The complexities of coupled environmental and human systems across the space and time of fragile systems challenge new data-driven methodologies. Combining geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) allows us to design a model that forecasts the erosion changes in Costa da Caparica, Lisbon, Portugal, for 2021, with a high accuracy level. The GIS–ANN model proves to be a powerful tool, as it analyzes and provides the “where” and the “why” dynamics that have happened or will happen in the future. According to the literature, ANNs present noteworthy advantages compared to the other methods that are used for prediction and decision making in urban coastal areas. In order to conduct a sensitivity analysis on natural and social forces, as well as dynamic relations in the dune–beach system of the study area, two types of ANNs were tested on a GIS environment: radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). The GIS–ANN model helps to understand the factors that impact coastal erosion changes, and the importance of having an intelligent environmental decision support system to address these risks. This quantitative knowledge of the erosion changes and the analytical map-based frame are essential for an integrated management of the area and the establishment of pro-sustainability policies.

While the role of cities and regions is increasingly acknowledged for climate action and discussed in the literature on sustainability transitions, the specific condition of peripheral regions has received less attention. This article develops a bibliometric review to shed light and discuss how the (multi-dimensional) notion of periphery has been conceived and implicitly declinate in different literature streams studying low-carbon sustainability transitions at the sub-national level. While the studies explicitly addressing the issues of peripherality are still scarce, the article identifies four critical dimensions that contribute to frame structural bottlenecks and opportunities: socio-spatial unevenness, asset fragility, network positionality and agency and the multi-scalar embeddedness of transition policies. At the interface of urban and regional studies and sustainability transitions’ research, these dimensions open up new research challenges and trading zones ahead for peripheral regions on navigating troubled waters of sustainability transitions.

“Smart city”, “sustainable city”, “ubiquitous city”, “smart sustainable city”, “eco-city”, “regenerative city” are fuzzy concepts; they are established to mitigate the negative impact on urban growth while achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This study presents the result of the literature network analysis exploring the state of the art in the concepts of smart and regenerative urban growth under urban metabolism framework. Heat-maps of impact citations, cutting-edge research on the topic, tip-top ideas, concepts, and theories are highlighted and revealed through VOSviewer bibliometrics based on a selection of 1686 documents acquired from Web of Science, for a timespan between 2010 and 2019. This study discloses that urban growth is a complex phenomenon that covers social, economic, and environmental aspects, and the overlaps between them, leading to a diverse range of concepts on urban development. In regards to our concepts of interest, smart, and regenerative urban growth, we see that there is an absence of conceptual contiguity since both concepts have been approached on an individual basis. This fact unveils the need to adopt a more holistic and interdisciplinary approach to urban planning and design, integrating these concepts to improve the quality of life and public health in urban areas.

With the vast majority of scientists agreeing that the only hope in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change is to drop our carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, the decarbonization of the electricity sector is an environmental emergency. Wind energy can be a leader in the energy transition to a carbon emission-free economy. However, the wind energy transition must be carefully implemented to mitigate the economic, environmental, and social consequences of this change. Blade waste from end-of-life wind turbines is the Achilles’ heel of this energy transition and the main impediment to its full acceptance. Aiming to support efficient blade waste management and therefore to ensure sustainable wind energy transition, we conduct a two-fold methodology. In the first part, we propose a novel conceptual framework of upcycling and downcycling end-of-life solutions in an urban regeneration setting. In the second part, we use the case study method to illustrate the aspects of our conceptual framework by analyzing real life case studies. This study suggests that end-of-life blades are used in the cement coprocessing of waste and in architectural projects under urban regeneration transformation processes, closing the material loop according to the circular economy and sustainability principles.

Modern urbanism is called to face current challenges ranging from intensive demographic growth, economic and social stagnation to resources salvation and climate changes. Under the broader scope of sustainability, we argue that the transition to a holistic perspective of smart and regenerative planning and design is the way to face and yet to prevent these urban challenges. In doing so, we adopt systematic thinking to study the complexity of urban metabolisms at an urban place scale, emphasizing the ongoing coevolution of social-cultural-technological and ecological processes. Focusing on urban places, we give a city or region the sense of a place of stability, security, cultural and social interactions, and a sense of uniqueness. We plan and design innovative urban places that improve the environment and the quality of urban life, able to adapt and mitigate climate changes and natural hazards, leverage community spirit, and power a green-based economy. Designing the conceptual framework of smart and regenerative urban places we contribute to the field of modern urban studies helping practitioners, policymakers, and decision-makers to vision and adopt more environmental-friendly policies and actions using a user-centered approach.