An Observatory Framework for Metropolitan Change: Understanding Urban Social-Ecological-Technical Systems in Texas and Beyond

In Texas and elsewhere, the looming realities of rapid population growth and intensifying effects of climate change mean that the things we rely on to live—water, energy, dependable infrastructure, social cohesion, and an ecosystem to support them—are exposed to unprecedented risk. Limited resources will be in ever greater demand and the environmental stress from prolonged droughts, record-breaking heat waves, and destructive floods will increase. Existing long-term trends and behaviors will not be sustainable. That is our current trajectory, but we can still change course. Significant advances in information communication technologies and big data, combined with new frameworks for thinking about urban places as social–ecological–technical systems, and an increasing movement towards transdisciplinary scholarship and practice sets the foundation and framework for a metropolitan observatory. Yet, more is required than an infrastructure for data. Making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable will require that data become actionable knowledge that change policy and practice. Research and development of urban sustainability and resilience knowledge is burgeoning, yet the uptake to policy has been slow. An integrative and holistic approach is necessary to develop e ective sustainability science that synthesizes different sources of knowledge, relevant disciplines, multi-sectoral alliances, and connections to policy-makers and the public. To address these challenges and opportunities, we developed a conceptual framework for a “metropolitan observatory” to generate standardized long-term, large-scale datasets about social, ecological, and technical dimensions of metropolitan systems. We apply this conceptual model in Texas, known as the Texas Metro Observatory, to advance strategic research and decision-making at the intersection of urbanization and climate change. The Texas Metro Observatory project is part of Planet Texas 2050, a University of Texas Austin grand challenge initiative.ArchitectureOffice of the VP for Researc

A Systematic Literature Review on Smart City Project Initiatives for Rural Community Participation

Most democratic governments have prioritised offering people more significant input in government decision-making and promoting public participation in policy creation. People and governments may now effectively integrate formerly unsurmountable gaps in their relationships thanks to advances in digital and information technologies. "Smart City" technologies are not a new term in today's urbanisation development field; however, this "Smart City" technologies term is likely unfamiliar with the rural area, as the rural area is sometimes assumed to perform poorly in the development of innovative city initiatives, which are mostly being pioneered by the local government authority with a focus on a city or urban region. Citizens can now participate in decision-making and policy-making due to the smart city project initiative, which cannot be disregarded entirely; unfortunately, rural population participation remains limited. This conceptual research aims to examine smart city project aspirations for the rural community public participation framework. The author comprehends the importance of including significant public participation in all parts of the planning process. The methodology behind this research is based on a detailed study of the scholarly literature that has already been done. The conclusions of the research were derived from a number of different reading materials, such as books, journals, and other sources on smart city programmes for public participation in rural areas

The Smart City Concept for Sustainable Development of a Tourist Destination

Purpose – At a time of exceptionally fast technological advancement, smart cities have become necessary for the better management of existing resources in a tourist destination. The aim of this paper is to investigate if the smart city concept has been recognized in micro destinations in the Kvarner region for the purpose of sustainability and raising residents’ quality of life. Design/Methodology – The research has been conducted in the Kvarner tourist destination in December 2019. Citizens were asked their opinions within the scope of the following narrow tourist destinations – Lovran, Opatija and Rijeka. The questionnaire used closed-ended questions. This short research focuses on public perception regarding the smart city concept. Findings – The results show that 67% of the people living in tourist destinations are not familiar with the smart city concept. Most, however, state that its implementation would improve the touristic development of the destinations. The development of smart destinations leaves plenty of room for each community undertaking that step to define the shape and functionality of its environment while respecting the community’s historical, cultural-artistic and social heritage. Originality of the research – There are many papers dealing with the topic of smart cities, but it is rare for authors to explore the transformation of traditional tourist destinations into contemporary sustainable communities. The obtained results can be used to inform policy making towards becoming more proactive, smart and sustainable

Complexity Aided Design: the FuturICT Technological Innovation Paradigm

"In the next century, planet earth will don an electronic skin. It will use the Internet as a scaffold to support and transmit its sensations. This skin is already being stitched together. It consists of millions of embedded electronic measuring devices: thermostats, pressure gauges, pollution detectors, cameras, microphones, glucose sensors, EKGs, electroencephalographs. These will probe and monitor cities and endangered species, the atmosphere, our ships, highways and fleets of trucks, our conversations, our bodies--even our dreams ....What will the earth's new skin permit us to feel? How will we use its surges of sensation? For several years--maybe for a decade--there will be no central nervous system to manage this vast signaling network. Certainly there will be no central intelligence...some qualities of self-awareness will emerge once the Net is sensually enhanced. Sensuality is only one force pushing the Net toward intelligence". These statements are quoted by an interview by Cherry Murray, Dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Physics. It is interesting to outline the timeliness and highly predicting power of these statements. In particular, we would like to point to the relevance of the question "What will the earth's new skin permit us to feel?" to the work we are going to discuss in this paper. There are many additional compelling questions, as for example: "How can the electronic earth's skin be made more resilient?"; "How can the earth's electronic skin be improved to better satisfy the need of our society?";"What can the science of complex systems contribute to this endeavour?

New Pathways to support social-ecological Systems in Change

Klimawandel und Biodiversitätsverlust sowie Verstädterung und demografischer Wandel haben tiefgreifende Auswirkungen auf Städte und ihre Ökosysteme und damit auf die Lebensbedingungen der Mehrheit der Menschheit. Die Geschwindigkeit des Wandels und die Dringlichkeit der Folgen macht Umweltmonitoring zu einem potentiell interessanten Tool für nachhaltige und resiliente Stadtentwicklung. Der erste Artikel gibt einen Überblick über den aktuellen Stand der Fernerkundung in Bezug auf Stadtökologie und zeigt, dass Fernerkundung relevant für nachhaltige Stadtplanung ist. Es bestehen jedoch bestehen Mängel, da viele Studien nicht direkt umsetzbar sind. Der zweite Artikel zeigt, dass eine wachsende Stadt Möglichkeiten für den Ausbau der grünen Infrastruktur bieten kann. Im dritten Artikel wird untersucht, wie sich die städtische Dichte auf die Bereitstellung von Ökosystemdienstleistungen der grünen Infrastruktur auswirkt. Es wird gezeigt, dass eine hohe Siedlungsdichte nicht zwangsläufig zu einem geringeren Biodiversitätspotenzial oder einer geringeren Kühlkapazität führt. Allerdings sind dicht bebaute Gebiete mit geringer Vegetationsbedeckung besonders auf grüne Infrastruktur angewiesen. Der vierte Artikel befasst sich mit der Frage, wie naturbasierte Lösungen durch eine bessere Vernetzung der Beteiligten gestärkt werden können. Auf der Grundlage einer gezielten Literaturrecherche über Informationstechnologie zur Unterstützung sozial-ökologischer Systeme wird ein Instrument zur Entscheidungshilfe entwickelt. Dieses kombiniert ökologische und soziale Indikatoren, um Klimawandeladaption in Übereinstimmung mit den sozio-ökologischen Bedingungen entwickeln zu können. Der fünfte Artikel bietet eine grundsätzliche Perspektive zur Unterstützung der städtischen Nachhaltigkeit, die auf dem ökologischen-Trait Konzept basiert. Zusammen bieten die fünf Artikel Wege für die Fernerkundungswissenschaft und die angewandte Raumplanung für nachhaltige und resiliente Entwicklungen in Städten.Climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as urbanisation and demographic change, are major global challenges of the 21st century. These trends have profound impacts on cities and their ecosystems and thus on the living conditions of the majority of humanity. This raises the need for timely environmental monitoring supporting sustainable and resilient urban developments. The first article is an overview of the state of the art of remote sensing science in relation to urban ecology. The review found that remote sensing can contribute to sustainable urban policy, still insufficiencies remain as many studies are not directly actionable. The second article shows that a growing city can provide opportunities for an increase in green infrastructure. Here, remote sensing is used for long-term analysis of land-use in relation to urban forms in Berlin. The third article examines how urban density affects ecosystem service provision of urban green infrastructure. It is shown that residential density does not necessarily lead to poor biodiversity potential or cooling capacity. However, dense areas with low vegetation cover are particularly dependent on major green infrastructure. The fourth article explores ways to reinforce nature-based solutions by better connecting and informing stakeholders. Based on a focussed literature review on information technology supporting urban social-ecological systems, a decision support tool is developed. The tool combines indicators based on ecological diversity and performance with population density and vulnerability. This way, climate change adaptation can be developed in accordance with socio-ecological conditions. The concluding fifth article offers an outlook on a larger framework in support of urban sustainability, based on the ecological trait concept. Together the five research papers provide pathways for urban remote sensing science and applied spatial planning that can support sustainable and resilient developments in cities

Key Factors of Effective Development of Smart Cities in Croatia

World trends are showing a continuous increase in the number of inhabitants living in cities. It is expected that 70% of total world and 80% of total European population will live in cities by 2050. By increasing the number of inhabitants, the challenges of city management are growing as well. With the aim of achieving maximum living standards and quality of life of their inhabitants, the implementation of smart city model proves to be a necessity. The Republic of Croatia, as a member of the European Union, is obliged to follow recommendations contained in a series of documents and conclusions, as well as use the sources of funding available to European member states. The paper provides a framework for understanding the concept of smart cities through an overview of scientific literature, examples of good practice from Europe and the world, and a detailed analysis of the state and degree of development of smart cities in the Republic of Croatia, focusing on key dimensions of smart city development. It has been proven that investing in key dimensions of a smart city: Population, technology, and institutions, generates revenue growth, economic development, and better living quality of city population. The research methodology for this paper is based on a mixed method that involves collection, analysis, and integration of quantitative and qualitative research. The aim of the paper is to provide a framework for understanding the concept of a smart city, point out the advantages of such management mode, as well as the key dimensions to be invested in, in order to boost economic development and quality of life of the dominant, city population