Special Issue on “Urban ” Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and Science

This special issue will bring together state-of-the-art research that bridges urban science and emerging , which will lead to advances in urban informatics and the practical domain of urban systems. The aim of this special issue is to publish original research and papers to stimulate discussions on recent trends in urban informatics. The wide availability of sensing and geo-big provide new opportunities for gaining a deeper understanding of this type of knowledge with unprecedented resolutions. For instance, “much of our urban theory and data in the past has been about the low frequency city - how change over years and decades but to this we now add changes in seconds, minutes, hours days and so on” (Batty, 2013). In particular, “Many examples will cover this mix and essentially we need new theories and new models to handle many of these questions” (Batty, 2013). Thus, priorities will be given to full papers that focus on environmentally related techniques, tools, methodologies and policies.

In this special issue, we would like to solicit innovative and original ideas on how advances in urban informatics can help and improve smart cities. In short, we are looking for innovative papers on urban informatics and smart cities.

Topics include (but are not limited to): 1. Urban Sensing 2. Urban Infrastructure 3. 4. Urban Science and Systems 5. Urban Problems and Possible Solutions 6. Smart Cities

Important Dates • October 31, 2019, submission deadline for full invited papers to Environment and Planning B special issue (submission details to be announced later). • Mid to late 2020, expected publishing date of the special issue.

Special Issue Publications Selected papers will receive full consideration of a special issue in Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science journal (IF = 2.825, expected in 2020), subject to the journal’s peer-review process.

Registration and presentation of the selected full papers at the ICUI 2019 conference will be considered for special issue publication. After the ICUI conference, selected authors will be asked to improve their full papers for Environment and Planning B based on discussions and inputs from the conference presentations.

The special issue is listed on the Environment and Planning B website available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/page/epb/collections/special-issues

About ICUI The first ICUI was successfully held at PolyU in November 2017. Following this, the second ICUI will again bring together researchers, engineers, practitioners, and educators in Urban Informatics and related fields to contribute to a stimulating and dynamic exchange of ideas and technologies. As an interdisciplinary area of scholarship encompassing spatial big data analytics, spatial data infrastructure, IoT, cloud and edge computing, and artificial , Urban Informatics stands to have a profound impact on human beings and modern societies by contributing to the development of Smarter Cities.

Over the past few years, the scientists at the Department of Land Surveying & Geo-Informatics (LSGI) within the Faculty of Construction and Environment FCE at PolyU have conducted innovative research in the Urban Informatics community, including 3D modelling of complex cities, cartography, Remote Sensing, LiDAR, InSAR, transportation and land economy, housing, and human , to name a few. Hosting ICUI 2019 at PolyU is a testimony of the international community’s recognition of the research excellence and contribution of PolyU scientists in the Urban Informatics community. The conference website is available at: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/lsgi/icui2019/

Guest Editors

Prof. John Wen-zhong Shi, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Email: [email protected]

Dr. Xintao Liu, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Email: [email protected]