This book presents multi-sector practical cases based on the author’s own research. It also includes the best practice, which could serve as a benchmark for the creation of smart cities. The global urbanisation index, i.e., the ratio of city dwellers to the total population, has been steadily increasing in recent years. It is highest in the Americas, followed by Europe, Asia and Africa. The city of the future will combine the intelligent use of IT systems with the potential of institutions, companies and committed, creative inhabitants. The administrative boundaries of today’s cities put certain constraints on their further growth, but in the future these boundaries will no longer be as relevant. Cities in Europe face the challenge of reconciling sustainable urban development and competitiveness – a challenge that will likely influence issues of urban quality such as the economy, culture, social and environmental conditions, changing a given city’s profile as well as urban quality in terms of its composition and characteristics.

The smart city concept, together with the growing importance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, has a significant impact on city management and governance. This book examines real cases of smart city management across Asia and Europe. It covers regions such as Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam to systemize the knowledge in the field. It evaluates smart cities’ efficiency and analyzes and assesses the standards, norms and best practices involved in the management of smart cities. The book answers questions such as what it is that makes smart cities stand out, why some countries in Europe and Asia have more smart cities than others, whether smart cities support the economy and GDP growth of the country, and what the main determinants of forming smart cities in Asia and Europe are. It also evaluates whether smart cities secure higher standards of living for their citizens as compared to regular cities. Many theoretical concepts and theories are developed and then verified from the perspective of Western economies. Central Eastern European and Asian countries are frequently overlooked, thus, examining the smart city idea from the viewpoint of non-Western economies offers a fresh insight into the concept and its adaptation and evolution. The range of issues analyzed in the book are multilayered and approached from a wide array of perspectives, from macroeconomics to management, finance and technology, and public policy. Thus, the book is addressed to researchers, students, and academics who specialize in sustainable and regional development, economic geography, and management. It will also be of interest to urban planners, environmental scientists, and policymakers.

Modern day and technology-rich environments require a reconceptualization of how the nature of technology influences urban areas. Rethinking the way we apply these technologies will not only alter the way people communicate and interact, but it will also alter how individuals learn and explore the world around them. Ambient Urbanities as the Intersection Between the IoT and the IoP in Smart Cities offers insights about the ambient in 21st century smart cities, learning cities, responsive cities, and future cities, and highlights the importance of people as critical to the urban fabric of smart cities that are increasingly embedded with pervasive and often invisible technologies. The book, based on an urban research study, explores urbanity from multiple perspectives ranging from the cultural to the geographic. While highlighting topics including digital literacies, smarter governance, and information architectures, this book is ideally designed for students, educators, researchers, the business community, city government staff and officials, urban practitioners, and those concerned with contemporary and emerging complex urban challenges and opportunities.

This book introduces the students, researchers and practitioners into the subject and enabling technologies and applications pertaining to of technology, entrepreneurship and business development through research articles, case studies etc. It is primarily intended for academic purposes for learners of computer Science, management, accounting and information systems disciplines, economics,- entrepreneurship. Publishing chapters in the book is new innovative idea to spread the book in the Middle East and Arab countries and make the book achieve more sales. As many students in all levels, graduates and undergraduates in addition to research, professionals are not able to get sufficient resources because of the language concern.

These proceedings represent the work of contributors to the 7th European Conference on Social Media (ECSM 2020), supported by UCLan Cyprus, Larnaca on 2-3 July 2020. The Conference Chair is Dr Christos Karpasitis and the Programme Chair is Mrs Christiana Varda, from the University of Central Lancashire - Cyprus (UCLan Cyprus). ECSM is a relatively new, but well-established event on the academic research calendar. Now, in its 7th year, the key aim remains the opportunity for participants to share ideas and meet. The conference was due to be held at UCLan Cyprus, but unfortunately, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic it was moved online to be held as a virtual event. The scope of papers will ensure an interesting conference. The subjects covered illustrate the wide range of topics that fall into this important and ever-growing area of research.

This book presents fundamental and applied research in developing geospatial modeling solutions to manage the challenges that urban areas are facing today. It aims to connect the academics, researchers, experts, town planners, investors and government officials to exchange ideas. The areas addressed include urban heat island analysis, urban flood vulnerability and risk mapping, green spaces, solar energy, infrastructure management, among others. The book suggests directions for smart city research and outlines practical propositions. As an emerging and critical area of research and development, much research is now being done with regard to cities. At the international level and in India alike, the “smart cities” concept is a vital topic for universities and research centers, and well as for civic bodies, town planners and policymakers. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for a broad readership.

This book is devoted to sewage sludge, its sustainable management, and its use and implications on soil fertility and crop production. The book traces the main chemical and biological properties of sewage sludge, and covers topics such as sewage sludge biostabilization and detoxification, biological and thermochemical treatment technologies, emerging nutrient recovery technologies, the role of microorganisms in sewage sludge management, and the sustainable use of sewage sludge as fertilizer in agriculture. The book offers a valuable asset for researchers, scholars and policymakers alike.

Industrial and Municipal Sludge: Emerging Concerns and Scope for Resource Recovery begins with a characterization of the types of sludge and their sources and management strategies. This section is followed by specific chapters that cover Emerging contaminants in sludge (Endocrine disruptors, Pesticides and Pharmaceutical residues, including illicit drugs/controlled substances), Bioleaching of sludge [with an enriched sulfur-oxidizing bacterial community, Recovery of valuable metals (Bioleaching and use of sulfur-oxidizing bacterial community, and Biogas production by continuous thermal hydrolysis and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge. In addition, the book includes numerous tables and flow diagrams to help users further comprehend the subject matter. - Includes numerous tables and flow diagrams to assist in the comprehension of new and existing sludge treatments and resource recovery technology - Covers biogas production by continuous thermal hydrolysis and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge - Presents information on the recovery of valuable metals from sludge (bioleaching and the use of a sulfur-oxidizing bacterial community) - Includes opportunities and challenges in the biorefinery-based valorization of pulp and paper sludge

A globe-trotting, eye-opening exploration of how cities can—and do—make us happier people Charles Montgomery's Happy City will revolutionize the way we think about urban life. After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks, and tower dwelling an improvement on the car-dependence of sprawl? The award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness, and during an exhilarating journey through some of the world's most dynamic cities. He meets the visionary mayor who introduced a "sexy" lipstick-red bus to ease status anxiety in Bogotá; the architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan hill towns to modern-day New York City; the activist who turned Paris's urban freeways into beaches; and an army of American suburbanites who have transformed their lives by hacking the design of their streets and neighborhoods. Full of rich historical detail and new insights from psychologists and Montgomery's own urban experiments, Happy City is an essential tool for understanding and improving our own communities. The message is as surprising as it is hopeful: by retrofitting our cities for happiness, we can tackle the urgent challenges of our age. The happy city, the green city, and the low-carbon city are the same place, and we can all help build it.