Containing papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, this volume includes latest research providing solutions that lead towards sustainability. The series maintains its strong reputation and contributions have been made from a diverse range of delegates, resulting in a variety of topics and experiences. Urban areas face a number of challenges related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems and these challenges can contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. The challenge is to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment, whilst considering the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today's cities. Large cities represent a productive ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. The multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the amount of resources required and the complexity of modern society are all addressed. The published papers cover the following fields: Urban strategies; Planning, development and management; The community and the city; Infrastructure and society; Eco-town planning; Spatial conflicts in the city; Urban transportation and planning; Conservation and regeneration; Architectural issues; Sustainable energy and the city; Environmental management; Flood risk; Waste management; Urban air pollution; Health issues; Water resources; Landscape planning and design; Intelligent environment; Planning for risk and natural hazards; Waterfront development; Case studies.

The development of a green and sustainable economy continues to grow in awareness and popularity due to its promotion of a more comprehensive way of achieving economic development through social and environmental efficiency. Sustainable Technologies, Policies, and Constraints in the Green Economy carefully investigates the complex issues which surround the wide array of concepts, policies, and measures that come into play when promoting this somewhat new ideology. This publication covers over 50 years of research in the field in order to provide the best theoretical frameworks and empirical research to its readers. Professors, researchers, practitioners, and students will all benefit from the relevant discussions and diverse conclusions which are revealed in these chapters.

1.2 billion people on Earth still don't have electricity. Even where cell phones are now common, like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of India, villagers still walk miles to charge them. But new large-scale, sustainable solutions will not only usher in a new era of light, but be an important first step in lifting people from poverty and putting them on a road of sustainable economic development. Also, a unique, transforming opportunity for Western thinkers and practitioners will be created. These areas have largely skipped the analog stage of power development, and have moved straight from the middle ages to the digital age. They are not encumbered by existing infrastructure, dependence on fossil fuels, or too many outdated laws and regulations. An ideal innovation incubator, the developing world might just be the best way to make progress on our own energy issues at home. Jim Rogers is leading a grand collaborative effort to bring sustainable, clean electrical power to everyone who lacks it. This reverse engineering, he contends, could solve the energy crises of America and Europe, while also making the world a cleaner, smarter place. But it won't be easy. In Lighting the World, Rogers details the bold thinking, international cooperation, and political will required to illuminate the future for everyone.

While the effects of climate change become ever more apparent and pressing, the discussion of sustainable practices and environmental protection is a common overture among the academic and scientific communities. However, in order to be truly effective, sustainable solutions must be tested and applied in real-world situations. Sustainability Science for Social, Economic, and Environmental Development investigates the role of sustainability in the everyday lives of ordinary citizens, including issues of economy, social interaction, exploitation of natural resources, and sources of renewable energy. In this book, researchers, policy makers, economists, scientists, and general readers will all find crucial insight into the parallels between theory and practice in sustainable development.

This innovative book investigates the practical applications of sustainable development in the spirit of the Brundtland Report, paying special attention to water-stressed developing countries. Satoshi Kojima argues that the main objective of sustainable development is poverty alleviation within the present generation without destroying those ecosystems underpinning life support systems. The policy implications of such sustainable development policies are investigated with an original quantitative policy analysis framework. The book develops an innovative dynamic optimisation CGE model based on the Ramsey growth model but employs an imperfect foresight assumption and a decentralised setting in which the private agent and the government optimise their objective functions separately. The model also addresses trade-offs between rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, urban unemployment due to rural-urban migration and welfare costs of lack of safe water access. The model is calibrated and dynamically validated against Moroccan time-series data. Researchers in environmental, ecological and development economics will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to researchers and scholars interested in water management and related issues.

Research on the cutting edge of economics, ecology, and ethics is presented in this timely study. Building from a theoretical critique of the tradition of cost-benefit analysis, the contributors lay the foundation for a macroeconomics of environmental sustainability and distributive justice. Attention is then turned to three of the most critical areas of social and environmental applied research - biodiversity, climate change, and energy. The contributors redefine progress away from growth and toward development. To this end, the first section of the book tackles the dominant framework used in the US today to evaluate tradeoffs between economic growth and its inherent externalities. Succeeding chapters cover a wide variety of studies related to biodiversity health and energy. Each section is anchored with overviews by top scholars in these areas - including Herman Daly, Carl McDaniel, Stephen Schneider, and Nathan Hagens - and followed by detailed analyses reflecting the transdisciplinary approach of ecological economics. Students and scholars of ecological, environmental, and natural resource economics, sustainability sciences, and environmental studies will find this book of great interest. Non-profit and government agencies in search of methods and cases that merge the study of ecology and economics will also find the analyses of great practical value.

Copper Nanostructures: Next-Generation of Agrochemicals for Sustainable Agroecosystems considers the impact of copper-based nanostructures on agri-food sectors. Sections highlight the green synthesis of copper nanoparticles, production mechanisms, eco-safety, and future perspectives, discuss the increasing importance of copper nanomaterials in plant protection applications, describe the use of copper nanostructures in plant science applications, cover antimicrobial applications, explore copper nanostructure applications, and summarize current applications in agroecosystems, such as copper nanoparticles as nanosensors, their negative ecological effects, estimation risks, and more.

Trade and the environment has become a major issue in international relations, yet the surrounding debate remains polarised and hostile. This book answers the question: Can an international liability regime facilitate international trade while fostering environmental sustainability?On the one hand, the authors argue, international trade is perceived as a major threat to environmental sustainability, whilst on the other, trade and the economic development arising from it is seen as the prerequisite to stronger environmental protection. Nowhere is the debate more acrimonious than over trade in genetically modified organisms. The Biosafety Protocol has been negotiated to govern trade in genetically modified products and includes provisions for an international liability regime to facilitate trade - a subject that has been little studied. This valuable study explores the role, design and potential effectiveness of such a regulating body and addresses questions such as - what are the options for an international environmental liability regime? Why are some options unworkable? Is there a set of options that will achieve the dual goals of trade facilitation and environmental protection? Is international liability the best option for defusing the trade and environment debate? This illuminating book will be an essential read for scholars and students (senior undergraduate as well as postgraduate) of international trade policy, environmental economics, international politics and international law. Individuals working in international organizations, those employed by environmental NGOs and government policy makers will also find much to engage them within this book.

Ordinary people, community leaders, and even organizations and corporations still do not fully comprehend the interconnected, "big picture" dynamics of sustainability theory and action. In exploring means to become more sustainable, individuals and groups need a reference in which to frame discussions so they will be relevant, educational, and successful when implemented. This book puts ideas on sustainable communities into a conceptual framework that will promote striking, transformational effects on decision-making. In this book practitioners and community leaders will find effective, comprehensive tools and resources at their finger-tips to facilitate sustainable community development (SCD). The book content examines a diverse range of SCD methods; assessing community needs and resources; creating community visions; promoting stakeholder interest and participation; analyzing community problems; designing and facilitating strategic planning; carrying out interventions to improve

Despite the urgent need for action, there is a widespread lack of understanding of the benefits of using green energy sources for not only reducing carbon emissions and climate change, but also for growing a sustainable economy and society. Future citizens of the world face increasing sustainability issues and need to be better prepared for energy transformation and sustainable future economic development. Cases on Green Energy and Sustainable Development is a critical research book that focuses on the important role renewable energy and energy efficiency play in energy transition and sustainable development and covers economic and promotion policies of major renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as economics, energy storage, and transportation technologies, this book is ideal for environmentalists, academicians, researchers, engineers, policymakers, and students.

To maintain a healthy ecosystem for contemporary society and for future generations, policies must be implemented to protect the environment. This can be achieved by consistent evaluation of new initiatives and strategies. The Handbook of Research on Renewable Energy and Electric Resources for Sustainable Rural Development is a critical scholarly resource that examines efficient use of electric resources and renewable energy sources which have a positive impact on sustainable development. Featuring coverage on cogeneration thermal modules, photovoltaic (pv) solar, and renewable energy systems (RES) application practices, this publication is geared towards academics, practitioners, professionals, and upper-level students interested in the latest research on renewable energy and electric resources for sustainable rural development.

This fully updated new edition continues in the vein of its predecessor by viewing cost-benefit analysis as applied welfare economics, while at the same time building on the earlier framework by extending the theory and providing further applications in each chapter. New for this edition are analyses of theory related applications in mental health, condom social marketing programs, female primary education as a means of preventing HIV/AIDS and the pricing of natural gas. Presented in an integrated manner, the theoretical concepts are constructed around the main building blocks of CBA, such as shadow pricing, distribution weights, the social discount rate and the marginal cost of public funds. This edition will cement the book's place as a major and accessible text in the field and will be of great interest to graduate and undergraduate students of welfare economics and microeconomic theory, as well as government economists involved with any area of public policy.

Developing countries as the nations of Indian subcontinent are experiencing big-bangs regarding their economic, agricultural and industrial development. The sole aim of present mechanized and advanced agricultural practices is to produce enhanced grain yield to satiate the hunger of burgeoning population. Thus the present scenario demands the use of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. However the production cost of these chemical products is to high as it increases pressure on the fossils fuel reserves of the country. Bioinoculants are the culture concoctions/live microbial isolates that are presently the most ecologically feasible and economically sound example of practical reproduction of lab experimentation for the help of modern day farmeBroadly, bioinoculants include biofertilzers, biopesticides and organic decomposers. Biofertilizers are live cells of beneficial microbial isolates that provide necessary nutrients nitrogen, phosphorous etc, excrete growth promoting compounds and provide resistance to a variety of diseases that culminates to enhanced yield and production. While biopesticides are live microbial isolates or their metabolic products that eradicate/kill known insects/pests of crops. Among commercialized biopesticides Bt cotton emerged as the first brand ambassador of modern day pesticides. The third component of bioinoculants are the organic decomposers that include certain fungal species, bacterial genera and actinomycetes that hasten decomposition of organic compounds and make available nutrients held as organic matter.

This provocative new book presents the results of twenty years of research on deforestation in the Amazon. By carefully observing the changing character of human settlements and their association with deforestation over such a prolonged period, the author is able to reject much of the 'perceived wisdom'. He skillfully dissects various models of deforestation and provides hard evidence on what is myth and what is reality. The book begins by challenging a hypothesis used by many scholars to explain deforestation. The 'turnover hypothesis' states that small farmers 'cause' deforestation by moving rapidly across newly forested land in an effort to make a living. Dr. Campari argues that in reality the process is far more complex. He reveals that it is actually the larger farms who are the main culprits of deforestation and that, in comparison, the impact of small farmers is marginal. He also challenges the belief that current deforestation, as in the past, is the result of distortionary government policies. The author proves that deforestation continues today because existing policies are based on outdated assumptions of regional development. He goes on to discuss the policy implications of his important findings and identify possibilities for controlling deforestation in the future. This is one of the few studies that accurately documents the process of deforestation in the Amazon. Researchers, academics and policymakers with an interest in environmental policy and natural resource management will appreciate the new and updated information and fresh policy ideas found in this volume.

Rutger Hoekstra examines the complex relationship between the monetary economy and the materials flows that are extracted and emitted by economic activities. These physical flows are responsible for many important environmental problems such as unsustainable resource depletion, waste production and climate change. This book discusses, applies and improves upon techniques which link the monetary and physical economies for environmental analyses. The book uses two sources of analysis: the physical input-output table (PIOT), a macro-economic account for the physical economy, recording material and product flows, including resource extraction, emissions and recycling; and structural decomposition analysis (SDA), which assesses the influence of structural changes, such as economic growth, consumption shifts, export growth and technological change, on environmental indicators. Methodological improvements in the PIOT and SDA systems are then presented by the author, and applied to empirical data. Ecological and industrial economists, along with those with an interest in environmental problems associated with the economy will find this book, with its extensive historical analysis and novel fore- and back-casting models, to be a fascinating read.

This major annual publication provides a state-of-the-art survey of contemporary research on environmental and resource economics by some of the leading experts in the field. The critical issues addressed in this year's volume include: * contingent valuation * environmental policy, technological change and economic growth * land use decisions and policy * sustainability indicators * value transfer and environmental policy * joint implementation in climate change policy * environmentally harmful subsidies.

'Eco-friendly' variants are rapidly gaining market share in many industries such as food, textiles, furniture, detergents and paints, automobiles, electrical appliances and domestic energy. These markets usually exhibit environmental differentiation, where consumers differ in their willingness to pay for the environmental attributes of a product. Building on the existing literature, this novel book provides a comprehensive analysis of firm strategy and environmental policy making in these types of 'green' markets. The author introduces the model of an environmentally differentiated duopoly, in order to explicitly analyse the strategic interaction within such a market. He studies in detail the effects of environmental product standards, eco-labels, 'green' R&D subsidies and environmental taxation on firm behaviour, welfare and emissions. Non-technical sections providing the empirical context expertly complement the formal theoretical analysis of environmental policy making. The author goes on to present important new conclusions for environmental policy and an agenda for future research. The Greening of Markets will be of immense interest to students and academics of environmental economics and applied industrial organisation, as well as policy makers and environmental managers.

Professor William Nordhaus was honored with a Nobel Prize in Economics for his lifetime contributions to research and policy on climate change and macroeconomics. This book contains a collection of essays written by eleven leading climate change economists describing precisely how Professor Nordhaus changed climate change economics. The essays highlight the major contributions that Professor Nordhaus has made to understanding climate change. The book also discusses the important contributions Professor Nordhaus has made to develop effective policies to manage greenhouse gases both now and far into the future. Several authors also thank Professor Nordhaus for the influence he has had on the trajectory of their own careers. Finally, the essays press forward and discuss how the entire field continues to work on perfecting both climate change economics and policy.

This book looks at the question of what makes for successful change in developing countries. It focuses on people at every level in six developing countries in Africa and Asia who have helped foster positive change and development, most of which has been successful. Here, in contrast to so much academic writing on development which focuses on leadership alone, the author tries to get beyond that elite focus and highlight the people at all levels who make change possible. He examines the role and significance of these ordinary citizens and groups as well as leaders. Transformation almost always requires action and support at multiple levels from individuals, communities, and local leaders. The project analyses the cases of Afghanistan, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Pakistan, and South Africa.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil health indicators. The first chapter describes indicators and frameworks for soil health currently in use. It evaluates the principles underpinning current approaches to monitoring soil quality/health and shows these principles have been applied in the development of a practical soil health toolkit for use by UK farmers. The second chapter reviews the range of physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health and how they can be used in practice. It focusses on measuring soil health in organic vegetable cultivation and, in particular, ways of measuring the effects of adding organic amendments to improve soil health. The third chapter discusses key issues in soil organic carbon (SOM) modelling and the development of increasingly sophisticated, dynamic SOM models. It looks at the role of SOM models in improving soil health monitoring and developing decision support tools for farmers The final chapter reviews current challenges in collecting more systematic and reliable data on earthworm communities, including issues in identifying different earthworm groups. It includes a case study on developing a robust method for accurate measurement of earthworm communities in soil in assessing and improving soil health.