Search

Going green... So many projects to reduce environmental impact start this way and continue with the first task being to eliminate printed communication and go paperless and digital. All this is not driven by thoughtful environmental considerations, but by an aversion to paper-based communication that is wrongly anchored in the social consciousness. The authors draw attention to the misconceptions that people have about paper-based communication, showing that they are untrue and that they are often used to greenwash the digital world, thus distracting attention from the harmful environmental impact of their own processes. At the same time, they present the facts against the myths, citing scientific sources and reports, as well as their own research. They analyse the real environmental impacts of paper-based communication and the extent to which technology processes meet sustainability requirements. The world of print communication (including the modern printing industry) attaches great importance to sustainability. The Gutenberg galaxy has provided the basis for the development of human knowledge and culture for half a millennium and plans to continue to play this role in the future. It aims to meet the requirements of environmental sustainability, the circular economy and to work with the rest of the supply chain to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors detail and analyse these processes in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is one of the basic necessities of life. However, water crises have become more frequent around the world as billions of people continue to suffer from a lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Water is a limited resource that has been in growing demand - with the world's population increasing and water-intensive economic development continuing, infrastructure of many countries is not fit to meet accelerating demand. With climate change and its variability fluctuations in rainfall and extreme temperatures occur, causing shorter rain seasons and longer dry periods - making water and its availability more unpredictable. These changes have a serious impact on lives and livelihoods. Water is essential in all sectors for the production of food, energy, goods, and services. Over the past century, global water consumption has increased at more than twice the rate of population growth. Many water sources are drying up, more polluted, or both. The European Environment Agency (EEA) defines water stress as a situation where there is not enough water of sufficient quality to meet the needs of the people and of the environment. Lack of water is a relative term, the amount of water that is physically available changes as supply and demand change. Water scarcity intensifies when demand increases and/or when water supply is affected by declining quantity or quality. Water, energy and food security are key to sustainable long-term economic development and human well-being. The water, energy and food nexus focuses on decision-making in the complex linkages between systems that produce, supply and use goods and resources. The purpose of assessing such linkages is to identify untapped potential of synergies, such as in the case of water- and energy-related measures and the consequent impact of coordinated measures in contrast to uncoordinated measures. Based on the application of scientific methods in relation to the investigation of sustainability in water resources (the "W" Matrix in the framework of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus) on the background of quantitative & qualitative sustainable development and CSR trends, the main aim of our paper is to assess sustainability in water resources in the context of the WEF nexus as well as in the light of the United Nations 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to formulate opportunities arising from the European Union Recovery and Resilience Plans. When documenting quantitative & qualitative sustainable development trends in the context of the WEF Nexus, our paper addressed the United Nations 2030 Agenda (alias "SDG diplomacy") as well as the NextGenerationEU Agenda (alias "Green Deal diplomacy"). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to sustainable pathways of economic development depends on the clear understanding of the sustainability principles, but it also needs ability to evaluate critically conventional professional practices and rethink them into sustainable one. However, the previous years of struggling for economic transformations have showed a serious issue - lack of action competence when it comes to the implementation of the sustainable solutions. The design thinking is a core of professional competency and high performance, but it must also incorporate skills to act and perform according to the plan. It is especially important for projects embedding sustainable solutions, which are often seen as a complicated and not profitable activity, demanding considerable investments. Moreover, this kind of perception is often demonstrated by all stakeholders - developers, businessmen and authorities. Thus, we believe that action competence must be a fundamental element of design thinking development in students. The most suitable platform for this is project-based learning, which should include a block of feasibility assessment and implementation planning. The paper presents the description of training methods and approaches for building the bridge between design thinking and action competence, based on the project-based courses delivered in Liepaja University and National Aviation University. The methodology of the research included three rounds of experiments, involving student works rating, student self-assessment and peer-review, which undergo analysis as well. The results of the work offer recommendations on the improvement of project design skills and action competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerability, land use and sustainability are some of the main elements of major concern in the last decades that can be translated in practice through efficient development and planning. The role land use plays is recognized worldwide due to the rapid and continuous urban growth and development, which determine the occurrence of new powerful forces leading to social, demographical, environmental, technological and governmental changes. The large number of disasters in recent years demonstrated that the most effective and accessible method of reducing the pressure exerted by natural and technological risks is to reduce the level of vulnerability of communities exposed to a particular hazard. The vulnerability of populated areas to natural and technological disasters is also exacerbated by the decades of inefficient spatial planning policies that did not incorporate hazards and risks. This paper is aiming to create a bridge between the existing vulnerability theories and their implementation in land use planning policies, by assessing the need of a new methodology that will incorporate vulnerability reduction into spatial planning. The paper focuses on a case study of a developing country in SE Europe, Romania, using high resolution data obtained from the Urban Atlas inventory. The discussion and results section illustrates the spatial development of urban and rural areas in Romania in the last years. Moreover, this section demonstrates the impact of land use changes on vulnerability and the need to develop future sustainable development policies that can support decision makers, coming from the public or the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to ensure economic development and respect of the principle of sustainability, the European Union has introduced a number of innovations in the legal framework and thus provided a large amount of money to modernize the economy. The benefits brought by the new economic model (circular economy) are reflected in the reduction of harmful effects on the environment, increased resource productivity, job creation, reduced dependence on raw material imports, increased competitiveness of the economy and encouraging sustainable economic development. The aim of the paper is to analyse and introduce the circular economy concept and to propose measures, steps and methods to simplify the introduction of the concept into the economy. The paper is structured in such a way that after the introduction follows a call to recent literature. Then it proceeds with performance analysis of the circular economy implication in the countries of the European Union. Subsequently, the authors present the proposals of measures that could be used to implement the circular economy together with a short conclusion at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable development involves economic development, social development, ecological development, political development, human development, spiritual and cultural development. All these elements pursue three fundamental objectives: smart growth - developing a knowledge and innovation-based economy, sustainable growth - promoting a more competitive and greener economy, in which resources are used more efficiently and inclusive growth - encouraging or high employment of the workforce, to ensure social and territorial cohesion. The production of basic food products using environmentally friendly technologies is a viable alternative for the recovery of waste or by-products resulting from manufacturing processes. One such alternative is the use of grape pomace and red cabbage outer leaves to make yogurt. The paper shows the evolution of the prebiotic activity of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. Bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus (microorganisms used in the manufacture of yogurt) when grape pomace and cabbage outer leaves were used to fortify the milk base. After fortifying the milk base by adding the two by-products, the milk was inoculated with a culture formed by the two microorganisms. The quantification of the two microorganisms was done after 24 hours of thermostating. Physico-chemical analyzes were also performed in order to verify the quality of the improved yoghurts by comparison with the control test (yogurt without additives). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the flat roof of low-energy buildings. The building sector is currently focusing on the maximum energy efficiency of buildings and related energy savings. At present, the building sector holds more than 40% of energy consumption and 36% production of greenhouse gas emissions. The whole sector of buildings uses more than 50% of the Earth's raw materials and produces approximately 50% of world waste. Roofs occupy about 20–25% of urban surfaces. The green construction practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. According to the principles of sustainable development, future construction should be more focused on the reduction of pollution of the environment and the effective using of material resources. The aim of the contribution is multi-criteria assessment of the sustainability of the flat roofs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the sustainability of six types of flat roofing systems in terms of environmental and thermal - technical parameters, financial and time requirements. The result of the contribution is the recommendation of the most suitable option for implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way people perceive risks determines their reactions to and engagement in public campaigns, new development projects or clean-up and remediation initiatives. Since local communities represent important stakeholders in the sustainable development of a region, their beliefs and social representations of risk are important indicators that need a careful analysis. Mining communities are of particular interest to social and environmental scientists given the long-term pollution resulting from such activities and the exposure to harmful chemical compounds. The paper examines the perception of environmental risks induced by mining in one still active and two former mining areas in the Apuseni Mountains (Alba County), in Romania. The results achieved from 292 questionnaires are interpreted in order to determine the locals’ knowledge on and perception of the environmental risks they are exposed to. The results represent the input for improved local governance, as well as community engagement opportunities in the sustainable development of this mining region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper handles the sustainable development tools used to support the development in bi centric Hradec Králové - Pardubice agglomeration. Because the agglomeration is unique in its type - a conurbation forming the agglomeration core - the adjustment of mutual relations in the cooperation towards sustainable development of the agglomeration is important. One of the tools is ITI strategy which is aimed to set up and deepen the cooperation of not only the core cities but also other municipalities situated in the agglomeration territory. The strategy enables to detect the primary and secondary objectives of the development and proposes the form of their financing from actually available sources. Referring to sustainability pillars the paper deals with economic sustainability pillar in relation to the strategy which provides an efficient tool for the agglomeration sustainability. In order to develop sustainable behaviour of society and ensure long-term prosperity it is necessary to create balance between the production and consumption volumes based on supply and demand. Theoretical essays offer ideas of long-term influence on supply and demand bearing on the behaviour of economic entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many European regeneration projects in large urban distressed areas arise as the result of industrial dismissal sites, ensuing unemployment, poverty, environmental damage and social exclusion. In order to contribute to the development of innovative policies for integrated regeneration and renewal of depressed urban areas, the paper addresses the experience of the London's South Bank project. Several integrated and complex projects have converted this area (formerly home to factories and working-class houses) into one of Europe's most important cultural hubs. After a brief description of the process through which the area has been transformed, this paper focuses on the strategies and feasibility factors that have led to a successful regeneration project, known for being packed with opportunities and amenities that attract millions of visitors every year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historic military complexes form a separate typological genre, with unique hieratic site plans, stately yet austere stylistics and a multiplex functional program. They form a significant portion of historic landscape in garrison towns, as both material and immaterial heritage. It is essential, that as many of the complexes as possible are preserved to serve as historic links for future generations. Luckily, their innate characteristics predispose them to adaptations for diverse purposes once demilitarized. The paper aims to present the full scope of possibilities of these regeneration efforts. However, one of the specifics of the military facilities is restriction. They are by default self-sufficient and removed from the urban area and as such require effort to reintroduce them into city scope. Understanding that only the most significant examples should be preserved to allow for evolution of historic cities, in the course of her research the author established a set of criteria which can be found in those compounds that are worth the effort and in the paper embarks to verify and refine the findings through vide variety of case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographic origin of pollution is disconnected from its scale or place of occurrence, and some environmental problems could have impact easily on the entire planet. Currently it is noticeable a continuous agravation of pollution and a change in the basics of ecological problems. Local pollution is replaced by global issues such as climate change or biodiversity loss. The paper attempted to reveal the direction of policy measures that target sustainability within a global context. The paper makes an incursion in the field of policy measures aimed to correct the environmental relations of the contemporary society and assess the anticipative and the strategies of integration by referring to level of greening occuring throughout the economy and the social behavior. Therefore, many environmentally harmfull processes continued and still are continuing to date making the policy agenda more and more crowded and reliefing the urgency of action, which is one of the main concerns today. Meanwhile, in the economy there are symptoms of "greening", although confusion is still a significant issue among companies that attempt to change beneath the pressure of legal, financial, and information strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach of topic on sustainable development is a strong challenge for research and practical area. Related to this concept we remark multiple and various interest and, also, its use in all economic areas, in civil society, in quotidian life, in politics and strategies for development customized for each country. In essence, the sustainability concept was generated by awareness of need to solve economic, social and environmental problems occurred mainly in the last 30 years, as a direct consequence of the economic and social rapid progress achieved in almost all world's countries and in the European countries, too. We observed that in the East-European countries the policies and strategies of sustainable development are not similar to these of other European developed countries. Although the principles of sustainable development functioning are well known, disseminated and assimilated by corporate and administrative entities, it can be noticed that exist certain factors which disturb the implementation process and performance of sustainable development perceived as a comprehensive and complex concept. The present paper aims to identify the limitative factors and barriers for a real sustainable development achievement, through a critical analysis based on specific data as well as on causal explanations; we are interested to discover how is possible to eliminate the disruptive evidence and to highlight the recovery solutions. We propose to focus on East European countries from point related to sustainability implementation in real economic life of societies. The most of conducted papers have a strong theoretical character, the connection with practice being less obvious, due to: lack of interest, entrepreneurial concerns rather mercantilist, an inadequate indicators system. Our paper is based especially on qualitative arguments. Methodological, we use the analysis of concept significance in practical plan, and we associate the empirical ideas with arguments from analysis, synthesis and interpretation of sustainable development indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is descriptive in nature and it is an attempt to recall the most probable scenarios of transport development in Poland against the background of other countries of the European Union. Having in mind the implementation of the EU assumptions associated with rationalization of energy consumption management and an increase in energy efficiency in motor transport in the time perspective, the premises have been the assumptions of the concept of sustainable development. There are two parts of the paper. Part 1 of the paper includes literature review focused on concept of sustainability, transport development and management area, as well as characteristics of road transport in European Union and Poland based on statistics data. The analysis of transport activities is founded on the environmental aspects. Particularly transport-related emissions, energy consumption management in road transport and the contribution of transport sector in energy expenditure in selected countries of the European Union in the past and nowadays were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the topic of interest concerning dwelling conditions, the issues of the residential housing stock, of the large scale collective dwellings impaired by wear and tear, have been given a lot of attention in Western Europe, since the 8th decade of the last century. The rehabilitation of collective housing ensembles has become a major contemporary concern, requiring answers and solutions on a list of priorities, all the more so in the former communist countries, where the urban housing is mostly represented, for economic reasons, by the dense, large scale collective residential ensembles. Alongside the other components of the sustainable rehabilitation projects i.e., technical and constructive, architectural and urban, in an integrated and multidimensional approach, the psycho-social component cannot be minimised or ignored. The paper's objective is to define, develop and, finally, propose an holistic approach to intervention in the existing collective residential buildings in view of their sustainable rehabilitation, from a multidimensional architectural urban, socio-economic and ecologic perspective, through differentiated levels: from that of primary, basic residential units (apartments), to the group they are aggregated into (architectural object) and to the housing ensembles. The paper is not aimed only at physically renovating the architectural and urban components; its implicit objective, through the proposed measures, being to revitalize and regenerate the residential areas from a psycho-social perspective, as well, by limiting social segregation, stimulating microcommunity sociability, creating a beneficial, secure environment, enhancing life quality and dwelling satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development strategy in tourism industry requires a complexity of processes which claim the combination of the economical, social and environmental factors, concreted in medium and long term progress of the tourism society. Generally, sustainable development follows the performance on three levels - economic, by increasing the development degree and resources development, ecologically through recycling and avoiding environmental and social degradation by increasing the number of jobs, re-launching the traditional professions. The paper highlights a study conducted in the Romanian hotel environment regarding the top management's opinion of introducing in the infrastructure optimization strategies elements leading to tourist accommodation structures with "Nearly 0 energy consumption". The identified methods by which a hotel operator can reduce energy consumption are diverse, innovative and possible to be implemented in stages. The results of the study can constitute a fundamental approach for the purpose and objectives of a consultancy project that can support the goal of hoteliers in Romania, supporting the reduction of energy operating costs, the introduction of renewable energy sources, and stimulating the behavioral schema of staff and customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change and sustainable development, the discussion has been raised in the society about the long-term benefits and possible losses of different farming types. In the discussions about the future of the CAP, it has been stressed that tackling climate change and preserving the environment is the most serious challenge facing the EU, and the CAP must help by setting new goals to ensure that EU farming contributes meeting the international commitments on sustainability. The paper deals with the changes in farming types and the results of this process in Latvian agriculture since 2000. The analysis reveals that the development process of Latvian agriculture is dominated by the specialization strategy, the implementation of which is based on the increase in production volume, technological modernization and the concentration of an activity in a certain sector, and the economic benefits of which are justified by the economy of scale and the possibility to significantly increase the productivity of production factors, especially labour productivity. If mixed farming was characteristic to 53% of farms in Latvia in 2000, which utilized about 50% of agricultural area and employed 62% of total labour force, then, in 2016, mixed farming accounted only for 23% of the total number of farms, having 19% of the utilized agricultural area and 26% of labour force. There are clear economic benefits in terms of net value added per employed person in field crop specialization farms, which is the main specialization type in Latvia nowadays; however, the same farms also create much larger environmental burden in terms of the inputs per utilized agricultural area than mixed farms in Latvia. In the context of increased focus on sustainability, mixed farms can be an alternative for specialization, but with the understanding of their viability under different farming circumstances and models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is already a fact that at present a major source of obtaining competitive advantage is related to the green development of enterprises. Sustainability is an important element in the core values of the consumers belonging to the Millennial Generation, which is the most numerous living generation nowadays. In this context, all projects related to the implementation of sustainability respect the profile of this new consumer. In 1992, the European Union Ecolabel has been established for several types of products and services. At present, the criteria for obtaining the EU Ecolabel for European hotels are established in the Commission Decision no.175 of 25 January 2017. In the new generational context, this eco-label started to be more and more attractive in the last ten years. At present, 34% of the total licences for the EU Ecolabel, which represents the majority, are from tourist and accommodation services with almost 800 licences obtained by European hotels and campsites. According to the data included in the EU Ecolabel Tourist Accommodation Catalogue, more than 400 European hotels implemented the EU Ecolabel at present. In Romania, only two hotels are using the EU Ecolabel. In such context, the main aim of this paper is to demonstrate the economic advantages of the implementation of the EU Ecolabel for Romanian hotels. To that end, two qualitative research methods have been used: the literature review and the case study. The analysis starts with the presentation of the generational theory, shaping the profile of the Millennial consumer. A short SWOT analysis of the Romanian hotel industry is presented. After introducing the EU Ecolabel, several advantages for Romanian hotels are presented related to the implementation of the EU Ecolabel in order to raise the attractiveness of this label for the Romanian hotels industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the latest decades, wooden structures have known a significant revival in the context of sustainability challenges, considering the low-embedded energy, low carbon impact of this renewable resource. The employment of modern wood structures presents many economical advantages as well, from the availability and the low-cost of the material, to the ease of processing and construction. An important aspect is the energy-efficiency of the system in exploitation, when we consider life-cycle assessments. Light-frame construction using standardized elements has evolved since its first use, more than a century ago, as a well-perfected construction technique, imposing itself as the most widely used system for housing construction in many parts of the world, including North America. A new challenge for the system is to employ it for a near zero energy house using the same standardized elements. The authors present in this paper an innovative solution, in which platform framing serves as the fundamental basis for a dwelling with high energy and environmental performance. The task was to increase the width of the walls and slab, in order to insure the substructure for the inner cellulose thermal insulation employing standardized wood studs, optimizing material consumption in the process. A complex 3D model, presenting the proposed solution served as the basis for structural detailing as well as heat transfer simulation in order to validate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current development in the European Union countries may be considered heterogeneous, even though their economic and social similarities. Each country achieves its economic and social goals with different success rate. It is similarly in relation to the complex value such as sustainable development. Evaluation of sustainability and sustainable development is problematic, because of sustainable development (resp. part of it) can be evaluated using the various indicators. It is, for example, the evaluation of sustainable development through its different areas (pillars) using indicators belonging to these areas, or using the set of indicators (eg. Indicators Rio+20, Green growth indicators etc.). Another possibility is sustainable development evaluation by aggregate indicators. The problem is that none of the indicators of sustainable development does not evaluate the sustainable development comprehensively. The aim of this paper is to evaluate sustainable development and in european countries using selected indicators and regression analysis. Realized evaluation and its results could be helpful for countries of the European Union, but also for the EU, and could be useful the process of managing their economic, social and environmental development towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disclosures on economic, social and environmental performance among companies increase from year to year. This paper discusses the subject of sustainability reporting with particular attention paid to this practice in mining industry. The study has covered all sustainability reports published by mining companies in 2012 which were collected from Global Reporting Initiative database (Europe as an organization region). The author evaluated the sustainability reports for the sector by means of her own tool. The questionnaire to assess quality and type of the information disclosed in sustainability reports consisted of fourteen criteria. The author discusses in this paper overall results as well as results obtained by individual groups of reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lately, we are witnessing a shift in the contemporary architectural discourse involving the conversion and rehabilitation of public spaces. If we are to analyze the constant need for change that occurs within nowadays society then, our discourse would be focusing on trends - previous, present and future models/patterns. The recently discovered integrity of patterns in architecture and urbanism can be explained by the fundamental role that models have in various fields of activity, such as computer science, artificial intelligence and biology (as sets or sequences of repeated elements). The latest digital technology has the ability to grasp and relate a large amount of information in order to generate a specific response to the complexity of our environment. Therefore, it is required the definition of a new interactive pattern of evolution, whose operators are strategy and tactics. The digital generative process offers new perspectives for the development of public space, with emphasis on the emergent and adaptive properties of the architectural form. This paper tries to establish the main coordinates for the implementation of architectural patterns in contemporary public spaces, based on geometric representations and with a direct focus on the principles of sustainable development and their degree of compliance. Technological aspects regarding sustainable design of public are the main focus of this paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the applicability of environmental life cycle costing to the sustainability assessment of the technologies (SAT). In practice various indicator sets are used to SAT, but in most cases their application allows to express the results obtained in each pillars of sustainable development in various units. Such situation makes difficult the interpretation of results. Environmental life cycle cost allows to express economic and environmental impact of technology in one monetary value and thanks to that it may be used to sustainability assessment of the technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads networks have a major impact on terrestrial ecosystems and on human life quality so there is an imperative need for a new approaching regarding system sustainability. "Green" transport infrastructure that underline energy efficiency, reduce costs to roads users and government should be planned, used, and monitored with sustainability in mind. Over recent years, a number of methods have been developed to evaluate sustainability of roads projects, including ratings systems and different evaluation schemes. The aim of this paper is to highlight new frameworks in order to understand the recent needs for sustainability, comparing technical and environmental properties and their contribution to roads infrastructure durability and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to point out the possibility of existence of cultural continuity inside the heterotopic spaces and the possibility of the accomplishment of social cohesion which can be initiated by creating of one new, as presumed, inclusive environment. The thesis of this paper is based on the presumption that heterotopias are the example of incorporation of archetypes and the evocative historical heritage inside an existing cultural or "green" landscape. The characteristic examples of such practice are represented by the two neighboring towns Drvengrad and Andricgrad which are situated on the territories of Serbia and the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Hercegovina. The building of said towns was initiated by the famous artist Emir Kusturica. Due to one general fragmentation and discontinuity of traditional urban surrounding, both temporal and spatial, metaphors, symbols and imaginary performances which should be provided by urban landscape itself are missing. The discontinuity denies historical hierarchy of events which creates the violation of symbolic picture and spatial identity of the city. The heterotopias, which were first defined by Michel Foucault, are becoming an omnipresent spatial phenomena in theory of philosophy, sociology and environment, i.e. architecture. Nowadays, the phenomena of hybrid forms, non-place, third spaces, spaces `in-between`, all very close to the concept of heterotopias, are pointing to the appearance of these heterotopic spaces. It is presumed that one cycle of utopia is coming to an end, in domains of a narrative, a genre, a myth, a revolutionary programme or an architectural vision, and the actualization of Foucault's heterotopic spatial theory which can be interpreted in different ways. The significance of this work lies in the pointing at the achieved goals of the cultural transition, the emergence of new, sustainable cultural nucleuses, as well as the value of an individual artistic vision that is in harmony with the high standards of creation, development and maintenance of the culture, the education and some other facilities and the harmonization with the natural and urban environment. Heterotopic creations in this case bring about the transitions from the static exhibition design to the most complex element contents of modern cities, which are important not only for the local region, but also for the two neighboring countries, as well as the whole region of the Southeast Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical buildings contributes to the true profile of a city, but they have to be adapted to the modern requirements of an ever changing society in order to avoid the dissolution. An example of a transformation of 120 years old building, established as an army school building at the beginning of the XXnd century and ending as a modern hospital in the second decade of the XXIst century is shown in the paper. Aspects of changes in structure, architectural approach and town development are to be presented. The modernization method presented has durability aspects that make it an example for sustainable modernization and expansion of an old building. The solution for modernization is a mixture between structural rehabilitation of existing building, and expansion in metal solution that can be easily detached. The building utility was also changed together with these modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an old industrial building placed in a middle of a major town is always a way to provide a "green space" for work and leave instead of a deserted area 2 km away from the city center. The paper presents an example of refurbishment of an industrial building complex placed in the center of Timisoara city (the 3rd largest town of Romania) and its' change into an office complex for IT purposes, created through transformation of a 20000 sqm precast reinforced concrete industrial hall complex into one of the most modern buildings of the city from the point of architecture, structure, energy consumption and environmental change of the city area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is such development of human society that harmonises economic and social progress along with keeping full value of environment. For comparative purposes as well as assessment of changes of environment on different levels it is important to quantify it. Presented paper deals with methods of complex assessment used for quantification its value via complex parameter. Synthesis is based on summarizing the values of selected indicators of sustainable development from these areas: economic, social, environmental and institutional By these means we identify the changes of the state of sustainability within longer time period as well as compare sustainability of selected Eastern European and Southeast European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A worldwide trend in terms of sustainability is the construction of green buildings. Green buildings are efficient in resource using (energetic, natural and social) and environmentally friendly throughout their life cycle (selection of land and project, construction process, the operation of the building, reconstruction or liquidation). Sustainability of buildings is currently investigated by a number of evaluation systems that reflect their design, technical, technological and material solutions. In one of the first green building in Slovakia "EcoPoint Kosice Office Center", which obtained pre-certificate "Seal of the sustainable construction (DGNB)" in the category of silver, was used a number of "green technologies". This paper presents the process of building certification under the LEED and selected structural-technical solutions that support the principles of sustainability. Combining geothermal wells connected to a heat pump with reinforced Concrete Core Activation (CCA) of ceilings is created highly effective way of surface heating and cooling of buildings. Contribution points out that although the use of new green technologies raises several unexplored risks, ultimately form the necessary framework to meet the requirements of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper proposes an analysis of different types of reconstructions in the case of natural disasters, focusing on floods. In order to find the most sustainable solutions for the reconstruction process factors like :circumstances,the role decision -makers play,choosing solutions in order to reconstruct, costs and investors,have to be taken into account. The most important aspect is the final result of the reconstruction and its sustainability. Case studies of reconstruction is presented, the case of Otelec and Iohanisfeld, two villages of the Banat area damaged by floods [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towns and cities across the European Union are facing the most challenging economic climate in living memory. Against this backdrop, sustainable development and environmental stewardship are concepts that may appear now as more of a luxury than a strategic priority at a time of drastic cost-cutting in local authority resources across many European countries. Increasingly, the long term importance of investing in sustainability practices such as energy and waste reductions needs to be justified in the short term by a sound business case. In other words, saving the planet needs to be shown to save money too in the short term. Whilst public-private sector partnerships to manage town and city centers have a number of established tried and tested models across the European Union, the role of the private sector (including Business Improvement Districts) in leading environmental stewardship at this level remains an area in need of further research. This paper explores practice-based evidence in this field (e.g. sustainable business procurement) and discusses potential avenues for further work with recommendations for policy makers and key decision makers at city management level [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education for sustainability is more and more emphasized as a new method of education in higher education institutions, suggesting a new approach based on active and critical understanding of environmental issues. The learning endeavour directed towards sustainability is based on the new teaching methods such as: critical thinking, role playing, simulations, group discussions, stimulus activities, debates, critical incidents, case studies, reflective accounts, personal development, planning, critical reading and writing, problem-based learning, place-based education, field work and above all good sustainability practice. The paper aims at describing the student-centred teaching method called "simulated enterprise". This method is directed at building the competences, abilities, attitudes and personal capacity allowing students to act on behalf of being respectful of the environment and at the same time identify and find solutions for different issues in the context of sustainable development. This method supports the development of a sustainability culture, since students learn about values, attitudes, behaviour, mentalities, norms and rules relevant to their actions as responsible citizens. Finally, students having been trained within the framework of this novel approach called "simulated enterprise" are sensitized and made aware of the impacts of their own behaviour, decisions and activities thus developing critical and reflective thinking. It is strongly believed that "simulated sustainable enterprise", represents a significant step forward in the area of sustainable education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has been much debated upon and seems to be among the most significant contemporary approaches, considering the demographic expansion, the accelerated industrialization, the increasing consumption of raw materials, the environment degradation and the exhaustion of some essential natural resources. Measures to reduce energy consumption in the building sector have been developed for years in many countries. The discovery and exploitation of unconventional, clean, inexhaustible and inexpensive (sun, wind, water, etc) energy sources, have led to the appearance of various "energy trends" in engineering and architecture, with the final aim of conserving energy [1]. This paper will consider some possibilities for the implementation of measures concerning the energy performance improvement for social dwellings. To achieve this goal will be proposed several systems for optimizing the use of solar energy, analysing various types of solar panel integrations in the building's architecture. Also,there will be presented several roof rehabilitation opportunities by adopting green solutions. The long term strategic goal is the reduction in energy consumption with the final purpose of improving the life conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has been identified as a top priority problem in construction works. Directives and standards have been developed which are intended to encourage the implementation of sustainable criteria in the life cycle stages of a construction work. The paper presents an evaluation model developed by the authors. The global model is a comprehensive tool, which can be applied mainly on residential buildings. The utility of such model is important in the assessment of a construction work, because it converts sustainability issues into quantifiable goals, which are easier to understand, to use and to apply. The model is used for the sustainability assessment of a new residential dwelling, situated near to Timisoara. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's economic society, modern and advanced, is the result of significant progresses on the technical, economic and social scale. The object of study of present paper is to realize an analysis related to price paid for this type of described evolution, from point of view of environmental factors which are the base of economic development. More, we propose to analyze if the present way of development is in accord with the principles and requirements of a sustainable economy and, especially, if the administration of environmental factors is efficient and sustainable. The reason for this choice is that we observed, from another analyses realized until now, that the indicators of sustainable development are not at desired level. Thus, based on documentation and research methods which use the statistical data, international reports and progress report on sustainability from European level, we intend to demonstrate that in order to realize a state specific for sustainability is need to use more efficient and rationally all development factors, starting from environment at which we will complete with human factors. In addition we will complete with a most debated problem, that of protection of natural resources because their depletion is seen often as a major source of social unrest and economic conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The desired future state of sustainability implies a paradigm shift in the way we live, work and play. Besides constructed quality and environmental quality, the quality of facilities in buildings has influential to the living quality of numerous occupants there. The functional quality of the facilities, in turn, is dependent on the quality of their operation and management. Since the birth of the sustainable development concept and its application to urban planning and construction projects, countless sustainability indicator sets have appeared. This paper analyses the main aspects of facility management services, in particular one of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the new context of European urban and environmental politics, Romania's small towns must go directly toward sustainability in order to ensure high life quality for their communities on the long term. The smallest urban settlements of Romania are confronted with diverse issues due to the former communist regime, the adaptation to the market economy, the planning policy of the sate and historical environment state. As many urban sustainability assessment methods were developed in literature, the present study is focus upon interrelations and interdependencies of social, economic and environmental development evaluation, applied in the case of small Romanian towns-which can play, at local level, a significant role of polarization or decentralization phenomenon. The paper tries to offer a geographical image of the urban development in order to help minimizing the gap among theory and practice and to offer a tool for estimation of sustainability both for local authorities and case-studies research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]