The smart city is a driver of change, innovation, competitiveness, and networking for businesses and organizations based on the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals for the 2030 agenda. The importance of a new paradigm regarding the externalities of the environment, citizen welfare, and natural resources in cities as an impact of urban ecosystems is the main objective for sustainable development in cities through 2030. Smart Cities, Citizen Welfare, and the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals provides innovative insights into the key developments and new trends associated with online challenges and opportunities in smart cities based on the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals. The content within this publication represents research encompassing corporate social responsibility, economic policy, and city planning. This book serves as a vital reference source for urban planners, policymakers, managers, entrepreneurs, graduate-level students, researchers, and academicians seeking coverage on topics centered on conceptual, technological, and design issues related to smart city development in Europe.

The topic of urban life and the ambient in smart cities, learning cities, and future cities is a timely one, fitting as it does in the world today by responding in an interdisciplinary way across many areas of research and practice. It is essential for researchers to think about and engage with the notion of flourishing in increasingly challenging environments in smarter ways. Urban Life and the Ambient in Smart Cities, Learning Cities, and Future Cities expands upon explorations of urban life to the ambient. As such, perspectives are offered in this work on urban life in the context of smart cities, learning cities, and future cities, enriched by understandings of the ambient, infusing the interactions of people and technologies in 21st-century environments with increased awareness, at the moment. Covering topics such as ambient learning, smart homes, and extended realities, this premier reference work is an essential resource for students and educators of higher education, architects, urban planners, instructional designers, sociologists, city officials, community leaders, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

In today’s changing and transforming socio-economic, political, cultural, and technological paradigms, we encounter many methodologies, approaches, proposals, and practices in reconsidering the disappearing or emerging relations in the human/nonhuman-environment-nature interaction. These approaches, proposals, and practices range from new methods of urban gardening to biophilic design and augmented/immersive environments. However, these human-centric approaches, which only aim to meet their needs or emerge as technology-oriented replicas and representations of nature, lead to a departure from a holistic approach to the natural and artificial environment. Therefore, how can new and emerging approaches or methodologies draw a holistic framework for environmental health, sustainability, wellness, and co-existence between environments for all living beings? Emerging Approaches in Design and New Connections With Nature covers a variety of topics related to the intersection between nature, environment, and ways of living and provides a comprehensive guide to biophilic design and the idea of design and nature, including benefits, theories, and effects. Covering topics such as biophilic design and sustainability, soundscapes and landscapes, and urban environments and design, it is ideal for architects, designers, urban planners, landscape designers, policymakers, engineers, interior designers, practitioners, students, academicians, and researchers.

In this contemporary world, urbanization, industrialization, and digitalization have drastically expanded to provide better living standards for human beings. The rate of change in technology is also very high, which introduces updated electronic devices very frequently in the market, which results in a huge garbage dump of e-waste. With the increase in the use of electronic devices, the e-waste generated over the globe is also increasing drastically, which becomes a barrier to sustainable development. Therefore, it is essential to formulate strategies and manage the e-waste generated from all sources to achieve sustainable goals. Sustainable Approaches and Strategies for E-Waste Management and Utilization assesses the activities involved in e-waste generation; identifies the potential impacts of e-waste on society, the economy, and the environment; and recommends appropriate e-waste handling and disposal measures following the rules of regulatory bodies. Covering key topics such as sustainable development, waste recovery, and innovation, this reference work is ideal for industry professionals, environmental scientists, administrators, policymakers, researchers, academicians, scholars, instructors, and students.

Despite several idealistic efforts towards a united Africa, the term remains a hypothetical concept symbolizing a desired federal state on the continent. While globalization and interconnectedness have brought prosperity in some parts of the world, Africa has not generally benefited from global decisions. These decisions, policies, and practices have tended to be wholly influenced by the rich and powerful countries and their transnational agencies and corporations in pursuit of their national interests. Faced with such enormous external economic and political forces, the divided and powerless African states have been unable to bargain for lucrative economic deals or pursue national interests for the benefit of their people, hence the need to examine what exists in varied fields and the emerging trends for the future. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Future of Africa and Policy Development addresses critical issues and challenges in Africa and seeks to examine and understand the future trends in Africa through a deconstructive interrogation of present trends. Covering a wide range of topics such as sustainability, equality, and democracy, it is ideal for researchers, academicians, students, economists, policymakers, political parties, trade unions, and NGOs.

As healthcare, culture, and the environment remain crucial aspects of modern society, the current issues and opportunities within each sector must be examined and considered in order to ensure their success in the future. These critical fields should be studied in relation to each other as they must work in tandem to create a better society. The Handbook of Research on Interdisciplinary Studies on Healthcare, Culture, and the Environment presents innovative ideas and emerging research to highlight critical trends focusing on the relationship between healthcare, environmental wellbeing, and society and culture. Covering a range of topics such as sustainability, leadership, and food security, this reference work is ideal for industry professionals, researchers, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Direct democracy, or pure democracy, is a concept spreading throughout the world, now adopted by nearly 30 countries on the national level. While the concept is not new, it is important to investigate the current benefits or hinderances of direct democracy related to local governments so that they may be implemented further. Direct Democracy Practices at the Local Level deepens the knowledge of direct democracy in political science. This book explores how local governments utilize these instruments in international governments and analyzes a series of popular initiatives and local referenda to how successful these initiatives are. Covering topics such as religious rights, street committees, and climate change, this book is essential for political science students and professors, policymakers, faculty, local governments, academicians, and researchers in political science with an interest in direct democracy procedures in representative systems.

Despite all efforts to create a political union capable of improving European citizens’ quality of life, there are several barriers to the European Union’s (EU) expansion to the Balkan Region. The EU enlargement and expansion to the Balkan Region is one of the Union’s greatest challenges and political objectives in recent years. In the turmoil of economic, social, and sanitarian crises, where is the space to debate the enlargement of the EU? Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region presents the EU’s structure, the process of enlargement, and the challenges related to the Balkan region. This book addresses critical issues and challenges in the EU and the emerging trends for the EU’s future. Covering topics such as enlargement policy, integration, NATO, and political challenges, this book is a valuable resource for post-grad students of political science and international affairs, faculty of higher education, researchers, academicians, politicians, world leaders, and policymakers.

Entrepreneurs are exceptionally gifted individuals capable of spotting projects, marshaling resources, inventing ideas, taking risks, and forming businesses. Prospective entrepreneurs must be inspired and motivated to pursue self-employment businesses in today’s volatile business environment and highly sophisticated information technologies. However, governments have been attempting to promote entrepreneurship by assisting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs’ primary challenges are lack of working capital and marketing challenges. Entrepreneurship is a combination of difficult-to-teach skills, attitudes, and knowledge that can be developed. Entrepreneurship Ecosystems and Their Opportunities and Challenges explores and examines the importance of these factors in establishing a virtuous cycle of long-term sustainability in countries worldwide. The book promotes global communities to acquire an entrepreneurial mindset. Covering topics such as crowdfunding experiences, financial solutions, and social enterprises, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs, business leaders, government officials, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

A core political economy issue in the growth literature is how to structure the relationship between the public and private sectors to ensure optimal outcomes. While conventional arguments on the ability of the private sector to intrinsically generate efficiency gains remain valid, governments’ traditional role of providing an enabling environment to foster private risk taking for capital accumulation is no less important. African Policy Innovation and the Political Economy of Public-Private Policy Partnerships borrows from contemporary theories of policy change and raises some fundamental questions about the political economy of development in Africa. This book examines the current knowledge and research about the role of public-private policy partnerships in the policy innovation discourse. It contributes a comprehensive, cutting-edge analysis vis-à-vis the appropriateness of contemporary policy devices and paradigms, the compatibility of individualistic analytical frameworks with the African philosophy of Ubuntu, the debate on the rise of neoliberalism versus Africa's traditions and values, and the implications of path dependence for the African Renaissance. From local communities and NGOs to African governments and international development agencies, the author advances a multi-stakeholder development policy and programming framework which recognizes Africa's vastly heterogenous economies and societies. Covering topics such as policy diffusion, demographic shifts, inequality, rentier capitalism, industrial transformation, development finance innovations, venture capital ecosystems, tax policy and supply-side economics, ocean finance, the global minimum tax debate, and higher education under disruptive technologies, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for government officials, policymakers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, libraries, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.