Urban Regeneration is the rehabilitation of land areas that are subject to high-density urban land use. It is a strategy that aims to transform and renovate areas to be upgraded in housing, public and private buildings, infrastructure, and services. Urban regeneration is an effective way to improve urban performance by targeting areas with high rates of poverty, pollution, and congestion, leading to a complete economic and regional development of the area. It has only been proven to be successful when sustained which is why urban regeneration and the concept of sustainability completely go hand in hand.

The upcoming 4th edition of the International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability will be held online in collaboration with the Department of Architecture, Polytechnic School University of Palermo, Italy. This edition will thoroughly address and discuss urban regeneration, by rendering it as a process and strategy that aims to transform and renovate areas, in hopes of upgrading housing, and public buildings, private buildings, infrastructure, and services. It can also be considered a highly efficient way to improve urban performance, by targeting numerous areas and taking their economic levels and developments into consideration.

Nowadays, the process of urbanization continues to create many problems deriving from the continuous migration of more populations towards already highly populated cities. Resolving these issues is possible by turning them into efficient habitats, and saving resources in a way that improves the standard of living. The process, however, faces several major challenges related to reducing pollution and improving main transportation and infrastructure systems. New urban solutions are required to optimize the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment, i.e., reduction in air, water, and soil pollution as well as efficient ways to deal with waste generation. These challenges contribute to the development of social and economic disproportions and require the development of new solutions.

The level of difficulty in managing such problems differs from one city to the other depending on several variables which mainly include the size of said cities. However, despite such complexity, they offer a generative ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals with the ability to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements.

And so, through this conference, we hope to provide a suitable setting for a general debate and discussion between researchers and audience members to help everyone understand the importance of addressing the challenges that have recently increased with the rapid growth of urbanization and how to solve them efficiently.

Scope

The 4^th edition of the “Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS)” conference will stimulate discussion concerning the topic of sustainable practice and regenerative techniques within cities. Urbanism is the most common mode of life in major cities, and extensive analysis is pertinent to our environment’s safety and continuity. The conference addresses multiple facets of urbanism and the city, discussing novel urbanism design ideas, principles of urban regeneration, sustainable practices in urban planning & design, and the utilization of technology in the regeneration process. URS covers a vast array of topics that concern urban regeneration, prioritizing sustainable design methods in urban planning, incorporation of greenery and lush forestry, and human livability and well-being.

Statement of Purpose

URS aims to unite researchers, architects, urban planners, and practitioners in the field of urban planning, to bring about gainful discussion on urban regeneration and sustainability concepts in urban design. The conference will raise awareness of modern techniques of urban regeneration concepts and sustainable urban planning methods, that aim to uplift deteriorating urban areas. Furthermore, URS aims to enrich human livability in urban areas, whilst ensuring environmental safety by highlighting topics such as green infrastructure, transportation planning, and livable communities.

• 1. Aspects and Principles of Urban Regeneration

  1.1 Urban Regeneration: Definition, Purpose, and Evolution

  1.2 The Role of Urban Design in Cultural Regeneration

  1.3 Principles of Urban Sustainability, Ecology, and Resilience

  1.4 Planning of Mixed Land Use

  1.5 Living Standards: Urban Sprawl and Slum Areas

• 2. Designing and Development of Urban Regeneration

  2.1 The Art of Sustainable Urban Design Paradigm

  2.2 Sustainable Urban Design for Waterfront Development

  2.3 Neighborhoods, Housing, and Economic Development

  2.4 Production and Regeneration in Regional Development

  2.5 The Impact of New Urbanism Models: Planning and Design Strategies to Improve Urban Performance

  2.6 Strategy for Evolving Public Spaces

  2.7 Transportation Planning, Safety, and Traffic Modeling

  2.8 New Urbanism Models Planning and Designing

  2.9 Industrial Area Agglomeration and Corporate Strategy

  2.10 Management and Conservation of Energy Resources Overview of Urban Transformation

  2.11 Compact Cities: Issues and Solutions

  2.12 Transformation to Sustainable City

  2.13 Livable Communities: Cities for People 

  2.14 Environmental Efficiency for Better Life

  2.15 Public Involvement in Sustainable Development

  2.16 New ways for learning

  2.17 Innovation in Education

• 3. Challenges of Urban Regeneration

  3.1 Urban Renewal: Issues and Challenges

  3.2 Pollution of Urban Heat Island (UHI)

  3.3 Climate Change and Sustainable Landscapes

  3.4 Green Infrastructure: Building and Designing with Nature

  3.5 Urbanization and Urban Poverty: Effects, Awareness, and Solutions

  Computational Design for Urban Regeneration

  3.6 Digital Tools in Urban Regeneration

  3.7 Optimization and Decision-making tools for Urban Regeneration

  3.8 Data informed Urban Regeneration

• 4. Preservation and Conservation

  4.1 The role of historic buildings in regeneration process

  4.2 Urban regeneration and sustainability

  4.3 Adaptive Reuse of existing buildings 

  4.4 The role of technology in the co-living spaces

• 5. Urban Identity and City Branding

  5.1 City Branding, Urban Planning and Urban Regeneration

  5.2 Urban Branding and Sustainability

  5.3 Urban Competitiveness and Urban Marketing

  5.4 Urban Planning and Tourism

  5.5 Resident Satisfaction and Urban Regeneration

All accepted submissions to the conference, after a rigorous double-blinded peer-review process by the respective and a highly-extinguished Editorial Board, will be published in one of the following:

• Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation (ASTI), an IEREK Interdisciplinary book series published by Springer Nature. (Scopus indexed)  

About ASTI

Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) is a series of peer-reviewed books based on important emerging research that redefines the current disciplinary boundaries in science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to develop integrated concepts for sustainable development. It not only discusses the progress made towards securing more resources, allocating smarter solutions, and rebalancing the relationship between nature and people, but also provides in-depth insights from comprehensive research that addresses the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) as set out by the UN for 2030.

The series draws on the best research papers from various IEREK and other international conferences to promote the creation and development of viable solutions for a sustainable future and a positive societal transformation with the help of integrated and innovative science-based approaches. Including interdisciplinary contributions, it presents innovative approaches and highlights how they can best support both economic and sustainable development, through better use of data, more effective institutions, and global, local and individual action, for the welfare of all societies. The series particularly features conceptual and empirical contributions from various interrelated fields of science, technology and innovation, with an emphasis on digital transformation, that focus on providing practical solutions to ensure food, water and energy security to achieve the SDGs. It also presents new case studies offering concrete examples of how to resolve sustainable urbanization and environmental issues in different regions of the world. Read More.

The ASTI series is fully indexed in Scopus and any chapter/ paper published as part of this series will be seen on the Scopus database. Some titles have been successfully indexed or submitted for indexation in Web of Science (ISI).

• IEREK Press Journals, a multidisciplinary publisher that aims to cultivate and disseminate research.

Environmental Science & Sustainable Development (ESSD)

ESSD is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal that aims to systematically develop the research-driven curiosity and evidence-based discourse of aspiring scholars that seek to contribute to the academic community. As the world is currently living in an age of information where sources are widely available on the Internet, we at ESSD seek to efficiently utilize the available information to help create robust and evidence-based knowledge. In the process, we offer researchers, in general, and young and aspiring ones in particular a quicker way to get their work published and gain exposure through online open access. We pride ourselves on getting submitted work to be published quickly, through the use of our worldwide pool of subject specialist peer reviewers. Find out more about ESSD International Journal here.

The Academic Research Community Publication (ARChive)

ARChive is an open-access journal that publishes conference proceedings on a wide range of topics relating to social sciences. Consequently, it accepts original research papers on a wide spectrum of subjects. ARChive is a journal published on behalf of researchers that perpetually make an effort to contribute to their fields and provide them with high visibility of research submitted. The series publishes, both, theoretical and experimental high-quality papers of current and perpetual interest. It serves to cultivate, propagate, and essentially archive academic research that has been authored and submitted for academic conferences.

Find out more about ARChive International Journal here.

Proceedings of Science and Technology (Resourceedings)

Resourceedings is an open access journal that publishes conference proceedings. Conference proceedings compromise of different disciplines, ranging from Engineering including built environments, architecture, and sustainability. Disciplines also include Technology and Energy. Resourceedings is a journal that publishes research articles that shed light on different crucial issues in order to provide them with solutions and suggestions. The journal publishes articles submitted by researchers of interest in different fields.

Find out more about Resourceedings International Journal here.

BAHETH International Journal - Arabian Researchers Database (Arabic Papers only)

“BAHETH” in Architecture, Engineering, and Technology, is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original academic research in the fields of Architecture, Engineering, and Technology. The journal welcomes research in the Arabic Language with an English Abstract. Papers submitted to this journal in Arabic must be presented in the English Language in the conference.

Find out more about BAHETH International Journal here.

Registration

To help the organizers plan for inter-disciplinary dialogue, participants are requested to choose from the conference themes/ Topics upon registration.

They must also refer to, and abide by, the following instructions in registering and/ or submitting their contributions:

NOTE: If you are contributing as an Author of a submitted abstract (for publishing consideration and/or presentation), and regardless of attendance, the fee for the registration is the same. See and Conference Fees for more information.

Types of Participation

1. Attend/ Present Online and Publish in indexed Conference proceedings

The conference offers an Online attendance option for your convenience. That said, participants will have a chance to present their abstract/research, online, and have their work considered for publication in the ASTI Series by Springer as part of the conference proceedings.

See Author Instructions and Conference Fees for more information.

2. Registration to publish in the proceedings without presenting/ attending

If your full paper is accepted, it may be published in the conference proceedings book in the Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation Book Series by Springer (indexed in Scopus) even if you are not attending the conference. In this case, the accepted work will not be included in the final conference program. See Author Instructions and Publishing Opportunities for more information.

3. Non-presenting participant

Non-presenting participants may also wish to attend the conference as Audience Members or Co-authors contributing to an already submitted abstract/ paper. See Conference Fees for more information.

Notes to consider:
Send in your questions if you have any to the conference coordinator at the email [email protected]

IEREK has an unyielding policy regarding plagiarism. We believe that copying/taking the ideas and work of other Authors without permission and credit is fraudulent. The Reviewing committee and IEREK employees have the authority to reject a paper during its reviewing process, based on the paper being subjected to either minor or major plagiarism.

Authors must refer to, and abide by, the following instructions in submitting their abstracts/ papers:

Step 1: Abstract Submission Process

• The author should prepare and submit an Abstract of at least 150 – 300 words through the website.
• The abstract should be concise and clearly state the proposed research study's purpose, results, and conclusions.
• The author should select the most relevant topic for the paper from the corresponding conference topics.
• The author can use/download an Abstract Writing Template prior to submission
• To submit your abstract, you first need to (1) click on the “Register” button on the conference page, (2) click on “Submit Now” and:
  • Select the Topic in which you are making the submission
  • Insert the title of your study in the "Paper Title" section
  • Insert the full abstract in the "Abstract" section/upload a file in the .pdf, .doc, .docm, or .docx format
  • Add in writing 3 – 5 keywords that define the field, subfield, topic, and research area covered by the article to help other researchers understand and find your work.
  • Provide the names, affiliations, and E-mails of all authors/ co-authors involved
  • Confirm your submission by ticking having read the instructions and “submit Abstract”

Step 2.1: Abstract Acceptance

• After acceptance of your abstract of at least (150 – 300 words), you will receive a proforma invoice and specific instructions to complete the payment online or by bank transfer (See Conference Fees) to confirm your participation,
• Once your abstract has been accepted, please refer to the important dates tab and carefully review the announced dates to avoid late payment, as late payment comes at an extra charge (early bird/regular/late).
• After successfully completing payment, you will be issued upon request with the following:
  • A signed/ stamped abstract acceptance letter
  • Please note that acceptance of participation, abstract submission, and extended abstract/short paper submissions all have different deadlines. To stay up to date and avoid paying extra fees, or delaying your paper, please carefully review the important dates tab.
  • Receipt of Payment/ Payment Invoice
  • Visa Invitation Letter, if needed
• After abstract acceptance, you may be given the option to extend the abstract to publish your work in the conference proceedings in ASTI published by Springer Nature (indexed in Scopus/SCImago) (optional not obligatory).

  This is not a prerequisite for presenting your work at the conference. Meaning, you can present your submitted abstract without intending to publish your work.

Step 2.2: Abstract Extension / Short Paper (Optional)

• Your short paper / extended abstract should be 4 – 6 pages long and submitted before the paper submission deadline, in English, and fit within one of the conference topics.
• The Extended abstract i.e., the short paper should follow the research paper structure as follows: Abstract (+keywords), Introduction, problem statement, and study aim, Review of the Literature, Methodology, results and conclusion/ discussion, References list using the Paper Writing Template.
• The submission (short paper i.e. extended abstract) should be made following the same procedure followed for the abstract or sent to the conference email.
• Here: Authors may need more pages than the allotted maximum of 6 to insert figures, tables, appendixes, etc. In this case, they can submit regular papers (max. 12 pages) with the same fixed fee. For a detailed outline of the fees, please refer to the payment table in the conference fees tab.
• The conference does welcome Arabic submissions (with abstracts written in the English language), which will only be considered for publication in BAHETH by IEREK Press.

Step 3: Rigorous Peer Review Process (double-blind)

This process can only be initiated after payment completion and confirmation:

• If submitted, the extension (short paper) will be preliminarily checked (iThenticate plagiarism/ similarity screening Software, readability, and scope) and it will be peer-reviewed. If similarity issues are detected, the following will apply:
  • % from all sources: 10-15%
  • % from one source: 3-5%
  • Higher than 30% (all sources): Reject completely
  • Lower than 30% (all sources): Ask for revision to decrease the similarities
• IEREK has an unyielding policy regarding plagiarism. We believe that copying/ taking the ideas and work of other Authors without permission and credit is fraudulent. The Reviewing committee and IEREK employees have the authority to reject a paper during its reviewing process, on the basis of the paper being subjected to either minor or major plagiarism.
• Each paper/ chapter is evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers, after which a final decision by the responsible Editor is made. There is no maximum to the number of times a paper can be reviewed, depending on the quality of the submission.
• If your short paper is accepted by the Editors for publishing with comments/ requested modifications, our Editors (publishing department) will contact you once a decision is made and you will be asked to revise and correct it. After resubmission, it will be re-checked. Note: There may be more than one round of peer review and the decision rests with the editors of the title. Missed deadlines may result in complete exclusion/ rejection from the final publication.
• If your short paper is accepted for publishing without edits/ comments, the corresponding author will be contacted to provide the final version of their chapters/ papers following Springer Guidelines and sign the Springer consent-to-publish (CTP) form to authorize publication in the conference proceedings.
• A back-and-forth process: modifications will be sent back to the responsible Editor/ Series Editor and another round of evaluation conducted where needed. Participants/ Authors should regularly check their emails (Junk/ Spam folders).
• If you are not interested in publishing an extended abstract in the proceedings in ASTI by Springer Nature, please inform the conference support ([email protected]).

Step 4: Extended paper 

• After the conference, the authors of the best papers will be invited to submit an extended version of their research, 8 – 12+ pages in length, (optional) of their short papers for publishing in an edited volume to be published by Springer Nature.
• Publishing your short paper (i.e., extended abstract) in the conference proceedings does not prevent the submission of the full version for publishing consideration after the conference if the similarity percentages (SR%) in Step 3 are taken into account.

To download The Conference Program, Click Here

For IEREK's Previous Publications, Please Click here

- Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS) – 1st Edition held in London, UK in October 2018.

IEREK Press

The Academic Research Community Publication (ARChive)

Vol 3, issue #2 (2019): Recent Studies in Urban Sustainability and Future Cities' Planning

Publication link: https://press.ierek.com/index.php/ARChive/issue/view/32/showToc

- Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS) – 2nd Edition held in London, UK in October 2020.

Springer

Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) Series.

Innovating Strategies and Solutions for Urban Performance and Regeneration

Publication link: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-98187-7

- Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS) – 3rd Edition held with Barleti University, Albania in December 2022.

Springer

Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) Series.

Greening Our Cities: Sustainable Urbanism for a Greener Future

Publication link: In Press

Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS) 1^st Edition

The 1^st Edition of the Urban Regeneration & Sustainability conference was held in one of IEREK's partner universities: The University of East London, the Docklands Campus. It was chaired by Professor Hassan Abdalla; the Dean of the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering of UEL.

Each Day was initiated with a keynote speech delivered by speakers on the topics of the conferences as per the scheduled sessions and their respective titles.

Day 1:

A Full day visit to the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to experience the area and get a glimpse of the different developments undertaken.

Day 2:

The second day of conference started with a welcoming word by Professor Hassan Abdalla and a brief overview of the conference topics to be discussed, the expected outcome and current and future work. Following his speech, Dr. Fulvio Wirz, MA Programme leader at UEL and Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, took over the podium to introduce the conference. The session was then wrapped up by a speech from IEREK's Chief Executive Officer and founder, Dr. Mourad Amer and a presentation on the company, its aims & goals and events overtime, which was delivered by its General Director, Dr. Abdelaziz Sakr.

Day 3:

The third day of the conference started with a speech of the keynote speaker Professor Gabriele Sorrento “CEO and Founder of Mindesk: a VR-based design platform”.
After the keynote speech, authors (researchers) started to present a demo of their research paper in oral presentations while session chairman and moderators listen, discuss, and evaluate.

Following that, starting the speech of the keynote speaker Professor Hocine Bougdah “Reader in Architectural Technology in Canterbury School of Architecture”.

Check this conference’s overview here:

https://www.ierek.com/events/urban-regeneration-sustainability-2#overview

Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS) 2^nd Edition

The 2^nd International conference on the Urban Regeneration and Sustainability has been successfully held online in collaboration with University of East London.

The conference addressed all the aspects of the urban environment. Urban regeneration was discussed thoroughly in the conference by rendering it as a process and a strategy that aims at transforming and renovating areas in the hope of upgrading public housing, public and private buildings, infrastructure, and services.

Day 1:

The first day of the conference started with Short welcoming speeches were given by the conference chair Professor Hassan Abdalla, Dean of School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of East London, UK, and the conference co-chair, Dr. Fulvio Wirz, UEL School of Architecture, and Zaha Hadid Architects Associate, UK. After the Opening Ceremony, authors (researchers) started to present a demo of their research paper in oral presentations while session chairman and moderators listen, discuss, and evaluate. After the short break was the speech of the special Keynote Speaker Amit Gupta, Founding partner, Studio Symbiosis Architects & Former Zaha Hadid Associate, UK. The Second Session started afterwards and was moderated by Dr. Elisa Magnini, Foresight and innovation specialist at Arup, UK.

Day 2:

The second day of the conference started with the speech of the keynote speaker, Dr. Eduardo Mayoral Gonzalez, CTO Senior in City Thinking, Spain. After the keynote speech, the Third Session and the fourth edition which were moderated by Professor Hassan Abdalla, Dean of School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of East London, UK, and Dr. Fulvio Wirz, UEL School of Architecture, and Partner at Wirz Architects, UK.

Day 3:

The third day started with the Fifth Session which was moderated by Professor Hasim Altan, Director and Professor in Research Centre and Faculty of Design, ARUCAD, Kyrenia, Cyprus and, Dr. Fulvio Wirz, UEL School of Architecture, and Partner at Wirz Architects, UK. Following that, the third Keynote Speaker Dr. Vincenzo Reale, chartered structural engineer (ICE) and architect (ARB), senior structural engineer in the Specialist Technology + Research group in Arup, London, UK. In the end of the day, a discussion and a Questions and Answers session followed, and the conference was concluded by a Panel session where final remarks and feedback were discussed.

Check out the second edition conference’s overview here:

https://www.ierek.com/events/urban-regeneration-sustainability#overview

The print ISSN number of the International Conference on "Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (URS)" is 2974-3885

The online ISSN number of URS conference is 2974-3893

Delegates in any event who cancel their registration due to special circumstances will receive refunds according to the following:

A refund is not possible if

ORCID, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a global, not-for-profit organization that aims to provide unique identifiers for authors, researchers, and scholars. ORCiD effectively eliminates duplication and errors regarding author names, affiliations, previous works, and all related academic data.

IEREK is a proud member of ORCiD, and we contribute directly to their initiative of clear and identifiable markers for researchers and scholars. As the first Egyptian partner to ORCiD in the organization’s history, we strongly believe that by utilizing ORCiD’s database and verification services, we become one step closer to achieving an accurate, and identifiable academic landscape.

We encourage our authors to input their ORCiD ID when registering for one of our conferences, submitting an abstract, or a full paper. By doing so, you directly link your research to your identity and affiliation and can showcase your various academic efforts all in one place. By Registering your ORCiD ID, you also increase your works’ visibility and provide easy access to your entire library of research and academic activity.

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