7.         Shmelev, S.E. and I.A. Shmeleva, Multidimensional sustainability benchmarking for smart megacities. Cities, 2019. 92: p. 134-163.

8.         Ahvenniemi, H., et al., What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? Cities, 2017. 60: p. 234-245.

9.         Sodiq, A., et al., Towards modern sustainable cities: Review of sustainability principles and trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019. 227: p. 972-1001.