The 11th International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning builds upon a series that started in 2003 in Skiathos, Greece, followed by other meetings in Bologna (2005), Algarve (2007), Cyprus (2009), New Forest – home of the Wessex Institute, UK (2011); Kos, Greece (2013), Istanbul (2015), Penang (2016), the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK (2017) and Siena (2018).

Planners, environmentalists, architects, engineers, policy makers and economists have to work together to ensure that planning and development can meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations.

Problems related to development and planning, which affect rural and urban areas, are present in all regions of the world. Accelerated urbanisation has resulted in the deterioration of the environment and loss of quality of life. Urban development can also aggravate problems faced by rural areas such as forests, mountain regions and coastal areas, amongst many others. Taking into consideration the interaction between different regions and developing new methodologies for monitoring, planning and implementation of novel strategies can offer solutions mitigating environmental pollution and non-sustainable use of available resources.

Energy saving and eco-friendly building approaches have become an important part of modern development, which places special emphasis on resource optimisation. Planning has a key role to play in ensuring that these solutions, as well as new materials and processes, are incorporated in the most efficient manner.

Sustainable Development and Planning 2020 will bring together academics, policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders from across the globe to discuss the latest advances in the field. The conference will discuss new academic findings and their application in planning and development strategies, assessment tools and decision making processes.

All published papers from previous meetings are permanently archived in the Wessex Institute eLibrary (www.witpress.com/elibrary) where they are freely available to the international community