This book comprises a selection of the top contributions presented at the second international conference "Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions 2017", held in March 2017 in Bolzano, Italy. Featuring forty-six papers by policy-makers, academics and consultants, it discusses current groundbreaking research in smart and sustainable planning, including the progress made in overcoming cities' challenges towards improving the quality of life. Climate change adaptation and mitigation of global warming, generally identified as drivers of global policies, are just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to smart energy transition. Indeed, equally relevant towards this current transformation - and key topics in this volume - are ICTs, public spaces and society; next economy for the city; strategies and actions for good governance; urban-rural innovation; rethinking mobility. The book's depth in understanding and insightfulness in re-thinking demonstrate the breaking of new ground in smart and sustainable planning. A new ground that policy-makers, academics and consultants may build upon as a bedrock for smart and sustainable planning.

This fourth volume on detox fashion focuses on case studies, which are essential to showcase how practical applications have been accomplished, and provide an opportunity for others to (learn about and) adopt the best practices, challenges and practical implications. The book consists of three core chapters: Detoxifying the Supply Chain: Slow Production Networks in South-East European Garment Factories; Detoxifying the Luxury and Fashion Industry: The Case of Market-driving Brands; and Detox My Fashion under Mission 2020-Case Studies from Different Brands.

This book continues the discussion on recent developments relating to ethical and sustainable issues in accounting and finance from the book , Volumes I and II, looking into topics such as the importance of good governance in accounting, tax, auditing and fraud examination, ethics, sustainability, environmental issues and new technologies and their effects on accounting and finance, focusing in particular on environmental and sustainability reporting in the oil and gas and banking sectors. The book also considers the growing importance of audit quality in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Capitalism is under attack. Defenders say that capitalism has raised billions of people from poverty. But a central activity of capitalism today, Wall Street style, is speculation (gambling), using other people's money, and privatizing the profits while socializing the debts. Skeptics argue that capitalism has redistributed the wealth of the planet in favor of a very few, meanwhile leaving the planet in bad shape and leaving billions of people out in the cold. Wealth is now extremely mal-distributed, opportunity is far from equal, and upward social mobility has declined significantly in recent decades. This book reviews the evidence and arguments pro and con in considerable detail. The evidence is mixed. The main virtue of capitalism is its emphasis on competition as a driver of innovation and, thus, of economic growth. It is true that economic growth has accelerated in recent centuries, and it is true that billions of people have been lifted from poverty. But it is not necessarily true that intense "winner take all" competition in the marketplace is the explanation for growth. Neoclassical economic theory posits that self-interest is the primary motive for all economic decisions, leaving little room for cooperation and even less for altruism. The theory applies to an unrealistic "model" of human behavior, known as Homo economicus or "economic man", whose characteristic activity is buying or selling. The reason for using the adjective word "social" - as in socialism" or "social service" or "social democracy" -- is, essentially, to deny those postulates of standard economic theory. Real humans are not rational utility maximizers (whatever that is) and very often do things that are not in their own personal best interests. This can happen because other interests, such as family loyalty, professional, religious, or patriotic duty, may take precedence. Real people rarely behave like Homo economicus, who has rivals but no friends. He (or she) does not trust anyone, hence cannot cooperate with others, and can never create, or live in, a viable social system (or marriage). Yet social systems, ranging from families and tribes to firms, cities, and nations do (and must) exist or civilization cannot exist. A viable social system must not allow "winner takes all". It must reallocate some of the societal wealth being created by competitive activities to support the young, the old and the weak, because all of those people have equal rights, if not the same luck or the same skills. Both competition and cooperation have important roles to play. A hybrid capitalism involving both is the only viable solution. The book ends with a specific suggestion, namely Universal Basic Income, or UBI.

This book examines the neighborhoods of New York City to determine to what extent planning in New York addresses Sustainable City Principles (SCPs). Part I looks at the background to planning urban areas in the face of global urban changes. These changes (i.e. population movements and densification of cities) are placing pressures on cities worldwide. Chapter 1 provides a background to these global pressures (i.e. population growth) and their implications. Chapter 2 looks closer at New York planning and introduces Sustainable City Principles (SCPs). Part II introduces nine selected neighborhoods within Manhattan and examines to what extent planning of these neighborhoods addresses the SCPs. For each chapter a neighborhood background is provided and results of the author's field survey are reviewed. Part III examines the selected neighborhoods within Brooklyn to determine to what extent planning of those neighborhoods addresses the SCPs. Part IV examines the last three neighborhoods (in Queens) and addresses the SCPs. Part V examines conclusions reached from examining the nine neighborhoods. These conclusions are used to determine the extent that the City Council (and the community) are addressing SCPs in planning neighborhoods. Finally, lessons learned from these conclusions are assessed for their relevance to planning neighborhoods anywhere in the world.

Traditional farming systems have dominated the agricultural sector for the past few centuries. However, the past few years have proven that new, non-traditional farming methods, such as passive and non-passive solar drying, are essential in the wake of diminishing food production globally. Optimizing the Use of Farm Waste and Non-Farm Waste to Increase Productivity and Food Security: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a crucial reference source that provides vital research on the application of enhanced productivity, flexibility, competitiveness, and sustainability within an individual farming enterprise to promote food security. While highlighting topics such as biogas production, food distribution network, and aquaculture diversification, this publication explores utilizing farm waste in a circular approach to optimize material utilization in a farming system to realize a zero-waste scenario and the methods individual farms can practice to operate sufficiently to become successful and contribute to the attainment of national food security. This book is ideally designed for policymakers, farmers, researchers, agriculture engineers, environmental engineers, and development specialists seeking current research on non-farm waste contributions as sources of raw materials.

The objective of this book is to analyze the institutional barriers to implementing market-based climate policy, as well as to provide some opportunities to overcome them. The approach is that of institutional economics, with special emphasis on political transaction costs and path dependence.

Instead of rejecting the neoclassical approach, this book uses it where fruitful and shows when and why it is necessary to employ a new or neo-institutionalist approach. The result is that equity is considered next to efficiency, that the evolution and possible lock-in of both formal and informal climate institutions are studied, and that attention is paid to the politics and law of economic instruments for climate policy, including some new empirical analyses.

The research topics of this book include the set-up costs of a permit trading system, the risk that credit trading becomes locked-in, the potential legal problem of grandfathering in terms of actional subsidies under WTO law or state aid under EC law, and the changing attitudes of various European officials towards restricting the use of the Kyoto Mechanisms.

This book covers multifaceted aspects of sustainable energy solutions for remote areas in the tropics, particularly focusing on Southeast Asia. With insights from both the academic world and real-life implementation, readers will gain an overview of the range of energy problems currently facing the remote tropics, and what potential solutions are available. The book provides a detailed overview of various energy needs in the Southeast Asian tropics, a region where a significant portion of the population still lives without access to electricity. It not only addresses technical solutions to the energy problems but also tackles the social and wider implications, offering readers a more holistic understanding of the potential held by renewable energy. The chapters are structured to present first an overview of the problem at hand, and then a description of the technologies that could potentially solve it. Applications of the technologies; business models that are now available or being developed; the impact of the technologies; and future, more sustainable solutions are all discussed. Given its in-depth analysis, the book will be of interest to energy professionals in the tropics, energy policymakers, and students studying sustainable energy.

This volume is a collection of twelve selected empirical studies on the economics of agriculture and natural resources. Twenty-two authors have contributed their research to this volume. Papers of this volume are grouped into three main domains covering: Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability; Agricultural Producers and Consumers; and Energy Use in Agriculture. Organized in an analytical framework and offering comprehensive empirical data, this book focuses on agricultural sustainability and resilience, environmental efficiency, agricultural extension, foreign trade, energy use, and agricultural growth aspects of the Iranian agriculture sector. They demonstrate technical and methodological tools used for the analysis and explain their application in the agricultural sector of Iran. This book will be a valuable read for those managing agricultural enterprises, policy makers, and researchers of agricultural producers and consumers.

During the summer of 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro was hailed as a watershed moment in the ecology movement. Over 100 nations signed a new international treaty intended to conserve biological diversity. Yet, every day, species--many not even discovered--are driven into extinction and the ecological crisis continues to be a pressing global problem.

Stressing the need to build bridges between the scientific community and international policymakers, Timothy Swanson here develops a new theory of the interplay between human society and the biological world. Biodiversity regulation, he argues, must focus specifically on the regulation of the global economic forces driving species into extinction. As the global development process becomes increasingly sophisticated, the spectre of a homogenized biosphere looms large.

Yet, while biological diversity is responsible for a host of global benefits, it confers few tangible gains onto individual nations that offset the financial advantages of exploiting these same natural resources. The same economic rationale that drives farmers to grow coca leafs instead of grain compels countries to exploit natural resources, rather than conserve them. In order to stave off the decline of biological diversity, Swanson proposes the creation of specific policies that will internalize the benefits of biodiversity on a national level.

This book highlights the production of green composites from various sustainable raw materials. We now live in an environmentally conscious era, in which sustainable raw materials (renewable, biodegradable, recycled), sustainable processing sequences, the production of recyclable and biodegradable products, and avoiding the depletion of renewable resources are key considerations with regarding to producing any product. The textile sector is no exception. Accordingly, this book addresses these aspects in connection with textiles, and discusses how they can be actively practiced.

This book uses electricity-sector reforms to question some of the preconceived ideas concerning the MENA region and to provide a broader analysis of related political economy issues. It presents potential further developments of MENA's electricity-sector reforms, taking into consideration the region's unique constraints and opportunities, and discusses the practical limits of reform and deregulation. Specifically, it examines the relationship between reforms and oil prices from a new perspective and presents alternatives to the Single Buyer Model. Complementing existing research on electricity-sector reforms in other emerging markets, the book provides a new analytical framework for assessing reforms that can be easily applied to other markets and sectors.

The book compares different approaches to urban development in Singapore and Seoul over the past decades, by focusing on community participation in the transformation of neighbourhoods and its impact on the built environment and communal life. Singapore and Seoul are known for their rapid economic growth and urbanisation under a strong control of developmental state in the past. However, these cities are at a critical crossroads of societal transformation, where participatory and community-based urban development is gaining importance. This new approach can be seen as a result of a changing relationship between the state and civil society, where an emerging partnership between both aims to overcome the limitations of earlier urban development. The book draws attention to the possibilities and challenges that these cities face while moving towards a more inclusive and socially sustainable post-developmental urbanisation. By applying a comparative perspective to understand the evolving urban paradigms in Singapore and Seoul, this unique and timely book offers insights for scholars, professionals and students interested in contemporary Asian urbanisation and its future trajectories.

This book brings together the work of researchers in Eastern and Western Europe, who analyze competitiveness, social exclusion and sustainability from a range of perspectives. It examines the key challenges faced by the EU in its efforts to establish a socially inclusive and greener path to growth and develops policy recommendations to simultaneously achieve the EU 2020 agenda's long-term goals and address the current economic crisis in Europe.

This book highlights a selection of the best papers presented at the 2016 SIEV conference "The Laudato si Encyclical Letter and Valuation. Cities between Conflict and Solidarity, Decay and Regeneration, Exclusion and Participation", which was held in Rome, Italy, in April 2016, and brought together experts from a diverse range of fields - economics, appraisal, architecture, energy, urban planning, sociology, and the decision sciences - and government representatives. The book is divided into four parts: Human Ecology: Values and Paradigms; Integral Ecology and Natural Resource Management; Intergenerational Equity; and How to Enhance Dialogue and Transparency in Decision-making Processes. Cities are where 72% of all Europeans live, and this percentage is expected to rise to 80% by 2050. Given this trend towards urbanization, cities are continuously growing, which also entails a growing risk of social segregation, lack of security and mounting environmental problems. All too often, today's cities have to cope with social and environmental crises, shifting the European urban agenda towards regeneration processes. Urban regeneration is more complex than merely renovating existing buildings, as it also involves social and environmental problems, inhabitants' quality of life, protecting tangible and intangible cultural resources, innovation and business.

This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of energy, environmental and construction engineering, as presented by international researchers and engineers at the International Scientific Conference Energy, Environmental and Construction Engineering, held in St. Petersburg, Russia on November 19-20, 2019. It covers highly diverse topics, including BIM; bridges, roads and tunnels; building materials; energy efficient and green buildings; structural mechanics; fluid mechanics; measuring technologies; environmental management; power consumption management; renewable energy; smart cities; and waste management. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry equips future hospitality and tourism managers with the skills and knowledge they need to create systems and cultures within their organizations that address the growing demand for sustainability. The text helps students recognize and embrace the opportunity to become leaders in sustainability and help set the standards for other industry professionals to adopt. Opening chapters provide readers with an overview of the breadth of sustainability in the hospitality industry, as well as current sustainable trends and practices. Additional chapters cover sustainability in the foodservice and lodging industries, tourism, and supply chains. Students learn strategies for sustainable beverage production, personnel management, marketing, and finance. The text expands its coverage to also address casino, cruise ship, and sport and entertainment venue management. The closing chapter summarizes the various strategies and concerns addressed throughout the book. To enrich the student learning experience, each chapter includes learning objectives, an introduction, a chapter summary, key terms, discussion questions, and an industry spotlight, which demonstrates how various companies around the world have implemented a variety of sustainable practices. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry is well suited for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in hospitality and tourism management.

The book presents a broad overview of emerging smart grid technologies and communication systems, offering a helpful guide for future research in the field of electrical engineering and communication engineering. It explores recent advances in several computing technologies and their performance evaluation, and addresses a wide range of topics, such as the essentials of smart grids for fifth generation (5G) communication systems. It also elaborates the role of emerging communication systems such as 5G, internet of things (IoT), IEEE 802.15.4 and cognitive radio networks in smart grids. The book includes detailed surveys and case studies on current trends in smart grid systems and communications for smart metering and monitoring, smart grid energy storage systems, modulations and waveforms for 5G networks. As such, it will be of interest to practitioners and researchers in the field of smart grid and communication infrastructures alike.

This book presents important developments in green chemistry, with a particular focus on composite materials chemistry. In recent years, natural polymers have generated much interest due to their unique morphology and physical properties. The book gives an introductory overview of green composites, and discusses their emerging interdisciplinary applications in various contemporary fields. The chapters, written by leading experts from industry and academia, cover different aspects of biodegradable green composites and natural polymers including their processing, manufacturing, properties, and applications. This book will be a valuable reference for beginners, researchers as well as industry professionals interested in biodegradable composites.

This book argues that the theory of sustainable development lost some of its rigor because of two main reasons. The first manifests itself as an inflation of concepts that hampers the correct understanding of sustainability's essence. The second one consists of a departure from the traditional scientific sources of the classicists and, in part, neoclassicists. Exploiting relevant areas of their works, the authors outline the theoretical framework necessary to promote a healthy version of sustainability. Of utmost interest prove to be areas such as: the formation process of natural prices and natural rate of interest; placing growth before employment and placing production before distribution, consumption, and social justice. The main idea of the book consists of a call for breaking away from the impure forms of the theory of sustainable development and its reconstruction through the reconciliation with the laws of healthy growth as they are highlighted in the works of the founders. The authors make the case for an approach to sustainable development that is holistic, macroeconomic, and institutionalist, where social, ecological, and economic components are reconciled. This work presents a fresh perspective in the context of current works on sustainability, serving as an accessible research resource and public policy decision guide.

Economic growth is one of the primary goals for all countries. There are many factors that contribute to a healthy and stable economy, and studying these emerging methods and techniques can aid in creating sustainable economic growth. Business Infrastructure for Sustainability in Developing Economies is a comprehensive reference source filled with informative discussions on the socio-economic expansion of developing nations. Featuring dynamic topics such as supply chain management, foreign trade deficits, service quality, and sustainable energy solutions, this book is an ideal resource for business managers, practitioners, professionals, and researchers who are interested in discovering the most recent trends and solutions in sustainable economic growth.

Based on the work of Poly5, or the Mediterranean Corridor, mega-transport infrastructure project, this ground-breaking reference explains how and why traditional top-down government-defined transport planning policies are failing, due to their tendency to eschew acknowledgement of profoundly multifarious local and regional issues. The authors use cognitive reports from the Mediterranean Corridor experience as a learning platform, unpacking the tangled sources of the challenges faced to find firm ground from which to embark upon future projects. They propose the replacement of the current fragmented and unbalanced implementation efforts across various territories with a bottom-up, holistic, inclusive approach in which individual territories and regions have buy-in from the outset, a chance to bring their strengths to bear on the broader infrastructural planning, an ongoing communication channel to report and tackle difficulties and clear, strategic directives to drive sustainable future growth of environmentally desirable and practical mega-transport systems.

This book presents readers with an integrated modeling approach for analyzing and understanding the interconnection of water, energy, and food resources and discusses the relationship between resilience and sustainability of the food- energy -water (FEW) system. Authors provide novel frameworks, models, and algorithms designed to balance the theoretical and applicative aspects of each chapter. The book covers an integrated modeling approach for FEW systems along with developed methods, codes, and planning tools for designing interdependent energy, water and food systems. In-depth chapters discuss the impact of renewable energy resources in FEW systems, sustainable design and operation, net zero energy buildings, and challenges and opportunities of the FEW nexus in the sustainable development of different countries. This book is useful for graduate students, researchers, and engineers seeking to understand how sustainable FEW systems contribute to the resilience of these systems and help policy and design makers allocate and prioritize resources in an integrated manner across the food, energy, and water sectors.

Understanding consumption requires looking at the systems by which goods and services are provided - not just how they are produced but the historically evolved structures, power relations and cultures within which they are located. The Systems of Provision approach provides an interdisciplinary framework for unpacking these complex issues. This book provides a comprehensive account of the Systems of Provision approach, setting out core concepts and theoretical origins alongside numerous case studies. The book combines fresh understandings of everyday consumption using examples from food, housing, and water, with implications for society's major challenges, including inequality, climate change, and prospects for capitalism. Readers do not require prior knowledge across the subject matter covered but the text remains significant for accomplished researchers and policymakers, especially those interested in the messy real world realities underpinning who gets what, how, and why across public and private provision in global, national, and historical contexts.

This book deals with a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions.