Upcoming issues

2019

Vol 4, issue #2 (2019): Innovative Approaches Towards Preserving the Environment

Deadline to submit: 1 May 2019

The world environmental problems have suffered from a prolonged period of seclusion in the eyes of the global community. Nevertheless; after the world has experienced a leap in various disciplines, preserving the environment has become a universal concern. Consequently, discussing the issue of “Innovative approaches towards preserving the environment” is a conversation of critical importance to alternate the societal way of thinking, moreover; shedding the light on the focal role of academic research is crucial to start reaching goals, instead of counting failures. The dire state of the world environmental problems demands innovative solutions that have the ability to tackle complex issues. The society is obligated to adopt dynamic approaches to successfully address the matters at hand. For instance, if we look closely at the topic of climate change, it is quite apparent that the issue needs to be examined from different angles, and inventive solutions need to surface. The preservation of the environment is every person’s concern as it impacts climate change, biodiversity, energy efficiency, renewable energy, recycling, land degradation, natural resources protection, natural disaster rates and agricultural production. In order to reach a permanent solution, a set of skills and modernized knowledge of multiple fields need to be put in action, such as behavioral science, community involvement, politics and economics. The execution of the answers to numerous environmental problems must be implemented through harmoniously coordinating the efforts of the participants with their different backgrounds. The bearing of these solutions through time has to be achieved through acknowledging the complexity of the issues and the readiness to change the current hierarchy of the environmental management. Although the environmental issues are measurable, researchers are always faced with some level of scientific uncertainty, in addition to the uncontrollable factor of the ever-changing nature of the climate. Hence, society needs to adopt a dynamic mindset to flourish in prosperity.

Important topics:

1. Climate change adaptation and natural disaster

2. Innovative concept in energy efficiency in all disciplines

3. New technology in recycling and renewable energy

4. Biodiversity, agricultural production and land degradation

5. Natural resources protection

6. Footprint and technology for behavioral changes

7. Community involvement in sustainable development

8. Green economics and politics

9. Improving water quality and the efficiency of the sustainable use of water in all sectors

10. Intelligent systems in areas and buildings in the application of new and renewable energy

11. Integrated management for facing disasters

12. Education, awareness, human abilities and corporate abilities for reducing climate change

13. Developing and upgrading poor districts and slums for sustainable development

14. Protecting and preserving the cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable urban design

15. Methods of providing sustainable, safe and affordable means of transportation and safety

16. Finding renewable energy and achieving sustainable development for human settlements

17. Developing legislation concerning the improvement of environment and sustainable urbanism

18. Biomedical engineering culture and its impact on urban sustainability

2019

Vol 4, issue #1 (2019): Improving Sustainability Concept: From Theories to Successful Practices (Special Issue)

Deadline to submit: 30 January 2019

Guest edited by:

Antonella Versaci

Hocine Bougdah

Mourad Amer

Activating sustainability concept in practices is a critical issue that achieves sustainable development of the whole cities. The sustainable city is a rather recent concept, which has managed to gain increasing attention over the last decades, both through the international community and through grass root movements. This special issue on Improving Sustainability Concept: From Theories to Successful Practices aims to explore how the sustainable city can be translated from theory to practice. Upon discussing the topic of urban planning, participants take a close look at the matter of living in an eco-city, as the concept regards the integration of land-use and transportation systems which is a solution to improve the efficiency of cities. Paying close attention to this issue allows for a balance between land-use and the environment, accordingly, the spread of land can continue but not on the expense of greenhouse gas emissions. It is believed that this balance could be achieved by adopting a long-term political engagement plan as retrieved from the experience of the cities who implemented customized strategic plans. The conflicting interest of growth is found to be an obstacle when it comes to applying radial strategies. Subsequently, governments avoid adopting these concepts and would rather think of them as a constant process.

The following topics are a part of the raised discussion on the concept of sustainability, but it also includes different themes according to authors’ interests:

1. Sustainable urban design

2. Mobility in urban design

3. Energy consumption

4. Energy performance simulation in design process

5. Materials and technology

6. Life cycle assessment for materials

7. Occupancy comfort

8. Energy efficiency in (heating–cooling–lighting)

9. Waste and water recycling

10. Economic efficiency and life cycle cost in building

11. Nature and green building challenges

12. Ecological and cultural sensitivity