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A systematic analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and factors influencing ecological land (EL) can support the optimization of EL protection policies and ensure the stability of regional ecosystems. Based on remote sensing data, using the gravity center shift model, the landscape pattern index, and the equivalent factor method, the characteristics of EL evolution in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from 1980 to 2020 were analyzed. A fixed-effects model was used to quantitatively explore the factors influencing EL evolution and heterogeneity analysis. The results are as follows: (1) The EL area exhibited a trend of initial decrease followed by a subsequent increase during the study period. The most significant area transfer occurred between cropland and EL, but, after the 21st century, the proportion of area transfer between construction land and EL noticeably increased. (2) The compactness and fragmentation of EL showed a certain spatiotemporal stability, but the spatial distribution of compactness and fragmentation hot and cold spots exhibited significant differences. The fragmentation hot spots mainly displayed a strip distribution, while those of compactness showed a clustered distribution. (3) Although the ecosystem service value in the BTH region demonstrated dynamic "M"-shaped changes, the distribution of hot and cold spots still exhibited spatial stability. Regulating services consistently occupied a higher proportion of the sub-service functions, while cultural services still needed further enhancement. (4) Factors influencing the evolution of areas and values demonstrated similarities. The landscape was significantly influenced by construction land, showing a non-linear "U"-shaped relationship with fragmentation. Different economic development gradients and altitudes exhibited differentiated characteristics in terms of their influencing factors. This study provides scientific support for dynamically and precisely adjusting governmental EL management policies, contributing to the sustainable development of regional socio-economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite boosting cities and preserving local culture in the face of changes imposed on urban markets in the global south, urban street fairs are territories that are still not well understood. Our objective is to evaluate urban street fairs as a locus of local territorial development from the perspective of the ecosocioeconomy. Methodologically, it is a survey with a sample of 334 on 485 street vendors in Curitiba, complemented by documentary surveys, interviews, and observations in-situ. As a result, urban street fairs are socio-productive arrangements emerging from the interaction among multiple rationalities; street vendors opt for their work due to tradition and preference for trade and not a market limitation; natural products (organic and traditional) are links between ecologically desirable commercial and productive practices. The perspective of ecosocioeconomy captures the material and symbolic constitution and development of urban street fairs as a complex relational territory embedded in the city, with its internalized and externalized interrelations in an urban governance system influenced by different rationalities and constituted by a multiplicity of actors in different spaces and times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo analiza la migración venezolana en América Latina, destacando su sostenibilidad económica y contribuciones fiscales positivas en países como Perú, Ecuador, República Dominicana y Panamá. La crisis política y económica en Venezuela, condiciones de vulnerabilidad, agravadas por la pandemia de COVID-19 y la integración socioeconómica de los migrantes enfrenta obstáculos, como la dificultad para validar títulos profesionales y el acceso limitado a servicios de salud.

Digital technologies are increasingly being incorporated in the management and governance of urban forests to provide the information needed for sustainable and more livable cities. However, there is scarce information on the documented lessons from applying these digital technologies for urban forestry management in many developing countries. This study addressed this challenge using a literature review in the case of Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. The results substantiate that urban forests are important city assets enhancing ecological stability and sustainable development. As such, the digital technologies of urban forest management practices are rapidly expanding in the two cities to enhance urban forestry and create new opportunities for sustainable development. Both cities have differentiated integration of digital technologies in the vegetative, community support, and resource management components of urban forest governance and management, with important information and lessons being generated for city authorities and policymakers. In general, the technology implementation level in Kampala city is higher than in Nairobi City. This differentiation could be attributed to differences in the socio-political contexts of the two cities, which present different enablers and barriers to technology application in urban forestry. Nevertheless, more location-specific practices and experiences with a focus on how to diversify opinions and actors in digital technologies should be pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuban higher education has a strategic role in the economic and social development of the country and its contributions are widely recognized. In this context, improving quality management has been a priority in Higher Education Institutions attached to the Ministry of Higher Education. Progress has been notable around this, but there are still shortcomings. In correspondence with these requirements, the objective of this article is to substantiate the relevance of a research project at presing running, where solution proposals are provided in a set of areas where there are possibilities for improvement. In its content, some theoretical foundations related to quality and its management in higher education and the main characteristics of the project are highlighted, emphasizing the objectives, the arguments that support the identified areas, the direction of the results and their contributions. It can be argued that the continuous improvement of quality management will be achieved from the possibility of conducting research that propose strategies and actions consistent with institutional and national requirements, and strengthen the organizational culture on the importance and need for its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its early days, the sharing economy was celebrated in utopian terms as a platform for creating and sharing wealth across social divides. Sharing, it is often argued, facilitates improved wealth redistribution and a decentralized, equitable, and sustainable economy by providing a community-based economy of sharers. These idealistic sentiments prevalent in the public sphere, are what we call the sharing economy equalizing myth. But is this myth true, or is it just a smoke screen that enables aggressive participants in the sharing economy to harness its features for their own benefit? This Article "meta-analyzes" an extensive volume of hundreds of empirical findings that studied the socio-economic implications of the sharing economy. We focus on three distinct fields that are central to peoples' lives and wealth: labor, housing, and finance. We find that across a variety of markets, unequal outcomes are constantly prevalent. In fact, sharing economies impose great threats to both efficiency and fair distribution. We identify three implications of the sharing economy wherever it operates: (1) big or sophisticated stakeholders who take advantage of the regulatory system's weaknesses; (2) uncontrolled discriminatory practices, and (3) negative externalities on the non-sharing, traditional, market. We argue that these negative implications should be identified as a market failure in which the sharing economy operates. This market failure is a result of a structural regulatory arbitrage: the sharing economy incentivizes and rewards sophisticated repeat players to exploit the weaknesses of the regulatory system. To remedy this. market solutions are not enough, although we do offer several such solutions in order to confront the market failure generated by the sharing economy, we argue that a conceptual regulatory shift must be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spatial planning, inequalities represent imbalances and disparities in the distribution of income, equipment and development opportunities. For such reason, it is necessary to apprehend, analyze and deal with these disparities, in order to attain the objectives, including the coherent development of the territories. As a fact of matter, the forms of inequalities in Algeria have been the subject of the national policy of planning and sustainable development which were motivated by the implementation of various tools and plans of development at the national, regional and provincial level, namely the National Scheme of Territorial Development (SNAT), the Regional Scheme of Territorial Development (SRAT) and the Plan of Territorial Development of the Province (PATW). Indeed, our study consists of measuring the disparities by adopting economic and housing criteria in the province of Boumerdes, and defining, as consequence thereof, a classification of its whole municipalities in order to be able to reduce the inequalities and to seek other horizons of development in the marginalized zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of women as a social subject is particularly relevant, especially in Cuba where the construction of a prosperous and sustainable socialism is aspired to. An assessment of women in the Cuban social context is presented. The documentary analysis is used as a method to relieve the information and the dialectical method for the interpretation of the results. The main findings of the research are related to the high role achieved by women in all social life, although elements that lead to discrimination and subordination with respect to men persist. Taking into account the above, we propose this work in which we consider women as a social subject in our society, it is essential to take her more into consideration in updating our model of economic and social development, even when the advantages are evident and what in matter of law has reached, this seen through certain indicators for said analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We develop a unique dataset of 3 SDG indicators at district level in Lao PDR. • We find a positive correlation between poverty and stunting in 2005 and in 2015. • We find a negative correlation between these indicators and natural areas. • There are no significant relations between changes in indicators over time. • Variations between districts highlight the need for subnational analyses of SDGs. Monitoring the status and evolution of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is typically carried out at the national level. However, significant variation can exist within countries, and this may not be captured by aggregate statistics. Here, we develop a unique dataset representing indicators for three SDGs at a district level for Lao PDR. The indicators comprise prevalence of stunting (SDG 2, Zero hunger), poverty headcount (SDG 1, No Poverty), and share of natural area (SDG 15, Life on land) for two moments in time: 2005 and 2015. In both years, we find considerable variation among district-level outcomes for stunting and poverty. We also find that higher stunting and poverty rates are significantly correlated with higher shares of natural land in both years. This is consistent with the common perception of a trade-off between environmental outcomes and socioeconomic wellbeing. The correlation vanishes, however, when we consider changes in poverty, stunting, and natural area over the ten-year study period. This holds as well when we focus on agricultural land instead of natural areas. We observe that most regions show improvements in both stunting and poverty, albeit not always in a statistically significant sense. This points to synergistic development. Similarly, improvements in both indicators are associated with losses in natural areas in all regions, indicating a trade-off. These results suggest that both trade-offs and synergies between SDGs can arise at the district level, but that context and local conditions likely moderate the strength of these interactions. Our results highlight the importance of quantifying and monitoring sustainable development at the detailed subnational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abia State faces a severe erosion problem that affects agricultural production which may lead to poverty of crop farmers. The use of vetiver grass strips technology (VGT) helps control soil erosion. However, there is a dearth of information on the determinants of adoption of VGT in Abia and therefore was investigated. Random sampling technique in 4 stages was adopted for this study. The ADP zones (Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia) in the state were considered, 13 blocks were selected from the 38 blocks in the state. 30 cells out of 93 cells in the selected blocks were randomly selected. 250 farming households were randomly selected proportionate to size of the cells. Data on socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, awareness and adoption of VGT, quantity of inputs and outputs of crops, expenditure on food and nonfood items were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, adoption index and probit regression at a0.05. Respondents mean age was 48 years and 51.2% were male farmers. The household size and farm-size were 6.0 members and 2.0 ha, respectively. About 36% of them had tertiary education, while 59.2% were aware of VGT but 49.6% adopted it. 53.2% of the female were adopters with farm size of 1.57 ha and 42.7% had tertiary education. A unit increase in age, level of education and being a female increased the probability of adoption of VGT by 0.3169, 0.3078 and 0.2097 respectively, while a unit increase in farm-size reduced the probability of adoption by 0.0824 unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is arguably the most pressing, devastating and large-scale crisis in modern history. The natural processes associated with climate change are rapidly accelerating due to an excessive use of fossil fuels, which generate greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the temperature of the earth. Libraries are essential stakeholders in global efforts to combat climate change and advance sustainable development principles. As community hubs and information centers, libraries disseminate objective knowledge about climate change, spearhead sustainability projects, embody social responsibility by incorporating sustainable practices into library operations, and coordinate with advocacy groups. This paper will examine how libraries across the world are addressing climate change through outreach, programming, instructional services, library operations, design principles and advocacy efforts. The knowledge, resources and services libraries provide are essential and will prove invaluable as communities seek information regarding the complex socioeconomic consequences of the ongoing climate change crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drivers and consequences of unregulated urban expansion processes in Accra, Ghana, are examined together with the associated encroachment upon ecologically sensitive areas in the city's rapidly growing periphery. Three sites are considered which attracted settlers from vastly different economic segments of the urban population from the 2000s and onwards. A combination of geographical information system (GIS)-based analysis, evidence from a recent household survey, insights from a range of key informant interviews and field observations provide evidence for the dynamics of urban expansion and settlement consolidation. These dynamics wield significant pressure on ecologically sensitive areas, e.g. wetlands, riparian zones and coastal lagoons, which are transformed into housing development through drainage, landfilling, channelling of streams and construction of barriers. Encroachment upon ecologically sensitive areas is associated with intensifying flood hazards. Key impediments are identified for the preservation of ecologically sensitive areas within the specific urban governance context of Accra. Encroachment is not necessarily driven by poverty or low income; it occurs for several socio-economic situations. Governance and enforcement in planning need improvement. Such insights must inform efforts to promote more sustainable trajectories of urban expansion, allowing cities to accommodate rapidly growing populations while preserving ecologically sensitive areas and benefiting from crucial ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing concern with the impacts of climate change and the fast urbanization of cities has led international policies to guide changes in attitudes by governments and civil society, directing effective models of sustainable governance aimed at environmental health and equal access for society environmental benefits. In this study, we seek to understand the evolution of research and scientific production on a topic of great relevance today – green equity. Through scientometric analysis based on a systematic literature review, we analyzed articles published in the period between 1992 and 2021. We used the open source R-tool Biblioshiny, which processes information from academic databases to carry out the analyses. Through this methodology it was possible to identify the main fields of research and relate the results obtained with important historical milestones for sustainable development. We also seek to highlight the evolution of research lines and highlight the significant flows in the global collaboration network. We found that the theme of green equity was driven by international agendas such as the SDG and has been gaining more space in scientific production, linked to a greater variety of issues such as climate change, accessibility to green spaces, ecosystem services, green infrastructure and socioeconomic issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption behaviour represents one of the main attractions of the marketing study area which sparks a lot of interest. Within the enterprise marketing mission, the food consumption behaviour is a particular sub-category, given the significant realignments of production and food consumption. The statistics from the last 10 years indicate a strongly ascending trend for all product categories. The hypothesis of the current research is that this increase is due mostly to the simultaneous increase in the number and intensity of promotional campaigns and actions, to which consumers respond with pro-comsumption favourable reactions. The analysis from this paper is performed for Romania with data from the period 2010-2020 by means of the following methods: observation, data analysis, processing and interpretation. The research results confirm the increase in food consumption under the influence of promotional actions, which does not always favourably support a stable, socio-economically healthy and sustainable market. An atypical situation, which invalidates the correlation hypothesis of an increased food consumption directly influenced by promotional actions, is that of fruit and vegetables consumption in Romania, products for which there is no consumption increase registered, at least compared to other products (meat, sugar products, tobacco, beer etc.), but also have not been observed significant promotional actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship is an important instrument in planning and realizing rural community development. Owing to current problems in societies, focusing on the rural entrepreneurship is of utmost importance. Entrepreneurship by creating new opportunities for employment and income plays an important role in improving socioeconomic conditions of villages. The aim of this study is to assess the factors influencing the development of rural entrepreneurship in a case study of villages in Torbat-e Heydarieh, Kadkan district. The research method was descriptiveanalytic, and the data collection method was library and field studies. For data analysis, Onesample t-test with principal component analysis was used. The statistical population of the study was the villagers of Kadkan district of Torbat-e Heydarieh, from which 240 people were asked to complete a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using the Content and face validity with expert judgement. Reliability of the questionnaire was examined by Cronbach's alpha coefficient which for all studied domains was above 0.75 which indicated that questionnaire was satisfactory. The results indicated that economic factor was the most influential issue in the rural entrepreneurship. The results also showed that rural entrepreneurship provides a good context for creating jobs in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and it is an important factor for achieving sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the diversity of models of sustainable bioeconomy by focusing on the productive strategies of the farmers who engage in it. To account for this diversity, we use the framework of analysis of Beckert's socio-economics of capitalism in terms of compromises between four institutionalised economic processes: commodification, competition, innovation, and financing. We complete it by a fifth institutionalised process: the social relationship to the environment. We apply this framework analysis to the results obtained through a qualitative survey of 85 actors in the Grand Est region (France) involved in the bioeconomy between 2017 and 2021. We identify four models for the agricultural non-food bioeconomy that fit into various value chains and which approach sustainability issues differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este artículo se plantea la urgencia de avanzar hacia un nuevo modelo de desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe ante la crisis sanitaria actual. Las estadísticas indican que la región ha sido la más afectada por la pandemia y también la más dañada en términos económicos y sociales. Esto se debe a factores estructurales de larga data que han prefigurado su disfuncional estilo de desarrollo. La región creció a un exiguo 0,4% anual entre 2014 y 2019, en un contexto de profundización de la brecha de productividad externa, heterogeneidad estructural, senderos de baja productividad y un progresivo descenso de la participación de la masa salarial en el producto. Ello ha derivado también en un retroceso en el proceso de desarrollo socioeconómico. Así, la reactivación económica deberá cursar, a la par, significativas reformas estructurales productivas, fiscales e institucionales, para avanzar en la configuración de un estilo de desarrollo inclusivo y sostenible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the notion of "sacrifice zones" to reflect critically on the trade-offs between Science & Technology (S&T) policy and inclusive development in South Africa. We draw evidence from one of the country's flagship projects, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, currently under construction in the semi-arid Northern Cape. The SKA embodies a key tension in the country's S&T policy, that between the promotion of astronomy, based on national and global priorities (the development of science), and the advancement of local development concerns (science for development), in which the dominant assumption is that local interests are either subsumed or superseded by national and global public goods. Given the extent to which the priorities of local residents have been overlooked in the name of the greater good, we argue that a fruitful way of recasting this relationship is to regard the region around the telescope as astronomy's terrestrial "sacrifice zone"; this opens up an important space for engaging with issues of mitigation. We conclude by raising questions about who should take responsibility for mitigating the trade-offs in policy and practice, if a more sustainable and inclusive development agenda in the areas affected by the SKA is a real concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy (CE) concept is informing the governance of resource use and waste management on a global scale, leading to widespread policy instrument innovation. However, the recent appearance of CE 'policy portfolios' raises questions about whether such policies are genuinely path-breaking or are merely adjustments to existing arrangements. Tracing the emergence of the European Union's Circular Economy Package shows that, while some measures are genuinely novel, many others are 'patched' onto pre-existing instruments and that the overall portfolio exhibits a high degree of institutional 'layering'. Given the evidence of relative ineffectiveness of past incremental environmental interventions, there is a mismatch between such approaches and the scale, pace, and scope of transformation implied by contemporary articulations of the circular economy concept. Creating the policy conditions for sustainable production and consumption may require more radical policy formulations than CE proponents acknowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of human pressures provides a foundation for understanding interactions between human and environment and managing human activities for a sustainable development. This study is the first attempt focused within China at calculating the spatial–temporal human footprint and its driving forces in a highly urbanized area with intensive human activities. Population, land use, night-time lights, and road impacts were used to generate human footprint maps of Jiangsu Province for 2000, 2010 and 2015 with a resolution of 1 km * 1 km. Five natural drivers and four anthropogenic drivers were employed to construct generalized additive models for explaining the spatial variation of human footprint and its change. It shows that a large difference is between the human footprint in northern and southern Jiangsu, and the pattern of human pressures conforms to the "Matthew effect", with spatial aggregation of high human footprint areas accelerating. Slope, industrialization level are significant in explaining the spatial variation of human footprint in 2000, 2010 and 2015. The effect of natural drivers decreases for explaining the human footprint over time. Furthermore, annual precipitation, mean annual temperature and urban per capita disposable income are also significant drivers for human footprint in 2010 and 2015. And the increasing of human footprint slows with increasing of industrialization level. The difference of industrialization level and urban income between northern and southern Jiangsu mainly caused different driving pattern for human footprint and its change. Our study has generated new insights on the interaction pattern between human and nature in highly developed regions based on the human footprint concept, and can provide references for managing human activities in similar regions rapid socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural African communities, wild plant species are a valuable resource that are often threatened by agricultural conversion and overexploitation. To understand the harvest and sale of wild plant species that provide fruits and raw materials for artisanal products, this study used ethnobotanical and socio-economic methods to engage communities in the Chimanimani Trans-Frontier Conservation Area, Mozambique. Use was dependent on local availability and market accessibility. Incomes are made from Uapaca kirkiana fruits in some communities and Strychnos madagascariensis in others; some earn money from Cyperus spp. mats whilst others use Phragmites mauritianus. Less marketed items included baskets made from numerous species (including Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and wooden implements (e.g. made from Pterocarpus angolensis) which are used to process, store and transport maize. Conservation and development could potentially benefit from value-addition activities, new management systems (like agroforestry), or population protection and restoration. This should include analysis of population extents and production levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions under which the life of a contemporary person goes are often and justifiably called extreme ones which stimulate the development of stress. This is connected with many factors and threats, including socio-economic, environmental and natural ones. The author substantiates in the article the importance of the study of psychological aspects in the interdisciplinary problem of human interaction with the environment. The interest in this problem is determined by the exacerbation of global environmental problems of mankind, the need for psychological support for the implementation of the concept of "sustainable development". The areas in Western psychology are analyzed, united by a common scientific problem that have areas of subject and methodological intersection: environmental psychology, ecopsychology, psychology of interaction with the environment and psychology of sustainable development. Many researchers consider the ambiguity of the concept of "ecology of mental development" which is widely used in modern psychological writing. Some authors assert that correlation of the context of foreign and Russian studies will contribute to more active involvement of psychologists in solving real problems of human interaction with the environment. Besides, the paper presents the results of an empirical study of the phenomenon of suicide from the perspective of an ecological approach. Suicidal behavior is considered as a disturbance of the "sustainable development" of an individual and as a destructive response to the "global challenges". Considering suicide as a deep act that brings a person closer to comprehending the fundamental worldviews of being, there is a need to consider risk factors and preventive factors of the manifestation of suicide. In this context, the level of the person's hardiness is discussed as a factor that harmonizes the personal ecology of a person and thereby prevents the risk of suicide. Conclusions have been drawn that hardiness is a strong personal resource to overcome the negative impact of stressful situations in a system of unfavorable social ecology, and thus, a resource to prevent the risk of suicidal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change threatens many developing countries with more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Researchers, however, have not comprehensively examined how extreme weather influences urbanization and sustainable development. Based on the spatial estimates of precipitation, tropical cyclones, and temperature for the period of 2000 to 2010, we establish an eleven-year climatological record and calculate anomalies at the county and district level in the Greater Mekong Region (GMR). Combining this with urbanization data from the World Bank, we relate weather patterns to growth rates in urban population and urban land use and find that the above-average rainfall in the wet season along with more frequent cold waves and tropical cyclones tend to retard urban development. In contrast, crop failures caused by increasingly severe droughts during the dry season and heat waves accelerate rural–urban migration and the agglomeration of urban poverty. By identifying institutionally varying effects, we further find that nonsocialist countries have additional sensitivity to most weather extremes than more centralized socialist countries, which have stronger ability to mobilize resources for disaster management and relief. Our study contributes to the understanding of effects of weather shocks on socioeconomic outcomes in societies rapidly integrating with the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes ecological distribution, with a focus on the socioeconomic and environmental conflicts generated by coal exploitation in the Sinifaná coalfield (SCF), in Antioquia, Colombia. The methodology incorporated a descriptive approach which focused on socioeconomic and environmental conflicts, and an analytical approach with a relational emphasis. The hypothesized relation between socioeconomic and environmental conflicts and the Sustainable Development Goals was corroborated. In conclusion, the main conflict present in the study area surrounds the environmental sustainability that derives from informal and illegal mining practices. This causes countless socioeconomic and environmental conflicts that are impacting the wellbeing of people living in the SCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Romanian Danube Valley is an integral part of the Danube Region. According to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), a healthy and well‐educated population is the key issue for sustainable and coherent development of this territory. This paper aims to explore, at micro‐scale level (Local Administrative Units 2 – LAU2), the population's responsivity to health care and education provision according to the demographic characteristics. By using the official statistical data available at a local level and the results provided by the TEMPO‐Online time‐series published by the National Institute of Statistics in 2015, the study assesses current education and health care provision in the Romanian Danube Valley, following the micro‐scale responsivity of the population. The authors have selected some specific statistical indicators in order to highlight education and health care provision and the population's responsivity. The indicators are normalised and gathered in the Education and Health Care Provision Index and the Education and Health Care Responsivity Index. This study shows that the majority of the Danubian LAU2 registered more users of the education and health care services than being available along the Valley. It also highlights the interrelation between low education and health care provision level and poor social and economic opportunities, and therefore the loss of market efficiency, marginalising some groups and reinforcing existing inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mining as a part of anthroposphere is one of the main activities for the world economy and creating social welfare. However, such activities entail the damages to the four other spheres of the environment including atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. These negative effects along with some of the socio-economic impacts of mining activities threaten access to sustainable development (SD) objectives. Nevertheless, the impact assessment on SD indexes is important for keeping mining activities in line with the principles of SD. The present study was conducted to develop a generic procedure for impact assessment of mining activities on SD indexes. To achieve this goal, by taking advantages of two dimensional (2D) assessment matrix and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making techniques, a hybrid approach for assessing the impacts of mining activities on the criteria related to SD indexes was proposed. Fourteen SD criteria including eight environmental, three social and three economic criteria were suggested for this purpose. Compared to other similar studies, the proposed approach is preferred because of its specific impacting factors for each mining project and considering the relative weight of each impacting factor on 2D assessment matrix. The proposed approach was verified in two iron ore mines in Iran. The results showed that the relative score of overall impacts of mining activities on SD indexes in these two mines is 38% and 46%, which indicate the medium severity level of overall impacts in these two mines. Therefore, the proposed approach can be used as a reliable decision support system to evaluate the impacts of mining activities on SD indexes and determine the severity level of impacts on each SD criterion. Graphical abstract Image 103742 Highlights • A hybrid sustainable development (SD) assessment matrix was developed. • The impacts of mining activities on SD indexes were evaluated. • This approach is effective in evaluating the status of SD in a mining region. • This approach is responsible for determining the priorities for corrective actions. • The outcomes of the matrix can be useful for mine closure and reclamation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The development of mining and other resource-based industries are among key drivers of economic development in the Arctic. The fragile environment and the presence of nature-based livelihoods and indigenous communities pose challenges for mining development. Mining operations should be optimized so that the profitability is maintained in changing market conditions and to meet increasing societal and environmental demands. In this study we present the current understanding on the interplay between mining and the surrounding socio-ecological systems in the Arctic region. The existing academic literature on the Arctic region was reviewed, covering 127 peer-reviewed publications since 2000. We investigated the mining activities from four perspectives examining: 1) environmental, 2) economic, 3) social and 4) legal dimensions, covering three life-cycle stages: 1) pre-mining, 2) mining, and 3) post-mining. The publications on the environmental and economic aspects focused principally on the impacts of mining, whereas social and legal publications discussed the interaction between people and their rights and ways of controlling their environment. Besides the need for more balanced research between different life-cycle stages we uncovered five research gaps concerning the knowledge base needed to increase the sustainability of Arctic mining: 1) impacts and adaptation to climate change, 2) monitoring the sustainability of mining using standardized indicators, 3) holistic economic assessment of mining, 4) social sustainability and conflict management, and 5) mechanisms that mitigate or compensate for the adverse effects of mining on biodiversity. Graphical abstract Image 10045 Highlights • We review 127 publications on the impacts of mining in the Arctic region. • Socioeconomic impacts of mining differ for frontier and developed regions. • Environmental impacts of mining are negative and often long-term. • Present mechanisms may not sufficiently regulate the long-term impacts of mining. • The knowledge base for sustainable mining can be increased in five research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory environmental governance might foster social learning, which could lead to the necessary process of social change toward sustainable development. However, current research is still largely inconclusive regarding how and under what conditions participatory environmental governance enhances social learning. Here, my aim is to improve the understanding of how participatory framework conditions influence social learning and to provide a reference point for future research. I conducted a narrative literature review, consolidating multifaceted empirical research to identify and discuss factors that explain social learning. The literature comprised 72 publications and resulted in 11 factors that are highly interconnected. These interconnections denote the causes of social learning. However, some factors such as the personal characteristics of participants have only been marginally investigated. In addition, although cognitive change is theoretically an essential element of social learning, it has rarely been investigated in the reviewed studies. Knowledge acquisition was assessed most often, but does not always lead to cognitive change. A research gap was identified between what is theoretically discussed as social learning processes and what is empirically analyzed. This review therefore presents the state of knowledge about how participatory environmental governance fosters social learning and suggests future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community forestry approach was adopted by Cameroon as a strategy to promote the sustainable management of forests, participation by local communities in forest management, and poverty alleviation. However, results have been moderate and community forestry has largely failed in achieving its initial goals. Our work, based on existing literature, uses the three inter-related dimensions of equity: distributive, procedural, and contextual to highlight the main equity challenges encountered in implementing the community forestry approach over the past 20 years in Cameroon. The main constraints to distributive equity identified include: the absence of clear benefit-sharing mechanisms and rents capture by elites, insecure tenure, and limited use rights of forest resources. Regarding the procedural dimension, we observed an exclusion of vulnerable groups, especially women, and a lack of information flow and transparency in decision-making processes. Finally, for contextual equity, the main constraints are unfair laws and regulations that give more advantages to the state and logging companies than to the local population. Moreover, poor community capacities and high transaction costs in the process of obtaining and exploiting community forests are additional constraints to contextual equity. The authors recommend a few measures to improve community forestry contribution to socioeconomic development, equity in benefit sharing, and sustainable management of forest resources. These include the need: (1) to promote transparency in community forests management with fair and gender-based policies that consider socioeconomic differences existing within and between forest communities; (2) to strengthen local community members financial and technical capacities and increase their representation and participation in decision-making structures; and (3) to set up mechanisms that guarantee existing policies are fully implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Some wastes are illegally dumped on public/private areas, causing several aesthetic, environmental, economic and social negative impacts and representing a public hazard. These sites need to be treated and managed and this task is often a responsibility of municipalities, representing high costs. However, there is a lack of strategies for the municipal management of these degraded areas that minimize costs, restore the ecological value of the area and eliminate the public hazard. This work proposes a conceptual model for the management of illegal dumping degraded areas by municipal services, based on a social life cycle assessment (SLCA). The model proposed is an open-participatory management tool which supplies the information needed for the waste management strategy for illegal waste deposit sites. Methods to evaluate and apply SLCA in this context are scarce. Therefore, SLCA is presented as a tool that can be applied to organisations in strategic analysis and structuring complex decision-making processes in order to identify optimisation potentials. It combines an environmental and a socio-economic assessment, contributing to the full assessment of products and services within the context of sustainable development. The framework intends to promote the improvement of social conditions and the socio-economic performance of a product throughout its life cycle for all the stakeholders involved within the context of sustainable development. Illegal deposits sites of Construction and Demolition Wastes (CDW) in municipalities are used as a case study for model implementation. The outputs of this model are: i) understanding the real situation of the illegally deposited wastes; ii) management practices comparing and integrating environmental, social, and economic objectives; iii) open-participatory management; iv) orientations to strategy definition; v) use of the life-cycle product principle contributing to a circular economy; and vi) assisting with municipalities performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper deals with the geographically uneven distribution of urban sustainability experiments. It focuses on largely neglected demographic, socio-economic, and socio-cultural characteristics to explain where and why experiments are likely to emerge — or not. In doing so, it presents the first quantitative study to examine a systematic relationship between the incidence of experiments and neighbourhood-level indicators. Theoretically informed by transitions studies and urban geography, the study draws on unique data from an urban agriculture initiative consisting of nearly two thousand individual projects across metropolitan London. Applying spatial statistical analyses, its results suggest that, on the one hand, gentrifying and, on the other hand, income-deprived neighbourhoods provide distinct urban milieux in which initiatives emerge disproportionately often. In contrast, already gentrified or otherwise advantaged urban neighbourhoods are found to have a disproportionately low number of projects. The paper discusses the socio-spatially variegating roles of experiments and identifies implications of these findings for our theoretical understanding of the emergence of sustainability experiments, their interrelationship with differing socio-economic and cultural contexts, and their expected significance for wider societal sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MESSAGE Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) developed by IIASA has been a central tool of energy-environment-economy systems analysis in the global scientific and policy arena. It played a major role in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); it provided marker scenarios of the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and the Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs); and it underpinned the analysis of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA). Alas, to provide relevant analysis for current and future challenges, numerical models of human and earth systems need to support higher spatial and temporal resolution, facilitate integration of data sources and methodologies across disciplines, and become open and transparent regarding the underlying data, methods, and the scientific workflow. In this manuscript, we present the building blocks of a new framework for an integrated assessment modeling platform; the "ecosystem" comprises: i) an open-source GAMS implementation of the MESSAGE energy++ system model integrated with the MACRO economic model; ii) a Java/database back-end for version-controlled data management, iii) interfaces for the scientific programming languages Python & R for efficient input data and results processing workflows; and iv) a web-browser-based user interface for model/scenario management and intuitive "drag-and-drop" visualization of results. The framework aims to facilitate the highest level of openness for scientific analysis, bridging the need for transparency with efficient data processing and powerful numerical solvers. The platform is geared towards easy integration of data sources and models across disciplines, spatial scales and temporal disaggregation levels. All tools apply best-practice in collaborative software development, and comprehensive documentation of all building blocks and scripts is generated directly from the GAMS equations and the Java/Python/R source code. Highlights • We present an open-source implementation of the MESSAGEix integrated assessment model. • MESSAGEix is fully integrated with the powerful ix modeling platform (ixmp). • The framework has interfaces to the scientific programming languages Python and R. • A powerful database backend supports data version control and scientific workflows. • All modules are applying best-practice collaborative development standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work is to show preliminary results of the research elaborate a proposal of strategies for the sustainable and affordable development of the Imbabura park, located in the province of thevery same name in the northern Ecuadorian sierra which is at present in the phase of request to the UNESCO. The methods used for the revision of documents that establish the prevailing strategies for the area were the logic historic, the inductive deductive method and the analytic ones. Likewise as an empiric element the criteria of the experts on strategjes for the local development and a comparative study on the methodologies used in previous investigations strategies was carried out. The partial results of the investigation give the answer to the intended objectives. The potential that for the touristic development represents the taken of the natural heritage value, the need to conciliate the existing strategies and to focus new ones for a greater incorporation of the implicated social sectors in the economic changes, the sustainability and the Geopark potentiality Geoparque, desarrollo, estrategia, patrimonio geológico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

David R. Godschalk, professor emeritus in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, passed away in early 2018. In this essay we reflect on Dave's planning scholarship and practice. We discuss his main contributions in 4 prominent areas. First is the importance of public participation and collaboration for the planning and governance of communities. He argued for democratizing and recasting public participation, with planners working alongside community members coproducing plans and incorporating uncertainty, new information, and different viewpoints. Second is Dave's focus on the tenets of the comprehensive plan and its core element, the land use plan. In the plan, central principles of livable urban forms and model planning processes can be integrated and translated to practice. With academic collaborators and practitioners he pioneered theoretical and empirical research on what constitutes a high-quality plan, a fundamental question at the heart of planning. Third is his research demonstrating how spatial planning can be used for hazard mitigation and urban resilience. This work forged a new generation of planning academics and practitioners who focused on hazard plans for predisaster mitigation and postdisaster recovery at multiple governmental levels. Finally, fourth is his personal involvement in planning-related institutions that he helped create, lead, or steer. In his various roles as scholar, teacher, mentor, collaborator, supervisor, planning director, and elected official, Dave touched the lives of many who now build on his contributions in creating better communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract How to protect the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) has become a practical problem to be solved due to its number increasing rapidly. To promote the industrial integration development (IID) in IAHS sites was an essential measure regarded widely. This paper first reviewed IID theories, and then analyzed resources characteristics in IAHS sites and IAHS conservation requirements. Then based on these aspects, an IID theoretical framework was built for IAHS sites. In the theoretical framework, the definition and connotation and the principles that IID should abide by were proposed first, and then an implemented procedure of IID was built. The implemented procedure drew an IID route for IAHS sites, which describes the key indexes of assessment on the IID level, how to analyze resources characteristics, which resource types can be used, how to achieve industrial integration, how to organize operating entities of industries and how to balance benefits of stakeholders. The theory indicated the distinctiveness and key aspects of IID in IAHS sites and suggested how to promote the IID in IAHS sites and which themes are research priorities. Highlights • Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS) conservation is a crucial work for IAHS sites. • Promoting Industrial Integration Development (IID) in IAHS sites is an essential protective measure. • IID in IAHS sites is restrained by conservation conditions but also has many resources advantages. • This paper proposes a theoretic framework of IID in IAHS sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural land is facing challenges due to different human activities. Accelerated urbanisation along with explosive economic growth has further worsened the shortage of agricultural land over the last two decades. Kosovo, a country with small areas suitable for agriculture is meeting challenges due to unplanned settlement extension, coal surface mining, parcelisation of properties, etc. This paper consists in an analysis of the agricultural land fund in Kosovo, in quality, production potential and food security for the population, but also the challenges facing Kosovo with this strategic resource. The article analyses three main factors that have made the biggest changes in agricultural land in Kosovo: the effects of settlement extension, coal surface mining and parcelisation in reducing the soil fund. Some of the effects have triggered significant socio-economic processes that have changed the rural environment. Other important risks of agricultural land in Kosovo are: pollution, landfills, frequent floods, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract It is believed that the environment is largely susceptible to changes in human behavior and the constant advances in using new technologies. Different challenges with regard to housing, basic services, food, health, education, and natural resources must be overcome as it is expected an urban population growth in the upcoming decades. Thereby, a proposal has been formulated herein with the aim of understanding the correlation between a group of socioeconomic and environmental variables that tend to represent how cities of a metropolitan region in Brazil behave towards the duality of social development and electricity use. For such a purpose, a spatial econometric analysis has been conducted on sets of variables that are associated with sustainable development goals (SDGs) established to understand social vulnerabilities, economy, electricity use, health and population. The Euclidean distance has been used on standardized variables for the 39 cities in the Metropolitan Region of Paraíba Valley and North Coast as an alternative to that suggested by spatial econometrics. The region under study presents hub cities whose economies are mainly based on industry, trade and services. The results show good consistency and reveal the correlation between SDGs as regards care for vulnerable people, mainly women, children and the elderly. Highlights • A spatial econometric analysis was performed for a metropolitan region of Brazil. • Euclidian distance was proposed as the metric for representing socio-environmental differences between cities. • Sustainable Development Goals were associated to the socio-economic variables of the cities. • Social vulnerabilities, economy, electricity use, health, and population were considered as spatial attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Wellbeing is the product of a complex set of factors, some of which are well perceived by individuals while others are not. Surveys based on answers to the question: ‘how satisfied are you with your life?’ have allowed increased understanding of the factors affecting perceived life satisfaction. We use the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to analyse the relationship between self-reported ‘subjective’ explanatory variables and ‘objective’ variables that measure similar domains in explaining overall life satisfaction. We explain about 49% of the variation in individual overall life satisfaction when using 8 of the subjective satisfaction variables included in HILDA, but only about 12% when using 19 of the objective variables covering similar domains. This is partly due to the differences between objective life situations and individual's perceptions of them. Understanding the relationships between objective and subjective variables is imperative for better policy. We find that individual's perceptions of the full range of objective conditions that support their wellbeing is quite limited. An integrated understanding of wellbeing is needed that can incorporate both what individuals do perceive and value and the factors that they do not perceive well but that are nonetheless valuable in supporting their wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a Mamdani fuzzy inference approach (MFIA) is developed for assessing ecological security of urban agglomeration. MFIA integrates pressure-state-response (PSR) model into a fuzzy logic framework, which can (1) effectively reflect the interrelationship between natural ecosystem and socio-economic systems under complex condition, and (2) capture the knowledge-based experts’ judgments and tackle the imprecise and/or vague information in the urban agglomeration ecosystem. MFIA is then applied to assessing ecological security of the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. Among all cities, Zhaoqing owns the highest ecological security level due to its low population pressure and rich resources (e.g., forest and arable land). The ecological security level of Foshan is the lowest due to its high population pressure, limited resources, and low response level. In order to facilitate sustainable development of the urban agglomeration, various strategies for improving ecological security level should be implemented. Foshan should both control population growth and adjust industrial structure; Shenzhen and Dongguan should promote their ecological security levels through increasing forest and green areas and controlling population; for three cities of Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Jiangmen, it is essential to enhance their infrastructures for mitigating pollutant discharges and reducing the environmental pressures. The findings could help identify ecological condition of the urban agglomeration and provide useful information for supporting regional ecological planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective evaluation on the coordination between socio-economy (V) and carbon emission (W) is essential for sustainable urban planning, and this study introduces an improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model for conducting such evaluation. The limitation of the traditional CCD model has been examined. The effectiveness of the improved CCD model is demonstrated with its application in 30 case provinces of China by using the data collected for the period 1995–2015. The results show that: (1) The subjectivity embodied in the traditional CCD model in analyzing the coordination between V and W significantly distorts the true coordination between the two systems. (2) The improved CCD model is effective as its application can reflect the reality of the sample cases. (3) The average coordination degrees of the 30 case provinces for the surveyed period show an upward evolution, and the coordination statuses of these provinces have been transforming from low-grade symbiosis to high-grade symbiosis. (4) The spatial distribution of coupling coordination degree in China is characterized by a higher degree of coordination in the Eastern provinces. The results of applying the improved coupling coordination degree model can help decision makers formulate effective sustainable measures to balance socio-economic development with carbon emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]