As cities continue to face the increasing demands of urban transportation and the need for sustainable mobility solutions, the integration of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) with smart city infrastructure emerges as a promising approach. This paper presents a novel framework for integrating ITS with smart city infrastructure, aiming to address the challenges of urban transportation and promote sustainable mobility. The framework is developed through a comprehensive literature review, case studies, and stakeholder interviews, providing significant insights into the integration process. Our research outlines the key components of smart city infrastructure that can be integrated with ITS, highlights the benefits of integration, and identifies the challenges and barriers that need to be addressed. Additionally, we propose and apply evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness of ITS integration with smart city infrastructure. The results demonstrate the novelty and significance of this framework, as it significantly reduces traffic congestion, improves air quality, and enhances citizen satisfaction. This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive approach to integrating ITS with smart city infrastructure, offering a transformative solution for urban transportation challenges.
The transportation sector is currently experiencing a significant transformation due to the influence of digital technologies, which are revolutionizing travel, goods transportation, and interactions with transportation systems. This study delves into the possibilities and obstacles presented by digital transformation in the realm of sustainable transportation. Moreover, it identifies the most effective methods for implementing digital transformation in this sector. Furthermore, our analysis sheds light on the potential impacts of digital transformation on sustainable development and environmental performance indicators within transportation systems. We discover that digital transformation can contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality, and increased resource efficiency, among other benefits. Nevertheless, we emphasize the potential risks and uncertainties associated with digital transformation, including concerns regarding data privacy, security, and ethics. Collectively, our research provides valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges presented by digital transformation in sustainable transportation. It also identifies best practices for successfully implementing digital transformation in this sector. The implications of our findings are significant for policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders who aspire to drive the future of sustainable transportation through digital transformation.
The Circular Economy (CE) concept has been recognized as the core strategy that can support sustainable business through technological innovation that enables CE transition by focusing on resource savings. This case study conducts research on business strategy in achieving CE transition in an agroindustry company, by performing SWOT analysis to assess internal and external factors. The SWOT model provides valuable results that an effective strategy could maximize strengths and opportunities, minimize weaknesses and threats in business by boosting circularity on business-critical factors. The CE adoption by agroindustry company mostly focuses on efficient organic waste management, energy-efficient production, and production process. This study case reveals that while technology plays a significant role in advancing CE, there is still a significant need to pay attention to the social aspect in supporting the creation of worker-owned cooperatives by creating space for employee involvement in finding innovations and adopting technology in business transition into CE process. Social innovation through the involvement of employees by sharing CE vision, synergizing and optimizing internal potential, and building up the green innovation culture has created an internal conducive climate to put CE principle into practice. Further result shows that a labor-intensive company’s business strategy prioritizes employment and job security over maximizing profits, which directly leads to the economic welfare and social protection of the business operation that makes an inclusive business.
Rapid population growth and inadequate adherence to scientific and managerial principles in urban planning have intensified numerous challenges, pushing major Iranian cities toward instability. Tehran, as the capital and one of the most urbanized regions in the country, faces significant sustainability threats that require immediate attention. These challenges are not unique to Tehran but represent a broader issue faced by rapidly urbanizing cities worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Addressing such challenges is critical to fostering sustainable development on a global scale. While urban sustainability has been extensively studied, limited research has focused on the indicators of urban instability and their tangible impacts on sustainable urban planning. This study aims to bridge this gap by identifying and analyzing key factors contributing to urban instability across economic, environmental, and social dimensions, with Tehran serving as a representative case. The findings reveal that economic instability is driven by uncertainty in economic policies, fluctuating housing prices, non-standard housing conditions, income disparity, unemployment, and cost of living pressures. Environmental instability is exacerbated by climate change, urban heat islands, floods, transportation mismanagement, energy insecurity, pollution, and insufficient green infrastructure. Social instability arises from limited social interaction, unequal access to services, weak community participation, social harms, and diminished urban safety and welfare. By framing these local challenges within a global context, the study underscores the interconnectedness of these dimensions and highlights the necessity for integrated, evidence-based approaches that combine local insights with global best practices. The findings aim to contribute to the broader discourse on sustainable urban development by offering actionable insights and strategies that can be adapted and implemented in other rapidly urbanizing cities. This research serves as a guide for policymakers, urban planners, and stakeholders worldwide, emphasizing the importance of holistic and resilient urban strategies to address the multifaceted challenges of sustainability and instability.
During property renovations, sustainability is increasingly playing a crucial role in reducing environmental impacts, utilizing resources efficiently, and improving the quality of living environments. In our research, we examined the environmentally conscious thinking of potential clients for sustainable renovations, including their requirements for materials, which encompass enhancing energy efficiency, the importance of waste reduction, the significance of using alternative energy, and the application of eco-friendly, durable, and local materials. According to the results of our quantitative survey, respondents recognized the importance of sustainability considerations and expressed their commitment towards energy-efficient and eco-friendly solutions, although costs and payback periods continued to be decisive factors. We found that advocates of sustainable property renovations in our sample displayed environmentally conscious characteristics, and environmentally conscious consumers are willing to spend more for significant and long-term results. As part of our research, we conducted in-depth interviews with real estate agents and general contractors to understand sustainability considerations in the decision-making process of property renovations. The key lesson from the interviews was that buyers can be segmented into different groups, with those prioritizing environmental awareness being of significant importance. Based on the findings, sustainability is increasingly coming to the forefront in property renovations. Thus, our publication offers a detailed insight into market trends and practices.
Agricultural productivity has remained central to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Nigeria for several decades. However, the decline in the agricultural sector after the discovery of oil and gas resources is a serious challenge. The government has initiated several policies to rejuvenate agricultural productivity. Little attention has been given to the exploration of policy implementation for fish farming and aquaculture as an integral part of agribusiness in the country. The World Bank asserts that the yearly demand for fish is 3.4 million metric tons (i.e., 40%) is locally produced and the remaining 60% is supplied through importation of fish. Therefore, the primary objective of this paper is to re-assess policy implementation to explore and expand the potential of fish farming in Nigeria to address abject poverty and high unemployment rates. This can be achieved when a shift of attention is given to small- and medium-scale businesses, and consequentially achieve sustainable agribusiness and socio-economic development in the country. This study used library-based research and content analysis as its methodology, wherein secondary data were used to review different aspects that can foster fish farming in the country. The findings from the content analysis of the study demonstrated that in order to achieve domestic production and stop the importation of fish, there is a need for the establishment of nothing less than 400,000 fish farming across the country. The paper highlighted various types and techniques for breeding, rearing, and harvesting fish by strengthening their effectiveness and efficiency. This study emphasized the vital importance of technology, such as reliable energy facilities, solar energy, and solar irrigation, in reducing the cost of diesel in powering generators to maximize fish investment. The limitations of this study are highlighted, and SWOT analysis (i.e., strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) in fish farming is elaborated. It is suggested that the implementation of policies to support farmers in general and fish farmers in particular, such as the provision of credit loans and other fish feeds for sustainable agribusiness and socio-economic development, occupies a central climax of this research.
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