Search results

Changes and transformations experienced today have created alternative lifestyles in cities. Many life concepts try to find solutions to environmental problems, so much so that this section focuses on smart eco-city concept, which is one of the trending city initiatives of the last century and is expected to become more popular each day. In the chapter, firstly, information about the concepts of eco-city and smart city is given and then what is meant by the concept of smart eco-city is discussed. Next, smart eco-cities have been tried to be explained with application examples. Finally, the chapter emphasizes the importance of ecological cities blended with technology for the sustainability of living spaces and offers implications for future research.

Cities and the tourism industry are closely related. Cities are destinations that serve for the welfare of the people and the tourists visiting the city. The tourism sector, on the other hand, uses the environmental and sociocultural resources of the cities, ensures that these resources are transferred to the future by protecting them, and contributes to the economic development of the cities by creating employment. Several urban models have been created within this framework to make urban tourism viable. Eco-city tourism is one of these urban design concepts. Eco-city tourism aims to protect cities from sociocultural, economic, and environmental factors while promoting their growth. Eco-city tourism, which includes a number of practices such as prevention of pollution, protection of biological diversity, consumption of renewable energy, production of local products, employment, and protection of cultural values, is easily implement in cities in an integrated manner with smart technological systems. Smart building and smart energy systems for energy saving, mobile applications, Wi-Fi, big data, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing are among the smart technological systems used in the tourism sector.

The aim of this paper is to analyze conceptual specificities and practical applications of Chinese eco-cities. The eco-cities, promoted by the government, reflect the combined pressure of urbanization and environmental protection in China.

In addition to literature and documentary material, the study is based on the experience of a Western architectural company which has participated in eco-city projects in China. This experience has been mapped via interviews in the company and among its partners and governmental stakeholders.

This study examines in detail the contents and practical applications of the Chinese eco-city concept. It illustrates and categorizes eco-city projects and analyzes the specificities of the urbanization in China as a driver for the development of eco-cities. Similarities and differences with the corresponding concepts, like smart cities, are discussed.

The eco-city concept is an important expression of sustainability concerns in China. New insights about its practical applications help to understand the specificities of environmental issues in developing economies, and comparison with the corresponding Western discussions helps to foster international collaboration in the sustainability context.

The rationality of the selection and application of policy instruments in current policy schemes for promoting the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China is examined and, in view of existing problems, effective suggestions for scientifically and reasonably organizing and designing policy instruments are proposed, which is of great significance to optimize the policy system for the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China and thereby promote sustainable urban development.

In the study, using 117 policy documents focusing on the development of low-carbon eco-cities issued by the Chinese central government as well as the relevant ministries and commissions between 2010 and 2019 and comprehensively adopting bibliometric and content analysis methods, the contents of policy documents are quantitatively analyzed from three dimensions: policy instrument, policy area and policy target.

The study finds the following. Ecological environment and low-carbon development are the focus of policy attention. Policy-promulgating institutions have formed a core subnetwork, that is, an “iron triangle.” There exists a structural imbalance in the use of policy instruments, and the distribution of policy instruments in different policy areas exhibits significant differentiating characteristics. Driven by different policy targets, the proportion of the policy instrument types adopted by the government is constantly changing. According to these findings, suggestions are put forward to optimize China's low-carbon eco-city development policy.

(1) A three-dimensional policy analysis framework is conducted from the perspective of policy instrument, which is innovative in theory. (2) This paper finds the selective utilization rationality and evolution rule of China's low-carbon eco-city development policy instruments. (3) Recommendations on optimizing China's low-carbon eco-city development policies are discussed systematically, which plays a theoretical guiding role in optimizing the development policies of low-carbon eco-cities in China.

This paper aims to examine the unique Chinese context by analyzing the city labels (e.g. smart city and eco city) used by Chinese local governments at or above the provincial capital level to represent themselves (adopted city labels) and the developmental pathways they actually pursued (adopted developmental pathways).

The authors compared the city brand choices to those anticipated based on their geographic and economic contexts (predicted city labels and developmental pathways) as well as the directives outlined in national planning documents (imposed city labels and developmental pathways). The authors identified ten main categories of city labels used to designate themselves and establish the frequency of their use based on municipal plan documents, economic and geographic data and national plan documents and policy reports, respectively.

The authors discovered that both local economic development and geographic factors, as well as top-down administrative influences, significantly impact city branding strategies in the 38 Chinese cities studied. When these models fall short in predicting adopted city labels and pathways, it is often because cities favor a service-oriented reputation over a manufacturing-focused one, and they prefer diverse, multifaceted industrial images to uniform ones.

The originality and value of this paper lie in its contribution to the academic literature on city branding by developing a predictive model for brand development at the municipal level, with explicit attention to the national-local nexus. The paper’s approach differs from existing research in the first cluster of city branding by not addressing issues of stakeholder involvement or adoption and implementation processes. Additionally, the paper’s focus on the political power dynamics at the national level and urban governance details at the municipal level provides a unique perspective on the topic. Overall, this paper provides a valuable contribution to the field of city branding by expanding the understanding of brand development and its impact on the socioeconomic environment.

Smart cities are an attempt to recognize the pioneering projects designed to make the cities livable, sustainable, functional and viable. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate funding released by the government city wise and sources available for finance for the development of the smart cities. The impact of fund released by the government for the development of smart cities (Chandigarh, Karnal, Faridabad, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Delhi, Lucknow and Agra) in India has been studied in detail. Urbanization is a continuous process, which is taking place throughout the globe, especially in developing countries like India.

The research is descriptive in nature. The sources of funding for smart cities in India have been taken into consideration, and χ² test of independence has been employed to study the impact of fund released by the government for smart city development in India by using IBM SPSS.

The total investment, area-based projects, pan-city initiatives and O&M costs for smart cities ranged between Rs 133,368 and Rs 203,979 lakh crores, Rs 105,621 and Rs 163,138 lakh crores, Rs 26,141 and Rs 38,840 lakh crores, and Rs 1,604 and Rs 1,999 lakh crores, respectively, in the year 2016 (for 60 smart cities) to 2017 (for 99 smart cities), which shows an increasing trend. The investment in retrofitting projects, redevelopment projects, greenfield projects and area-based projects ranged between Rs 94,419 and Rs 131,003 lakh crores, Rs 8,247 and Rs 23,119 lakh crores, Rs 2,955 and Rs 8,986 lakh crores, and Rs 105,621 and Rs 163,138 lakh crores, respectively, in the year 2016 (60 smart cities) to 2017 (99 smart cities), which shows the division of projects funding for smart city development in India. The funding released for smart city development such as other sources, loans from the financial institution, private investment, convergence, state government share funding and Central Government Funding ranged between Rs 14,828 and Rs 15,930 lakh crores, Rs 7,775 and Rs 9,795 lakh crores, Rs 30,858 and Rs 43,622 lakh crores, Rs 25,726 and Rs 43,088 lakh crores, Rs 27,260 and Rs 45,695 lakh crores, and Rs 29,207 and Rs 47,858 lakh crores, respectively, in the year 2016 (60 smart cities) to 2017 (99 smart cities), which reflects the different sources of funding for the development of smart cities in India. The χ² test of independence has been applied, which shows that there is no impact of fund released by the government on cities for smart city development in India as the p-values of Chandigarh (0.213), Karnal (0.199), Faridabad (0.213), Pune (0.199), Chennai (0.213), Ahmadabad (0.199), Kanpur (0.199), Delhi (0.199), Kolkata, Lucknow (0.213) and Agra (0.199) are greater than 0.05.

For the Smart Cities Mission to be financially sustainable, the right policy and institutional framework should be implemented for modernization and aggregation of government landholding. Consolidation of all the landholdings under the smart city project should be properly implemented, and the role of private sectors should be encouraged for public‒private partnership projects to make Smart City Mission more successful.

The benefits of smart cities development will help provide affordable, cleaner and greener housing infrastructure for all, especially the inclusive group of developers belonging to the lower middle-income strata of India, and the benefits will be replicated when adopted on a smaller scale in the rural part of the country.

The research paper is original and χ² test has been used to study the impact of fund released by the government for smart city development in India.

The increasing urbanization of the built environment has bolstered the need to promote green Building Information Modeling (BIM) initiative in new construction projects and the rehabilitation of old premises. This study aims to explore and examine the key benefits of the implementation of BIM and sustainability practices in the built environment.

The study gathered the worldwide perceptions of 220 survey participants from 21 countries which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential analytical methods. The identified individual benefits of green BIM were further categorized into their underlying clusters using factor analysis.

The key benefits are related to enhancing project efficiency and productivity, ensuring real-time sustainable design and multi-design alternatives, facilitating the selection of sustainable materials and components, together with reducing material wastage and project’s environmental impact, among others. The study analyzed and compared the perceptions of the diverse groups of the respondents as well.

Effective blueprints and insightful recommendations for enhancing the various stakeholders’ capacities to implement green BIM in their construction projects were put forward to achieve the aim of sustainable smart urbanization.

The study identified salient benefits of the adoption of BIM and sustainability practices. The proper integration of these concepts and the execution of the recommended useful strategies by construction stakeholders, policymakers and local authorities will enable the built environment to reap the gains of its implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine social sustainability effectiveness of eco-cities through the case of Masdar City’s strategy for urban sustainability in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Using a case study approach, the paper is an exploratory, qualitative analysis, which investigates the social, environmental and economic performance of Masdar City, a purported carbon-neutral, zero-waste urban development.

Though Masdar City substantively contributes to innovation in sustainable urban development within environmental and economic contexts and has been effective in capital circulation in green technology markets, the impetus as a commercially driven enterprise is most evident. Successful sustainable urban development requires greater consideration for the social imperative.

Eco-city mega-projects, such as Masdar City, have the potential to fuse achievements in innovation, technology and economic enterprise with the social imperative of functional urban habitats.

Eco-cities are of increasing interest given the growing need for sustainable, energy-efficient living. This paper contributes through a novel case study, exploring how the concept of the eco-city has been developed and understood in the Masdar City context and discusses successes and deficits in its strategic implementation.

Globally, urban planners and decision makers are pursuing place-based initiatives to develop and enhance urban infrastructure to optimise city performance, competitiveness and sustainability credentials. New discourses associated with big data, Building Information Modelling, SMART cities, green and biophilic thinking inform research, policy and practice agendas to varying extents. However, these discourses remain relatively isolated as much city planning is still pursued within traditional sectoral silos hindering integration. This research explores new conceptual ground at the Smart – Natural City interface within a safe interdisciplinary opportunity space. Using the city of Birmingham UK as a case study, a methodology was developed championing co-design, integration and social learning to develop a conceptual framework to navigate the challenges and opportunities at the Smart-Natural city interface. An innovation workshop and supplementary interviews drew upon the insights and experiences of 25 experts leading to the identification of five key spaces for the conceptualisation and delivery at the Smart-Natural city interface. At the core is the space for connectivity; surrounded by spaces for visioning, place-making, citizen-led participatorylearning and monitoring.The framework provides a starting point for improved discussions, understandings and negotiations to cover all components of this particular interface. Our results show the importance of using all spaces within shared narratives; moving towards ‘silver-green’ and living infrastructure and developing data in response to identified priorities. Whilst the need for vision has dominated traditional urban planning discourses we have identified the need for improved connectivity as a prerequisite. The use of all 5 characteristics collectively takes forward the literature on socio-ecological-technological relationships and heralds significant potential to inform and improve city governance frameworks, including the benefits of a transferable deliberative and co-design method that generates ownership with a real stake in the outcomes.