Building Inclusive Smart Sustainable Cities through Virtual Environment

During the last century Urban Population of India has increased from 27 million to 270 million (2001) and now it has reached to 410 million people. By 2050 it is estimated that 814 million person will be living in Indian cities, which will share about 50 percent of the total population of India. Moreover, the share of slum population living in cites is about 21 percent which in absolute term is 90 million persons. If urban population is compared with urban internet user’s population, it is estimated to be about 160 million in June, 2014. Thus, only 39 percent of urban population has access to internet facilities; thought the users are growing at a rate of 47 percent in urban areas and more surprisingly 58 percent in rural areas. The present paper addresses the issue of access of internet or Web 2.0 technologies by economically weaker section of urban community for effective representation of public participation in the process of plan preparation and execution. As now in India, with the taking over of BJP Government under the leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Shir Narendra Modi, planning for 100 smart cities by 2022 is the prime agenda for Urban Development. In this context the present paper examines the complexities of development and planning decision that are embedded in the process for establishing a smart city. No doubt Web 2.0 technologies in the cybernetic age is the fastest way to access, collect, analyze and transfer spatial information and providing innovative, sustainable, participatory solutions for effective government and community empowerment. However, due to the technological complexity, high cost, literacy levels, societal awareness and access to the technology create a social divide, more especially for low income group. Hence, the present paper answers the question that how society democratically and effectively access to Web 2.0 technologies for spatial information and translate the virtually tested, analyzed design in the real world. In overall, the paper tries to frame a concept in order to implement Web 2.0 technologies as a tool for building inclusive, smart and sustainable cites in India

Smart Sustainable E-Solutions for Implementation and Enforcement of Smart Cities in India

In the present knowledge and information age Indian towns and cities are expanding rapidly in spatial and demographic terms. Moreover, spatial information are not correlated with the complex urban integrated problems, as data generated at various level for urban planning and management remains uncoordinated and redundant to support decision-making and leading to poor urban governance and timely implementation of the master plan. Hence, there is an urgent need to create common platform so as to address problems and issues in the right perspective to assist cities in coping with economic realities and, thereby, produce high quality responsive environment and demonstrate successful urban solutions. Thus, in order to address these issues in a holistic manner, the Ministry of Urban Development has launched the Smart City Mission for 100 cities on 25th June, 2015. However, due to the absent of any basic “Smart E-Solutions Model” for implementation and enforcement of sustainable development plan in India, the present paper is an attempt to evolve the concept of “Smart E-Solutions Model”. At first the present paper discusses about the smart sustainable solutions at design level. Thereafter, the paper evolves a “Smart E-Solutions Model” to establish intelligent online system for implementation and enforcement of sustainable development plan design. Hence, to define the success of Smart City Scheme in India, the present paper pursing a vision of sustainable smart cities by exploring the possibilities of different innovative solutions through designing of Smart Comprehensive Development Plan (SCDP) through virtual world. GIS based SCDP will facilitate the cities to compete in the global competitive world. In India designing SCDP will act as E-solution tool to ease out new challenges and opportunities for urban planners and managers to design the various dreams, ideas and hopes of urban community and translate the same into the spatial terms. In all this paper will thread common ground to address problems and issues in the right perspective to assist urban planner, manager in coping with economic realities and, thereby, produce high quality responsive environment and demonstrate successful sustainable urban solutions for implementation of Smart Comprehensive Developemnt Plan through “Smart E-Solutions Model“

Shrinking Spaces and Emerging Role of Information Technology in India

The ever expanding Indian cities and its population from 27 million from early 20th century to 377 million in early 21st century put forth a challenge for urban planners and managers to solve complex integrated problems and to design smart sustainable cities. Even in near future the scale of problem will be going to rise as it is estimated that about 50 percent of total Indian population, which is about 814 million person, will be living in Indian cities by 2050. Moreover, the fastest growing or changing Information Technologies are playing a greater role in transformation of urban spaces in Indian cities. Hence, the present paper is an attempt to analyse the impact of Information Technologies in transformation of urban planning process in India. The paper, in relation with the case study of Delhi, analyse the implication of IT on city structure and urban spaces. It is certain the all aspects of urban fabric have an Information Technological print in different magnitudes and scale. Cybernetic age has given us different life style, working pattern and mobility behaviour. Increasing speed of internet from 2G to 3G, 4G and even 5G; from participatory interactive Web 2.0 technologies to Web 3.0, 4.0 technology; shrinking physical spaces of financial banks from whole building to Sq. meter, Sq. feet (ATM), inches (laptop), cm (Mobile), even mm (intelligent banking chip). Such technological, social, physical and economical changes will raise many question in the mind of planner, like is the functional boundaries of cities will vanish? Is IT will bridge the gap or create the digital divide among urban community? Is IT shrinking the urban spaces or not? After analysing the Indian urban and IT policy and understanding the Delhi Urban structure, the present paper tries to answer these questions. By understanding the existing complex settlement interdependence the present paper also recommends the possible solutions that IT may facilitate or hasten the development and, whether it needs to be treated as process and not an end. Finally the paper proves the hypothesis that “IT will shrink the space by eliminating the factor of time and distance by creating virtual space, but in reality it will make urban functional boundaries to sprawl and thus expand the physical urban space”

Application of Web 2.0 Technologies for Integration of Land-use and Transportation System

Transportation networks are the life line of any city but only when the decision of land-use system and transportation system are integrated in smart and intelligent ways. The present paper examines the complexities of development and planning decision that are embedded in the process for finding an effective solution for integration of land-use and transportation system. The present paper also answers the question that how society democratically and effectively access to Web 2.0 technologies for spatial information and translate the virtually tested, analyzed design in the real world. In overall, the paper tries to frame a concept to use Web 2.0 technologies as a tool for establishing Intelligent Transportation System within the existing land-use system. No doubt Web 2.0 technologies in the cybernetic age is the fastest way to access, collect, analyze and transfer spatial information and providing innovative, sustainable, participatory solutions for effective government and community empowerment. However, the use of Web 2.0 technologies in transportation system is not the part of smart city model in India. Hence, the paper will act as a guiding principle and methodology for Smart City Mission in India. The paper also suggests the possible ways to establish Web 2.0 technologies applications for intelligent transport system through community base local Neighbourhood Digital Technology Center (NDTC). The establishment of NDTC will give local urban community free hand to tailored or customized Web 2.0 software as per their need and requirement and generate or manipulate their own information or spatial data rather than given answer or raised query to the predefined proposed land-use map

Making Indian Cities Resilient during and after Covid-19 Pandemic through Flexible Planning Approach

In the advanced scientific world of information in the innovative medical knowledge age, the Covid-19 pandemic raised many questions of human existence at the dawn of the twenty first century. On top of it, countrywide lockdown to save humanity at the cost of a shrinking economy shattered the hope of survival of many. The paper is an attempt to find a flexible way forward for post Covid-19 city planning and management by analysing the impact of real time mobility data of Mumbai and Delhi. It also proposed the Integrated Spatial Hierarchical Emergency Functional System (ISHEFS) to integrate the horizontal and vertical functions of the city and various stakeholders/ government departments in a single platform for efficient and effective recovery from the future pandemic. It highlights the establishment of the ISHEF system at neighbourhood and city level and how it will provide for the collection and analysis of spatial and factual ground level information in order to establish a common ground to address the pandemic situation for effective governance and community empowerment. The ISHEF System provides the flexibility to take decisions on the ground by understanding and analysing the existing situations. Hence, the paper discusses the flexibility of the ISHEF System which enables the field team to observe and analyse the real time challenges of transforming objectives and methodology to suit to the real time field situations and to be able to act in the shorter period of time as fast as possible to provide the solutions. The present hierarchical model will demonstrate successful city solutions for building a flexible, rapid, efficient and effective resilient city

Circular economy adoption challenges in the food supply chain for sustainable development

Food loss and waste are major issues in the food industry, and they affect all stages of the food supply chain (FSC). Food loss and waste are linked to environmental deterioration, economic loss, and an increase in hunger. Therefore, the food industry requires sustainable consumption and production (SCP) to reduce losses and waste. The circular economy (CE) concept has become a popular strategy for reducing food waste and boosting sustainability. Therefore, with efficient reverse logistics in the FSC, food producers can help achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) like SCP and zero hunger. In literature, minimal research has been available in identifying the CE adoption challenges in FSC. This research identifies 15 critical challenges from the literature and discussion with the panel of experts. The relationship between the challenges has been established through an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique. The challenges were characterized in cause–effect according to their relational intensity obtained using the grey decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique. Grey's relational theory is applied in DEMATEL to minimize uncertainty and vagueness of the expert judgment. The findings of this study suggest that creating policy from the government, providing incentives, and strictly enforcing environmental regulations are the most critical challenge. Hence, by focusing on the above, the effective adoption of the CE principle is achieved. This result also suggests that by addressing the challenges of CE, corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be performed. This study provides some recommendations for the practitioners to adopt CE towards sustainable development targets

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Enablers to achieve zero hunger through IoT and blockchain technology and transform the green food supply chain systems

Food security necessitates a multifaceted strategy, ranging from social protection to providing healthy food. Change in existing food systems is needed to create a more equitable and sustainable society. Hunger is one of the significant challenges in the world that arise due to food insecurity, bad quality, food waste, and losses that leads to damage of public health. The implementation of green food supply chain management (GFSCM) practices in the food supply chain helps in lowering food wastage, carbon emissions, food quality, and safety. To strengthen food security/safety and quality, digital transformation of the supply chain is required, and IoT and blockchain can help in achieving this. Digital transformation of GFSCM has helped to improve food security, safety and quality control. This study identifies modern enablers of food security, safety and quality that transform the GFSCM through Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain to reduce hunger. Zero hunger goal is far behind in India as India reported 117th rank in hunger index, indicating an urgent need to study the digital transformation in green food supply chain towards achieving food quality and security. In this study twelve enablers out of 16 suggested in earlier literatures has been selected and reconfirmed with the feedback of seventeen academia and Industrial experts from Indian food supply chain. We used a two-step combined Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) technique to examine the enablers contextual interrelationships and significance weights. Findings reveal that IoT and blockchain technologies are the main actuators of the contemporary GFSCM enabling system. ISM provides eight core enablers system that can transform the GFSCM digitally to achieve food quality and security along with achieving zero hunger (SDG2). Inventory management is the least ranked enabler, whereas IoT and blockchain are the top two. Towards achieving zero hunger, some management, theoretical, and policy implications have been suggested

Relative efficacy of organic acids and antibiotics as growth promoters in broiler chicken

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic acids as replacer to antibiotics in their various combinations on feed consumption, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in broiler chicks during different phases of growth. Materials and Methods: Antibiotics and organic acids were incorporated into boiler feed in different combinations to form 10 maize based test diets (T1 to T10). Each test diet was offered to four replicates of 10 birds each constituting a total of 400 birds kept for 45 days. Results: Significantly better effect in terms of body weight gain from supplementation of 1% citric acid and 1% citric acid along with antibiotic was observed throughout the entire study, whereas the effect of tartaric acid supplementation was similar to control group. Citric acid (1%) along with antibiotic supplementation showed highest feed intake during the experimental period. Significantly better FCR was observed in groups supplemented with 1% citric acid and 1% citric acid along with antibiotic followed by antibiotic along with organic acids supplemented group. Conclusion: Growth performance of birds in terms of body weight, body weight gain, and FCR improved significantly in 1% citric acid which was significantly higher than antibiotic supplemented group. 1% citric acid can effectively replace antibiotic growth promoter (chlortetracycline) without affecting growth performance of birds