The contributors to this volume propose strategies of urgent and vital importance that aim to make today's urban environments more resilient. Resilience, the ability of complex systems to adapt to changing conditions, is a key frontier in ecological research and is especially relevant in creative urban design, as urban areas exemplify complex systems. With something approaching half of the world's population now residing in coastal urban zones, many of which are vulnerable both to floods originating inland and rising sea levels, making urban areas more robust in the face of environmental threats must be a policy ambition of the highest priority. The complexity of urban areas results from their spatial heterogeneity, their intertwined material and energy fluxes, and the integration of social and natural processes. All of these features can be altered by intentional planning and design. The complex, integrated suite of urban structures and processes together affect the adaptive resilience of urban systems, but also presupposes that planners can intervene in positive ways. As examples accumulate of linkage between sustainability and building/landscape design, such as the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park and Toronto's Lower Don River area, this book unites the ideas, data, and insights of ecologists and related scientists with those of urban designers. It aims to integrate a formerly atomized dialog to help both disciplines promote urban resilience.

This book builds up on the experience and lessons learnt by academics at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science, Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI) at the University of Tokyo. A number of scholars in the new field of sustainability science describe how field methods and exercises are carried out in this discipline, together with the theoretical basis for such exercises. Case studies of various countries around the world where these exercises are carried out are showcased, emphasizing the various socio-economic considerations and problems facing humanity and possible ways forward to build more sustainable and resilient societies. The final objective is to enrich the field of sustainability science by describing the novel aspects used in the field exercises carried out by practitioners of this cross-disciplinary field.

The first volume of this handbook explores different aspects of sustainable luxury textiles and fashion, broadly based on the following topics: Sustainability and business management, Value chain management, Use of materials and Sustainable production processes.

The earth s biodiversity is a degree of ecosystem health which is vital to ecology and environmental sustainability. The microbial world is the largest unexplored reservoir. The agro-ecosystem enriched with rhizosphere implicit abundant and species-rich component of microbial diversity. Its global exploration designs a worldwide framework for agricultural sustainability adjoining benefits in its conservation.

Agricultural sustainability requires a major share from ecosystem management which is better paid by microbial diversity and conservation. Diversity of bacteria influences plant productivity providing nutrient convenience from soil instead altering per se community and diversity in the rhizosphere where they may influence mechanistic competent and antagonistic micro-flora. The potential species among the diversity are therefore, essential subjective to their maintenance for use around the globe. Microbial population in agro-ecosystem is influenced by stresses, reduce functionality as a component. It is therefore, important to explore secrets of planned strategy so as to unravel the microbial diversity and conservation in agricultural development. Microorganisms are minute, pervasive in nature and alleged as disease host instead tiny recognize as employee of agro-ecosystem, indulge in agricultural development and potential contributor in world of ecological and economical wealth creation. This step pertinently would help to launch scientific motivation needed to support the refrain of microbial diversity and conservation."

Whilst scientific research can be crucial in guiding innovation and development throughout the world, it can be too detached from real world applications, particularly in developing and emerging countries. "Technologies for Sustainable Development" brings together the best 20 papers from the 2012 Conference of the EPFL-UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development with the aimto explore and discuss ways to link scientific research with development practices to assist practitioners and reply directly to social needs.

In order for technologies to be adopted it is not sufficient that they are low cost and affordable but also socially, culturally and environmentally accepted by the intended users. "Technologies for Sustainable Development" aims to explore and answer the following three questions:

What is an appropriate technology?

How can we ensure a sustainable, integrated development?

What are the conditions for co-creation and transfer of such technologies?

Focusing on the importance of improving working relationships between stakeholders; researchers and decision-makers; between scientists and industrial sectors; between academics and the population; "Technologies for Sustainable Development "opens a dialogue necessary to create and implement the best solutions adapted to social demands."

"How can we determine if current growth patterns are sustainable, and what changes to we need to make to make them more so? This volume addresses these issues in a rigorous yet accessible fashion, presenting the current research of some of the world's leading scholars"--Provided by publisher.

The book presents the results of the research project Fleets Go Green from different engineering disciplines. It includes comprehensive empirical data as well as different methods and tools for evaluating and integrating electric vehicles into corporate fleets. Finally, the authors give recommendations for fleet owners, vehicle manufacturers and political decision. The aim of the joint research project Fleets Go Green was the integrated analysis and evaluation of the environmental performance of electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles in everyday usage on the example of fleet operations. The potential of electric vehicles for reducing the harmful environmental impacts of road transport in everyday conditions can only be analyzed and evaluated in field tests. If electric vehicles should realize their potential to reduce emissions and minimize the consumption of resources, an integrated life cycle assessment is required.

Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry fully documents all aspects of the modern solar winery, beginning with the main drivers (environmental, economic and political) and detailing the current winemaking industry and solar technologies available. It details the various energy demands in the winemaking process from harvest to bottling and beyond. Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry catalogues the range of wineries globally that have installed a substantial solar collecting system and uses case study material to give the reader an appreciation of the diversity of solar winery facilities. From large industrial-style wineries to boutique family-run wineries; from new state-of-the-art facilities to 15th-century palaces, the application for solar is limitless. The book deals finally with the physical design, installation and operation of the solar system within the winery environment, detailing the equipment, methodologies, processes and concerns that must be addressed in their creation. This presents the reader with a range of solar design and system options, including: generic system type; installation; mounting arrangements; operation; different module and inverter components and configurations; connection; and finance. Owners, managers and planners involved in the design, building or management of a winemaking facility will derive particular benefit from Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry, but it will also be of interest to anyone with an interest in the wine or solar industries.

Commissioned by the Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) of the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), this book offers a detailed survey of the current status of climate change and climate variability in the Asia-Pacific region, a thorough and thoughtful assessment of climate and security and clear recommendations on the best paths of climate research in the future.

For a sustainable urban future to be possible, a new botanical discipline is needed to deepen our understanding of the relations between people and plants. This discipline will link environmental management concerns with those of human welfare and wellbeing in a specifically urban context to achieve both ecological restorations and social redress. The Durban Botanic Gardens Trust has published The Durban Forest as an early effort to establish a manifesto for this much-needed new discipline, and provides both historical and forward-looking perspectives on the changing relations between natural areas and urban dwellers. These relations urgently await our exploration if we are to face the challenges of the accelerating urbanism and environmental change that are now upon us. The Durban forest will appeal to all those interested in people and the environment, culture and community, our past and our future. Most of all, it will speak to the Durban of tomorrow and suggest a new kind of botany that will help to build a future for all Durban’s residents that is environmentally, socially and economically more just and more secure. The Durban forest is the first in a series of publications planned by the Durban Botanic Gardens Trust. The series is to be entitled umKhuhlu, the African name for Trichilia dregeana, the forest mahogany and an iconic Durban tree. The series will draw on the garden’s reputation as Durban’s oldest, and one of its most treasured public institutions in order to encourage a new model of plant use. This model aspires to a specific urban, humanitarian and restorative focus that will support a just and resilient urbanism.

As the importance of sustainability in strategy and development grows, so does the importance of cross-border cooperation (CBC) to facilitate green projects. Border territories, however, are complex and fragile areas, and thus, their planning through CBC projects should be deeply analyzed and studied. It has become crucial to understand this issue across many different disciplines. Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) Strategies for Sustainable Development is a pivotal reference source that provides relevant theoretical frameworks and trends in border area dynamics as well as cross-border cooperation's influence on sustainable development. Highlighting topics such as CBC in insular territories, biodiversity policy, and sustainable planning and development, this book is ideally designed for culture analysts, sustainability specialists, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.

This book identifies second stage challenges and opportunities for expanding renewable energy into a mainstay of electricity generation that can replace fossil fuels and nuclear power, comparing Japan with several countries in East Asia and Northern Europe. Environmentally sustainable renewable energy technologies have now overtaken fossil fuel and nuclear technologies in terms of total global investment, and the costs of these technologies and related ones (e.g. storage batteries) are rapidly falling. Yet renewable energy use varies greatly from country to country. Major second stage obstacles to replacing fossil and nuclear-fueled electricity generation include the lack of electricity grid capacity and storage assets. Opportunities and solutions include expanding grids regionally and internationally, building flexible smart grids that offer better demand management, and policies that promote the expansion of storage assets, especially grid batteries and hydrogen. In addition, two key factors - electricity market restructuring through unbundling transmission from electricity generating companies; and electricity market liberalization, especially for retail customers - allow consumers to choose power companies based not only on price, but also on method of generation, especially fossil or nuclear generation versus renewable energy.

2007 marked the 20th anniversary of the G.H.Brundtland Commission report that broke new ground by addressing the issue of sustainable development as a means of avoiding an ecological catastrophe. This led to a multitude of political declarations, documents and scientific articles while Agenda 21 - adopted in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro - has been accepted by the governments of more than 100 countries. Sadly, however, this has not prevented certain recent dangerous trends, nor have the wider public, journalists, business circles or politicians grasped the urgency of the problem. It is therefore important to make humanity understand its real place in the natural environment and the gravity of the ecological threat before us.

The exclusive role of natural ecosystems is a key factor in the maintenance of the biospheric equilibrium. The current global crisis is largely caused by their dramatic decline by 43% in the past hundred years. Ignoring the immutable laws and limitations which determine the existence of all living things in the biosphere could lead humanity to an ecological catastrophe. This book presents the ecological, demographic, economic and socio-psychological manifestations of the global crisis and outlines the immutable laws and limitations which determine the existence of all living things in the biosphere.

Ben Raskin's wide-ranging work in varied locations makes The Woodchip Handbook a really useful overview of the possibilities afforded by woodchip. Charles Dowding, author of Charles Dowding's No Dig Gardening The first and only complete guide to sourcing and using woodchip - an abundant, inexpensive and ecologically sustainable material - for savvy growers and landscapers at any scale, from farm to garden to greenhouse. The Woodchip Handbook is the essential guide to the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Author Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association, draws on his extensive practical experience using woodchip, provides the latest research from around the world and presents inspiring case studies from innovative farmers. The book explores and unlocks the tremendous potential of woodchip to enhance soil health and plant growth: As a natural mulch for weed suppression, temperature buffering and water conservation As a growing medium for propagating plants As a decomposing source of warmth for hotbeds in the greenhouse or hoop house As a carbon-rich compost ingredient that supports beneficial fungi and microorganisms As a powerful soil health booster when applied as small-sized ramial chipped wood As an ideal substrate for growing many kinds of edible or medicinal mushrooms As a sustainable, versatile and durable material for foot paths and ornamental landscaping Some of these techniques, like mulching - or the renewable harvest potential from coppicing and pollarding trees - have been around forever. Yet there is always new science to be discovered, such as the role that salicylic acid from willow woodchip can play in preventing tree diseases or promoting livestock health when used as a bedding material. Whether you are a commercial grower or farmer, a permaculture practitioner or a serious home gardener producing your own fruit and vegetables, The Woodchip Handbook will show you how to get the most out of this readily available and renewable material. I did not know the world needed a whole book on woodchip, but from the first chapter I could not put this book down. Alys Fowler, author of The Edible Garden and The Thrifty Gardener

This textbook systematically addresses why and how Circular Economy should be developed and practiced by employing a Discussion and Research (D&R) teaching method. This method allows us to show the whole process of academic research, from formulating the key questions, to methodology design, and ultimately to conclusions and applications. In addition, the suggested class discussions and group homework provide good opportunities for participant cooperation and exchange. In this textbook, all chapters and sections are intended to answer specific scientific key or sub-key questions, while all chapters are also internally structured logically and systematically, from question to final conclusion. This textbook may help to boost student performance in science and research and was selected for inclusion in the 13th Five-Year planning teaching materials for regular higher education in China.

This book presents eleven case studies of success about Latin America tourism. The cases are embedded in a framework describing the economic and cultural foundations of tourism development in the continent. Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Costa Rica are some of the Latin countries which have become examples and models for touristic development, respect for the environment and social inclusion. The book showcases some of the best practices, along with an analysis of how these projects helped improving the environmental and social surroundings and how return on investments has been ensured. Latin America is shown as an excellent example, with the Gross Domestic Product of the continent expanding intensely in the tertiary sector like leisure, hospitality, travel, tourism, entertainment, gastronomy, events and indoor and outdoor recreation. This book is a valuable resource both for professionals in the tourism industry and for researchers in tourism management.

This book debunks the foundations of contemporary government-led development policy. The author questions the predictability of success when using mainstream development doctrines and its underlying assumptions, approaching development from a sceptical standpoint, as opposed to the more common optimistic view. The book uses international development and aid as a case study of how rich countries define how change should happen. Further, it suggests alternative ways of thinking about and organizing social change.

Through the lens of sensory affect, this book offers a new way of thinking about day-to-day teaching and student engagement within learning spaces in design education. The book examines the definitions, concepts, ideas and overlaps of a repertoire of learning spaces prevalent in higher education and addresses the pedagogical gap that exists between broader learning structures and spaces, and the requirements of specialist design education. Recognising that mainstream teaching environments impact upon design studio learning and student engagement, the book positions creative learning spaces at the heart of practice-based learning. It defines the underlying pedagogical philosophy of a creative learning space in design education and reports on how practical strategies incorporating sensory affect may be implemented by educators to foster better student engagement in these spaces within higher education. Bringing much needed attention to specialist design teaching and learning spaces in higher education, this book will be of interest to educators, researchers and post graduate students immersed in design education, pedagogy and learning spaces more broadly.

This book lays out the principles and practices of transformative sustainability education using a relational way of thinking and being. Elizabeth A. Lange advocates for a new approach to environmental and sustainability education, that of rethinking the Western way of knowing and being and engendering a frank discussion about the societal elements that are generating climate, environmental, economic and social issues. Highlighting the importance of Indigenous and lifegiving cultures, the book covers educational theory, transformation stories of adult learners, social and economic critique and visions of changemakers. Each chapter also has a strong pedagogical element, with entry points for learners, embodied practices and examples of taking action at micro/meso/macro levels woven throughout. Overall, this book enacts a relational approach to transformative sustainability education that draws from post humanist theory, process thought, relational ontology, decolonization theory, Indigenous philosophy and a spirituality that builds a sense of sacred toward the living world. Written in an imaginative, storytelling manner, this book will be a great resource for formal and nonformal environmental and sustainability educators.

Encompassing a thorough survey of the lighting techniques applied to internal illumination characterized by high efficiency, optimized color and architectural integration, a consolidated summary of the latest scientific, technical and architectural research is presented in order to give the reader an overview of the different themes with their interactions and mutual effects. This book describes light principles, methodologies and realisations for indoor illumination at low consumption. Power efficiency, color characteristics and architectural aspects are analyzed in terms of their practical application, with the interactions between scientific, technological and architectural features considered in order to supply a complete overview, which can be read both at technical level and at user level. Introducing photometric and radiometric quantities and laws, the book first discusses tests and measurements assessing lighting and color characteristics before examining in detail artificial light sources with particular attention paid to measures to reduce consumption and optimize efficiency. Key sources are illustrated with producers and suppliers with technical details and use specifications included. Serving to maximize reader insights into the use of sunlight - considering light transfer, application to indoor illumination and in particular to museum lighting - in the color rendering properties of light sources and the architectural aspects for natural indoor lighting, the final part of this boo collects other related but important elements including architectural issues, environmental integration and the possibility of changing the light color by introducing suitable coatings. The physiological effects of internal illumination quality on user comfort is discussed and several possibilities for energy saving using domotics are outlined.

Eco-Resorts is a design guide for low impact, environmentally friendly tourist resorts in the tropics. The book is the first to offer architects practical, detailed guidance in developing resort buildings that work with a tropical climate and meet the needs and expectations of the client and building inhabitants. The book includes both architectural design and material solutions, supported by theoretical principles, to present a sustainable approach to resort design. It demonstrates that tropical resort buildings do not necessarily require large energy input, in compliance with green building standards. Case studies show how principles of sustainable design have been successfully applied in tropical environments. written by an industry insider with practical design experience, knowledge and expertise demonstrates design practices related to site planning and layout, and re-assesses best practices for a tropical environment, allowing architects to apply design principles to their own projects includes international case studies from several countries to illustrate best practice from a variety of tropical climate destinations around the world.

Analysing and synthesising vast data sets from a multitude of disciplines including climate science, economics, hydrology and agricultural research, this volume seeks new methods of combining climate change mitigation, adaptation, development, and poverty reduction in ways that are effective, efficient and equitable. A guiding principle of the project is that new alliances of state and non-state sector partners are urgently required to establish cooperative responses to the threats posed by climate change. This volume offers a vital policy framework for linking our response to this change with progressive principles of global justice and sustainable development.

The book explores how unused and under-used urban spaces - from grass verges, roundabouts, green spaces - have been made more visually interesting and more productive, by informal (and usually illegal) groups known as "guerrilla gardeners". The book focuses on groups in the English Midlands but the work is set in a broad international context and reveals how and why they undertake this illegal activity. Guerrilla gardening is usually viewed uncritically and promoted as a worthwhile activity: this study provides a more balanced evaluation and focuses on its contribution in terms of local food production.

This open access book addresses the issue of diffusing sustainable energy access in low- and middle-income contexts. Access to energy is one of the greatest challenges for many people living in low- income and developing contexts, as around 1.4 billion people lack access to electricity. Distributed Renewable Energy systems (DRE) are considered a promising approach to address this challenge and provide energy access to all. However, even if promising, the implementation of DRE systems is not always straightforward. The book analyses, discusses and classifies the promising Sustainable Product-Service System (S.PSS) business models to deliver Distributed Renewable Energy systems in an effective, efficient and sustainable way. Its message is supported with cases studies and examples, discussing the economic, environmental and socioethical benefits as well as its limitations and barriers to its implementation. An innovative design approach is proposed and a set of design tools are supplied, enabling readers to create and develop Sustainable Product-Service System (S.PSS) solutions to deliver Distributed Renewable Energy systems. Practical applications of the book's design approach and tools by companies and practitioners are discussed and the book will be of interest to readers in design, industry, governmental institutions, NGOs as well as researchers.