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Many innovations have been developed as a response to the challenges of COVID-19 to make cities more green, resilient and inclusive. In these complex urban systems, solutions must be made taking into consideration how they affect the wider context. Each solution is a vital piece in the puzzle, and together they enable people and ideas to come together in a way that only cities allow. The International Environmental Policy Consultancy 2021 Report has been issued as a United Nations Policy Analysis Branch of the Division for Sustainable Development (UN - DSD) and for the Technology and Logistics of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This report is the product of a collaboration between the students of Wageningen University and Research (WUR), State University of New York (SUNY), and Van Lang University (VLU). The report brings together some of the most impactful and cutting-edge innovations that contribute to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in four priority areas of city development: advancements in food production systems, renewable energy, urban waste management, and housing construction technology.

Integrating occupant behavior with residential energy use for detailed energy quantification has attracted research attention. However, many of the available models fail to capture unseen behavior, especially in unprecedented situations such as COVID-19 lockdowns. In this study, we adopted a hybrid approach consisting of agent-based simulation, machine learning and energy simulation techniques to simulate the urban energy consumption considering the occupants' behavior. An agent-based model is developed to simulate the in-home and out-of-home activities of individuals. Separate models were developed to recognize physical characteristics of residential dwellings, including heating equipment, source of energy, and thermostat setpoints. The developed modeling framework was implemented as a case study for the Central Okanagan region of British Columbia, where alternative COVID-19 scenarios were tested. The results suggested that during the pandemic, the daily average in-home-activity duration (IHD) increased by approximately 80%, causing the energy consumption to increase by around 29%. After the pandemic, the average daily IHD is expected to be higher by approximately 32% compared with the pre-pandemic situation, which translates to an approximately 12% increase in energy consumption. The results of this study can help us understand the implications of the imposed COVID-19 lockdown with respect to energy usage in residential locations.

COVID-19 may increase the risk of heat-related symptoms during hot weather since vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with neurological disabilities, must continue to self-isolate, often indoors. Within the chronic neurological patient population, indoor conditions in summer months present a hazard because of impaired and/or altered thermoregulation, including poor hydration status due to both autonomic and behavioral dysfunction(s). To address this increased risk, telemedicine protocols should include an assessment of the patient's environmental parameters, and when combined with physiological data from wearable devices, identify those with neurological diseases who are at higher risk of heat illness. Personalized medicine during times of self-isolation must be encouraged, and using smart technology in ambient assisted living solutions, including e-health to monitor physiological parameters are highly recommended, not only during extreme weather conditions but also during times of increased isolation and vulnerability.

Urban households are an intimate nexus of food and food waste, connecting people to challenges of sustainability and inequality, in wider food systems. Household food waste (HFW) studies, including those which explored consumption practices during COVID-19, have tended to emphasize the reduction in food waste as part of behaviour change. In 2018/19 an exploratory, interdisciplinary, mixed method study was conducted of HFW perceptions and practices of urban residents in The Hague (Netherlands) with purposeful sampling (n = 19), speaking either Dutch, English or Arabic. Participants took photographs of their HFW for photovoice interviews and focus group HFW stories. The research provided a space for participants to become self-aware of the explicit and implicit understanding of their food practices and their household food waste and its related practices (i.e. food-related packaging). This finding resonated across all hierarchical levels of waste management from best practices, such as, reduction to mixed waste least preferred options. Performing HFW appears to lack comprehensive ecological contextualisation as per the latter part of the urban food system. Dutch and English-speaking focus groups seemed mostly unaware of ‘what happened next’ to their disposed HFW and food-related packaging, whilst the Arabic speaking focus group appeared more comprehensively ecosystem attuned. Given the impetus to a zero-waste more sustainable lifestyle, the transitory implications of knowing more explicitly about ‘what happens next’ to different forms of urban HFW disposal, once it is ‘out of sight’, could potentially offer insights into reconfigured routine HFW performance and therefore require further research.

All countries have suffered from the COVID-19 crisis; the pandemic has adversely impacted all sectors. In this study, we examine the transport sector with a specific focus on the problem of commuting mode choice and propose a new decision-making approach for the alternative modes after synthesizing expert opinions. As a methodology, a customized model of the recently developed best–worst method (BWM) is used to evaluate mobility choice alternatives. The survey reflects citizens’ opinions toward mobility choices in two Italian cities, Palermo and Catania, before and during the pandemic. BWM is a useful tool for examining mobility choice in big cities. The adopted model is easy to apply and capable of providing effective solutions for sustainable mode choice. The urban context is analyzed considering the importance of transport choices, evaluating the variation of resilience to the changing opinions of users.