Search results for: sustainable neighborhoods

Authors: Ezekiel Olukayode Akintunde

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There is a high level of inadequate methods at all levels of food supply in the global food industry. The inadequacies have led to vast wastages of food. Hence there is a need to curb the wastages that can later affect natural resources, water resources, and energy to avoid negative impacts on the climate and the environment. There is a need to engage multifaceted engineering packaging approaches for a sustainable food chain to ensure active packaging, intelligent packaging, new packaging materials, and a sustainable packaging system. Packaging can be regarded as an indispensable component approach that can be applied to solve major problems of sustainable food consumption globally; this is about controlling the environmental impact of packed food. The creative innovation will ensure that packaged foods are free from food-borne diseases and food chemical pollution. This paper evaluates the key shortcomings that must be addressed by innovative food packaging to ensure a safe, natural environment that will preserve energy and sustain water resources. Certain solutions, including fabricating microbial biodegradable chemical compounds/polymers from agro-food waste remnants, appear a bright path to ensure a strong and innovative waste-based food packaging system. Over the years, depletion in the petroleum reserves has brought about the emergence of biodegradable polymers as a proper replacement for traditional plastics; moreover, the increase in the production of traditional plastics has raised serious concerns about environmental threats. Biodegradable polymers have proven to be biocompatible, which can also be processed for other useful applications. Therefore, this study will showcase a workable guiding framework for designing a sustainable food packaging system that will not constitute a danger to our present society and that will surely preserve natural water resources. Various assessment methods will be deployed at different stages of the packaging design to enhance the package's sustainability. Every decision that will be made must be facilitated with methods that will be engaged per stage to allow for corrective measures throughout the cycle of the design process. Basic performance appraisal of packaging innovations. Food wastage can result in inimical environmental impacts, and ethical practices must be carried out for food loss at home. An examination in West Africa quantified preventable food wastage over the entire food value chain at almost 180kg per person per year. That is preventable food wastage, 35% of which originated at the household level. Many food losses reported, which happened at the harvesting, storage, transportation, and processing stages, are not preventable and are without much environmental impact because such wastage can be used for feeding. Other surveys have shown that 15%-20% of household food losses can be traced to food packaging. Therefore, new innovative packaging systems can lessen the environmental effect of food wastage to extend shelf‐life to lower food loss in the process distribution chain and at the household level.

Keywords: food packaging, biodegradable polymer, intelligent packaging, shelf-life

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Authors: Rodrigo I. Ullauri, Santiago E. Tinajero, Omar O. Ramos, Paola R. Quintana

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The increase of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere and its impact on climate change is a global concern. The transportation sector is a significant consumer of fossil fuels and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The current challenge is to find ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels in transportation. In Ecuador, where 92% of electricity is generated from clean sources, the concept of e-mobility is considered an attractive alternative to address the challenge of sustainable mobility. The proposal is to migrate from combustion-powered vehicles to electric vehicles in the electric companies of Ecuador, using a methodology to standardize criteria, determine specific requirements, contrast technical characteristics, and estimate emission reductions. The results showed that there are three categories of vehicles that have electric counterparts suitable for performing activities under certain operation parameters inherent to current technology limitations but with a significant contribution to the reduction of annual CO₂ emissions.

Keywords: climate change, electro mobility, energy, sustainable transportation

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Water scarcity is a pressing issue in urban areas, even in smart cities where efficient resource management is a priority. This scarcity is mainly caused by factors such as lifestyle changes, excessive groundwater extraction, over-usage of water, rapid urbanization, and uncontrolled population growth. In the specific case of Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, the depletion of groundwater resources is particularly severe, leading to a water imbalance and posing a significant challenge for the region's sustainable development. The aim of this study is to address the water shortage in the Gomti Nagar region by focusing on the implementation of artificial groundwater recharge methods. Specifically, the research aims to investigate the effectiveness of rainwater collection through rooftop rainwater harvesting systems (RTRWHs) as a sustainable approach to reduce aquifer depletion and bridge the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction. The research methodology for this study involves the utilization of RTRWHs as the main method for collecting rainwater. This approach is considered effective in managing and conserving water resources in a sustainable manner. The focus is on implementing RTRWHs in residential and commercial buildings to maximize the collection of rainwater and its subsequent utilization for various purposes in the Gomti Nagar region. The study reveals that the installation of RTRWHs in the Gomti Nagar region has a positive impact on addressing the water scarcity issue. Currently, RTRWHs cover only a small percentage (0.04%) of the total rainfall collected in the region. However, when RTRWHs are installed in all buildings, their influence on increasing water availability and reducing aquifer depletion will be significantly greater. The study also highlights the significant water imbalance of 24519 ML/yr in the region, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable water management practices. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of sustainable water management systems in smart cities. By highlighting the effectiveness of RTRWHs in reducing aquifer depletion, it emphasizes the importance of implementing such systems in urban areas. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for policymakers, urban planners, and developers to prioritize and incentivize the installation of RTRWHs as a potential solution to the water shortage crisis. The data for this study were collected through various sources such as government reports, surveys, and existing groundwater abstraction patterns. The collected data were then analysed to assess the current water situation, groundwater depletion rate, and the potential impact of implementing RTRWHs. Statistical analysis and modelling techniques were employed to quantify the water imbalance and evaluate the effectiveness of RTRWHs. The findings of this study demonstrate that the implementation of RTRWHs can effectively mitigate the water scarcity crisis in Gomti Nagar. By reducing aquifer depletion and bridging the gap between groundwater recharge and extraction, RTRWHs offer a sustainable solution to the region's water scarcity challenges. The study highlights the need for widespread adoption of RTRWHs in all buildings and emphasizes the importance of integrating such systems into the urban planning and development process. By doing so, smart cities like Gomti Nagar can achieve efficient water management, ensuring a better future with improved water availability for its residents.

Keywords: rooftop rainwater harvesting, rainwater, water management, aquifer

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Authors: Maulita Sari Hani, Abraham B. Sianipar, Abdi Hasan, Erfa Canistya, Ismail Alaydrus, Asril Djunaidi

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Whale shark tourism offer potential benefits to support economic alternative livelihood. Since 2017, Conservation International Indonesia worked in Sumbawa to monitor whale shark distribution and identified species aggregation in Teluk Saleh. We conducted a survey on May 23th-27th, 2018 and involved 86 local community from five hamlets in Labuan Jambu village. Furthermore, forum group discussion (FGD) held with 20 village representative on July 30th, 2018. The result of frequency distribution demonstrated 95% of respondents show positive perceptions towards sustainable development of whale shark tourism with 40% willing to participate in boat rental services. The community also proposes to participate in providing other tourism services including the local guide (12%), food and beverage or F&B (8%), local transport (8%), and homestay (6%). 34% of respondents agreed to establish a new institution (under village officials) to coordinate tourism services provided by the local community. We also conducted participatory mapping with 15 key informants where the result confirmed 13 areas of whale shark aggregation with all-year-round sightings. The FGD results in 20 participants ready to start the pilot project of community-based whale shark tourism in August 2018, including 4 boat rental (3 speedboats and 1 floating cage boat), 6 homestays, 4 car rentals, 1 F&B, 1 gear rental, 2 guides, and 2 local products. In addition, we facilitate village official in establishing policy and regulations for whale shark conservation and sustainable community-based tourism through village regulation, code of conduct, best practices, and capacity building program.

Keywords: marine wildlife tourism, elasmobranch, conservation, sustainable tourism, co-management

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Authors: Bianca Koroschetz, Emma Mäenpää

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The purpose of this paper is to study consumer practices and meanings of different antifouling methods in order to identify the main barriers for sustainable consumption of antifouling products in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is considered to be an important tourism area. More than 3.5 million leisure boaters use the sea for recreational boating. Most leisure boat owners use toxic antifouling paint to keep barnacles from attaching to the hull. Attached barnacles limit maneuverability and add drag which in turn increases fuel costs. Antifouling paint used to combat barnacles causes particular problems, as the use of these products continuously adds to the distribution of biocides in the coastal ecosystem and leads to the death of marine organisms. To keep the Baltic Sea as an attractive tourism area measures need to be undertaken to stop the pollution coming from toxic antifouling paints. The antifouling market contains a wide range of environment-friendly alternative products such as a brush wash for boats, hand scrubbing devices, hull covers and boat lifts. Unfortunately, not a lot of boat owners use these environment-friendly alternatives and instead prefer the use of the traditional toxic copper paints. We ask “Why is the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints still predominant when there is a big range of environment-friendly alternatives available? What are the barriers for sustainable consumption?” Environmental psychology has concentrated on developing models of human behavior, including the main factors that influence pro-environmental behavior. The main focus of these models was directed to the individual’s attitudes, principals, and beliefs. However, social practice theory emphasizes the importance to study practices, as they have a stronger explanatory power than attitude-behavior to explain unsustainable consumer behavior. Thus, the study focuses on describing the material, meaning and competence of antifouling practice in order to understand the social and cultural embeddedness of the practice. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with boat owners using antifouling products such as paints and alternative methods. This data collection was supplemented with participant observations in marinas. Preliminary results indicate that different factors such as costs, traditions, advertising, frequency of use, marinas and application of method impact on the consumption of antifouling products. The findings have shown that marinas have a big influence on the consumption of antifouling goods. Some marinas are very active in supporting the sustainable consumption of antifouling products as for example in Stockholm area several marinas subsidize costs for using environmental friendly alternatives or even forbid toxic paints. Furthermore the study has revealed that environmental friendly methods are very effective and do not have to be more expensive than painting with toxic paints. This study contributes to a broader understanding why the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints is still predominant when a big range of environment-friendly alternatives exist. Answers to this phenomenon will be gained by studying practices instead of attitudes offering a new perspective on environmental issues.

Keywords: antifouling paint, Baltic Sea, boat tourism, sustainable consumption

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Authors: Fatemeh Moosavi, Tumelo Franck Nkoshwane

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Peter Drucker the renowned management guru once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Mr. Drucker is also the man who placed human capital as the most vital resource of any institution. As such any institution bent on creating a better future, requires a competent human capital, one that is able to execute with efficiency and effectiveness the objective a society aspires to. Technology today is accelerating the rate at which many societies transition to knowledge based societies. In this accelerated paradigm, it is imperative that those in leadership establish a platform capable of sustaining the planned future; intellectual capital. The capitalist economy going into the future will not just be sustained by dollars and cents, but by individuals who possess the creativity to enterprise, innovate and create wealth from ideas. This calls for cities of the future, to have this premise at the heart of their future plan, if the objective of designing sustainable and liveable future cities will be realised. The knowledge economy, now transitioning to the creative economy, requires cities of the future to be ‘gardens’ of inspiration, to be places where knowledge, creativity, and innovation can thrive as these instruments are becoming critical assets for creating wealth in the new economic system. Developing nations must accept that learning is a lifelong process that requires keeping abreast with change and should invest in teaching people how to keep learning. The need to continuously update one’s knowledge, turn these cities into vibrant societies, where new ideas create knowledge and in turn enriches the quality of life of the residents. Cities of the future must have as one of their objectives, the ability to motivate their citizens to learn, share knowledge, evaluate the knowledge and use it to create wealth for a just society. The five functional factors suggested by Kevin Lynch;-vitality, meaning/sense, adaptability, access, control, and monitoring should form the basis on which policy makers and urban designers base their plans for future cities. The authors of this paper believe that developing nations “creative economy clusters”, cities where creative industries drive the need for constant new knowledge creating sustainable learning creative cities. Obviously the form, shape and size of these districts should be cognisant of the environmental, cultural and economic characteristics of each locale. Gaborone city in the republic of Botswana is presented as the case study for this paper.

Keywords: learning city, sustainable creative city, creative industry, good city form

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Authors: Mehrangiz Rezaee, Zabih Charrahi

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In the last decade, with increasing tourism destinations and tourism growth, we are witnessing the widespread impacts of tourism on the economy, environment and society. Tourism and its related economy are now undergoing a transformation and as one of the key pillars of business economics, it plays a vital role in the world economy. Activities related to tourism and providing services appropriate to it in an area, like many economic sectors, require the necessary context on its origin. Given the importance of tourism industry and tourism potentials of Yazd province in Iran, it is necessary to use a proper procedure for prioritizing different areas for proper and efficient planning. One of the most important goals of planning is foresight and creating balanced development in different geographical areas. This process requires an accurate study of the areas and potential and actual talents, as well as evaluation and understanding of the relationship between the indicators affecting the development of the region. At the global and regional level, the development of tourist resorts and the proper distribution of tourism destinations are needed to counter environmental impacts and risks. The main objective of this study is the sustainable development of suitable tourism areas. Given that tourism activities in different territorial areas require operational zoning, this study deals with the evaluation of territorial tourism using concepts such as land use, fitness and sustainable development. It is essential to understand the structure of tourism development and the spatial development of tourism using land use patterns, spatial planning and sustainable development. Tourism spatial planning implements different approaches. However, the development of tourism as well as the spatial development of tourism is complex, since tourist activities can be carried out in different areas with different purposes. Multipurpose areas have great important for tourism because it determines the flow of tourism. Therefore, in this paper, by studying the development and determination of tourism suitability that is related to spatial development, it is possible to plan tourism spatial development by developing a model that describes the characteristics of tourism. The results of this research determine the suitability of multi-functional territorial tourism development in line with spatial planning of tourism.

Keywords: land use change, spatial planning, sustainability, territorial tourist, Yazd

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Authors: Liu Junzhu

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In contemporary China,city is expanding with an amazing speed. And because of the unexpected events’ interference, spatial structure could change itself in a short time, That will lead to the new urban district livingness and unfortunately, this phenomenon is very common.On the one hand,it fail to achieve the goal of city planning, On the other hand,it is unfavourable to the sustainable development of city. Bill Hillier’stheory Space Syntax shows organzation pattern of each space,it explains the characteristics of urban spatial patterns and its transformation regulation from the point of self-organization in system and also, it gives confirmatory and predictive ways to the building and city. This paper used axial model to summarize Hangzhou City’s special structure and enhanced comprehensive understanding of macroscopic space and environment, space structure,developing trend, ect, by computer analysis of Space Syntax. From that, it helps us to know the operation law in the urban system and to understand Hangzhou City’s spatial pattern and indirect social effect it has mad more clearly, Thus, it could comply with the tendency of cities development in process and planning of policy and plan our cities’ future sustainably.

Keywords: sustainable urban design, space syntax, spatial network, segment angular analysis, social inclusion

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Authors: Adewale Tolulope Irewale, Elias Emeka Elemike, Christian O. Dimkpa, Emeka Emmanuel Oguzie

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As the global population steadily approaches the 10billion mark, the world is currently faced with two major challenges among others – accessing sustainable and clean energy, and food security. Accessing cleaner and sustainable energy sources to drive global economy and technological advancement, and feeding the teeming human population require sustainable, innovative, and smart solutions. To solve the food production problem, producers have relied on fertilizers as a way of improving crop productivity. Commercial inorganic fertilizers, which is employed to boost agricultural food production, however, pose significant ecological sustainability and economic problems including soil and water pollution, reduced input efficiency, development of highly resistant weeds, micronutrient deficiency, soil degradation, and increased soil toxicity. These ecological and sustainability concerns have raised uncertainties about the continued effectiveness of conventional fertilizers. With the application of nanotechnology, plant biomass upcycling offers several advantages in greener energy production and sustainable agriculture through reduction of environmental pollution, increasing soil microbial activity, recycling carbon thereby reducing GHG emission, and so forth. This innovative technology has the potential for a circular economy and creating a sustainable agricultural practice. Nanomaterials have the potential to greatly enhance the quality and nutrient composition of organic biomass which in turn, allows for the conversion of biomass into nanofertilizers that are potentially more efficient. Water hyacinth plant harvested from an inland water at Warri, Delta State Nigeria were air-dried and milled into powder form. The dry biomass were used to prepare biochar at a pre-determined temperature in an oxygen deficient atmosphere. Physicochemical analysis of the resulting biochar was carried out to determine its porosity and general morphology using the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). The functional groups (-COOH, -OH, -NH2, -CN, -C=O) were assessed using the Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy (FTIR) while the heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn) were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Impregnation of the biochar with nanonutrients were achieved under varied conditions of pH, temperature, nanonutrient concentrations and resident time to achieve optimum adsorption. Adsorption and desorption studies were carried out on the resulting nanofertilizer to determine kinetics for the potential nutrients’ bio-availability to plants when used as green fertilizers. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) which is an aggressively invasive aquatic plant known for its rapid growth and profusion is being examined in this research to harness its biomass as a sustainable feedstock to formulate functionalized nano-biochar fertilizers, offering various benefits including water hyacinth biomass upcycling, improved nutrient delivery to crops and aquatic ecosystem remediation. Altogether, this work aims to create output values in the three dimensions of environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Keywords: biochar-based nanofertilizers, eichhornia crassipes, greener agriculture, sustainable ecosystem, water hyacinth

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Authors: Lu Yanru, Handojo Djati Utomo, Yin Xi Jiang, Li Xiaodong

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Insulation plays a key role in the sustainable building due to the contribution of energy consumption reduction. Without sufficient insulation, a great amount of the energy used to heat or cool a building will be lost to the outdoors. In this study, we developed a highly efficient thermal insulation paint with the incorporation of silica aerogel. Silica aerogel, with a low thermal conductivity of 0.01 W/mK, has been successfully prepared from the solid waste from the incineration plants. It has been added into water-based paints to increase its thermal insulation properties. To investigate the thermal insulation performance of silica aerogel additive, the paint samples were mixed with silica aerogel at different sizes and with various portions. The thermal conductivity, water resistance, thermal stability and adhesion strength of the samples were tested and evaluated. The thermal diffusivity measurements proved that adding silica aerogel additive could improve the thermal insulation properties of the paint significantly. Up to 5 ˚C reductions were observed after applying paints with silica aerogel additive compare to the one without it. The results showed that the developed thermal insulation paints have great potential for an application in green and sustainable building.

Keywords: silica aerogel, thermal insulation, water-based paints, water resistant

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Authors: Maryam Karimi, Rouzbeh Nazari

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Introduction: Understanding thermal distribution in the micro-urban climate has now been necessary for urban planners or designers due to the impact of complex micro-scale features of Urban Heat Island (UHI) on the built environment and public health. Hence, understanding the interrelation between urban components and thermal pattern can assist planners in the proper addition of vegetation to build-environment, which can minimize the UHI impact. To characterize the need for urban green infrastructure (UGI) through better urban planning, this study proposes the use of RayMan model to measure the impact of air quality and increased temperature based on urban morphology in the selected metropolitan cities. This project will measure the impact of build environment for urban and regional planning using human biometeorological evaluations (Tmrt). Methods: We utilized the RayMan model to estimate the Tmrt in an urban environment incorporating location and height of buildings and trees as a supplemental tool in urban planning and street design. The estimated Tmrt value will be compared with existing surface and air temperature data to find the actual temperature felt by pedestrians. Results: Our current results suggest a strong relationship between sky-view factor (SVF) and increased surface temperature in megacities based on current urban morphology. Conclusion: This study will help with Quantifying the impacts of the built environment and surface properties on surrounding temperature, identifying priority urban neighborhoods by analyzing Tmrt and air quality data at the pedestrian level, and characterizing the need for urban green infrastructure cooling potential.

Keywords: built environment, urban planning, urban cooling, extreme heat

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Authors: Umer Farooq

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The present work is being presented with a general aim of highlighting the role of protection/propagation of indigenous breeds of livestock in an area as a sustainable tool for poverty alleviation. Specifically, the aim is to introduce a formerly neglected Cholistani breed of cattle being reared by the Cholistani desert nomads of Pakistan. The said work will present a detaile account of research work conducted during the last five years by the author. Furthermore, it will present the performance (productive and reproductive traits) of this breed as being reared under various nomadic systems of the desert. Results will be deducted on the basis of the research work conducted on Cholistani cattle and keeping abreast the latest reforms being provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Initiative to Support Pastoralism (WISP) of the UN. The timely attention towards the protection and propagation of this neglected breed of cattle will pave a smoother way towards poverty alleviation of rural/suburban areas and a successful sustainable agriculture in low input production systems such as Pakistan. The 15 recognized indigenous breeds of cattle constitute 43% of the total livestock population in Pakistan and belong to Zebu cattle. These precious breeds are currently under threat and might disappear even before proper documentation until and unless streamlined efforts are diverted towards them. This horrific state is due to many factors such as epidemic diseases, urbanization, indiscriminate crossing with native stock, misdirected cross breeding with exotic stock/semen, inclined livestock systems from extensive (subsistence) to intensive (commercial), lack of valuation of local breeds, decreasing natural resources, environmental degradation and global warming. Hefty work has been documented on many aspects of Sahiwal and Red Sindhi breeds of cattle in their respective local climates which have rightly gained them an international fame as being the vital tropical milk breeds of Pakistan. However, many other indigenous livestock breeds such as Cholistani cattle being reared under pastoral systems of Cholistan are yet unexplored. The productive and reproductive traits under their local climatic conditions need to be studied and the future researches may be streamlined to manipulate their indigenous potential. The timely attention will pave a smoother way towards poverty alleviation of rural/suburban areas and a successful sustainable agriculture in low input production systems.

Keywords: Cholistan desert, Pakistan, indigenous cattle, Sahiwal cattle, pastoralism

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Authors: Jakia Rajoana

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The aim of this paper is to examine the role of women entrepreneurs in bringing about sustainable rural tourism (SRT) development in Sundarbans area of Bangladesh. Theoretically, it draws upon empowerment and entrepreneurial marketing concepts. Women entrepreneurship development and lack of empowered women as role models is an important issue for developing economies in South Asia. Despite the substantial role women play in rural economy of Sundarbans, their contribution remains overlooked as enterprises led by them are run on an informal basis and their business acumen is not taken seriously both by their families and society at large. Studies on SRT fail to engage in sufficient depth with the term applied in this paper as ‘invisible women on the margins’ who run their enterprises with no formal training or societal/familial support. Moreover, the link between their (non) tourism enterprise and their empowerment remains under-theorized. Thus empirically, this research seeks to fill a significant gap by focusing on a considerably under-researched Sundarbans region. Methodologically, this study follows a qualitative research design using visual ethnographic approach. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation are the primary data collection instruments in three coastal communities – Munshigonj, Burigoalini and Gabura – in the Sundarbans area. By focusing on the narratives of these under-investigated women, this work aims to provide in-depth and nuanced insights into salient issues on marginal communities experience from rural women’s perspectives. Initial findings illustrate that the Sundarbans women have low income due to no or little education. In addition, socio-cultural and religious factors also restrict the scope of their extensive contribution to workplace. In addition, physical and social violence which is a common occurrence for these women inhibits their agency and contributes to their disempowerment.

Keywords: gender, empowerment, entrepreneurial marketing, sustainable rural tourism, Sundarbans

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Authors: Georg Brunnthaller, Sandra Stein, Wilfried Sihn

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Logistics service providers are facing increasing volatility concerning future transport demand. Short-term planning horizons and planning uncertainties lead to reduced capacity utilisation and increasing empty mileage. To overcome these challenges, a model is proposed to continuously pre-plan future transport capacity in order to redesign and adjust the intermodal fleet accordingly. It is expected that the model will enable logistics service providers to organise more economically and ecologically sustainable transport chains in a more flexible way. To further describe such planning aspects, this paper gives a structured literature review on transport planning problems. The focus is on strategic and tactical planning levels, comprising relevant fleet-sizing-, network-design- and choice-of-carriers-problems. Models and their developed solution techniques are presented and the literature review is concluded with an outlook to our future research objectives

Keywords: choice of transport mode, fleet-sizing, freight transport planning, multimodal, review, service network design

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Authors: John Dorrell, Matthew Ambrosia, Abilash

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This paper employs econometric analysis to quantify the potential profit wind farms can receive by allocating excess wind energy to power bitcoin mining machines. Cryptocurrency mining consumes a substantial amount of electricity worldwide, and wind energy produces a significant amount of energy that is lost because of the intermittent nature of the resource. Supply does not always match consumer demand. By combining the weaknesses of these two technologies, we can improve efficiency and a sustainable path to mine cryptocurrencies. This paper uses historical wind energy from the ERCOT network in Texas and cryptocurrency data from 2000-2021, to create 4-year return on investment projections. Our research model incorporates the price of bitcoin, the price of the miner, the hash rate of the miner relative to the network hash rate, the block reward, the bitcoin transaction fees awarded to the miners, the mining pool fees, the cost of the electricity and the percentage of time the miner will be running to demonstrate that wind farms generate enough excess energy to mine bitcoin profitably. Excess wind energy can be used as a financial battery, which can utilize wasted electricity by changing it into economic energy. The findings of our research determine that wind energy producers can earn profit while not taking away much if any, electricity from the grid. According to our results, Bitcoin mining could give as much as 1347% and 805% return on investment with the starting dates of November 1, 2021, and November 1, 2022, respectively, using wind farm curtailment. This paper is helpful to policymakers and investors in determining efficient and sustainable ways to power our economic future. This paper proposes a practical solution for the problem of crypto mining energy consumption and creates a more sustainable energy future for Bitcoin.

Keywords: bitcoin, mining, economics, energy

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Authors: Jing Zhang

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Sustainable development in the new energy vehicles field is the requirement of the net zero aim. Green bonds are accepted as a practical financial tool to boost the transformation of relevant enterprises. The paper analyzes the interactions among governments, enterprises of new energy vehicles, and financial institutions by an evolutionary game theory model and offers advice to stakeholders in China. The decision-making subjects of green behavior are affected by experiences, interests, perception ability, and risk preference, so it is difficult for them to be completely rational. Based on the bounded rationality hypothesis, this paper applies prospect theory in the evolutionary game analysis framework and analyses the costs of government regulation of enterprises adopting green bonds. The influence of the perceived value of revenue prospect and the probability and risk transfer coefficient of the government's active regulation on the decision-making agent's strategy is verified by numerical simulation. Finally, according to the research conclusions, policy suggestions are given to promote green bonds.

Keywords: green bonds, new energy vehicles, sustainable development, evolutionary Game Theory model

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Authors: Lina Psarra, Manogj Sundaresan, Purjeet Sutar

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In response to the global imperative for sustainable solutions, this article proposes the development of a comprehensive circularity index applicable to a wide range of products across various industries. The absence of a consensus on using a universal metric to assess circularity performance presents a significant challenge in prioritizing and effectively managing sustainable initiatives. This circularity index serves as a quantitative measure to evaluate the adherence of products, processes, and systems to the principles of a circular economy. Unlike traditional distinct metrics such as recycling rates or material efficiency, this index considers the entire lifecycle of a product in one single metric, also incorporating additional factors such as reusability, scarcity of materials, reparability, and recyclability. Through a systematic approach and by reviewing existing metrics and past methodologies, this work aims to address this gap by formulating a circularity index that can be applied to diverse product portfolio and assist in comparing the circularity of products on a scale of 0%-100%. Project objectives include developing a formula, designing and implementing a pilot tool based on the developed Product Circularity Index (PCI), evaluating the effectiveness of the formula and tool using real product data, and assessing the feasibility of integration into various sustainability initiatives. The research methodology involves an iterative process of comprehensive research, analysis, and refinement where key steps include defining circularity parameters, collecting relevant product data, applying the developed formula, and testing the tool in a pilot phase to gather insights and make necessary adjustments. Major findings of the study indicate that the PCI provides a robust framework for evaluating product circularity across various dimensions. The Excel-based pilot tool demonstrated high accuracy and reliability in measuring circularity, and the database proved instrumental in supporting comprehensive assessments. The PCI facilitated the identification of key areas for improvement, enabling more informed decision-making towards circularity and benchmarking across different products, essentially assisting towards better resource management. In conclusion, the development of the Product Circularity Index represents a significant advancement in global sustainability efforts. By providing a standardized metric, the PCI empowers companies and stakeholders to systematically assess product circularity, track progress, identify improvement areas, and make informed decisions about resource management. This project contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable development by offering a practical approach to enhance circularity within industrial systems, thus paving the way towards a more resilient and sustainable future.

Keywords: circular economy, circular metrics, circularity assessment, circularity tool, sustainable product design, product circularity index

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Authors: Mansoor Imam, Amber Afshan, Sumbul Mujeeb, Kamran Gill

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An investigative approach has been made to study the quality of living prevailing in the squatter slums of Karachi city that is influencing the urbanization trends and environmental degeneration of built environment. The paper identifies the issues and aspects that have directly and indirectly impacted the degeneration owing to inadequate basic infrastructural amenities, substandard housing, overcrowding, poor ventilation in homes and workplaces, and noncompliance with building bye-laws and regulations, etc. Primarily, secondary data has been critically examined and analyzed which was however not limited to census data, demographic / socioeconomic data, official documents and other relevant secondary data were obtained from existing literature and GIS. It is observed that the poor and sub-standard housing / living quality have serious adverse impacts on the environment and the health of city residents. Hence strategies for improving the quality of built environment for sustainable living are mandated. It is, therefore, imperative to check and prevent further degradation and promote harmonious living and sustainable urbanization.

Keywords: squatter slums, urbanization, degenerations, living quality, built environment

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Authors: Kingkan Pongsiri

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This paper aims to study the role and activities of the participants and the impact of activities created in the local area in order to sustainably develop the local areas. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches presented in descriptive style; the data was collected via survey, observation and in-depth interviews with samples. The results illustrated five sorts of roles of participants of the Cicada Walking-street and four types of creative activities; recreation based, art based, cultural based, and live events. Integration of local characteristics, arts and cultures were presented creatively and interestingly. Participants are various. The roles of the participants found in the Cicada Market are group of the property and area management, entrepreneurs, leisure (entertaining persons), local people, and tourists. The good impacts on local communities are those in terms of economy, environmental friendly and local arts and cultures promoting. On the other hand, the traffic congestion, waste and the increasing of energy consumption are negative impacts from area development.

Keywords: creative tourism activity, destination development, sustainable development, walking street

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Authors: Kebron Asnake

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Water security and transboundary issues are critical concerns for countries, particularly in regions where shared water resources are significant. This Research focuses on exploring the challenges and opportunities related to water security and transboundary issues in Ethiopia, using the case of the Nile River. Ethiopia, as a riparian country of the Nile River, faces complex water security issues due to its dependence on this transboundary water resource. This abstract aims to analyze the various factors that affect water security in Ethiopia, including population growth, climate change, and competing water demands. The Study examines the challenges linked to transboundary water management of the Nile River. It delves into the complexities of negotiating water allocations and addressing potential conflicts among the downstream riparian countries. The paper also discusses the role of international agreements and cooperation in promoting sustainable water resource management. Additionally, the paper highlights the opportunities for collaboration and sustainable development that arise from transboundary water management. It explores the potential for joint investments in water infrastructure, hydropower generation, and irrigation systems that can contribute to regional economic growth and water security. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for integrated water management approaches in Ethiopia to ensure the equitable and sustainable use of the Nile River's waters. It highlights the importance of involving stakeholders from diverse sectors, including agriculture, energy, and environmental conservation, in decision-making processes. By presenting the case of the Nile River in Ethiopia, this Abstract contributes to the understanding of water security and transboundary issues. It underscores the significance of regional cooperation and informed policy-making to address the challenges and opportunities presented by transboundary water resources. The paper serves as a foundation for further research and policy in water management in Ethiopia and other regions facing similar challenges.

Keywords: water, health, agriculture, medicine

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Authors: Xiangxiang Chen

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This paper explores a recent online trending activity in metropolitan China. Originating from Jane Jacob's walking tour, 'citywalk' has gradually developed into a wanghong (social media trending) activity, contributing to a revitalized mode of urbanism in post-modernized China. Former researchers have dug into the walking patterns in everyday cities, but few have looked into the short trip activities conducted by local residents and people nearby. Although some Chinese researchers have focused on wanghong economy and the related wanghong urbanism, they have linked it to the 'check-in' activities but not the 'citywalk', which connects several spots for 'checking in' and usually take place in a historic while cultural neighborhood. Besides, many research articles have focused on gentrification, but few have explored a gentrification pattern that differs from that in developed countries. This research uses short semi-structured interviews, which range from 3 to 5 minutes, combining a comparison model to find out the reasons and the feelings of people to go on the 'citywalk' and the economic development influenced by it. The research location was in Foshan's most historic area -the Chuihong neighborhood, which is situated in the metropolitan area of the Guangdong province. The paper finds out that social media in China has heavily influenced urban revitalization, leading to a new kind of gentrification mode. This suggests that the government should give historical and cultural neighborhoods enough freedom to develop independently. This paper aims to provide urban revitalization strategies to build a 'citywalk' friendly and aesthetically attractive neighborhood in China.

Keywords: tourism development, urban revitalization, social media, wanghong urbanism, city walk, China

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Authors: Zubair Ahmad

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The aim of this study is to analyze the risks factors and issues with waste management in developing nations as barriers. Depending on their content and categorization, wastes are managed differently. Waste management strategies differ for liquid, solid, and organic wastes. The final stage of trash disposal entails procedures like burning, interment, recycling, and treatment. Due to the rising creation of solid waste, the growing urban population has a magnified impact on the environment and public health. All regions, but especially informal urban neighborhoods, tribal villages, and official rural settlements have a protracted backlog in waste services. Another significant impediment seen in the developing world is a lack of education and awareness of effective waste-management practices. Unauthorized dumpsites pose a serious risk to the environment since they could contain dangerous elements like radioactive, infectious, and toxic waste. Wealthier individuals are more inclined to think that their actions will have an impact on environmental problems and to act to address them. Waste managers need to take action to make sure the public is given information that is consistent with what they currently know. The results of the data analysis conducted with the aid of the various methodologies discussed in the preceding chapter are presented in this chapter by the researcher. Descriptive analysis has been used in research to determine whether or not there are relationships between variables and to determine the importance of the variables. According to a survey, there are no efforts being made to lessen the odor that garbage dump sites emit (in terms of treating or recycling the material placed at dumpsite) This might be the case since respondents only commented on the waste management conditions in their immediate surroundings and may not have fully understood the steps taken to resolve this issue.

Keywords: risk factor of waste material, lack of awareness, developing countries struggles, waste management

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Authors: Georg Brunnthaller, Sandra Stein, Wilfried Sihn

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Transportation service providers are facing increasing volatility concerning future transport demand. Short-term planning horizons and planning uncertainties lead to reduced capacity utilization and increasing empty mileage. To overcome these challenges, a model is proposed to continuously pre-plan future transportation capacity in order to redesign and adjust the intermodal fleet accordingly. It is expected that the model will enable logistics service providers to organize more economically and ecologically sustainable transport chains in a more flexible way. To further describe these planning aspects, this paper gives an overview on transportation planning problems in a structured way. The focus is on strategic and tactical planning levels, comprising relevant fleet-sizing, service-network-design and choice-of-carriers-problems. Models and their developed solution techniques are presented, and the literature review is concluded with an outlook to our future research directions.

Keywords: freight transportation planning, multimodal, fleet-sizing, service network design, choice of transportation mode, review

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Authors: Michelle Zeyuan Ma, Hermann Heilmeier

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Recently, meat production ecosystem impacts initiated many hot discussions and researchers, and it is a difficult implementation to reduce such impacts due to the demand of meat products. It calls for better management and control of ecosystem impacts from every aspects of meat production. This article analyzes the ecosystem impacts of meat production based on meat products life cycle. The analysis shows that considerable ecosystem impacts are caused by different meat production steps: initial establishment phase, animal raising, slaughterhouse processing, meat consumption, and wastes management. Based on this analysis, the impacts are summarized as: leading factor for biodiversity loss; water waste, land use waste and land degradation; greenhouse gases emissions; pollution to air, water, and soil; related major diseases. The article also provides a discussion on a solution-sustainable food system, which could help in reducing ecosystem impacts. The analysis method is based on the life cycle level, it provides a concept of the whole meat industry ecosystem impacts, and the analysis result could be useful to manage or control meat production ecosystem impacts from investor, producer and consumer sides.

Keywords: eutrophication, life cycle based analysis, sustainable food, waste management

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Authors: Pram Abhayawardhana, Ali Reza Nazmi, Hossein Najaf Zadeh

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This study examines the use of additive manufacturing (AM) to develop sustainable and intelligent agricultural formulations that can gradually release fertilisers. AM offers the ability to design customised formulations with precise geometries and controlled release properties while taking into account their mechanical, chemical, and environmental properties. The study specifically investigates the use of an aerogel matrix mixed with a potential fertiliser in agriculture. Highly porous 3D printed aerogel structures were designed to enable the slow release of fertilisers. The performance of the formulated mixture is evaluated against other commonly used materials for slow-release applications. The findings suggest that the 3D printed gel made has great potential for slow-release fertilisers, providing an environmentally friendly solution for agricultural practices. The combination of AM technology and sustainable materials can play a vital role in mitigating the negative environmental impact of traditional fertilisers, as well as improving the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production.

Keywords: 3D printing, hydrogel, aerogel, fertiliser, agriculture

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Authors: Sedigheh Kalantari

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Like many countries in the arid and semi-arid belt, Iran experiences a natural limitation in the availability of water resources. However, rapid socioeconomic development has created a serious water crisis in a nation that was once one of the world’s pioneers in sustainable water management, due to the Persians’ contribution to hydraulic engineering inventions – the Qanat – throughout history. The exogenous issues like the changing climate, frequent droughts, and international sanctions are only crisis catalyzers, not the main cause of the water crisis; and a resilient water management system is expected to be capable of coping with these periodic external pressures. The current dramatic water security issues in Iran are rooted in managerial, political, and institutional challenges rather than engineering and technical issues, and the country is suffering from challenges in water governance. The country, instead of rigorous water conservation efforts, is still focused on supply-driven approach, technology and centralized methods, and structural solutions that aim to increase water supply; while the effectiveness of water governance and management has often left unused. To solve these issues, it is necessary to assess the present situation and its evolution over time. In this respect, establishing water governance assessment mechanisms will be a significant aspect of this paper. The research framework, however, is a conceptual framework to assess governance performance of Iran to critically diagnose problematic issues and areas, as well as proffer empirically based solutions and determine the best possible steps towards transformational processes. This concept aims to measure the adequacy of current solutions and strategies designed to ameliorate these problems and then develop and prescribe adequate futuristic solutions. Thus, the analytical framework developed in this paper seeks to provide insights on key factors influencing water governance in Iranian cities, institutional frameworks to manage water across scales and authorities, multi-level management gaps and policy responses, through an evidence-based approach and good practices to drive reform toward sustainability and water resource conservation. The findings of this paper show that the current structure of the water governance system in Iran, coupled with the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the root causes of the problem, leaves minimal hope for developing sustainable solutions to Iran’s increasing water crisis. In order to follow sustainable development approaches, Iran needs to replace symptom management with problem prevention.

Keywords: governance, Iran, sustainable development, water management, water resources

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Authors: Aisyah Nurfitria, Alifa Rahmadia Putri, Andini Lestari, Kartika Sukmatullahi Hasanah, Mutiara Mayang Oktavia

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The research aims to describe and analyze the background and condition of Jatiluhur Dam, West Java, Indonesia. The Jatiluhur Dam as known as the biggest dam in West Java has huge fisheries resource, which is supposed to assure the local people appropriateness of living. Unfortunately based on this field research, the local people are living a life in under poverty line. This study focuses on increasing local people economic welfare through “Aquaculture Cooperative” implementation. Empower and diversify income of local people is the purpose of this study. In the same way, this study also focuses on the sustainable local people’s livelihoods. In order to obtain the sustainability of them, recovering the fisheries of Jatiluhur Dam is the part of “Aquaculture Cooperative” program. Method that is used in this research is a qualitative approach by literature review and in-depth interview through direct observation as data collecting techniques. Factors such as social and economic condition are also considered in order to know how “Aquaculture Cooperative” able to accepted by local people.

Keywords: aquaculture cooperative, economic welfare, Jatiluhur fisheries, West Java

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Authors: Steven Sam, Ximena Schmidt, Hugh Dickinson, Jens Jensen

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The goal of this study is to explore the potential of data science and citizen science approaches to develop an interactive, digital, open infrastructure that pulls together African indigenous agriculture and food systems data from multiple sources, making it accessible and reusable for policy, research and practice in modern food production efforts. The World Bank has recognised that African Indigenous Knowledge (AIK) is innovative and unique among local and subsistent smallholder farmers, and it is central to sustainable food production and enhancing biodiversity and natural resources in many poor, rural societies. AIK refers to tacit knowledge held in different languages, cultures and skills passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. AIK is a key driver of food production, preservation, and consumption for more than 80% of citizens in Africa, and can therefore assist modern efforts of reducing food insecurity and hunger. However, the documentation and dissemination of AIK remain a big challenge confronting librarians and other information professionals in Africa, and there is a risk of losing AIK owing to urban migration, modernisation, land grabbing, and the emergence of relatively small-scale commercial farming businesses. There is also a clear disconnect between the AIK and scientific knowledge and modern efforts for sustainable food production. The study combines data science and citizen science approaches through active community participation to generate and share AIK for facilitating learning and promoting knowledge that is relevant for policy intervention and sustainable food production through a curated digital platform based on FAIR principles. The study adopts key informant interviews along with participatory photo and video elicitation approach, where farmers are given digital devices (mobile phones) to record and document their every practice involving agriculture, food production, processing, and consumption by traditional means. Data collected are analysed using the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s proven methodology of citizen science (Zooniverse) and data science. Outcomes are presented in participatory stakeholder workshops, where the researchers outline plans for creating the platform and developing the knowledge sharing standard framework and copyrights agreement. Overall, the study shows that learning from AIK, by investigating what local communities know and have, can improve understanding of food production and consumption, in particular in times of stress or shocks affecting the food systems and communities. Thus, the platform can be useful for local populations, research, and policy-makers, and it could lead to transformative innovation in the food system, creating a fundamental shift in the way the North supports sustainable, modern food production efforts in Africa.

Keywords: Africa indigenous agriculture knowledge, citizen science, data science, sustainable food production, traditional food system

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Authors: Benedict Okundaye, Patricia Tzortzopoulos, Yun Gao

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Scholars and international organisations have contended that developing nations lack the technical expertise, infrastructure, and ability to cope with or prepare for the neighbourhood’s sustainable development as Sustainable Development Goals, mainly targeting goal 11 unimpressive accomplishments. Both wealthy and impoverished communities are facing increasing issues due to rapid urbanisation and pandemics, particularly in Africa. The global neighbourhood challenges, especially in developing countries such as South Africa, include pollution poverty, energy poverty, digital poverty, environmental degradation, social exclusion, and socioeconomic inequalities. With the problematic international sustainability assessment tools lingering, few researchers have produced frameworks to engage the local contexts, but improvements are still required. This research anchors on developing a people-centred, flexible, and adaptable neighbourhood sustainability assessment framework that becomes a tool to assess the characteristics of neighbourhood sustainability in South Africa. The conceptual framework employs a variety of approaches, including broader dimensional factors, a closed-ended questionnaire, and statistical analysis to improve on and complement other existing frameworks.

Keywords: participation, development, inclusion, urbanism, cities, resilience

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Authors: Maria Ghorbanian, Mohammad Ghahramani, Mahmood Abolghasemi

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Universities and institutions of higher education in Iran, like other higher education institutions in the world, have a heavy mission and task to educate students based on the needs of the country. Taking on such a serious responsibility requires having a good governance system for planning, formulating executive plans, evaluating, and finally modifying them in accordance with the current conditions and challenges ahead. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the components of good governance in the Iranian higher education system by survey method and with a quantitative approach. In order to collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, which includes two parts: personal and professional characteristics (5 questions) and the three components of good governance in the Iranian higher education system, including good management and leadership (8 items), continuous evaluation and effective (university performance, finance, and university appointments) (8 items) and civic responsibility and sustainable development (7 items). These variables were measured and coded in the form of a five-level Likert scale from "Very Low = 1" to "Very High = 5". First, the validity and reliability of the research model were examined. In order to calculate the reliability of the questionnaire, two methods of Cronbach's alpha and combined reliability were used. Fornell-Larker interaction and criterion were also used to determine the degree of diagnostic validity. The statistical population of this study included all faculty members of public universities in Tehran (N = 4429). The sample size was estimated to be 340 using the Cochran's formula. These numbers were studied using a randomized method with a proportional assignment. The data were analyzed by the structural equation method with the least-squares approach. The results showed that the component of civil responsibility and sustainable development with a factor load of 0.827 is the most important element of good governance.

Keywords: good governance, higher education, sustainable, development

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