Springer Nature: First volume of the book series “Transformative Urban and
Regional Development”

Volume: "Pathways for Transformation — Social and ecological transformation in
cities and regions"

Keywords: transformation, sustainability, resilience, spatial
development, territorial development, urban development, rural
development

The major challenges of the upcoming decades — transition to climate neutrality and mitigation, perservation of biodiversity, addressing resource scarcity, technological disruption and digitalisation, social inequalities and urbanisation — require a profound
social transformation from the current state of fossil-based unsustainability to a state of post-fossil sustainability. This transformation has far-reaching implications for urban and regional development, for example in terms of land use, mobility and energy supply. Our
series of publications addresses challenges and opportunities for action with an approach that combines theory and practice.

In this first volume of the series, we will focus on the broad spectrum of topics addressed and are looking for forward-looking contributions from science and practice that open up new conceptual perspectives and point to pathways for transformation. While the primary focus lies on Europe, we also welcome contributions from other regions that — despite differing contexts — are connected by shared questions of sustainable futures.

The volume seeks to explore design-oriented, governance-related, and strategic dimensions of sustainable spatial development at different scales, integrating perspectives on spatial-functional quality, institutional steering, and social, ecological, and economic resilience. Possible contributions may address, for example, circular approaches in urban and regional development, the role of digital transformation for resilient cities, brownfield development as a pathway to climate-neutrality, or the governance of land and housing for the common good. Equally relevant are questions of urban mobility transitions, biodiversity as a guiding planning principle, new forms of suburbanity, or the transformative potential of migration, integration, and multilocal living.

Contributions shall make a new contribution to the field of research — conceptual, methodological/data-based, design/prototype-based, governance-related or related to the systemic impact.

Submission Guidelines
• Length of abstracts: 1.000 to 3.000 characters including spaces
(excluding references)
• Submission format: Please send the abstracts as a PDF and Word
file in an e-mail with the header – TSR – Abstract to Mohamed
ElGamal, Dr.-Ing. mohamed.elgamal@uni-rostock.de
• Length of full papers: 10.000 to 30.000 characters including
spaces (excluding references)
• Meaningful figures are appreciated.

Timeline
• 30 April 2026: Deadline for the submission of abstracts
• 31 May 2026: Feedback from the editors on the abstracts
• June–July 2026: Writing phase for authors
• 31 July 2026: Deadline for the submission of the full papers
• 31 August 2026: Feedback from the editors on the full papers
• September–October 2026: Revision of the full paperss by the authors, if necessary
• 31 October 2026: Deadline for the submission of the revised full papers
• 30 November 2026: Delivery of the manuscript to the publisher
• Beginning of 2027: publication

Editors
• Prof. Dr. Hendrik Jansen, University of Rostock, Germany
• Dr. Mohamed ElGamal, University of Rostock, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Jan Matthias Stielike, Jade University of Applied Sciences, Oldenburg (Oldb.), Germany
• Prof. Dr. Radostina Radulova-Stahmer, Jade University of Applied Sciences, Oldenburg (Oldb.), Germany

The book series is published with Springer Nature. We invite scholars
and practitioners from urban studies, planning, governance, and related
disciplines to contribute to this interdisciplinary volume.