Research on solar energy systems and materials has yielded promising opportunities for sustainable energy solutions, which do not only consider environmental issues but also allow aesthetic design possibilities. New requirements regarding the energy efficiency performance of buildings gave the...

The Smart City as a concept is a new government initiative in India since last 5 years. The way the initiatives are going around in identified cities of India are widely seen as localities that actively embrace new technologies to achieve desired outcome. However, the way the concept of smart...

In 2010 the World Health Organisation dedicated the Word Health Day to urbanization and health, highlighting the impacts of urban living on physical and mental health. This is because it is increasingly acknowledged that cities face various problems that undermine the quality of urban life,...

Forests can play a major role in climate regulation by reducing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Forests also provide a range of other ecological goods and services such as biodiversity and watershed protection and amenity benefits. On the other hand,...

This paper reflects on a "cultural industry model" with important potential for local development, which is the network of independent cultural producers of Brazilian slums. The landscape of favelas is unique: plagued by poverty and crime, they have come to encapsulate the worst aspects of...