As the world population continues to grow at a rapid rate, accompanied by a substantial growth in food demand which is expected to transpire in the next 50 years, 80 % of the population will be living in urban areas. In order to feed this growing population, there is a need for sustainable urban food. Producing sustainable urban food requires considering all factors of sustainability collectively including, environmental, social and economic advancement. A new method that has been proposed to address the issue of sustainability and to meet the growing food demand is, designing and implementing vertical farms. Vertical farming is a concept that involves cultivating plants with livestock on vertically inclined surfaces such as in skyscrapers in urban areas, where there is a lack of available land and space. However, there is a paucity of information and a limited number of published critical reviews on Vertical farming in urban areas. This study, in an attempt to review the major opportunities and challenges of Vertical Farming, uses the framework of sustainability to examine the role of it in prospective food provision in cities. This study is a critical review of 60 documents from related published papers from relevant journals and scientific online databases. Vertical Farming can be potentially beneficial in increasing food production, maintaining high quality and safety and contributing to sustainable urban farming. Well-known advantages of growing food within the urban territory can be beneficial environmentally, socially and economically. Vertical farms can also provide solutions for increasing food security worldwide.

Recently, the application of Vertical Farming into cities has increased. Vertical farming is a cultivating vegetable vertically by new agricultural methods, which combines the design of building and farms all together in a high-rise building inside the cities. This technology needs to be manifest both in the agricultural technique and architectural technology together, however, little has been published on the technology of Vertical Farming. In this study, technology as one of the important factor of Vertical farming is discussed and reviewed by qualitative approach. In the first, identifying existing and future VF projects in Europe, Asia, and America from 2009 to 2016. Then a comprehensive literature reviewed on technologies and techniques that are used in VF projects. The study resources were formed from 62 different source from 2007 to 2016. The technologies offered can be a guide for implementation development and planning for innovative and farming industries of Vertical Farming in cities. In fact, it can act as a basis for evaluating prospective agriculture and architecture together. The integration of food production into the urban areas have been seen as a connection to the city and its residents. It simultaneously helps to reduce poverty, adds to food safety, and increases contextual sustainability and human well-being.

Landfills are the common method of waste disposal. A closed landfill site can be an eyesore land and cause environmental hazardous impacts on surrounding areas. A sustainable solution for redevelopment of a closed landfill site, returns the land to an attractive and beneficial after-use. This study aim to identify potential sustainable solutions and factors in the redevelopment of closed landfill sites. The paper critically reviews the literature regarding vital understanding of the redevelopment process. The study also analyzed the successful landfill redevelopment projects in a wide range of time and locations to suggest the best end-use option. Additionally, the study offers an approach for integrating the social, economic and environmental benefits through the sustainable redevelopment solution contributing to the universal sustainable development and green built environment.

The South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (SPSEEZ) is the largest petroleum zone in Iran and the second biggest gas producer in the world. It is now one of the world's most important eco-industrial poles. Despite the rapid development and activists' calls to sustainable path, there is little systematic effort in the assessment of industrial zones sustainability in developing countries. Iran, a nation that has ratified the Rio Declaration pact, has moved forward in order to achieve sustainable development. There have always been controversial debates due to its success. This paper employs survey, interview as well as observation to explore the perception of people on planning and sustainable development efforts and to identify the most important challenges at SPSEEZ. The result shows that the major impediment against sustainability is the lack of involvement from urban planners and the public during decision-making process. Finally, the paper contributes to the identification of the most urgent problems in SPSEEZ and the functions of different stakeholders as a reference for better sustainable development planning.

To achieve high-quality urban landscape management, it is important to have a proper management system. Some developing countries like Afghanistan are facing a decline of green spaces due to lack of proper management. This is a qualitative study with content analysis which provides a brief review of the management system in three selected countries, namely England, Malaysia and Singapore, by examining their urban landscape management systems. It also highlights the importance of establishing more appropriate programs to achieve the goal of sustainability. The findings show that good and proper planning, as well as programs and activities in the local government system, can enhance and increase urban green space in urban landscape. The contribution of this paper is to increase the local authority’s knowledge of managing the urban landscape and decreasing the deterioration and decline of urban green spaces in urban landscape.