The whole world is in a fuel crisis nearly approaching exhaustion, with climate change knocking at our doorsteps. In the fight against global warming, one of the principle components that demands technocratic attention is Transportation, not just as a significant contributor to atmospheric emissions but from a much broader perspective of environmental sustainability. 

From the traditional technocratic aspect of transport planning, our epiphany comes in the form of Land Use integrated sustainable transport policy in which Singapore has been a pioneer, and has led the way for both developed and developing nations in terms of mobility management. We intend to investigate Singapore’s Transport policy timeline delving into the past, present and future, with a case by case analysis for varying dimensions in the present scenario through selective benchmarking against contemporary cities like Hong Kong, London and New York. The discussions will include themes of modal split, land use policy, vehicular ownership, emission policy, parking policy, safety and road traffic management to name a few. A visualization of Singapore’s future in transportation particularly from the perspective of automated vehicles in conjunction with last mile solutions is also detailed. 

This paper provides a comparative perspective on infrastructure provision in developing Asia's three largest countries: China, India, and Indonesia. It discusses their achievements and shortfalls in providing network infrastructure (energy, transport, water, and telecommunications) over the past two decades. It documents how three quite distinct development paths—and very different levels of national saving and investment—were manifested in different trajectories of infrastructure provision. The paper then describes the institutional, economic, and policy factors that enabled or hindered progress in providing infrastructure. Here, contrasting levels of centralization of planning played a key role, as did countries’ differing abilities to mobilize infrastructure-related revenue streams such as user charges and land value capture. The paper then assesses future challenges for the three countries in providing infrastructure in a more integrated and sustainable way, and links these challenges with the global development agenda to which the three countries have committed. The concluding recommendations hope to provide a platform for further policy and research dialogue.

With modern society and the ever-increasing consumption of polymeric materials, the way we look at products has changed, and one of the main questions we have is about the negative impacts caused to the environment in the most diverse stages of the life cycle of these materials, whether in the acquisition of raw materials, in manufacturing, distribution, use or even in their final disposal. The main methodology currently used to assess the environmental impacts of products from their origin to their final disposal is known as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate how much the biodegradable polymer contributes to the environment in relation to the conventional polymer considering the application of LCA in the production mode. This analysis is configured through the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method. In this review, 28 studies were selected for evaluation, whose approaches encompass knowledge on LCA, green biopolymer (from a renewable but non-biodegradable source), conventional polymer (from a non-renewable source) and, mainly, the benefits of using biodegradable polymers produced from renewable sources, such as: corn, sugarcane, cellulose, chitin and others. Based on the surveys, a comparative analysis of LCA applications was made, whose studies considered evaluating quantitative results in the application of LCA, in biodegradable and conventional polymers. The results, based on comparisons between extraction and production of biodegradable polymers in relation to conventional polymers, indicate greater environmental benefits related to the use of biodegradable polymers.

Given the increasing demand for sustainable energy sources and the challenges associated with the limited efficiency of solar cells, this review focuses on the application of gold quantum dots (AuQDs) in enhancing solar cell performance. Gold quantum dots, with their unique properties such as the ability to absorb ultraviolet light and convert it into visible light expand the utilization of the solar spectrum in solar cells. Additionally, these quantum dots, through plasmonic effects and the enhancement of localized electric fields, improve light absorption, charge carrier generation (electrons and holes), and their transfer. This study investigates the integration of quantum dots with gold plasmonic nanoparticles into the structure of solar cells. Experimental results demonstrate that using green quantum dots and gold plasmonic nanoparticles as intermediate layers leads to an increase in power conversion efficiency. This improvement highlights the significant impact of this technology on solar cell performance. Furthermore, the reduction in charge transfer resistance and the increase in short-circuit current are additional advantages of utilizing this technology. The findings of this research emphasize the high potential of gold quantum dots in advancing next-generation solar cell technology.

In this review are developed insights from the current research work to develop the concept of functional materials. This is understood as real modified substrates for varied applications. So, functional and modified substrates focused on nanoarchitectures, microcapsules, and devices for new nanotechnologies highlighting life sciences applications were revised. In this context, different types of concepts to proofs of concepts of new materials are shown to develop desired functions. Thus, it was shown that varied chemicals, emitters, pharmacophores, and controlled nano-chemistry were used for the design of nanoplatforms to further increase the sizes of materials. In this regard, the prototyping of materials was discussed, affording how to afford the challenge in the design and fabrication of new materials. Thus, the concept of optical active materials and the generation of a targeted signal through the substrate were developed. Moreover, advanced concepts were introduced, such as the multimodal energy approach by tuning optical coupling from molecules to the nanoscale within complex matter composites. These approaches were based on the confinement of specific optical matter, considering molecular spectroscopics and nano-optics, from where the new concept nominated as metamaterials was generated. In this manner, fundamental and applied research by the design of hierarchical bottom-up materials, controlling molecules towards nanoplatforms and modified substrates, was proposed. Therefore, varied accurate length scales and dimensions were controlled. Finally, it showed proofs of concepts and applications of implantable, portable, and wearable devices from cutting-edge knowledge to the next generation of devices and miniaturized instrumentation.