The book aims to address the issue of the effects that the contemporary environmental, technological, social and economic global challenges produce on settlement systems, communities, institutions and enterprises.

It presents a multi-disciplinary scientific debate on the new frontiers of strategic and spatial planning, decision support tools and ecological design, within the urban-rural areas networks and the metropolitan cities of the Mediterranean basin.

The book focuses on five topics: Regeneration and social innovation for inclusive cities; Green buildings, nature-based solutions and ecosystem services for ecological transition; Inner Areas and urban-rural relationships; Cultural Heritage as driver of development for territories and tourism destinations; AI and digital transition. In addition, the book hosts the papers of a special session intercluster promoted by Italian Society of Architectural Technology (SITdA).

The book will benefit all researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in the issue applied to metropolitan cities and marginal areas.

Benedek Jozsef is Professor of Economic Geography at the Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU), Faculty of Geography, Cluj (Romania) and at the Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism, Budapest Metropolitan University (Hungary). He is also Member of the Hungarian Academy of Science (Scientific Section IX: Economics and Law), Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Development attached to BBU, RSA Country Ambassador for Romania, vice-president of the Hungarian Regional Science Association and Alexander von Humboldt Alumni. Research interests fall into four major areas: The Geography of Sustainable Development, Regional Economic Development, Economic Theory and Regional Geography, Geography and Public Policy.

Francesco Calabrò is Associate Professor of Real Estate Appraisal, Economic Assessment of Plans and Projects, Strategic planning in the degree courses in Engineering and Design at Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria. Delegate for Third Mission and Public Engagement of DICEAM Department. Director of “ECHE Lab – European Cultural Heritage Enhancement Lab” and head of 2nd level University Master in “Cultural Tourism”. Coordinator of the International Symposium "NMP - Networks, Markets and People". Coordinator of ICOMOS Italia Scientific Committees on “Cultural Tourism”. Member of Ph.D. program in “Civil, Environmental and Industrial Engineering”. Visiting Scholar at: School of Public Affairs San Diego University (US); Universidade Trás-os-Montes Alto Douro (Portugal); University of Salford, Manchester (UK).

Livia Madureira is a Full Professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), senior researcher, and the scientific coordinator of the Centre of Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), since 2020. She was co-founder and is currently director of the PhD programme on Development, Societies and Territories. Her research interests focus on sustainable territorial development, linking sustainability and innovation studies through the research on sustainability transitions with a focus on farming and food systems, energy, and rural and regional development dynamics.

Francesco Carlo Morabito is Full Professor of Electrical Engineering at the DICEAM Department of the University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy, where he also leads the AI_Lab. He’s now serving as President of the International Neural Network Society (INNS). He served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Deputy Rector, and Vice-Rector for Internationalization at the same University. He also served as President of the Italian Society of Neural Networks. He is a Life Senior Member of IEEE. His research interests are in the area of Machine/Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Signal Processing (with applications in Biomedical and Space Engineering). He was the winner of several awards, for papers and research activity amomg which the Italian Knowledge Leader (2025). He chaired various international conferences in different roles. He is Academic of both Royal Academy of Doctors and Royal Academy of Financial and Economic Sciences (Spain).

María José Piñeira Mantiñán is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). She has held teaching and research stays in Barcelona, Portugal, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina. Her research addresses urban confort, vulnerability, planning, rehabilitation, gentrification, touristification and housing. She has recently expanded into digital-era urban planning, exploring AI, big data, and urban digital twins. From 2020 to 2024, she was Vice-Dean for Economic Affairs at USC's Faculty of Geography and History and President of the IGU's Urban Geography Commission. She is currently Vice-President of the Galician Delegation of the Spanish Association of Geographers.