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Integrating and advancing social sustainability is foundational to achieving the urban sustainable development goals. Given the rapid transformation of cities in the Mediterranean region, this study sought to assess residents' evaluation of social sustainability in two socio-spatially diverse neighbourhoods of metropolitan Istanbul.

A questionnaire survey, adapted from an empirically well-tested and robust social sustainability framework, was used to collect data from 197 residents from Balat and Rasimpasa neighbourhoods in Metropolitan Istanbul. The study then employed quantitative analytical techniques such as independent sample t-tests and Pearson correlation to analyse the sample data.

In both neighbourhoods, accessibility and participation were ranked the highest and lowest dimensions of social sustainability, respectively. However, the t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the two neighbourhoods regarding social networking and interaction, safety and security and participation. The differences align with emerging studies on urban social sustainability in the Mediterranean and European cities that when considered from urban spatial contexts, significant differences emerge from a social network and safety perspective.

Our study invites urban planners and policy makers attention to and emphasise on lowly evaluated social sustainability dimensions such as participation in their efforts to promote sustainable urban development at the neighbourhood level. We reason that opening the decision-making process to include diverse voices and experiences of residents through participatory workshops might offer opportunities for context-specific, citizen-led urban planning and design strategies that are socially sustainable.

Previous studies have not fully accounted for how various socio-spatial contexts at the neighbourhood level shape differential evaluation of social sustainability. This paper extends the emerging work on urban social sustainability by situating residents’ evaluation of social sustainability indicators across two unique neighbourhoods with gridded and organic spatial characteristics in Istanbul. This paper is an important addition to ongoing work on how spatial organisation of neighbourhoods can influence experiences of social sustainability from an urban planning and design perspective.

This study aims to understand the utility of personas and illustrate, through a case study, how a persona-building exercise in a Community Based Prevention Marketing (CBPM) training of community leaders elicited important insights that complemented findings from ongoing formative research on vaccine hesitancy in the Hispanic/Latino population in the USA during COVID-19 pandemic.

An exploratory concurrent parallel qualitative study design compared three personas created by community-based organization members (n = 37) to transcripts from five formative research focus groups (n = 30) from the same project. All participants in this study were recruited by the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network as part of their capacity-building and formative research activities. Grounded theory guided the content analysis.

This study found personas and focus groups to be complementary. A high degree of co-occurrence was observed when investigating the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine under the categories of barriers, culture and communication. Between the two methods, the authors found strong associations between fear, disruption to the value system, work-related barriers, inaccessibility to health care and information sources and misinformation. Areas of divergence were negligible.

While personas provided background information about the population and sharing “how” to reach the priority population, focus groups provided the “why” behind the behavior, followed by “how”.

A community-driven persona-building process built on cultural community knowledge and existing data can build community capacity, provide rich information to assist in the creation of tailored messages, strategies and overall interventions during a public health crisis and provide user-centered, evidence-based information about a priority population while researchers and practitioners wait on the results from formative research.

This case study provided a unique opportunity to analyze the complementary effectiveness of two methods acting in tandem to understand the priority population: stakeholder-informed persona-building and participant-informed focus group interviews. Understanding their complementary nature addresses a time gap that often exists between researchers and practitioners during times of crises and builds on recommendations associated with bringing rigor into practice, promoting academic contribution to real-world issues and building collaborative partnerships. Finally, it supports the utility of a nimble tool that improves social marketers’ ability to know more about their audience for intervention design when time is of the essence and formative research is ongoing.

This study explores resilience learning from uncertainty, taking a holistic view by considering individual, firm and contextual factors. Resilience development is understood by focusing on how uncertainty is related to entrepreneurs and their environment, suggesting that developing resilience needs to be a continuous learning process.

This qualitative study explores factors related to entrepreneurial uncertainty, resilience and learning. Evidence is drawn from interviews with rural entrepreneurs in two regions of Indonesia, and analyzed using a rigorous approach to generate codes, second-order themes and aggregate dimensions for the theoretical contributions.

Uncertainty readiness, uncertainty response and uncertainty opportunity for resilience emerge as the key learning areas from this study. They are related to resilience on a personal, community and systemic level. The proposed framework relates learning from uncertainty to the process of developing resilience for entrepreneurs and their communities.

This study proposes a framework based on resilience motivation and learning from uncertainty as usual. It explores the relationships between uncertainty readiness, responses and opportunities with personal, relational and systemic resilience factors. This contributes to entrepreneurship behavior research at the intersection of organization studies and management in the socio-economic and often informal context of developing countries.

This paper aims to study the inequalities faced by older people through the analysis of semistructured interviews with older residents of Saint Petersburg and the villages in the Republic of Karelia in Russia.

The authors begin the research by studying the nature of the perception of inequalities in older people’s lives, as well as examining the concept of inequality in the context of modern reality affected by the pandemic and postpandemic repercussions. Furthermore, the authors analyze empirical cases and, using thematic analysis, examine the specifics and the nature of the emerging inequalities, as well as the ways in which older people overcome them. In the modern world, individual rather than class competition is increasingly manifested, which stipulates the specific character of research associated with the necessity to study personal competition and interactions in the context of everyday life. The empirical basis of the study was 30 semistructured interviews conducted in 2022 in St. Petersburg and rural areas of the Republic of Karelia. The study of the everyday features of the manifestation of inequalities and ageism was carried out using modern sociological approaches.

It is concluded that older people find ways to adapt to social changes in pandemic and postpandemic times through strategies such as emotional reflection on the past, hobbies, reviewing old resources and searching for new ones, changing ways of communication and solving problems. The desire to take care of one’s own well-being is becoming an important focus of attention for the older in their daily routine.

These strategies create positive opportunities for adaptation and contribute to reducing the fears and anxiety of the elderly regarding the possible return to similar situations like the COVID-19 pandemic and related inequalities.

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between building regulations, urban planning, and perceptions of housing affordability and prices in Prishtina, Kosovo.

A self-report survey with 1,000 respondents, selected through stratified probability sampling, provided the necessary data. Principal component analysis was applied to the questionnaire's internal structure, while regression analysis helped uncover housing affordability and housing prices perception predictors.

The study found that building regulation standards and zoning/land-use regulations reveal positive relationships with housing prices and housing affordability perception. Among these components, building regulations and standards show a stronger connection with housing affordability and price perception in comparison to urban planning and development.

By investigating the relationship between building regulations, urban planning, and housing affordability and price perception in Prishtina, the present research makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature. The findings of this research hold significant implications for policymakers, urban planners, and developers, highlighting the relevance of adopting a well-balanced approach to building regulations and urban planning in order to uphold and maintain housing affordability and understand housing price dynamics.

The novelty of this research originates from the investigation of these relationships within a rapidly urbanizing city context, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics between regulatory policies and outcomes in the housing market. Further research should examine additional dimensions and employ longitudinal designs to gain a deeper understanding of the components predicting housing affordability and price perception in Prishtina and similar urban contexts.

This study aims to explore the manifold implications – health, environmental and economic – of integrating coworking spaces (CSs) into residential settings. The research emphasizes the health-related potential and connected benefits of situating these contemporary spaces of work in retrofitted buildings.

The research highlights the potential of retrofitted buildings – owing to their urban locations, existing infrastructure, and available space – to accommodate CSs. Employing the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology, the paper systematically reviews literature from 2010 to 2021. It investigates the influence of residential CSs on health, community cohesion and environmental sustainability.

The results indicate that integrating CSs within residential areas can significantly enhance user wellbeing, create a healthier residential environment and positively impact the broader community. Retrofitted buildings emerge as optimal venues for CSs due to their urban positioning and potential to contribute to users' physical, mental and social health. However, the strategic (re)use of retrofitted buildings is crucial, alongside planning to address potential downsides like gentrification.

The study is based on a literature review and may not fully capture the specificities of certain regional or local conditions that could affect the health benefits associated with CSs. In addition to that, the study primarily references European-centric research between 2010 and 2021, indicating a need for more diverse geographic and cultural studies. Further empirical studies are needed to validate the findings behind the following study.

The findings of this study can guide urban planners, policymakers and architects in assessing the feasibility of converting residential buildings into CSs and planning relevant activities. They can leverage the potential health benefits to promote CSs and encourage healthier lifestyle practices in residential communities.

Introducing CSs in residential areas can lead to reduced commuting stress, opportunities for physical activities and social interactions, and healthier lifestyle practices. These benefits can enhance the overall well-being of individuals and communities, fostering a stronger social fabric in urban settings.

This research is novel in examining the health benefits associated with CSs in residential areas and the role of retrofitted buildings in promoting such advantages.

This chapter embarks on a cross-Asian comparison to glean valuable insights from various regions and religious contexts. By examining family planning practices and challenges in different parts of Asia, valuable lessons are uncovered that can inform policies, programs, and initiatives aimed at achieving family planning-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). The complexities and nuances of family planning across diverse cultural, social, and religious landscapes are delved into, shedding light on both common threads and unique challenges faced by marginalized communities. Through this comparative analysis, the aim is to contribute to a holistic understanding of family planning in Asia and provide actionable recommendations to enhance access, equity, and outcomes in pursuit of family planning-related SDGs.

This study aims to explore the relationship between contemporary cities and traditional urban forms. The central focus lies in identifying the key factors that facilitate the harmonious coexistence of these contrasting sides of the city.

This study takes Iranian bazaars as exemplars of traditional urban forms. To assess their current status, a comprehensive examination of their general evolution is conducted, tracing the transition of these urban complexes up to the present day. Subsequently, morphological analysis and exploration of spatial arrangements across numerous cases are employed to unveil the factors contributing to their disappearance or adaptation within the framework of Iran’s contemporary urban era.

The evolution process of the Iranian bazaar shows that the encounter between traditional bazaars and modernity occurred swiftly and blindly, resulting in adverse effects on traditional urban forms, notably bazaars. In recent years, contemporary urban planning has undertaken corrective measures, adopting a more nuanced approach. This shift significantly strides in restoring the symbiotic relationship between cities and their traditional bazaars. Morphologically, certain bazaars have preserved their vitality in contemporary cities through their natural development patterns, adept integration with new urban textures and the implementation of ingenious adaptive strategies.

This study employs a comprehensive and equitable approach to examining a distinct category of traditional urban forms. It initiates the inquiry by meticulously considering historical continuity in conjunction with detailed contemporary circumstances, subsequently scrutinising their losses, damages and developmental aspects. An extensive collection of cases is assembled and subjected to a consistent analytical framework for comparative evaluation to obtain the most accurate result. Consequently, the outcomes of this research may help the present urban planners engaged in projects concerning the restoration, preservation, revitalisation and development of traditional urban forms.

As the lines between physical and virtual worlds blur, this chapter delves into the transformative potential of the smart technology of Metaverse for people's mobility. Through a literature review, the concepts of smart city and Metaverse are revealed, and a comparison between urban mobility and virtual mobility is conducted, looking for a seamless blend of virtual and physical realms. This chapter paves the way for exciting possibilities, from enhanced travel experiences to environmental and societal benefits. However, cautiously, acknowledging the potential downsides of relying on the virtual realm in mobility, this chapter advocates for a balanced approach. Ultimately, this chapter seeks to ignite a conversation about reimagining our cities with Metaverse-driven mobility as a guiding force, where people and places harmoniously converge with Metaverse technology. By combining real-time information, virtual platforms, shared mobility services, efficient urban design and supportive policies, people can make smarter mobility choices that reduce environmental impact and enhance the overall travel experience.