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This study is based on the use of geographic information system, remote sensing and multiple-criteria decision analysis as tools and methods well suited for the selection of the appropriate sites for landfills; which best illustrates the multidisciplinary approach to allow the selection of environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially acceptable sites with high precision and within reasonable cost and time. The result indicates that on the total of the studied area; 3·6% (4634 ha) is highly suitable, 12% (16282 ha) is suitable, 3·1% (3907 ha) is moderately suitable and 80% (102632 ha) is unsuitable for a landfill. Indeed, the results show that six priority sites have been selected for solid waste disposal in Casablanca city area: five sites suitable in the province of Nouaceur and one site in the province of Mediouna.

Land Suitability Analysis (LSA) is one of the most important methods for developing a precise land suitability map. The present study was aimed to identify suitable paddy crop-growing regions in th...

Tourist destinations across the globe have been hit by the worst of the crisis that ensued the Covid-19 pandemic, and this concern is exponentially worse in developing countries. Sustainable planni...

This paper focuses on the critical role of institutional entrepreneurs’ social skills in enabling transformative change as described by the Multi-Level Perspective. Understanding the role of social skills is crucial for developing a micro-foundational view of sustainability transitions. We develop an analytical framework using a multiple case study on Swiss cantonal planners who acted as institutional entrepreneurs during comparable sustainability transitions by introducing sustainable planning practices within their cantons. We find seven applied skills (i) empathic, (ii) analytical, (iii) translational, (iv) framing, (v) tactical, (vi) organizational, and (vii) timing. Four propositions discuss the role of these social skills across transition phases: from pre-development to take-off, from take-off to acceleration, and from acceleration to stabilization. We present conclusions and implications for future research on the micro-foundations of sustainability transitions.

While shrinkage has been a debated topic in regional studies in the last decade, the shock brought by Covid-19 on the global economy adds further concerns for cities and regions already suffering from depopulation. As a result, a review of existing planning approaches and policies is necessary to inform change and support the future of cities and regions around the world. Prior to the pandemic, and notwithstanding the doubts cast on this strategy by case studies, planners and policymakers used to promote the construction of high-capacity transit infrastructures to curb decline in depopulating regions. The expansion of High-Speed Rail (HSR) in Japan to peripheral, and largely shrinking, regions is an example of this deeply rooted faith in growth and economic development as the key metrics to measure regional performance. Against this backdrop, this paper investigates the impact of HSR on the trajectories of five medium and small-sized shrinking municipalities connected to the Shinkansen network in the Prefectures of Iwate and Aomori, northern Japan. Evidence shows the HSR did not reverse shrinkage nor altered significantly underlying trends of decay, and that benefits are mainly found in increased accessibility, albeit unevenly distributed. While the paper highlights that the Shinkansen might contribute to economic resilience, results also hint at the enactment of regional core-periphery dynamics that might bring further decline to the smaller municipalities connected to the high-speed network. The paper argues that to reduce the effects of decline HSR must be accompanied by innovative policies at the local level and a change of current pro-growth models.

The Environmental Sensitivity Mapping(ESM) Tool is A crucial tools to show location of resources and to indicate environmentally sensitive areas so Environmental planner can use it to take decisions about land development response .GIS has opened up new possibilities for integrating interdisciplinary studies and analysis, which are essential for sustainable planning, especially in island planning as aspecial cases, Island ecosystems are highly sensitive and dynamically, facing many natural and human challenges. Therefore, the research presents a tool (ESM) that is designed according to the unique characteristics of the Egyptian islands to achieve sustainability by using GIS. In The paper, suggestions for future land use, development decisions and protection decisions can be taken from evidence of ES. Paper will be applied to Al-Shaeir Island, is considered one of the areas of unique island, which is located in head of the Delta, where the Nile branches into Rosetta and Damian, it represents historical environmental components. In addition, the Island faces many economic, social, and construction problems that have led to environmental impacts reflected on the ecosystem. So that, it needs ESM tools for achieving sustainable ecological management in Egyptian island cases.

Tourism Climate Indices (TCIs) are the most widely used method to quantify climate suitability for tourism, yet remain more extensively applied in the Global North. Here we apply the TCI to Namibia, a country heavily economically reliant on outdoor tourism. Rising temperatures and changes in relative humidity and precipitation pose threats to nature-based and adventure tourism in Namibia. The mean annual TCI scores for the period 2008–2018 vary from classifications of ‘good’ for Etosha Safari at 62 to ‘excellent’ for Windhoek at 80. Monthly scores reveal a bimodal-shoulder and winter peak, indicating that the most suitable climatic conditions for tourism occur during the austral spring, autumn and winter months. This is consistent with the literature regarding peak tourist seasons, and fortuitously aligns with school holidays. The spatial and seasonal quantification of climate resources in Namibia derived from the TCI results can inform sustainable planning for tourism and other economic sectors sensitive to climate.

Understanding the ongoing and possible future changes in monsoon rainfall is vital for the sustainable planning and development of Sudanese agriculture. This study uses monthly rainfall recorded at 22 locations for the period 1960–2019 and future projections based on an ensemble of 3 global climate models (GCMs) for the period 2030–2089 to assess historical and future trends of rainfall in Sudan. Sen's slope estimator and Mann–Kendall (MK) test were used to estimate trends and their significance, respectively. The temporal coverage was divided equally into 30-year slices: periods A (1960–1989), B (1990–2019), then both combined into period C (1960–2019) for historical times, and periods D (2030–2059), E (2060–2089), and F (2030–2089) for the future. The future precipitation projection was evaluated from two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6). The results showed a countrywide decreasing trend in period A and an increasing trend in period B. The increasing trend in period B led to an overall positive trend for period C, except at a few stations. The future trend under SSP2-4.5 revealed a possible continuation of the cyclic pattern of the historical period. In contrast, SSP5-8.5 revealed a dominant increasing trend in rainfall for the period 2030–2089.

Aim: After a contagious disease outbreak, as is the case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), societal dynamics shift on an unconventional level. In the lack of a vaccine, social distancing and massive lockdowns are acquired as the most effective strategies to contain this new virus. In this regard, the present study was carried out to determine the influence of SARS-CoV-2 over the Azores territory activities as tourism and consequent regional development impacts. Material and Methods: Therefore, the study assessed the decision-makers, the public, and tourists' perceptions regarding this disease outbreak by applying testing tools as questionnaires. This study used a sample of 700 participants. The questionnaires were designed, considering the necessity to carry out online interviews, and were implemented in the Spring months of 2020. After the data from the surveys were gathered, analytical methods and tools were used. Results: The research recognized that during an infectious disease outbreak, people prioritized spending their vacations at the holiday residence of family or friends (20%) instead of touristic resorts (hotels or rented apartments or houses). Also, the study verified a considerable increase in selecting rural tourism accommodations. Besides, more than half of the study participants considered that the “Clean and Safe” stamp (attributed by the Portuguese Health Authorities) is crucial when choosing accommodation and restaurants (75.8%) as well as for choosing the destination to visit (50.5%). Conclusion: The study assumes enormous consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 crisis at multi-levels, being the tourism activity the most affected in this ultra-peripheral region.

Urban agendas are struggling to challenge conventional planning paradigms, to improve environmental, economic, and social conditions in cities and meet sustainability goals. Such problems call for ...

Implementation of the ESF project “Reduction of Fragmentation of Study Programmes and Strengthening of Resource Sharing by Developing and Licensing the Bachelor's Study Programme “Special Education” and Accrediting the Study Direction “Education, Pedagogy and Sport” (No. 8.2.1.0/18/1/003) has started in September 2019. The aim of the project: in cooperation with University of Latvia (LU), Daugavpils University (DU), Liepaja University (LiepU), to develop and license the study programme "Special Education" and accredit the study direction "Education, Pedagogy and Sport" that includes the developed study programme in order to reduce the fragmentation of study programmes in Latvia’s higher education institutions and strengthen the sharing of resources. In order to achieve the aim, a working group of experts - delegates of four higher education institutions (Rezekne Academy of Technologies (RTA), DU, LU, LiepU) – has been set up. In cooperation with the expert of special education implementation issues in Latvia and the EU and the expert of study programme development issues, the group mutually exchanges experience on development and implementation of special education study programmes and gets acquainted with the competence approach and the experience of competent foreign universities in the field of inclusive education implementation and training of special education teachers. The working group works on developing, licensing and approbating the Bachelor's study programme "Special Education" that is going to correspond to the needs of the education system in Latvia and the principles of sustainable planning.

Drawing on interviews with selected UK planning academics and survey results from current planning practitioners, this article provides valuable and timely perspectives on how internationalisation is experienced by those within and beyond the immediate institutional context. Although internationally focused planning education helps planners tackle the manifold urban challenges in the global South, the article goes on to argue that relational approaches hold much promise for planners working in so-called developed countries, including the UK, to understand the diverse needs of different diasporic communities. Such knowledge is crucial to develop sustainable planning solutions in the face of uneven processes of urban development.

Coasts have been one of the most important recreational areas from past to present. The coastal areas where people have many recreational activities based on water are the most important areas that establish a relationship between sea-human-nature. It is important to reveal the recreational potential of the coasts and to give direction to the sustainable planning decisions by taking into consideration of the wishes and suggestions of the users. Belong this issue, Mudanya coastline which is one of the most important coastal settlements of Bursa in terms of history, culture and recreation was determined in this study. A survey conducted to four hundred users in Mudanya coastline to evaluate the recreactional quality criteria and recreactional possibilities of the coast. It was detected that Mudanya coast has a recreational potential that can appeal to users in a wide range and prefer Mudanya center (41.80%), Zeytinbagi (Tirilye, 23.80%) and Guzelyali (Burgas, 16.80%) mostly, and also it was observed that the users come to there have a good time and watch the beauty of landscape. In this sense, during to decide of the planning of coastline, take into account of opinions of users and sustainable planning would be an important approach., Kıyılar geçmişten günümüze önemli rekreasyonel hizmet alanlarından biridir. İnsanların suya dayalı birçok rekreatif etkinliği yaptığı kıyı alanları, deniz-insan-doğa arasında ilişki kuran en önemli rekreasyonel alanlardır. Kıyıların rekreasyonel potansiyelinin ortaya çıkarılması ve bu doğrultuda sürdürülebilir planlama kararlarının alınmasında kullanıcıların istek ve önerilerinin de dikkate alınarak yön verilmesi önemlidir. Bu noktadan hareketle Bursa ilinin tarih, kültür ve rekreasyon açısından en önemli kıyı yerleşimlerinden biri olan Mudanya kıyı şeridi ele alınmıştır. Mudanya kıyı şeridinde toplam 400 adet kullanıcı ile yapılan anket çalışması ile kıyının rekreasyonel kalite kriterleri ve rekreasyonel olanaklılığı değerlendirilmiştir. Mudanya kıyısının her kesimden kullanıcıya hitap edebilecek bir rekreasyonel potansiyelinin olduğu ve kullanıcıların en fazla Mudanya merkezi (% 41,80), Zeytinbağı (Tirilye) (%23,80) ve Güzelyalı (Burgaz) (%16,80)’ı tercih ettikleri, iyi vakit geçirmek ve manzara güzelliğini seyretmek için geldikleri görülmüş olup kıyı şeridinin planlama kararlarının alınırken kullanıcı görüşlerinin de dikkate alınması ile birlikte sürdürülebilir planlama kararlarının alınmasının önemli bir yaklaşım olacağı tespit edilmiştir

Sustainable development is one of the most important pillars for the development of urban communities, in order to achieve this development, and sustainable planning is an essential factor contributing to the development process. As it is noticed that the misuse of lands and the random spread of urban areas wastes the available areas and resources in cities. This randomness in land use is the result of a lack of organized and effective planning for urban areas to harmonize with the required plans and available capabilities.

A háztartásokban keletkezett csomagolási üveghulladék 100 %-ban újrahasznosítható. Ez fontos tény, mivel az Európai Unió 2018/852/EU csomagolási irányelve alapján minden tagországnak törekednie kell arra, hogy megelőzzék a csomagolási hulladék gyártását. Ezen túlmenően a hangsúlyt a csomagolási hulladék újrafelhasználására, újrafeldolgozására kell helyezni. Megakadályozva ezzel a csomagolási hulladék végleges ártalmatlanítását, azaz megtörténik a körkörös gazdaságra való áttérés. A körkörös gazdaság olyan gazdaság, amely minimalizálja az erőforrások, hulladékok, kibocsátások és az energia elszivárgását. Ez tartós tervezés, karbantartás, javítás, újrafelhasználás és újrahasznosítás révén érhető el. Az EU 2018/852/EU irányelvének célkitűzése, hogy 2025. december 31-ig az üveg csomagolási hulladéknak 70 %-át dolgozzák fel újra. Ez a szám 2030-ra 75 %-ra kell megemelkedjen. A témaválasztás fő oka ez az EU-s célkitűzés. A cikk az üveg csomagolási hulladék környezetszempontú előkészítési folyamatának technológiatervezését tekinti át.

The growing urban population, climate change, and the scarcity of natural resources are major world-wide challenges. In the coming years, we must ensure that more food is available to feed Earth’s growing population. We need to reduce the pressures that agriculture places on the Earth. Urban agriculture, which means growing food in cities, evolved throughout human history. Urban agriculture promotes local and sustainable food systems. Agriculture in cities is good for the environment, the ecosystem, and the climate. Urban farming brings communities together and it improves the health of citizens. There are many good reasons for farming in the city!

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent an innovative strategy to transform the socio-economic and environmental aspects of communities. Sustainable development provides the communities with a set of substantial challenges that are totally geospatial in concept and practice. Most of these challenges can be identified, examined, and visualized within a spatial framework. Despite of noteworthy progress in geospatial information system and science, the lack of comprehensive impressions in planning necessitates the integrative role of geospatial information. This study aims to investigate this role in contributing to SDGs by describing each single goal and following objectives. Furthermore, spatial and non-spatial issues regarding every specific SDG will be accurately discussed to determine the spatial aspects in practice. In this way, the communities will be empowered by unique opportunities to integrate and represent geospatial information into the global agenda in a specific manner, specifically in contributing data resources toward measuring and monitoring the 17 SDGs.

The following paper examines urban and territorial planning in Italy, where decision-making is entrusted almost exclusively to the almost 8000 small municipalities present in the country. Plans for and the transformation of built-up areas, infrastructure and social services of all types, and serving all purposes in a national territory of more than 300,000 square kilometers, are controlled by a multitude of Mayors, Boards and Municipal Councils that govern plots of land consisting of polygons of a few kilometers per side. This is generally achieved using urban planning tools developed without any general rule or protocol. Often, most of their content is even ignored as a result of national legislation that weakens them, making them largely irrelevant. This is a European example of urban mismanagement that should be brought to the wider attention of the European technical–scientific community because the debate developed so far on this topic—even by eminent and authoritative urban planners—has been almost entirely published in Italian only. Public and political attention around the issue is still extremely limited, although the serious effects of this “molecular planning” are beginning to be perceived: unjustified overurbanization and very disorganized, extremely energy-intensive and ecosystemically destructive urban layouts that are completely at odds with the public interests of environmental and urban quality. In the following paper, we make some comparisons with other European countries and outline some possible directions—certainly very difficult to follow—to rethink and remedy these negative effects.

In this study, a recovery assessment of the permanent housing and living conditions in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami in Phang-nga Province, Thailand, was conducted using geoinformatics technologies, field observations, and living-related parameters from basic minimum need (BMN) data retrieved from the Ministry of Interior. In the results, 29 permanent housing projects were mapped, classified into five sizes (very small, small, medium, large, and very large), and overlaid with the tsunami-inundated zone visually interpreted from satellite images. Thirteen out of twenty-nine projects were reconstructed in the inundation zone (in situ), while the rest were relocated to higher ground. Permanent houses were rebuilt in 18 communities in three patterns: single-story or one-story houses (511 houses), single-story and raised-basement houses (58 houses), and two-story houses (712 houses). The selected BMN’s living-related parameters, such as sufficient water for household consumption (dimension: dwelling), employment of people between 15 and 60 years old (dimension: economy), and participation in communities’ activities (dimension: participation), which covered 2002–2015 at the community-based level, were compared annually to its criterion and indicated as passing or not passing the standard. The reconstructed communities recovered (passing the requirements) within four years of transferring to the reconstructed houses.

La propagation des éco-quartiers à travers le monde est notamment due à la multiplication du nombre de référentiels d’évaluation des projets, qui procurent une réponse technique à une demande politique nationale et locale d’aménagement durable. Ces derniers, souvent standardisés, sont en outre susceptibles d’être exportés à l’international, indépendamment du milieu naturel et culturel dans lequel ils s’appliquent. Au Brésil, plusieurs référentiels étrangers, tels que l’américain LEED-ND, et le brésilien AQUA B&L établi à partir du référentiel français HQE-A, contribuent ainsi à l’évaluation et à la certification de projets d’éco-quartiers, notamment à Rio de Janeiro. Ainsi, l’article interroge la production des quartiers durables dans le contexte carioca, au prisme de l’utilisation de référentiels d’évaluation et de leur impact sur le territoire. L’étude de l’éco-quartier d’Ilha Pura, mettra en exergue les divergences entre la demande politique, la réponse technique associée aux référentiels, importés ou non, et la réalité du terrain une fois le projet construit. L’étude révèle ainsi que quelle que soit la composition des référentiels établis à partir d’une demande politique de développement durable, ou les évaluations obtenues par les projets, ceux-ci n’ont en fait que peu d’influence sur la performance réelle des quartiers et sur leur intégration territoriale. The diffusion of sustainable neighborhoods around the world is due to the increasing number of neighborhood sustainability assessment tools, which provide a technical response to a national and local political demand for sustainable development. These assessment tools, often standardized, are also likely to be exported internationally, regardless of the natural and cultural environment in which they are applied. In Brazil, several foreign assessment tools, such as the American LEED-ND, and the Brazilian AQUA B&L based on the French HQE-A tool, contribute to the evaluation and certification of eco-neighborhood projects, more specifically in Rio de Janeiro. Thus, the article questions the production of sustainable neighborhoods in the Carioca context, through the use of neighborhood sustainability assessment tools impacting a given territory. The study of a specific project, Ilha Pura, will highlight the discrepancies between the political demand, the technical response associated to the neighborhood sustainability assessment tools, whether they are imported or not, and the reality of the built project. The study reveals that, regardless of the composition of assessment tools responding to a given political demand, or the performance assessment achieved by the projects, assessment tools have in fact little influence on the actual performance of neighborhoods and on their integration to a specific territory. La difusión de los ecobarrios a traves del mundo se debe a la multiplicación de las normas de seguimiento y evaluación de los proyectos, que ofrecen una respuesta técnica a la demanda política nacional y local de desarrollo sostenible. También estos últimos, a menudo normalizados, son susceptibles de ser exportados a nivel internacional, independientemente del entorno natural y cultural en el que se apliquen. En Brasil, varias normas extranjeras, como la estadounidense LEED-ND y la brasileña AQUA B&L, basada en la norma francesa HQE-A, contribuyen a la evaluación y certificación de proyectos de ecobarrio/distrito ecológico, especialmente en Río de Janeiro. Asimismo, el artículo analiza la producción de barrios sostenibles en el contexto de Río de Janeiro, desde la perspectiva del uso de estándares de evaluación y su impacto en el territorio. El estudio del ecobarrio de Ilha Pura pondrá de relieve las discrepancias entre la demanda política, la respuesta técnica asociada a los referenciales importadas o no importadas y la realidad del terreno una vez el proyecto construido. Además, el estudio revela que cualquiera que sea la composición de los puntos de referencia establecidos sobre la base de una demanda política de desarrollo sostenible, o las valoraciones obtenidas por los proyectos, tienen poca influencia en el comportamiento real de los distritos y en su integración territorial. A proliferação dos eco-distritos pelo mundo se deve, em particular, à multiplicação do número de referenciais técnicos de certificação de projetos que fornecem uma resposta técnica a uma demanda política nacional e local por um desenvolvimento sustentável. Muitas vezes padronizados eles também podem ser exportados, independentemente do ambiente natural e cultural em que se aplicam. No Brasil, diversos referenciais técnicos de certificação estrangeiros, como o americano LEED-ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), e o brasileiro AQUA B&L- estabelecido a partir do francês HQE-A (Haute Qualité Environnementale – Alta Qualidade Ambiental), contribuem para a avaliação e homologação de projetos de eco-distritos, em particular no Rio de Janeiro. Além disso, o artigo questiona a criação de bairros sustentáveis no contexto carioca, sob o prisma da utilização de referenciais de avaliação e seus impactos no território. O estudo do eco-distrito de Ilha Pura destacará as discrepâncias entre a demanda política, a resposta técnica associada aos referenciais - importados ou não - e a realidade no terreno após a construção do projeto. O estudo revela, assim, que qualquer que seja a composição dos referenciais técnicos estabelecidos com base numa demanda política de desenvolvimento sustentável, ou as avaliações obtidas pelos projetos, têm de fato pouca influência no desempenho real dos bairros e na sua integração territorial.

Our food system is facing an unprecedented challenge: feeding a fast growing population without depleting precious resources like energy, soil, and water.Furthermore, the increasing urbanization has rapidly exacerbated the gap between farm to plate, leaving cities vulnerable to changes in the production and supply chain, as demonstrated by recent pandemics and wars. In this context, emerging technologies that allow plants to grow in absence of soil, permit to produce food in high densely built-up areas, bringing food production right were most consumers live. These initiatives enter within the so called Building-Integrated Agriculture (BIA), which is referred as the practice of locating greenhouses and soilless plant cultivation technologies on top and inside mixed-use buildings to exploit the synergies between the building environment and agriculture, involving resource recovery such as water, energy and nutrient flows. This paper aims at determining strategies, objectives, and best practices of BIA projects through the review of 21 case studies, to understand how a new advanced and future-oriented agriculture applied within the cities borders, can possibly shape the urban built environment and food systems of the future.

Pollution generated by the fashion industry drives people to pay attention to fashion companies’ sustainability practice. This increase in attention has induced vast literature studying the related...

The aim of this article is to select the optimum green energy sources for sustainable planning from a given set of energy alternatives. This study examines the combined behavior of multi-criteria decision-making approaches-TOPSIS, MOOSRA and COPRAS are used to evaluate the green energy sources–solar, hydro, biogas and biomass and to identify the optimum source by appraising its functioning features based on entropy probability technique. An illustrative case study is presented in order to demonstrate the application feasibility of the combined approaches for the ranking of optimum green energy sources. The analyzed results show that biogas is the optimum green energy source having the highest score value obtained by combined approaches. The sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the combined approaches with the highest effectiveness. The study not only considers the various cost criteria but other actors like power generation, implementation period and useful life are also considered to select the optimum green energy sources for future project investment.

Water being one of the most important elements for life on earth and the planetary ecosystem as a whole, it is widely recognized by both society and the United Nations as one of the most important research problems of the modern world. One of the difficulties faced by this system has to do with the management of water treatment plants in the context of sustainable development. This article introduces a decision-making support system conceived to develop an optimal planning aimed at the efficiency and sustainability of the drinking water treatment chain. The system is made up of a mathematical programming model and a solution procedure for the optimal planning of the water treatment in a bi-objective context. Thus, the first objective maximizes profit and the second one minimizes the emission of pollutants. The following constraints are considered: mass balances, production capacities of the different water production echelons and their specific conditions, water supply and demand, and the technically permissible levels of pollutants, which are generically suggested, regardless of the technologies and production alternatives. Due to its particular nature, the model allows solving any instance of the problem in excellent CPU times.

The Generation Expansion Planning (GEP) stands as one as one of the most discussed topics within the academia and decision makers in the energy sector, especially related to meeting deep emission reduction targets. Every country, aiming at decarbonizing its economy, focuses on the application of policies that could enhance the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in its power capacity mix. GEP is a complex task, combining techno-economic, financial, spatial and environmental characteristics. Several models are developed to model GEP, applying different methodological approaches. The underlying theory is very important as it might inherit bias in the resulted outcomes. The debate on the appropriateness of each methodology is increased, especially as projected outlooks deviate from reality. The paper aims to provide a review of the models employed to integrate RES in the GEP. The paper classifies models in three generic categories: optimisation models, general/partial equilibrium models and alternative models, not adopting the optimum integration of RES in the GEP. It provides insights on the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the theoretical approaches implemented, as well on their suitability for different aspects of the problem, contributing in the better understanding on the expected outcomes of each methodology.

This is an exploratory study of Health and Environment conditions concerning 132 countries in the world, that lead to produce a ranking among 21 Iberoamerican countries, based on World Bank Data (2015) and the guide for sustainable planning – GPS prepared by the Future Studies Center of PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo) for the Observatory of the Iberoamerican Region - ORIBER. Through a mixture of Multivariate Statistical Analysis techniques this work came to a list of 10 most representative variables of Health and Environment development of the Latin American Region that help to build a rank and classified the region into levels of development, that may help for strategic planning, monitoring and control at a country and regional base

This paper takes into view the broad range of contemporary conflicts regarding outdoor lighting. It proposes a working-definition that allows for differentiating lighting conflicts from other forms of lighting-related contention, as well as an analytical framework that allows for the structured description of individual lighting conflicts, and the comparative analysis of multiple cases. The analytical framework was developed based on the social-scientific analysis of media reports of existing conflict cases in Europe and North America, and informed by existing knowledge from the fields of lighting and conflict studies. A central challenge for developing such a framework is dealing with the high level of contingency and complexity of lighting conflicts. The framework reduces this complexity by focusing its field of vision to those aspects that are directly related to the lighting and its contestation. For each of these aspects, it provides sets of descriptive variables that allow for describing the conflicts’ individuality in a standardized – and thus comparable – way. The framework strictly separates the regarded aspects from their judgment by the conflict parties, making it possible to contrast their views on one and the same lighting situation. A visual template supports the process of analysis. It allows for depicting individual cases in short, and for clearly identifying where perspectives differ. At the multiple-case level, the framework not only opens up possibilities for spatial and temporal comparisons of lighting conflicts and the subsequent development of typologies, but also for harnessing their potential for informing the development of more sustainable planning and policy approaches for artificial lighting.

The great degree of human development in recent centuries has generated an environmental problem: the spread of human activities through the landscape without sustainable planning. Currently, most natural areas of the planet that are protected for their natural resources have not been impacted by linear infrastructure. The landscape is one of the natural resources that is adversely affected by linear infrastructure. In this short essay, a methodological procedure is described that is easy to use and cost effective and allows for early stage environmental planning. The method uses environmental assessment maps in which weighted pixel values for landscape quality and visual fragility are predetermined. GIS techniques, such as accumulated costs and driving direction scripts, are used to calculate linear infrastructure routes that have the lowest environmental impact. The optimal path is generated by quantitatively calculating the impact of each map pixel along the route such that alternative routes can be selected prior to construction. This method is a powerful tool for environmental modelling focused on the avoidance of environmental impacts during the assessment phase of a project.

Findings coming from many research projects focused on city logistics (SUGAR, BESTFACT, BESTUFS, ENCLOSE, etc.) show not only a great need for appropriate data collection (statistical, dynamic) that allows to specify cargo flow rate and its direction but also for drawing the correct conclusion from the data (data acquisition and analysis). Collection of comprehensive data is a basis for creating strategic plans of logistic and spatial development, introduce stimulus mechanism and confine to selected ways of acting at the local level. This paper aims to present and discuss the result of survey carried out within the area of the City of Poznan among economic entities conducting economic activity within its area. The goal of the survey was to estimate and understand the freight demand generated by the economic activities in the Poznan Functional Urban Area – FUA (obtain information on the urban freight processes, infrastructure and its stakeholders in the area). The research is a part of the European SULPiTER research project (Sustainable Urban Logistics Planning To Enhance Regional freight transport), the leading theme of which is the sustainable planning of urban logistics for cities and regions.

Although the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) has made a considerable contribution to increasing transport infrastructure and improving transport services, it still often seems that border regions have reduced accessibility compared to central regions. The Iberian border regions of Alto-Alentejo (Portugal) and Badajoz (Spain) were analyzed. Studies conducted in the Iberian territories confirm some of these regions’ unsustainability and the non-impact on the inhabitants’ quality of life. Also, a few questions arise: Can we verify the change in methods and measures used by development strategies? Is it necessary to acquire a more comprehensive view of corridor flows and interactions through common regional development strategies for managing development corridors? Will we influence the change of the methodological approach to be strategic and that it does not imply a corridor only in terms of the flow and mobility of people and goods, but also the search for the causes of movements in growth corridors? So, infrastructure and connectivity planning, regional economic development, and land use planning are critical contexts in developing territorial policies in the planning of development of corridors and their integration into development processes. This study proposes a framework for strategic corridor governance to increase accessibility and regional equity.

The present study has been attempted to examine the trend and pattern of rainfall extremes over the Sahibi basin in the Rajasthan state of India for a period of 57 years (1961–2017). The daily rainfall data for nine stations located over the Sahibi basin have been obtained from the Department of Water Resources, Rajasthan. A total of ten indices which reflect the number, magnitude, intensity, and duration of rainfall extremes have been used. Statistical methods such as Mann–Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimator, and linear regression have been employed to detect the trends in rainfall extremes. The entire analysis has been performed for the annual and monsoon (June–September) period. The results have shown nonsignificant positive trends in very wet day rainfall and moderate rainfall days, whereas a decrease in consecutive dry days and other most of extreme rainfall indices has been observed. Thanagaji station has recorded maximum rainfall with a decreasing trend during the study period. Annual maximum 1- and 3-day rainfall has been found highest over Kotkasim station with a significant increasing trend. The number of extreme rainfall days over the basin has been found almost negligible. The trends and pattern of annual and monsoonal rainfall extremes over the Sahibi basin have been found almost identical as most of the mean annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon season. These results may be valuable for efficient and sustainable planning and management of water resources for agricultural purposes in the basin.

Sustainable planning of waste management is contingent on reliable data on waste characteristics and their variation across the seasons owing to the consequential environmental impact of such variation. Traditional waste characterization techniques in most developing countries are time-consuming and expensive; hence the need to address the issue from a modelling approach arises. In modelling the complexity within the system, a paradigm shift from the classical models to the intelligent models has been observed. The application of artificial intelligence models in waste management is gaining traction; however its application in predicting the physical composition of waste is still lacking. This study aims at investigating the optimal combinations of network architecture, training algorithm and activation functions that accurately predict the fraction of physical waste streams from meteorological parameters using artificial neural networks. The city of Johannesburg was used as a case study. Maximum temperature, minimum temperature, wind speed and humidity were used as input variables to predict the percentage composition of organic, paper, plastics and textile waste streams. Several sub-models were stimulated with combination of nine training algorithms and four activation functions in each single hidden layer topology with a range of 1–15 neurons. Performance metrics used to evaluate the accuracy of the system are, root mean square error, mean absolute deviation, mean absolute percentage error and correlation coefficient (R). Optimal architectures in the order of input layer-number of neurons in the hidden layer-output layer for predicting organic, paper, plastics and textile waste were 4-10-1, 4-14-1, 4-5-1 and 4-8-1 with R-values of 0.916, 0.862, 0.834 and 0.826, respectively at the testing phase. The result of the study verifies that waste composition prediction can be done in a single hidden-layer satisfactorily.

Study of the spatial and temporal trends of rainfall is very important for water resources planning and management. Therefore, this study has been attempted to examine the spatial and temporal trends and pattern of rainfall over the semiarid Sahibi Basin in Rajasthan State of India for a period of 57 years (1961–2017). Rainfall data for nine stations located over the basin have been obtained from the Department of Water Resources, Rajasthan. Statistical methods such as Mann–Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimator, and linear regression were employed to detect the rainfall trends. Percent change for rainfall, and years of excess and deficient rainfall, have also been identified. The findings have shown high interannual variability in mean annual rainfall with an average of 633.95 mm (SD = 204.93, CV = 32.33). However, no significant rising or declining trend has been observed in the mean annual rainfall over the basin during the 57-year period, whereas Kotkasim and Tapukara stations have shown significant increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. Further, pre-monsoon season rainfall has shown a significant increasing trend. Spatial analysis has shown an increase in rainfall amount from northeastern and western parts to the southeast. The observed spatial and temporal differences in the amount of rainfall are high. These results may be valuable for efficient and sustainable planning and management of water resources for agricultural purposes in the basin.

espanolEl litoral mediterraneo espanol es una region-riesgo frente a las inundaciones en el contexto europeo. El rio Segura en su tramo medio y bajo ha sido protagonista de eventos catastroficos de inundacion de forma frecuente en el ultimo siglo y medio. El ultimo episodio ocurrido, en septiembre de 2019, tras la canalizacion del curso fluvial despues de la riada de 1987, ha puesto de manifiesto que las soluciones estructurales no son suficientes para la reduccion del riesgo y son necesarias medidas integrales para la ordenacion y gestion sostenible del territorio. Todo ello en un contexto climatico de incertidumbre, que manifiesta ya los efectos del calentamiento atmosferico, en el que la modelizacion senala la mayor frecuencia de desarrollo de eventos meteorologicos extremos. El plan Vega Renhace es una apuesta estrategica para la adaptacion de la comarca del Bajo Segura al cambio climatico y la mejora de la resiliencia social, economica y territorial ante la elevada peligrosidad natural existente. EnglishThe Spanish Mediterranean coast is an European flood risk-region. The Middle and Lower Segura River has been protagonist of frequently catastrophic flood events in the last century and a half. The last episode that occurred, in September 2019, after the channelization of the river course after the 1987 flood, has shown that structural solutions are not enough to reduce risk and comprehensive measures are necessary for sustainable planning and management in this territory. All this in a climate context of uncertainty, which already manifests the effects of atmospheric warming, in which climate modelling indicates the higher frequency of development of extreme meteorological events. The Vega Renhace Plan is a strategic bet for the adaptation of the Bajo Segura territory to climate change and the improvement of social, economic and territorial resilience due to high natural hazards existing.

The ocean provides crucial resources for humanity and enables human existence, but its size and opaqueness limit our capacity for observation and understanding. A recent shift in focus toward developing economic opportunities associated with the ocean, referred to as the “blue economy,” demands environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable planning based on sound scientific knowledge generated from relevant and reliable data. Generating such data requires expanded ocean observations and data management in forms useful to diverse stakeholders, from other scientists to managers to policymakers and society at large. We review past and present biological, physical, and chemical ocean observing technologies, describing some major advances in recent decades and identifying technological gaps and opportunities to improve ocean observation and capacity enhancement. Finally, we discuss what a well-sensed ocean might require to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Today, planning theory must meet the challenges of reality. Success in the rational solution of urban planning problems and sustainable planning based on experience in this activity. In this publication, the author makes an objective assessment of the accumulated experience of planning socialist industrial cities. In the course of the analysis of functional planning development, the article compares two chronological periods. This comparison is used to assess the rate of development of the city. In addition, the publication presents conceptual schemes of territorial and functional planning for the development of a socialist city. As a result of the study of the possibilities of solutions for the urbanization of territories. One of the results of the study is the revealed relationship between the population of the city and urban infrastructure organizations. The author suggests in professional use some terms that more accurately express aspects of the planning of socialist cities in English.

The importance of scale in research and planning for the MCR in the developing world is no longer debatable. This is especially true in the current era of globalization and technological advances transforming traditional scalar hierarchies and creating multiple spatialities. The aspatial, network-based, representational, and discursive roles of scale are also becoming increasingly more consequential. I see scale as the third prong in a coherent tri-pronged approach to sustainable development in the Asian MCR that should be used in conjunction with the other two prongs, as discussed in the previous chapter. I recognize that scale remains a confounding concept, although a paradigmatic shift toward conceptual inclusivity by reconciling its many facets, seems to be taking place in the literature. In this chapter I offer an overview of this shift, followed by a brief look at the framework of the MCR from a bi-scalar perspective, and, given the need to recognize the diversities among (and within) the spaces in the MCR, conclude with one example of how elements of the three prongs can converge into a coherent approach for sustainable planning.

Sweden is considered an environmental sustainability pioneer, targeting a 50% reduction in energy use in buildings by 2050. This ambitious goal requires the active engagement of municipal actors and the building sector. Dialogue processes have been identified as a way to mobilize such engagement, but in earlier research, there has been a lack of studies where dialogue practices are analyzed in real-time and on location and where the role of leadership has been scrutinized. Taking two cases in Malmö as a starting point, the aim of this paper is to analyze the interconnections between dialogue models and the local context and to examine how the role of process leadership affects exchanges between included actors. The results show that it is difficult to create guidelines useful in the local context and that learning was embedded in the doing and was transferred through the process leaders.

The design, construction and management of sustainable and intelligent buildings, neighbourhoods and cities require tools that can manage complexity in a completely different manner to the practices adopted to date. This chapter introduces the most advanced current approach, Building Information Modelling (BIM), focusing in particular on its use to support green and smart planning of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities. The initial part of the chapter introduces the general concepts underlying the BIM. The second part explores its application, the Green BIM, intended as the use of the tool to support the sustainable design of buildings. The chapter concludes with the introduction of a more recent concept, the City Information Modelling (CIM), intended as a common platform to design, build and manage the buildings, infrastructures and services of neighbourhoods and cities that evolve towards sustainable and smart schemes.

The primary contribution of this research is the theoretical development of a decision-support framework that identifies the tools and approaches that decision-makers could/should use to create policies and programs that transition society towards sustainability. The framework is then used to consider how Riga municipality might move the city’s transportation system towards sustainability and particular aspect – to planning decisions for passenger network in Riga City in the frame of Rail Baltica project – Riga central multimodal public transportation hub.

Urbanization rate in Central America is the second fastest worldwide and its major cities face challenges regarding urban sustainability. Urban Green Fabric (UGF) is an important material condition for the urban quality of life and, therefore, key to planning processes. We performed an analysis of the UGF of Guatemala City including the identification and classification of UGF, their spatial pattern analysis, construction of ensembles of districts (zones) and revealing citizen&rsquo, s interactions with UGF. We used remote sensing and land use mapping techniques, spatial metrics and a questionnaire survey. Main results are the UGF map of Guatemala City and six ensembles of zones based on a set of indicators. We further revealed citizens&rsquo, recognition of green spaces, their perceptions about green space amount and availability as well as their support for UGF future interventions. Finally, we discuss the implications for planning promoted by our results and suggest three actions for UGF sustainability: Creation of new green spaces, protecting existing green spaces and enhancing the mosaic with different green spaces types. UGF is an essential decision support tool for a diversity of actors.

Urbanization plays an important role in the development of urban heat islands (UHI) in urban areas. UHI is a phenomenon where the urban built landscape shows a higher air temperature conditions than the surrounding hinterland and rural landscapes. Heat island also shows a lesser fall in temperatures than the adjacent outskirts and rural areas. The atmospheric concentration of GHGs has led to global climate change and because of the frequency of heat waves led to heat stress-related mortality and morbidity in mega high-density and compact cities located in the tropical and subtropical region of Southeast Asia. It is also observed that the city is divided into various microclimatic zones, and these zones are always in the process of continuous change due to unplanned and haphazard growth in urban built form.

The progressive use of renewable energy sources to ensure a continuous and abundant energy supply is the significant target towards a sustainable and secure energy system. Previously, the countries that had relied on fossil fuel as a dominating energy source are now endorsing energy system transition towards renewable energy sources. In this study, a comparative assessment of the energy problems of South Asian countries is summarized. Nevertheless, there are many similarities and differences in the electricity supply system of these countries. Long-term planning for renewable energy development is suggested for a diverse population and dispersed geographical location considering all the significant challenges. However, appropriate schemes are imperative for integrating significant renewable energy sources. This study introduces a foresight plan of the electricity model according to the demand and supply balance for extensive technical analysis. The EnergyPLAN modeling tool was employed to work out a more ambitious VRE integration scenario than the official plans. The reference model was validated according to legitimate and authentic data, and then, the technically most feasible renewable energy-based alternate scenario was built. The additional grid integration cost of variable renewable energy was quantitatively investigated for comprehensive power system modeling for a real-time economic analysis. The results may be adapted and support developing more sustainable power generation serving 1787 million in South Asian countries.

With more than 10 million inhabitants, in particular, Seoul, the capital of Korea, has already experienced a number of severe heat wave. To alleviate the potential impacts of heat wave and the vulnerability to heat wave, policy-makers have generally considered the option of heat wave strategies containing adaptation elements. From the perspective of sustainable planning for adaptation to heat wave, the objective of this study is to identify the elements of vulnerability and assess heat wave-vulnerability at the dong level. This study also performs an exploratory investigation of the spatial pattern of vulnerable areas in Seoul to heat wave by applying exploratory spatial data analysis. Then this study attempts to select areas with the relatively highest and lowest level of adaptive capacity to heat wave based on an framework of climate change vulnerability assessment. In our analysis, the adaptive capacity is the relatively highest for Seongsan-2-dong in Mapo and the relatively lowest for Changsin-3-dong in Jongno. This study sheds additional light on the spatial patterns of heat wave-vulnerability and the relationship between adaptive capacity and heat wave.

The article presents the aspects of sustainable planning of outdoor recreation in the protected areas with the emphasis on social carrying capacity. The starting points for the design of measures in the process of sustainable planning of outdoor recreation are presented and promote regular monitoring and directing of outdoor recreation in the protected areas in Slovenia and abroad, especially on the example of Triglav National Park. In the article we are trying to define which forms of outdoor recreation are from the local‘s and visitor‘s perspective recognised as sustainable.

Measuring land-use, land-cover change in biodiverse, tropical countries is critical for conservation management and sustainable planning because it provides quantifiable data regarding broad enviro...