The rise of urban populations has rendered cities in both developed and developing countries vulnerable to poor health and diseases that are associated with urban living conditions and environments.

The spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements in land near a heavily loaded highway in the West Attica region (Greece) is discussed. This study aimed to investigate the extent of soil contamination with trace elements on land in the margin of highways. The concentration of thirty-five elements in topsoil, car ash, and road sediment bulk samples was determined.

The presence of land use conflicts is often unavoidable as land is finite and a scarce resource. With development as a prime goal, the increasing demands for specific uses make the situation more serious than it was before. In the context of land uses, suitability determines the inherent capacity of the land to perform a defined use with optimum efficiency and sustainability.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an area sensitive to global climate change, and land use/land cover change (LUCC) plays a vital role in regulating climate system at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial trend of precipitation and the characteristics of LUCC on the QTP.

Land, as a factor of production, has a vital role within the agricultural sector compared with other sectors.

Suitable land is an important prerequisite for crop cultivation and, given the prospect of climate change, it is essential to assess such suitability to minimize crop production risks and to ensure food security.

Land use change plays a key role in terrestrial systems and drives the process of ecological pattern change. It is important to investigate the process of land use change, predict land use patterns, and reveal the characteristics of land use dynamics. In this study, we adopted the Markov model and future land use (FLUS) model to predict the future land use conditions in Xi’an city.

The land topic has generally become a major socioeconomic issue that currently attracts attention globally. To explore the issue, various countries devote much attention to land use planning. This paper searches the Core Collection of the Web of Science and collects 1771 land use planning articles published between 1990 and 2019.

Informal settlements represent a challenging operational context for local government service providers due to precarious contextual conditions. Location choice and land procurement for public infrastructure raise the complicated question: who has the right to occupy, control, and use a piece of land in informal settlements?

Over the past several decades, land investments have dramatically increased to meet global food and biofuel demands, produce industrial commodities, protect environments and develop urban centres. Scholars and media actors have labelled this phenomenon “land grabbing”, owing to its many negative impacts.