查看更多>>摘要：Energy and resource constraints are increasingly becoming a concern for populations,scientists and policy-makers.Implementing multi-faceted policies capable of maintaining or improving the current living standard,ensuring business and job opportunities as well as preserving environmental integrity and natural capital is becoming a priority in international strategies.One of the most demanding challenges for human beings in the near future is the development of energy policies characterized by low environmental impacts,prevention of resource scarcity and the possibility of achieving socioeconomic well-being.This Special Issue focuses on recent developments and visions in the field of energy and resource efficiency to promote sustainable environmental policies at different scales of processes,sectors and society.
Paolo de VingoWim VandewieleMarco CasazzaMassimiliano Lega...
121-137页
查看更多>>摘要：This paper aims at discussing the importance of environmental factors in the stability of communities at local scale.Two case studies,referred to two medieval monastic communities are chosen as historical examples,under low-carbon conditions,to show the effects of the interplay between a lack of Community Based Adaptation (CBA) and difficult or changing environmental conditions.The case studies refer to the monastery of Bobbio (Piacenza,Emilia-Romagna,Italy) and Castelletto Cervo (Biella,Piedmont,Italy).In particular,the first case shows a lack of transformation of harsh regulations to the difficult environmental conditions of that time,which leaded to a revolt inside the monastery.On the other side,the decline of Castelletto Cervo Cluniac priory depended upon a bad management of economic resources in a time of environmental variability,which affected the agricultural yield and the life of many villages in the considered area.The choice analyzing the case of two low-carbon communities (i.e.: before the ⅩⅥ century,when the massive diffusion and use of coal modified these conditions) depends on the present international political will and plans of decarbonizing our societal lifestyles.This research highlights the hidden environmental causes behind the social instability and,in one case,the collapse of the community.Besides further reasons for historical interest,which are not deepened in this research,these case studies show that environmental factors are often unseen or neglected in planning the life of a community,also exerting a strong influence on real economy at local level.In order to develop appropriate policies to guarantee a long-term resilience for the socio-ecological stability of communities,an adequate monitoring of appropriate environmental and social parameters can sup-port planning activities.
查看更多>>摘要：The paper aims at showing that the problems concerning the aspects mentioned in the title can better be analyzed by focusing on the formal languages adopted to describe them.This is because any formal language is always the faithful "reflex" of the subjacent mental categories aprioristically adopted to describe the surrounding world.At the same time,the recognized expressive capacity of any formal language decisively influences the way of thinking,decision making and acting.Up to know all the aforementioned aspects have usually been dealt with in terms of Traditional Differential Calculus (TDC),which however presents some unsolvable and/or intractable problems and,in some cases,it offers solutions characterized by a "drift" (with respect to experimental results),which often represents a "symptom" of possible "side effects".A different formal language,however,is now contextually possible.It is precisely that which emerges from the original thermodynamic approach proposed by Boltzmann and Lotka and,afterwards,much more deeply developed by H.T.Odum.A new scientific approach that has more recently led to a formal language termed as Incipient Differential Calculus (IDC).The different solutions obtainable by adopting the two distinct formal languages,although with reference to the same problems,will be illustrated through the following ostensive examples: the research for equilibrium conditions in a free-market economy,the development of renewable energy sources,climate change forecasts,and some problems related to human health (for instance,new oncological therapies).The paper concludes by asking a basic question: "Where are we going?" In this respect the paper delineates three possible answers: i) a generalized persistence in the traditional formal approach (TDC);ii) some occasional adoptions of the innovative IDC approach;iii) more probably it may be expected the adoption of both approaches at the same time,so as to choose the optimal solutions on the basis of the corresponding experimental results.
查看更多>>摘要：This study provides a snapshot of the sustainability of selected Indian cities by employing 57 indicators in four dimensions to develop an overall city sustainability index.In recent years,'urban sustainability'has become a prominent concept due to its complexity.Urban areas propel growth and at the same time pose a number of ecological,social and infrastructural problems and risks.High population density and continuous immigration among developing countries produced the highest risk in natural and manmade disasters.These issues and the inability of policy-makers in providing basic services make the cities unsustainable.The objective of the paper is to develop a city sustainability index (CSI) to measure and evaluate the urban regions in terms of sustainable performance.A benchmark approach is used to measure the cumulative performance of the 25 largest Indian cities based on economic,environmental,social and institutional dimensions.The CSI,consisting of four dimensions disaggregates into 14 categories and ultimately into 57 indicators.The data are obtained from public and non-governmental organizations,as also from city officials and experts.The results show that five of India's largest cities-Delhi,Bangalore,Hyderabad,Chennai and Mumbai-take the lead in sustainability.India's largest financial center,Mumbai,ranks relatively low in social and environmental dimensions due to inadequate infrastructure,losing out to a new entrant,Hyderabad.Kolkata's score is harmed by relatively poor infrastructure and low per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP).By ranking a sample of diverse cities on a set of specific dimensions the study can serve as a baseline of current conditions and a marker for referencing future results.The benchmarks and indices presented in the study provide a unique resource for the government and the city authorities to learn about the positive and negative attributes of the city and prepare plans for sustainable urban development.
查看更多>>摘要：Urbanization,that is the expansion of cities and the emptying of the countryside,has been the trend of the last decades and does not seem to stop.In light of this phenomenon,quantitatively analyzing cities through shared and standardized methods has become a scientific urgency.Nevertheless,the efforts made so far have proved to be insufficient,and a science of cities is still far from being constituted.In this paper we present a first attempt to evaluate the energy metabolism of Napoli and Hong Kong through the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) and its End-Use Matrix,that is connecting produced and consumed flows to their users.The comparative analysis provides interesting results and potentially allows for useful policy recommendations.
Marco CasazzaPier Luigi AccardoVincenzo SeverinoMassimiliano Lega...
197-211页
查看更多>>摘要：Slums represent a sort of black box within the urban environment,generating multiple impacts,that are often acknowledged,but forgotten by urban planners and policy-makers when envisioning the future of cities,due to the dimension of social exclusion in which slum dwellers live.These criticalities pose a further threat to urban sustainability.The first problem is revealed by the lack of quantifications about many environmental and socioeconomic factors,as well as by a general lack of understanding about slums as systems.This study is aimed at overcoming the present knowledge weakness,developing a preliminary site-specific system representation of a slum as a system.In particular,a case study of a Gypsy camp in Napoli (S Italy) was chosen for such a purpose.Focusing on solid waste,an approximate evaluation of informal waste picking activity was performed.Basic parameters of generated wastewater,which is dispersed in the environment due to the absence of any sewerage infrastructure,are accounted according to environmental engineering standards.In addition,considering a second abandoned camp (Brecce Sant'Erasmo,Napoli,Italy),specific-site remediation costs were calculated.Results evidence the necessity of a better understanding of resources flows within slums.A first planning action for the studied area would be to separate the areas for waste processing with respect to living areas.Basic infrastructures for solid waste and wastewater management are also necessary to improve the life quality of slum dwellers,while redncing the existing impacts.Finally,also a study to detail atmospheric emissions characteristics would be desirable.Specific upgrading solutions are indicated on the basis of the existing literature.They include planning and monitoring actions,together with the development of engineered solutions for waste and wastewater management.
查看更多>>摘要：Building design needs to consider that the lifetime of its products will likely face relevant environmental and socio-economic changes,strongly related to the limits imposed by the geo-biosphere.Taking action to face such limits beyond trendy,debatable "green-washing" policies can be either a forward-looking choice or rather something imposed by necessity.These have been the premises of the collaboration between humanitarian NGO Emergency Onlus and architecture firm TAMassociati in designing hospitals in the African regions of Sahara and Sahel: in fact,several African countries-long living in scarcity-represent an example,and an opportunity to learn of some alternative to the mainstream development model.In this work,some vernacular building techniques are revisited towards a low-tech innovation for energy saving and renewables use that,in a next future,could turn out to be useful also for architecture in the Global North;they are here reviewed under a systemic point of view,and presented with the evaluation of their potential advantages in terms of long-term socioenvironmental sustainability.The investigated low-tech innovations able to use local renewables yield net savings one order of magnitude higher than conventional solutions,while granting a strict energy demand such as that of a specialised North-like hospital in a hot dry area.Such results seem therefore as an encouraging example from which to learn also in other contexts with a milder climate,where possible poorer energy drivers (e.g.,the sun) would be clearly matched to less extreme conditions.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper presents the results of a survey designed to explore the wide range of issues and concerns related to energy efficiency implementation.The survey also assessed the level of engagement of the different kinds of stakeholders and related actors.The International Energy Agency estimates that energy efficiency may generate a reduction in global energy demand by 2030,assuming that nations keep recent commitments to energy efficiency policies and that energy efficiency is placed on an equal footing with any other energy resource and it can contribute to the three main challenges of world energy policy: energy security,sustainability and economic development.This reduction will be possible thanks to new technology and stricter government policies,but while overall per capita energy demand is expected to decrease,demand for electricity is foreseen to double by 2060,requiring greater infrastructure investment in smart systems that promote energy efficiency.Energy efficiency advocates also argue that efficiency improvements can provide social benefits such as increased productivity and employment.Anyway,the actual impact of the energy efficiency implementation remains uncertain.In this framework,engaging all the stakeholders and empowering them as the main actors of these policies and plans becomes crucial.Nevertheless,according to the surveyed stakeholders,uncertainty and concerns about EE policies remain high and call for increased focus on education and good practices.
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