A salient issue facing contemporary urban development in many countries is that the physical areas of major cities are growing at a faster rate than their populations. The popularity of the green belt concept among advocates is that it can effectively counter urban sprawl while safeguarding the countryside from urban development. This paper is intended to measure the efficacy of the green belt in preventing urban sprawl through an international comparative study in three cities of different sizes, and which have experienced different urban growth pressures, namely Frankfurt am Main (Germany), London (UK), and Seoul (South Korea). The study adopts the urban sprawl measurement methodological framework defined by Jaeger et al. to process GHSL data in order to examine the urban sprawl index in the three case study cities. This quantitative evidence-based comparative study demonstrates that the designation of green belts has failed to prevent urban sprawl both within urban centers and at a wider regional level.

This study of ex post impact assessment aims to review the lessons learned from the implementation of previous master plans in the case study city of Shenzhen (China) in order to provide evidence-based input for the possible integration of impact assessment in future master planning in Shenzhen and other world cities, particularly in developing and emerging countries. The paper uses GIS data to derive maps for the visualization of spatial developmental patterns with complementary quantitative analysis for the spatial-temporal impact assessment. The ex post impact assessment shows that the master plans of Shenzhen have successfully guided urban development towards a polycentric spatial structure. Regarding the data used in the study, Global Human Settlement Layer (GSHL) is a valuable dataset that is generally suited to assessing the urban development pattern. The time series mapping of growth in built-up areas as well as population and built-up intensity mapping based on time specific categorization supplemented by the quantitative assessment of high urban concentrations (hUCs) based on time specific thresholding allows the identification of development patterns over a long period of time.

In response to the call of the New Urban Agenda—Habitat III for a reinvigoration of long-term and integrated planning towards sustainable urban development, this paper presents an empirical comparative study of planning practices based on the “satellite city” and “new town” concepts in Tokyo and Shanghai to examine from a long-term perspective how well they have guided polycentric urban development at a time of massive population growth. We aim to deliver evidence-based contributions to boost the knowledge transfer between the Global North and the Global South. The paper adopts a multi-dimensional framework for the comparative analysis, including a review of long-term urban development policies and an inspection of the population distribution and extent of built-up areas using time-specific categorizations to map the spatiotemporal changes based on GHSL data. The comparative analysis shows that urban plans in Tokyo and Shanghai based on satellite cities and new towns as steering instruments for polycentric urban growth management have not lived up to the original aspirations. In fact, the intended steering of population distribution has essentially failed, despite the practical steps undertaken.

The escalating global demand for energy storage solutions has thrust supercapacitors into the spotlight due to their exceptional power density and rapid charge–discharge capabilities. This study presents an environmental impact assessment of critical raw material (CRM)-free supercapacitor electrode materials derived from building materials, specifically cement. The electrodes are composed of abundant and locally sourceable materials, namely cement, nanocarbon black, and water, and thus represent a sustainable alternative. Following ISO guidelines and employing the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint impact methodology, this life cycle assessment quantifies the environmental impact of the electrode production process. Furthermore, a comparison with graphene oxide aerogel-based electrodes demonstrates that cement-based electrodes have lower impacts in most environmental categories, with the exception of ionising radiation and land use. Our findings underscore electricity as the primary driver, exerting a substantial influence across all impact assessment categories for the cement-based electrodes. The study highlights the significance of judiciously selecting electricity sources and consumption levels during production to mitigate the environmental impact. Furthermore, it supports the viability of CRM-free supercapacitor electrode materials in advancing sustainable energy storage technologies while offering valuable insights for researchers and stakeholders in the renewable energy sector. Future research work should examine the use phase and end-of-life scenarios, including reuse and recycling capabilities, to enable a comprehensive life cycle assessment and facilitate a thorough comparison with other energy storage technologies.