Pub Date : 2024-01-11DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1308684
Sharfaa Hussain, Ejaz Hussain, P. Saxena, Ashish Sharma, Pooja Thathola, S. Sonwani
Climate change is a global concern of the current century. Its rapid escalation and ever-increasing intensity have been felt worldwide, leading to dramatic impacts globally. The aftermath of climate change in India has brought about a profound transformation in India's environmental, socio-economic, and urban landscapes. In 2019, India ranked seventh, among the most affected countries by extreme weather events caused due to changing climate. This impact was evident in terms of both, the human toll with 2,267 lives lost, and the economic damage, which accounted for 66,182 million US$ Purchasing power parities (PPPs). Over the recent years, India has experienced a significant increase in the number and frequency of extreme weather events, causing vulnerable communities. The country experienced severe air pollution problems in several metropolitan cities and was highlighted in the list of the world's most polluted cities. Additionally, India has become the most populous nation globally, boasting a population of 1.4 billion people, equating to ~18% of the global population, and experiencing an increased rate of consumption of natural resources. Owing to the country's current scenario, various climate mitigation strategies, including nature-based solutions, must be implemented to reduce such impacts and support India's target of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This review tries to have a holistic understanding of the effects of climate change on different sectors to identify India's challenges in achieving SDG 13 and SDG 11. Finally, it also highlighted the future recommendations for climate change-related research from an Indian perspective.
{"title":"Navigating the impact of climate change in India: a perspective on climate action (SDG13) and sustainable cities and communities (SDG11)","authors":"Sharfaa Hussain, Ejaz Hussain, P. Saxena, Ashish Sharma, Pooja Thathola, S. Sonwani","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1308684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1308684","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is a global concern of the current century. Its rapid escalation and ever-increasing intensity have been felt worldwide, leading to dramatic impacts globally. The aftermath of climate change in India has brought about a profound transformation in India's environmental, socio-economic, and urban landscapes. In 2019, India ranked seventh, among the most affected countries by extreme weather events caused due to changing climate. This impact was evident in terms of both, the human toll with 2,267 lives lost, and the economic damage, which accounted for 66,182 million US$ Purchasing power parities (PPPs). Over the recent years, India has experienced a significant increase in the number and frequency of extreme weather events, causing vulnerable communities. The country experienced severe air pollution problems in several metropolitan cities and was highlighted in the list of the world's most polluted cities. Additionally, India has become the most populous nation globally, boasting a population of 1.4 billion people, equating to ~18% of the global population, and experiencing an increased rate of consumption of natural resources. Owing to the country's current scenario, various climate mitigation strategies, including nature-based solutions, must be implemented to reduce such impacts and support India's target of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This review tries to have a holistic understanding of the effects of climate change on different sectors to identify India's challenges in achieving SDG 13 and SDG 11. Finally, it also highlighted the future recommendations for climate change-related research from an Indian perspective.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139625455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-11DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1301397
Taye Bayode, Alexander Siegmund
We live in an urban planet. As the world continues to urbanize, urban development that support the health and wellbeing of city dwellers is far more important than ever before to achieve sustainable development targets. This study explores the complex relationship among urban planning, city growth, and health as critical drivers of sustainable development in the rapidly growing nodal city of Akure, Nigeria. The study provides a four-decade spatio-temporal model of urban Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Akure between the years 1984 and 2023 from acquired Landsat satellite imageries. The result shows more than 20% net change increase in developed LULC classes between the study years. A strong positive correlation exists between the years covered in the analyses and urban development (r = 0.93, p = 0.002), and a strong negative relationship with the forest land use (r = −0.94, p = 0.002) with potential debilitating impacts on residents’ health, green infrastructures and the city’s sustainability in the future. Furthermore, results of key informant interviews (KIIs) of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) in Akure, Ondo State, unveil various views on the “place of health” in urban planning practices in Akure. A lack of synergy between urban planners and public health practitioners in the city and limiting scope of functions of urban planning on the impact of health in Akure were observed. Thus, we recommend the integration of a sustainable urban planning approach as a guide to manage the city.
{"title":"Tripartite relationship of urban planning, city growth, and health for sustainable development in Akure, Nigeria","authors":"Taye Bayode, Alexander Siegmund","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1301397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1301397","url":null,"abstract":"We live in an urban planet. As the world continues to urbanize, urban development that support the health and wellbeing of city dwellers is far more important than ever before to achieve sustainable development targets. This study explores the complex relationship among urban planning, city growth, and health as critical drivers of sustainable development in the rapidly growing nodal city of Akure, Nigeria. The study provides a four-decade spatio-temporal model of urban Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Akure between the years 1984 and 2023 from acquired Landsat satellite imageries. The result shows more than 20% net change increase in developed LULC classes between the study years. A strong positive correlation exists between the years covered in the analyses and urban development (r = 0.93, p = 0.002), and a strong negative relationship with the forest land use (r = −0.94, p = 0.002) with potential debilitating impacts on residents’ health, green infrastructures and the city’s sustainability in the future. Furthermore, results of key informant interviews (KIIs) of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) in Akure, Ondo State, unveil various views on the “place of health” in urban planning practices in Akure. A lack of synergy between urban planners and public health practitioners in the city and limiting scope of functions of urban planning on the impact of health in Akure were observed. Thus, we recommend the integration of a sustainable urban planning approach as a guide to manage the city.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139625575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-08DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1286125
Zainab Rehman, Muhammad Zubair, Dalia Osama Hafiz, S. Manzoor
The influence of urban green spaces on public health is receiving unprecedented attention. Managing urban greenspaces sustainably requires an understanding of the mechanisms behind the positive effects of urban biodiversity on the wellbeing of residents. Urban parks could improve mental restoration of park users. The restoration potential may be influenced by the biophysical characteristics of the park.This study aimed to understand two aspects of urban parks in Multan, Pakistan: (a) How does the perception of biodiversity and the quality of urban parks relate to mental restorativeness of park visitors? (b) What are the determinants of respondents' willingness to pay for the conservation and management of park biodiversity and quality in urban parks? Data were collected from October 2021 to December 2021 through a cross-sectional survey in which 550 park visitors were interviewed from six randomly selected urban parks in Multan. Multiple linear regression analysis, a binary logistic model, and a chi-square test were applied to analyze the data.The study empirically highlights the positive contribution of park visits to mental restorativeness. Biodiversity and quality were positively correlated with the mental restorativeness of park visitors. Sixty-two percent (62%) of the visitors were reluctant to pay, whereas 38% were ready to pay between Rs. 850/3.7$ and Rs. 1,700/7.4$ each year. Education, occupation, and monthly income significantly positively affected the respondent's WTP attitudes. The study highlights the importance of using urban parks as tools to promote mental restorativeness, combat social stress, and increase urban vegetation cover.
{"title":"Biodiversity and quality of urban green landscape affect mental restorativeness of residents in Multan, Pakistan","authors":"Zainab Rehman, Muhammad Zubair, Dalia Osama Hafiz, S. Manzoor","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1286125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1286125","url":null,"abstract":"The influence of urban green spaces on public health is receiving unprecedented attention. Managing urban greenspaces sustainably requires an understanding of the mechanisms behind the positive effects of urban biodiversity on the wellbeing of residents. Urban parks could improve mental restoration of park users. The restoration potential may be influenced by the biophysical characteristics of the park.This study aimed to understand two aspects of urban parks in Multan, Pakistan: (a) How does the perception of biodiversity and the quality of urban parks relate to mental restorativeness of park visitors? (b) What are the determinants of respondents' willingness to pay for the conservation and management of park biodiversity and quality in urban parks? Data were collected from October 2021 to December 2021 through a cross-sectional survey in which 550 park visitors were interviewed from six randomly selected urban parks in Multan. Multiple linear regression analysis, a binary logistic model, and a chi-square test were applied to analyze the data.The study empirically highlights the positive contribution of park visits to mental restorativeness. Biodiversity and quality were positively correlated with the mental restorativeness of park visitors. Sixty-two percent (62%) of the visitors were reluctant to pay, whereas 38% were ready to pay between Rs. 850/3.7$ and Rs. 1,700/7.4$ each year. Education, occupation, and monthly income significantly positively affected the respondent's WTP attitudes. The study highlights the importance of using urban parks as tools to promote mental restorativeness, combat social stress, and increase urban vegetation cover.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139446078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1314967
F. Tajani, P. Morano, F. Di Liddo, D. Anelli, Francesco Sica
The industrial activity constitutes one of the most driving sectors of a nation, as it is often considered at the center of public debate as the fulcrum of development policies. However, considering the climate impacts generated, many industries have necessarily changed, relocated, and/or interrupted their production. Due to the connection of industrial sites with the socio-economic, environmental, and health systems of cities, the real estate market dynamics can be differently affected by the presence of polluting industrial sites. With reference to the Italian context, the goal of the research is to, firstly, verify whether there is a functional relationship between the presence of polluting industrial sites and the residential real estate market dynamics, for then determining its type and the extent of purchase price affection.The proposed logical-evaluative model is based on the application of an econometric technique for investigating the significance of the industrial sites on the residential real estate dynamics through a set of technological, locational, and health variables.The obtained results show that the total surface area of the polluting sites, the activity level and the industrial plant opening date are among the most relevant variables, instead the accessibility to the industrial site does not influence the real estate market dynamics.The main practical implication of the present research consists of the possibility to provide a support for the activation of strategies aimed at adopting sustainable development models in the industrial sector.
{"title":"The presence of polluting sites in urban contexts: an analysis of the effects on the dynamics of the residential real estate market","authors":"F. Tajani, P. Morano, F. Di Liddo, D. Anelli, Francesco Sica","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1314967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1314967","url":null,"abstract":"The industrial activity constitutes one of the most driving sectors of a nation, as it is often considered at the center of public debate as the fulcrum of development policies. However, considering the climate impacts generated, many industries have necessarily changed, relocated, and/or interrupted their production. Due to the connection of industrial sites with the socio-economic, environmental, and health systems of cities, the real estate market dynamics can be differently affected by the presence of polluting industrial sites. With reference to the Italian context, the goal of the research is to, firstly, verify whether there is a functional relationship between the presence of polluting industrial sites and the residential real estate market dynamics, for then determining its type and the extent of purchase price affection.The proposed logical-evaluative model is based on the application of an econometric technique for investigating the significance of the industrial sites on the residential real estate dynamics through a set of technological, locational, and health variables.The obtained results show that the total surface area of the polluting sites, the activity level and the industrial plant opening date are among the most relevant variables, instead the accessibility to the industrial site does not influence the real estate market dynamics.The main practical implication of the present research consists of the possibility to provide a support for the activation of strategies aimed at adopting sustainable development models in the industrial sector.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138946882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-19DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1296605
Endris Assen Ebrahim, Ahmet Toy, Yissa Hassen Kassim
The growth or performance of Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSSEs) is widely recognized for their important contributions to economic developments in developing countries. Small and Medium-sized businesses (MMEs) in most developing nations encounter obstacles throughout and after the start-up process. This research aims to explore the determinants of the growth of MSSEs with a special emphasis on five work sectors: manufacturing, trade, construction, service, and urban agriculture in Dessie Town, Ethiopia.The primary data was collected using a self-questionnaire from a sample of 218 managers/owners of MSE operators. Both descriptive and inferential analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Descriptive narrations were used to analyze qualitative data as a concurrent triangulation strategy. The sample respondents were selected using a stratified random sampling method based on the type of business sector. This practical study provoked nine major issues affecting the growth of MSSEs in town: political & legal factors, including bureaucratic bottlenecks system, the COVID-19 pandemic, working premises, market-related issues, road infrastructures, management system, technology-related factors, and entrepreneurial-related factors. The results show that linear and positive substantial to strong significant relationships or associations exist between some independent variables and the growth of MSSEs. Among the expected nine determinants of MSSEs' growth and performance, only political & legal-related, management-related, market-related, technology-related, infrastructure-related, entrepreneur-related factors, and COVID-19 pandemic were statistically significant. Besides, the nominated factors explained the total variations in the MSSEs' growth and performance at a 5% significance level. Realizing this conclusion, the government and non-government bodies and operators of MSSEs should give attention to management, marketing, technology infrastructure, and entrepreneur-related factors.
{"title":"The factors that influence the growth and performance of micro and small-scale enterprises in Dessie Town administration","authors":"Endris Assen Ebrahim, Ahmet Toy, Yissa Hassen Kassim","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1296605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1296605","url":null,"abstract":"The growth or performance of Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSSEs) is widely recognized for their important contributions to economic developments in developing countries. Small and Medium-sized businesses (MMEs) in most developing nations encounter obstacles throughout and after the start-up process. This research aims to explore the determinants of the growth of MSSEs with a special emphasis on five work sectors: manufacturing, trade, construction, service, and urban agriculture in Dessie Town, Ethiopia.The primary data was collected using a self-questionnaire from a sample of 218 managers/owners of MSE operators. Both descriptive and inferential analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Descriptive narrations were used to analyze qualitative data as a concurrent triangulation strategy. The sample respondents were selected using a stratified random sampling method based on the type of business sector. This practical study provoked nine major issues affecting the growth of MSSEs in town: political & legal factors, including bureaucratic bottlenecks system, the COVID-19 pandemic, working premises, market-related issues, road infrastructures, management system, technology-related factors, and entrepreneurial-related factors. The results show that linear and positive substantial to strong significant relationships or associations exist between some independent variables and the growth of MSSEs. Among the expected nine determinants of MSSEs' growth and performance, only political & legal-related, management-related, market-related, technology-related, infrastructure-related, entrepreneur-related factors, and COVID-19 pandemic were statistically significant. Besides, the nominated factors explained the total variations in the MSSEs' growth and performance at a 5% significance level. Realizing this conclusion, the government and non-government bodies and operators of MSSEs should give attention to management, marketing, technology infrastructure, and entrepreneur-related factors.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138962340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-18DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1288714
J. Panjaitan, Indra Bastian, Ilham Unggara, Efa Agus Susanto, Sumiyana Sumiyana
This study investigates smart city development projects implemented by the Government of Indonesia (GoI) from 2017 at the regional and municipal levels. Moreover, it provides a critical perspective on the lack of knowledge of the transformation process, substantive knowledge, and the wide-regime-shifting balance of knowledge required to accomplish smart city development. From the project scope perspective, this research elaborates on technical defaults of the regional and municipal GoI's initiating, constructing, and implementing smart cities.The authors conducted semi-structured interviews to explore how these project doers operate in each stage of the smart city development, including initiation, work in progress, implementation, and reporting. In addition, the research questions of this semi-structured interview are derived from this study's critical perspective and the knowledge domains of smart city development.First, this study sheds light on the development of 100 smart cities by the GoI, with 50 financed but unfinished projects since 2017, indicating design failure. Second, we argue that the blueprint designed by the GoI smart communities does not demonstrate comprehensive political will or the conducting of socio-cultural and technical analyses to encourage and support the development of smart cities. Third, this study uniquely highlights that the GoI wants to build smart cities using collective cognition or mutual understanding, but lacks knowledge of the transformation process and substantive knowledge for system analysis and design, development, and implementation, leading to uncertainty and non-uniform approaches to smart city developments across various regions and municipalities. Fourth, this research criticizes the misalignment and imbalance of knowledge between the GoI, the targeted regions and municipalities, and all agents involved in developing smart cities.The authors find four unique theme formulations: the GoI's behaviors in equivalencing with regular procurement, the voids of knowledge in the transformation process, substantive knowledge boundaries, and letting these projects progress without accompanying committed knowledge boundaries and working for a future without a signifier. Finally, this study suggests that the government should prioritize mastery of knowledge of the transformation processes in smart city development and implement agile strategies to ensure these projects' success and future benefits.
{"title":"Diagnosing the voids of knowledge in the transformation process in managing and standardizing smart city development: the case of the government of Indonesia","authors":"J. Panjaitan, Indra Bastian, Ilham Unggara, Efa Agus Susanto, Sumiyana Sumiyana","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1288714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1288714","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates smart city development projects implemented by the Government of Indonesia (GoI) from 2017 at the regional and municipal levels. Moreover, it provides a critical perspective on the lack of knowledge of the transformation process, substantive knowledge, and the wide-regime-shifting balance of knowledge required to accomplish smart city development. From the project scope perspective, this research elaborates on technical defaults of the regional and municipal GoI's initiating, constructing, and implementing smart cities.The authors conducted semi-structured interviews to explore how these project doers operate in each stage of the smart city development, including initiation, work in progress, implementation, and reporting. In addition, the research questions of this semi-structured interview are derived from this study's critical perspective and the knowledge domains of smart city development.First, this study sheds light on the development of 100 smart cities by the GoI, with 50 financed but unfinished projects since 2017, indicating design failure. Second, we argue that the blueprint designed by the GoI smart communities does not demonstrate comprehensive political will or the conducting of socio-cultural and technical analyses to encourage and support the development of smart cities. Third, this study uniquely highlights that the GoI wants to build smart cities using collective cognition or mutual understanding, but lacks knowledge of the transformation process and substantive knowledge for system analysis and design, development, and implementation, leading to uncertainty and non-uniform approaches to smart city developments across various regions and municipalities. Fourth, this research criticizes the misalignment and imbalance of knowledge between the GoI, the targeted regions and municipalities, and all agents involved in developing smart cities.The authors find four unique theme formulations: the GoI's behaviors in equivalencing with regular procurement, the voids of knowledge in the transformation process, substantive knowledge boundaries, and letting these projects progress without accompanying committed knowledge boundaries and working for a future without a signifier. Finally, this study suggests that the government should prioritize mastery of knowledge of the transformation processes in smart city development and implement agile strategies to ensure these projects' success and future benefits.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139172995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1295357
S. R, Swamy Perumandla
The study explores the influence of Status Quo Bias theory constructs and the mediating role of inertia on individuals' resistance in making sustainable green home investment decisions among Indian homeowners and prospective homebuyers.A structured questionnaire was administered to 404 participants, and data analysis was performed using Partial Least Squares Structured Equation Modeling (PLS SEM).The findings indicate that factors such as loss aversion, transition costs, adherence to social norms, and self-efficacy to change significantly contribute to individuals' resistance to green home investments. Inertia further amplifies the relationship between transition costs, social norms, and self-efficacy to change, but does not mediate the impact of loss aversion.This study is valuable for enhancing our understanding of biases in decision-making processes. To combat this resistance, it is crucial to provide clear information about the benefits of green home upgrades and offer incentives that reduce perceived costs and risks. This research sheds new light on the influence of status quo bias and inertia specifically within the context of green home investment decisions, addressing contemporary concerns for environmental sustainability and the increasing importance of such decisions in today's world.
{"title":"Do individuals' resist green home investment decisions? An empirical study from status quo bias and inertia perspective","authors":"S. R, Swamy Perumandla","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1295357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1295357","url":null,"abstract":"The study explores the influence of Status Quo Bias theory constructs and the mediating role of inertia on individuals' resistance in making sustainable green home investment decisions among Indian homeowners and prospective homebuyers.A structured questionnaire was administered to 404 participants, and data analysis was performed using Partial Least Squares Structured Equation Modeling (PLS SEM).The findings indicate that factors such as loss aversion, transition costs, adherence to social norms, and self-efficacy to change significantly contribute to individuals' resistance to green home investments. Inertia further amplifies the relationship between transition costs, social norms, and self-efficacy to change, but does not mediate the impact of loss aversion.This study is valuable for enhancing our understanding of biases in decision-making processes. To combat this resistance, it is crucial to provide clear information about the benefits of green home upgrades and offer incentives that reduce perceived costs and risks. This research sheds new light on the influence of status quo bias and inertia specifically within the context of green home investment decisions, addressing contemporary concerns for environmental sustainability and the increasing importance of such decisions in today's world.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138999735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-04DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1171996
C. D. Rogers, Nick Grayson, Jonathan P. Sadler, Lee Chapman, C. Bouch, Marianna Cavada, J. Leach
In the context of steadily declining Natural Capital and universal recognition of the imperative to reverse this trend before we get to the point that nature is not able to restore itself, cities have a crucial role to play. The UK Government commissioned a comprehensive study into the value of biodiversity, and by extension nature, reinforcing “why we should change our ways”—yet what is missing is the “how?”. This paper uniquely describes both the “how?” and a conclusive demonstration of the remarkable benefits of implementing it in a city. Critical to this process, it took a UK Parliamentary Inquiry to reveal that nature has become invisible within the economy, yet the ecological ecosystem services nature provides have enormous benefits to both people and the economy. Therefore integration—or seamless weaving—of urban greenspace and nature into people's lives and the places where they live, work, and spend their leisure time is vital. Moreover, what nature does not provide must be provided by engineered systems, and these have an economic cost; put another way, there are enormous cost savings to be made by taking advantage of what nature provides. In addressing these issues, this paper is the definitive paper from a 20-year portfolio of research on how to bring about transformative change in the complex system-of-systems that make up our cities, providing as it does the crucial in-depth research into the many diverse strands of governance—the last link in a chain of the creation, testing and proof of efficacy of methodologies underpinning a theory and practice of change for infrastructure and cities. The impact of this portfolio of research on Birmingham is two-fold: the Star Framework that placed natural environment considerations at the heart of all decision-making in the city, and the successful bid for the largest of the UK Future Parks Accelerator awards. While both are transformative in their different ways, yet mutually supportive, the latter enabled the design of a suite of system interventions from which the value of Birmingham's greenspaces is estimated to rise from £11.0 billion to £14.4 billion—a remarkable return on investment from the research's conceptualization of Birmingham's urban greenspace as a “business” (with its associated business models). In achieving this, the necessary enablers of thinking and practicing systemically, seamlessly working across disciplinary boundaries, an unusually strong focus on both the aspirations of all stakeholders and the context in question to define “the problem,” and the testing of proposed system intervention(s) both now and in the future have been iteratively combined. However, it is the critical enabling steps of identifying the complete range of value-generating opportunities that the interventions offer, formulating them into alternative business models to underpin the case for change and ensuring that they are synergistic with all the dimensions of governance that yielded the profound o
{"title":"Delivering sustainable, resilient and liveable cities via transformed governance","authors":"C. D. Rogers, Nick Grayson, Jonathan P. Sadler, Lee Chapman, C. Bouch, Marianna Cavada, J. Leach","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1171996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1171996","url":null,"abstract":"In the context of steadily declining Natural Capital and universal recognition of the imperative to reverse this trend before we get to the point that nature is not able to restore itself, cities have a crucial role to play. The UK Government commissioned a comprehensive study into the value of biodiversity, and by extension nature, reinforcing “why we should change our ways”—yet what is missing is the “how?”. This paper uniquely describes both the “how?” and a conclusive demonstration of the remarkable benefits of implementing it in a city. Critical to this process, it took a UK Parliamentary Inquiry to reveal that nature has become invisible within the economy, yet the ecological ecosystem services nature provides have enormous benefits to both people and the economy. Therefore integration—or seamless weaving—of urban greenspace and nature into people's lives and the places where they live, work, and spend their leisure time is vital. Moreover, what nature does not provide must be provided by engineered systems, and these have an economic cost; put another way, there are enormous cost savings to be made by taking advantage of what nature provides. In addressing these issues, this paper is the definitive paper from a 20-year portfolio of research on how to bring about transformative change in the complex system-of-systems that make up our cities, providing as it does the crucial in-depth research into the many diverse strands of governance—the last link in a chain of the creation, testing and proof of efficacy of methodologies underpinning a theory and practice of change for infrastructure and cities. The impact of this portfolio of research on Birmingham is two-fold: the Star Framework that placed natural environment considerations at the heart of all decision-making in the city, and the successful bid for the largest of the UK Future Parks Accelerator awards. While both are transformative in their different ways, yet mutually supportive, the latter enabled the design of a suite of system interventions from which the value of Birmingham's greenspaces is estimated to rise from £11.0 billion to £14.4 billion—a remarkable return on investment from the research's conceptualization of Birmingham's urban greenspace as a “business” (with its associated business models). In achieving this, the necessary enablers of thinking and practicing systemically, seamlessly working across disciplinary boundaries, an unusually strong focus on both the aspirations of all stakeholders and the context in question to define “the problem,” and the testing of proposed system intervention(s) both now and in the future have been iteratively combined. However, it is the critical enabling steps of identifying the complete range of value-generating opportunities that the interventions offer, formulating them into alternative business models to underpin the case for change and ensuring that they are synergistic with all the dimensions of governance that yielded the profound o","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138603219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1341568
Hai-Ying Liu
{"title":"Editorial: Citizen engagement and innovative approaches in sustainable urban transitions","authors":"Hai-Ying Liu","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1341568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1341568","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138614803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-27DOI: 10.3389/frsc.2023.1163984
Éva Gerőházi, Nóra Katona, Sándor György Kollár
This study aims to identify and present mechanisms through which the economic potential of European urban areas is converted into social inequalities among the young population in the field of housing. The role of national and local housing systems in this conversion is analyzed through the examples of Amsterdam, Tallinn, Chemnitz, and Pécs. These four cities represent four major ideal types with different levels of economic power and housing welfare structures. The article, through these case studies, initially delineates the ramifications of increasing housing demand arising from population growth and varied wage structures in cities experiencing economic prosperity. It also delves into the repercussions of population decline and financial constraints in cities with weaker economic foundations. Subsequently, it evaluates the efficacy of local housing policies in addressing housing affordability and spatial segregation, considering the presence of either a unitary or dual public housing sector. The article's conclusion underscores that local housing policies are tightly bound to national housing concepts, legislation, and resources, which constrains their capacity to adapt measures to the changing dynamics of economic development. The primary source of information underpinning this analysis is derived from research conducted in these urban areas as part of the UPLIFT project, funded by the European Commission within the framework of Horizon 2020.
{"title":"Mechanisms linking economic potential of European cities to housing inequalities of young people","authors":"Éva Gerőházi, Nóra Katona, Sándor György Kollár","doi":"10.3389/frsc.2023.1163984","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1163984","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims to identify and present mechanisms through which the economic potential of European urban areas is converted into social inequalities among the young population in the field of housing. The role of national and local housing systems in this conversion is analyzed through the examples of Amsterdam, Tallinn, Chemnitz, and Pécs. These four cities represent four major ideal types with different levels of economic power and housing welfare structures. The article, through these case studies, initially delineates the ramifications of increasing housing demand arising from population growth and varied wage structures in cities experiencing economic prosperity. It also delves into the repercussions of population decline and financial constraints in cities with weaker economic foundations. Subsequently, it evaluates the efficacy of local housing policies in addressing housing affordability and spatial segregation, considering the presence of either a unitary or dual public housing sector. The article's conclusion underscores that local housing policies are tightly bound to national housing concepts, legislation, and resources, which constrains their capacity to adapt measures to the changing dynamics of economic development. The primary source of information underpinning this analysis is derived from research conducted in these urban areas as part of the UPLIFT project, funded by the European Commission within the framework of Horizon 2020.","PeriodicalId":33686,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Sustainable Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139234811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}