In a series of essays, this book describes and analyzes the concept and theory of the recent smart city phenomenon from a global perspective, with a focus on its implementation around the world. After defining the concept it then elaborates on the role of Information and Communication Technology...

Metropolitan growth has been dramatic in the past several decades, and today metropolitan regions are recognized as the main driving forces in national growth and development as well as in national and global innovation processes. The purpose of this book is to contribute to a better...

Taking eleven countries in Europe, Canada, South Africa, America, Latin America and Australia, this book discusses recurring barriers to cluster development in the renewable energy sector. The authors look at the real-world dynamics and tensions between stakeholders on the ground, with a...

By the dawn of the 21st century, more than half of the world's population was living in urban areas. This volume explores the implications of this unprecedented expansion in the world's most urbanized region, Latin America, exploring the new urban reality, and the consequences for both Latin...

This book presents an incisive outline of the historical development and geography of cities. It focuses on three themes that constitute essential foundations for any understanding of urban form and function. These are: (a) the shifting patterns of urbanization through historical time, (b) the...

In this edited volume, academics and practitioners from various disciplines investigate the challenges, opportunities and frameworks in the implementation of Smart Cities in the Gulf. The volume presents insightful analyses and identifies key lessons learned through case studies covering four...

This book gathers a collection of essays presented from the perspective of a spatial planner whose working life has been immersed in South Asia. It concerns some of the serious challenges that need to be confronted in the South Asian context, including the externalities and ethical concerns that...

This book examines failure in the urbanisation of Northwest China as a result of government industrial policies that have impacted on the economic development of the region. By looking at the under-researched provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia, which make up a quarter of China's...

This volume discusses post-socialist urban transport functioning and development in Russia, within the context of the country’s recent transition towards a market economy. Over the past twenty-five years, urban transport in Russia has undergone serious transformations, prompted by the...

The overall objective of the book is to holistically assess the property tax systems in BRICS megacities. As megacities play a vital role within their respective countries - economically, administratively, and from a human development perspective - they experience the costs and benefits of...