Search results for "Environmental Planning"
showing 10 items of 357 documents
Recent advances on intelligent packaging as tools to reduce food waste
2018
[EN] Food waste is one of the main issues for international organisms. It is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources. Among strategies suitable for fighting such challenge, intelligent packaging is an interesting tool to reduce waste derived from households and retailers. A revision of 45 recent advances in the area of optical systems for freshness monitoring is reported herein. The study covers fruits, vegetables, fish products and meat since they are the most representative fields of application. Furthermore, a discussion about the main research challenges and opportunities that will be faced by intelligent packaging in the …
Describing urban soils through a faceted system ensures more informed decision-making
2016
Urban areas are increasing worldwide at a dramatic rate and their soils definitely deserve more attention than they have received in the past. In urban environments, soils potentially provide the same ecosystem services as in rural and wild environments, although in some cases they are depleted of their basic functions, such as when they lose their productive and filtering capacities because of sealing, and become mere supports for infrastructures. In other cases, soils of urban areas acquire new functions that are unique to these environments. Current soil classifications fail to effectively account for the complexity of urban soils and the information that is required for their management…
Safety Climates in Construction Industry: Understanding the Role of Construction Sites and Workgroups
2013
Studies of safety climate in construction revealed a significant positive association between safety climate and various aspects of occupational health and safety. The mechanisms through which this impact operates are still unclear and safety climate is usually studied without considering the complexity of this industry (companies, worksites and groups). The aim of this research is to analyze to what extend there are differences between construction sites and to explore the relations between construction sites’ safety climate and workers’ safety response and to examine how this influence occur considering the workgroups. The safety climate was evaluated using a reduced version of the questi…
A theoretical and methodological framework for the analysis and measurement of environmental heritage at local level
2017
Abstract The study aims to assess the lived experience and the environmental heritage perceived level by residents of an high complexity rural area, and which is, in this context, the role played by production of renewable energies. The paper introduces the concept of rural capital as an effective tool for environmental heritage analysis and measurement. The proposed theoretical and methodological approach allows, in fact, its analysis in order to understand what dimensions related to territoriality are connected to the perceived level of environmental heritage at local level. Translated into operational terms, the methodology has resulted in an empirical analysis of a rural and inner area …
A description model for regeneration through urban tourism in rural towns with underused historic real estate
2016
Il presente contributo propone un modello di descrizione (description model) che trova applicazione in una situazione reale di aiuto alla decisione posto dall'urbanista per lo sviluppo turistico delle città rurali nelle zone dell'entroterra siciliano. Il problema decisionale riguarda la città di Cianciana (AG), che negli ultimi anni si è resa protagonista di un particolare fenomeno di turismo internazionale. In particolare, proponiamo un quadro valutativo multicriteriale per la riqualificazione fisica ed economica del centro storico della città attraverso lo sviluppo del turismo. Il modello presentato, relativo a un problema decisionale di tipo descrittivo, è orientato a supportare i deciso…
Inter-basin water transfer conflicts. The case of the Tagus-Segura Aqueduct (Spain)
2020
Since its inauguration in 1979, the Tagus-Segura Aqueduct has become one of the hydraulic infrastructures that have given rise to the highest number of inter-regional conflicts in Spain during recent decades. The aim of this paper is to analyse the political, social, environmental and economic conflicts presented in the donor (Tagus) and recipient (Segura) basins of this infrastructure. To this end, through the holding of interviews with the main stakeholders and an analysis of the regulations, an assessment has been made of the results (for and against) of those who defend maintaining this infrastructure, owing to its far-reaching social and economic impact, and those who advocate its imme…
Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture
2020
Abstract Sustainable agriculture is strongly promoted by Agenda 2030 and peri-urban agriculture is considered strategic for agri-food sustainability. Although, innovative farming practices are being implemented, the analysis of their impacts often does not reach the required depth. Within the EU project ‘UIA-OpenAgri - New Skills for new Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture’, a regeneration process of a peri-urban area in Milan (Italy) was started, through the development of an innovative food hub. 28 innovative foodchains are assessed by a Life Cycle Assessment approach based on primary data collected from the involved start-ups. Non-Renewable Cumulative Energy Demand and the Global Warming Pote…
Geodiversity and geoheritage: Detecting scientific and geographic biases and gaps through a bibliometric study
2019
Abstract Many scientists have recognized that there is diversity in nature, including biodiversity, geodiversity, and pedodiversity. Studies in biodiversity date back as far as the 1700s, but geodiversity and pedodiversity studies are much more recent, dating to the late 1970s to early 1980s. Given that we are now approaching 40 years of geodiversity and geoheritage work, this study was undertaken to determine areas that have been well addressed and where current gaps are. This was accomplished by reviewing the publications in the journal “Geoheritage”, the Scopus and Google Scholar databases, and established geoparks according to UNESCO records. It was found that geodiversity studies typic…
Nutrient mitigation under the impact of climate and land-use changes: A hydro-economic approach to participatory catchment management
2020
Abstract Excessive nutrient loadings into rivers are a well-known ecological problem. Implemented mitigation measures should ideally be cost-effective, but perfectly ranking alternative nutrient mitigation measures according to cost-effectiveness is a difficult methodological challenge. Furthermore, a particularly practical challenge is that cost-effective measures are not necessarily favoured by local stakeholders, and this may impede their successful implementation in practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures using a methodology that includes a participatory process and social learning to ensure their successful implementation. By …
Research on ecological design to enhance comfort in open spaces of a city (Valencia, Spain). Utility of the physiological equivalent temperature (PET)
2013
For many years now, research has focused on issues concerning making cities easier to live in and some of the most important of these concern climatology and thermal comfort issues. There is also a growing awareness of the importance of open spaces and green areas, as key elements in providing opportunities for human interaction, leisure and physical exercise. They are important for all inhabitants, but particularly so for children and the elderly population. Of especial interest are the studies which have examined the interaction of comfort with the urban climate. This issue was studied throughout the twentieth century, but recently the role which can be played by biometeorological indices…