A universal systems design process is specified, tested in a case study and evaluated. It links English narratives to numbers using a categorical language framework with mathematical mappings taking the place of conjunctions and numbers. The framework is a ring of English narrative words between...

Sustainable development and participatory governance are among the central policy priorities of our time. The challenge is at all scales of development and participation. Finding and validating methodological approaches has become urgent. Existing decision processes such as multi-criterion...

Over the last decade the important role that local authorities can play in catalyzing community action on climate change has been repeatedly emphasised by the UK Government. The paper examines this policy context and explores the options available to local authorities in terms of reaching and...

This study develops a modelling framework within which the effects of technology choice and policy on the sustainability of cities may be assessed. A life cycle accounting system for environmental impacts is combined with systems analysis, to represent the flows of resources into cities, the...

This paper describes ESCO approaches and business models for biomass heating and CHP generation. State of the art, policy measures and main barriers towards the implementation of such ESCO operations in Italy are discussed. Moreover, on the basis of the proposed framework, representative case...

This paper explores the prospects and policy implications for bioenergy to contribute to a long-term sustainable UK energy system. The UK MARKAL technology-focused energy systems dynamic cost optimisation model--which has been used to quantify the costs and benefits of alternative energy...