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As a consequence of climate change and urbanization, many cities will have to deal with more flooding and extreme heat stress. This paper presents a framework to maximize the effectiveness of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for flood risk reduction and thermal comfort enhancement. The framework involves an assessment of hazards with the use of models and field measurements. It also detects suitable implementation sites for NBS and quantifies their effectiveness for thermal comfort enhancement and flood risk reduction. The framework was applied in a densely urbanized study area, for which different small-scale urban NBS and their potential locations for implementation were assessed. The overall results show that the most effective performance in terms of flood mitigation and thermal comfort enhancement is likely achieved by applying a range of different measures at different locations. Therefore, the work presented here shows the potential of the framework to achieve an effective combination of measures and their locations, which was demonstrated on the case of the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok (Thailand). This can be particularly suitable for assessing and planning flood mitigation measures in combination with heat stress reduction.

We undertook an autopsy of the drivers of individual foreign real estate investment ‘bust’ in Australia through a new theoretical lens of ‘habitus’. Our autopsy data drew contours around the individual foreign real estate capital ‘boom and bust’ cycle, as well as the long-term commitment of professionals in the real estate sector to Australia’s real estate market. More specifically, we showed that the foreign capital ‘boom and bust’ cycle began in earnest in about 2010 (starting at A$8.7 billion), grew to A$72.4 billion in 2016–2017, and then declined to A$12.5 billion in 2017–2018. This decline in foreign capital into Australian real estate occurred within a domestic real estate market in Sydney that also started to slow in 2017. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with real estate professionals in Sydney and public material culture data, we found out that the off-the-plan apartment sales and global policy landscape changes contributed to the decline of foreign real estate investment in Australia. The three possible implications for Sydney’s future residential real estate development: (1) The loss of investors, (2) the evolution of the labor force, and (3) the diversification of housing products, have been raised as part of a future research road map.

The current studies on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the impacts on public health focus mainly on evaluating CO2 emissions from two types of emission sources. The first is a fixed source type from industrial plants, which can be controlled or easily evaluated. The second is a mobile source type from the transport sector, especially from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs), which produce high emissions. However, the common methods of evaluation of the average value of CO2 emissions per kilometer of a vehicle use a general Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) model that does not consider the topography or road conditions. This affects the accuracy of CO2 emission assessments and, in turn, affects the accuracy of any analysis needed to establish health policies and the management of public health within the affected area. In this paper, therefore, we present the development of emission coefficient calculations with varying topography conditions for MHDVs with consideration of the health effects on the populace. The study area was the Asian highway network in Thailand that passes through all regions and is geographically diverse. Data were collected from the Department of Highway’s records, global positioning system (GPS) and electronic control unit (ECU) with data consisting of road data, slope, distance, traffic level and vehicle weight, as well as fuel consumption along the transportation route. To analyze and map out the correlation of the CO2 emission coefficients for each road slope, we determined the coefficient of the CO2 emissions using multiple linear regression analysis and validated this using Huber–White robust standard errors for heteroscedasticity. This method was more cost-efficient and time-efficient compared to the conventional approaches. We also created CO2 emission maps with risk points for health effects, and we propose policy designs and plans to manage the traffic level in each of these areas prone to higher levels of such emissions.

Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine the optimal land use/cover classification algorithm. However, there have not been many studies that have compared and evaluated the performance of maximum likelihood (ML), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and classification and regression trees (CART) using ASTER imagery, especially in a mining district. Therefore, this study aims to investigate land use/cover (LULC) change over three decades (1990–2020), comparing the performance of the ML, RF, SVM, and CART machine learning algorithms. The Landsat and ASTER data were retrieved using Google Earth Engine (GEE). Traditional ML classification was performed on ArcGIS 10.2 software while RF, SVM, and CART classification were undertaken on GEE. Then, thematic accuracy assessments were conducted for the four algorithms and their performances were compared. The results showed that the largest changes in area occurred in forest cover that decreased from 37.8 to 27.3 km2 during the three decades. The remarkable expansion of gold mining occurred during 2005–2010 with the increases of 1.6%. The mining land rose by 2.9% during the study period whereas agricultural land increased significantly by 10.7% between 1990 and 2020. When comparing the four algorithms, the RF algorithm gives the highest accuracy with an overall accuracy of 95.85% while SVM follows RF with 91.69%. This study proved that RF is the best choice for optimal land use/cover classification, particularly in the mining district.

One major concern about foreign direct investment (FDI) is the potential negative environmental impact due to increased CO2 emissions. However, there is a possibility that FDI mitigates CO2 emissions through green innovation and creates a cleaner environment. In the existing literature, there is no significant empirical evidence on the linkage among FDI, green innovation and CO2 emissions in the context of BRICS countries. Hence, this study aims to analyze the impact of FDI and green innovation on the environmental quality of BRICS economies for 1990–2014. The study employed Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators for empirical data analysis. The study’s findings depict that foreign direct investment, energy use, and economic growth have a significant and positive impact on the CO2 emissions of BRICS economies. Moreover, green innovation has a significant inverse impact on CO2 emissions. The results show bidirectional causalities between CO2 emissions and green innovation, trade openness and CO2 emissions, energy use and CO2 emissions, and urbanization and CO2 emissions. Additionally, the findings reveal a one-way causality from CO2 emissions to GDP and CO2 emissions to urbanization. This study offers essential policy recommendations for the environmental sustainability of BRICS countries through green innovation.

Integrating climate adaptation measures into urban development has emerged as a holistic approach to minimize climate change impacts and to enhance urban resilience. Although there has been an initial implementation of the integrated strategy at the national level, the progress of its adoption at the local level is relatively less studied. The study aims to examine the integration development of climate adaptation measures into urban development strategies by looking at its drivers and benefits in two coastal cities of Indonesia, i.e., Semarang and Bandar Lampung. Both cities have experienced climate change impacts and the preliminary effort of the integration process. The study was depended on close-ended Likert-scale questions with key actors representing local authorities and relevant stakeholders. Then, a Weighted Average Index was applied to transform their perceptions. The assessment of their knowledge of related issues was conducted. Secondary data was obtained from a desk study. The study found out that the effort of the integration process had influenced stakeholder’s understanding of the issue of climate change and urban development, as well as its relationship. The level of stakeholder’s knowledge related to the issue was very high. The result also revealed that the most influencing driver of the integration process is related to the motivation and initiative of municipal officers. It significantly contributed local governments to adopt its integration strategy. There was a strong consensus regarding the benefits of the integration process. They believed that it could ensure sustainable urban development in the future. This empirical study distinguishes the significance of integration development based on the local perspective for the approach improvement. The results could be applied to encourage other local municipalities in other emerging coastal cities.

It is essential to understand the determinants of university students’ decisions to engage in sustainable energy behaviors, as this understanding has implications for the development of communication and education strategies to promote sustainable energy behaviors. The present study aims to investigate the impacts of affective and cognitive factors on sustainable energy behaviors among university students. It will explore the affective factors of self-responsibility and social norms and the cognitive factors of environmental concerns, perceived self-efficacy, perceived self-benefits, and action knowledge about sustainable energy behaviors. A simple random technique was used to select participants from undergraduate students at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Bangkok, Thailand. Questionnaire surveys were completed by 426 participants in May and June 2020. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the ability of affective and cognitive variables to predict university students’ participation in sustainable energy behaviors. The results revealed that participation in sustainable energy behaviors was significantly impacted by the perceived benefit of sustainable energy behaviors, students’ concerns about climate change, perceived self-efficacy, and social norms; self-responsibility and action knowledge had no significant impact. These findings indicate that communication that focuses on climate change and approaches that enhance students’ self-efficacy and the perceived benefits of sustainable energy behaviors could help promote such behaviors among university students. The sustainable energy behaviors of other social groups, including students’ family members and colleagues and the general public, are also influential as they can motivate students to change their behavior.

Due to its purchasing power, the public food service sector is viewed as a potential transformative driver towards sustainable food systems. Organic meal planning and regional procurement may be a vital implementation strategy towards Planetary Health Diets in the communal catering arena. Capable of unleashing desirable synergies within local foodsheds, this transition pathway can potentially benefit all stages of the value chain, while also positively influencing consumer dietary behavior. Transformation, however, poses complex challenges to caterers, as it demands a shift in mindset regarding the philosophy, organization, and management of cafeteria systems as well as the need for affordable and aggregated supplies of source-identified local organic foods. This action research case study engaged the public caterer of a German University, undergraduate students, and additional stakeholders in a Living Lab to develop a weekly farm-to-table cafeteria menu, including its actual preparation, based on a conceptual sustainability standard. Hence, through an iterative process, involving two feedback cycles, an ambitious set of nutritional and procurement criteria were devised, inspired by the external input from exemplary practitioners in the field of green cuisine and procurement. The resulting meal plan was then subjected to an evaluation vis-á-vis its compliance with (1) dietary recommendations, (2) seasonality, (3) organic certification, (4) a defined foodshed boundary, (5) budget neutrality, and (6) life cycle assessment.