Smart Cities and Positive Energy Districts: Urban Perspectives in 2020

Since their creation eight years ago, the EERA Joint Programmes and their participating institutions have accumulated important knowledge on specific topics of the programmes they carried out. This includes Smart Cities and Positive Energy Districts, which are not only crucial topics tackled by EERA Joint Programme in the Smart Cities Workplan, but also in H2020 as well as Horizon Europe or national calls, focusing on innovative solutions based on interdisciplinary approaches, which are needed to face the highly complex challenges in coming years, from sustainable urban development to emergencies in cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The foreword of EERA JP in SC Special Issue 1|2018 highlighted the aim of the Special Issues series, which was, and still is, to support the growth of research networks in the EC framework. According to this, our ambition is to publish the most promising research and innovation projects which EERA JPonSC partners, and others, set up in the framework of H2020 Programme, to drive the attention to the fact that EERA JP on SC is one of the strong voices in research in Europe, capable of highlighting and integrating different solutions and points of view

Gamification in Ecology-Oriented Mobile Applications-Typologies and Purposes

Mobile applications viewed as digital social change tools are focused on sustainable development, particularly in topics that address ecology and the environment. In this research, the aim is to systematize a review of the 10 most downloaded mobile applications in this context, but deepening on those that use game elements in their interface, organizing them according to components, mechanics and playful dynamics. Findings demonstrate the role of levels and achievements as more repeated dynamics, and challenges and feedback as more relevant elements in gameplay, and finally, emotions and narratives as components of the gamified experience. The incorporation of these elements in mobile games shows that digital gamification in the environmental context is organized from an alternative perspective, where argumentation, the succession of events, the progressive incorporation of difficulty and the interaction with the computerized system modify the traditional view that sees gamification as a superficial system of points

Conversations on a probable future: interview with Beatrice Fazi

No description supplie

Environmental sustainability approaches and positive energy districts: A literature review

During the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to the emerging concept of Positive Energy Districts (PED) with the aim of pushing the transition to clean energy, but further research efforts are needed to identify design approaches optimized from the point of view of sustainable development. In this context, this literature review is placed, with a specific focus on environmental sustainability within innovative and eco-sustainable districts. The findings show that some sustainability aspects such as sustainable food, urban heat islands mitigation and co-impacts, e.g., green gentrification, are not adequately assessed, while fragmented thinking limits the potential of circularity. In this regard, targeted strategies should be developed. On the other hand, the Key Performance Indicators framework needs some integrations. In this direction, indicators were suggested, among those defined in the Sustainable Development Agenda, the main European standards and initiatives and the relevant literature experiences. Future outlooks should be directed to-wards: the harmonization of the Life Cycle Assessment in PEDs with reference to modeling assump-tions and analysis of multiple impacts; the development of dynamic environmental analyses taking into account the long-term uncertainty due to climate change, data availability and energy decar-bonization; the combination of Life Cycle Assessment and Key Performance Indicators based tech-niques, from a holistic thinking perspective, for a comprehensive design environment and the analysis of the contribution of energy flexibility approaches on the environmental impact of a project

Improving the approach to efficiency assessment of investment projects in the energy sector

According to the annual world statistics, primary energy consumption demonstrated a steady growth over the past decade but in 2018, its average value was doubled. A rapid development of energy sector will not only lead to the growth of CO2 emissions and other negative consequences, but also to more intensive use of natural resources in the immediate future. Growing pressure on resources might give rise to a number of challenges in virtually all branches of human activity. The energy sector\u2019s impact on the environment is increasing at a high speed, which necessitates the efficiency assessment of investments in energy projects applying a system of technical, economic and environmental indicators. Nowadays, most of the energy projects comprise eco-friendly technological solutions that significantly decrease the use of natural resources but at the same time they might affect financial costs that dampen the attractiveness of investment projects at all. Despite that fact, the economic and environmental evaluation allows identifying the total exposure of the project in the long term and aids in measuring its multiplier effect on the region economy as lots of energy projects have a considerable innovative potential. The present study provides a system of environmental indicators that improves the efficiency assessment process of investment projects in the energy sector

Multicultural Education: Challenges and Opportunities for Participatory Education Research: From Clash of civilisations to Co-creation and Co- determination

The Journal is an open access journal. All articles are made freely available to readers.Our open access policy is in in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition - it means that articles have free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself.The paper addresses ways for multicultural education to respond to current social, cultural, political, economic and environmental challenges in increasingly urbanized areas where the divides between rich and poor are widening. Public education needs to address human capacity and capabilities to live sustainably, because current and future generations face the prospect of ‘food deserts’ and increasingly impoverished communities in cities without adequate resources to maintain a decent quality of life. Participatory research needs to facilitate the engagement of policy makers and young people to address food, energy and water security by balancing individual and collective needs in rural and urban areas. Educators and policy researchers need to work together with many stakeholders who can contribute diverse ways of knowing to inform discipline based knowledge and better policy decisions. It will require enabling everyone to feel that they are represented, respected and heard within accountable learning communities, supported by a community of practice. Public Participatory Education in a globalised world needs to build the capacity of people to become leaders in their own right who strive not merely for basic needs but also for social and environmental justice by voicing their concerns strategically at the local and regional level

Renewable Energy SMART Lessons: An Educational Approach to a Sustainable Future in Namibia

This project assisted EduVentures Trust in developing four renewable energy SMART modules to expand sustainability awareness throughout Namibia. The team created the modules based on background research, local high school observations, rural school pre-visit surveys, and stakeholder interviews. After implementing the modules in the Ombombo mobile classroom, this project evaluated module effectiveness using pre-tests and post-tests, a learner evaluation, and module observations during field tests at Okondjatu Combined School. Results showed significant knowledge retention by the learners from the renewable energy modules. The evaluations revealed that the learners enjoyed the lessons and planned to continue their renewable energy education after the completion of the program

HSUS NEWS Volume 41, Number 02

The march of change: one step at a time: we must demonstrate our support for the cause of animal protection (Paul G. Irwin) Spotlight At Risk: Whooping Cranes Keiko: halfway home: Free Willy star begins a new life in Oregon (Mike Winikoff) Alternatives : a good year -- safety-testing procedures are in transition Protection close to home: new suburban wildlife program launched (John Hadidian, Ph.D.) Claws and all: living with your cat, your furniture, and your peace of mind (Rachel Lamb) Coming together: World Animal Awareness Week (Wayne Pacelle) Use of animals in laboratories: scientific and ethical issues (Michael Ball, D.Phil.) International strategies: legislation and the law (Betsy Dribben) Animals in entertainment: dying to perform (Richard Farinato) Extending the Circle of Rights: the Great Ape Project (Peter Singer) HSI Honduras: Bird haven success (Richard Farinato) HSI Australia: circus animals\u27 days numbered Besieged: arctic refuge and other public lands (Amy Weinhouse) Against nature: the sensitive pig versus the hostile environment of the modern pig farm (Melanie Adcock, D.V.M., and Mary Finelli) Protecting forests (John A. Hoyt) A breath of fresh air for Mexico City? (Jan A. Hartke) Addressing a dilemma (Jan Hartke

Improving public engagement with air pollution: exploring two-way communication formats, public perception, and the voices of women.

Cities worldwide are experiencing high levels of air pollution, with severe consequences to human health, the economy, and the natural environment. Greater Manchester (GM), a conurbation in the United Kingdom, has declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) as air pollution levels are sometimes above or close to limits set by the European Union. Transport is one of the main contributing sectors, and rapid policy and lifestyle changes are needed when it comes to public transportation, walking, or cycling. Public engagement is central to this aim, but one-way provision of information is not effective in encouraging the needed behavioural changes. Through a systematic review (n=50), this thesis provides a comparison of how five different two-way communication formats (i.e. social media, educational programmes, serious games, citizen science, and forums) have been employed worldwide to create dialogues between experts and the public in relation to air pollution. A one-size-fits-all communication strategy is not sufficient in engaging the public in socially diverse cities where the environment and sustainable lifestyles are conceptualised in a myriad of ways. Through a questionnaire study (n=365), this thesis explores how the public in GM perceives air pollution and accesses environmental information, as well as how this varies with gender, educational level, age, postcode district, and income. Through qualitative interviews (n=30), this thesis also provides an in-depth exploration of the experiences of one particular group in society that has traditionally been underserved: women. The focus on women is necessary because a greater responsibility for unpaid work, economic inequality, longer life expectancy, and greater fear of crime shape how women travel and access the city, and consequently, their experiences of air pollution. The fact that these findings are specific to women, however, does not make them less valid in relation to society at large. A transportation system that is environmentally sustainable as well as safe, economical, and that facilitates combining paid and unpaid work, is beneficial to all. These findings advance knowledge in the field of public engagement with air pollution, and provide recommendations for policymakers or charity organizations. These include communication of air pollution as something physical, moving away from the invisible adjective that encourages people to avoid the problem altogether; and the further exploration of the health and wellbeing frame, as it can be effective in motivating active forms of transport