The issue of urban land management in the world in general and in Africa in particular has been exacerbated by the liberalization of land practices and the commodification of land, which has led to an increase in corrupt practices within land institutions in all cities. A mixed methodology was employed, combining a comparative case study of secondary towns with a quantitative survey of 559 landowners in the towns of Bohicon and Sokodé. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 informants, who were surveyed on the land acquisition process, the individual determinants influencing corrupt practices, and the institutions most involved in these practices. The findings revealed that the acquisition of a formal title conferring property rights in both cities necessitates the completion of several steps. Corrupt practices are present at almost every stage of the transaction. The application of logistic regression models to the independent variables indicates that age and profession are highly significant in the sociodemographic characteristics of those most susceptible to engaging in these practices. Formal land administration institutions are the most involved in these types of everyday corruption. These practices are ultimately linked to people’s life paths and cannot therefore be combated without psychosociological education and the promotion of ethical behavior among all stakeholders, particularly among those who demand services.

This study investigates the roles of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in constructing permanent housing for disaster-affected communities in Cianjur Regency following the November 2022 earthquake. Employing a qualitative methodology, the research utilizes in-depth interviews and field observations involving local governments, NGOs, and disaster survivors. The findings highlight the government’s central role in policy formulation, budget allocation, and coordination of housing development, while NGOs contribute through community empowerment, logistical support, and ensuring participatory planning. Challenges in collaboration, such as differing objectives and resource constraints, underscore the need for enhanced synergy. The study concludes that effective partnerships among the government, NGOs, and the community can expedite the development of sustainable, safe housing tailored to local needs. Emphasis on community empowerment and integrated resource management enhances resilience to future disasters. Success hinges on strong coordination, proactive challenge management, and inclusive stakeholder engagement throughout the recovery process.

Studies show that Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies can enhance compliance with COVID-19 guidelines within the parties in the construction industry in the future and mitigate job loss. It implies that mitigating job loss improves the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) (eliminate poverty). There is a paucity of literature concerning 4IR technologies application and COVID-19 impact on South Africa’s construction industry. Thus, this paper investigates the impacts of the pandemic on the sector and the roles of digital technologies in mitigating job loss in future pandemics. Data were collected via virtual semi-structured interviews. The participants proffered unexplored insights into the impact of the pandemic on the sector and the possible roles that 4IR technology can play in mitigating the spread of the virus within the sector. Findings show that the sector was hit, especially the low-income earners, threatens to achieve Goal 1, despite government institutions’ intervention, such as economic support programmes, health and safety guidelines awareness, and medical facilities. Findings group the emerged impacts into health and safety, environmental, economic, productivity, social, and legal and insurance issues in South Africa. The study shows that technology can be advantageous to improving achieving Goal 1 in a pandemic era due to limited job loss.

Nanomaterials are a recently discovered type of material that is gaining importance and receiving a lot of attention from researchers. Due to their numerous advantages, scholars are studying nanoparticles extensively. The articles in this issue that discuss the various applications of nanoparticles are very interesting. The majority of these articles focus on the use of nanoparticles in the medical sector and their contributions to environmental protection.