Strategic Planning for Urban Sustainability in a VUCA World

This Editorial examines ten articles published in the second edition of Land’s Special Issue on strategic planning for urban sustainability. The articles fall into five groups: visualisation of land transformation; industrial land transformation and planning; urban vitality; healthcare accessibility and population mobility; and landscape planning. Drawing on the guest co-editors’ professional paths, we consider the contributions of these studies to planning under conditions of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The collection combines detailed spatial analyses with research on institutions and development pressures. A question is raised that runs through the Editorial: how can knowledge of particular places and problems inform wider choices about urban development? We discuss the interpretation of evidence, the resources and coordination needed to act on this evidence, and the distribution of benefits and costs. The conclusion identifies questions for further research on planning commitments over time, public reasoning, regeneration and institutional responsibility.