Circular cities: the case of Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-507
Author(s):  
Sann Carrière ◽  
Ricardo Weigend Rodríguez ◽  
Peixun Pey ◽  
Francesco Pomponi ◽  
Seeram Ramakrishna

PurposeCircular economy (CE), as a new economic paradigm, has gained traction in recent years. Cities' role in driving CE forward has been perceived as being increasingly important to achieve sustainable development (SD). For this reason, there is an urgency to understand what a circular city is and how it might be composed. This research explores the ways in which the city-state of Singapore is transitioning to a CE.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review on CE and cities was carried out using a bibliometric review and a snowballing technique. This review was performed on academic and on non-academic papers.FindingsThis research has confirmed the lack of robust circular cities case studies. As Singapore has already begun its journey towards circularity, this article examines its current efforts and offers recommendations in the design and implementation of CE policies that may be valuable not just for Singapore but also for high-density and rapidly expanding cities around the world that require a new development pathway to emulate.Originality/valueThis manuscript is the first detailed, independent and comprehensive review of Singapore's approach to CE.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-546
Author(s):  
Ricardo Weigend Rodríguez ◽  
Francesco Pomponi ◽  
Ken Webster ◽  
Bernardino D'Amico

PurposeThe circular economy (CE) has gained momentum in recent years as a new economic paradigm. While the CE sets a very defined vision for a sustainable future, it still operates in the present. As such, existing guidance on and research into the CE lack a necessary understanding of how to go from the present to the future. What if the future is different from what the CE expects? The CE cannot answer this question adequately and therefore is not capable of developing this understanding alone. To address this shortcoming, this paper proposes futures studies (FS) as a complementary discipline because it offers exactly what CE lacks: methods to explore alternative futures.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the level of interdisciplinary research in the built environment between CE and FS, a systematic literature review is carried out using a bibliometric review and a snowballing technique. This manuscript reviews seminal literature in both fields and their theoretical background.FindingsThis paper demonstrates the lack of collaboration between CE and FS and highlights a systemic failure within CE, which is to consider the future as unknowable. It further provides an initial understanding of where the synergy sits, recommendations on where to start and introduces some of the FS chief methods that could be used by CE in the built environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ bibliometric review and snowballing approach might have missed out on some literature that still falls within the scope. Such limitations are due, on one hand, to the authors’ bibliometric review approach by selecting publications based on matching keywords. On the other hand, the snowballing approach is affected by the authors’ subjective judgements on which of the publications are worth to explore based mainly just on the title and abstract of the paper.Practical implicationsThe inclusion of Futures Studies will allow a stronger focus on approaching possible futures to be integrated overtly into existing work, research and action within the CE community.Social implicationsIt is more reasonable to expect that by cooperatively creating and implementing constructed futures with FS methods and CE principles, a better future for the built environment be reached. This is why it is so relevant for humanity that these two communities start to interact as soon as possible and maintain and open and productive collaboration in transitioning towards a sustainable society.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first of its kind by considering FS into the CE debate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio Moro ◽  
Paulo Rita

Purpose National tourism offices worldwide implement marketing strategies to influence tourists’ choices. However, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to choosing a city as a tourism destination. The purpose of this paper is to answer which are the characteristics that play a key role in room occupancy. Design/methodology/approach Diverse characteristics such as the city offer, demographics, natural amenities (e.g. number of beaches) and also politics (e.g. type of government) are combined into a decision tree model to unveil the relevance of each in determining room occupancy. The empirical experiments used data known in 2015 from 43 cities from Europe and the rest of the World to model room occupancy rate in 2016. Findings While the seasonality effect plays the most significant role, other less studied features such as the type of political party prior to current government were found to have an impact in room occupancy. Originality/value This study unveiled that center–right and right governments are generally more sensitive to promote its city as a tourism destination.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (43) ◽  
pp. 131-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis F. Aguado ◽  
Ana M. Osorio ◽  
Alexei Arbona ◽  
Jesús C. Peña-Vinces

Purpose A summary of the economic impact resulting from the celebration of a sporting mega-event in the city of Cali, Colombia, is carried out in this article. Design/methodology/approach The impacts are estimated by means of the systematic effects produced by the activities of investment/expenditure of the identified agents and the consequent multiplying effects captured from an input-output model. Findings The World Games represented a new income flow to the city of Cali of $101.036 million pesos (≡US$53.4 mill.) and 9.598 jobs were created (≡7,711 full-time jobs). Additionally, 2,174 foreign tourists and 11,250 national tourists were attracted to the city. Originality/value The article contributes with innovative aspects methodologically speaking, useful for future studies of economic impact in cities with low tourism located in developing countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-455
Author(s):  
Riaan Stopforth ◽  
Craig Proctor-Parker ◽  
Shaniel Davrajh

Purpose The purpose of this paper includes results of some of the tests involved for the design and implementation of low-cost crash anthropomorphics (ATPs) fitted with sensory systems to measure forces that would have been experienced by passengers in the vehicle, commonly used for public transport within South Africa. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the description of the implemented low cost ATPs and the analysis of the data obtained from the sensory system within the torso of the ATPs and in the head of a single ATP, to identify if a documented threshold is exceeded. The autopsy of the ATPs is performed to identify injuries. Findings The recorded results showed the type of injuries that could have occurred when an accident has occurred with occupant in the minibus taxi. The autopsy performed on the ATPs showed feasible injuries that could be obtained by a person in a similar scenario. Research limitations/implications The ATPs were to be designed and constructed with the sensory system, with a budget of ZAR13,000/US$1,000. Originality/value The contributions of this paper are as follows: present the test results of two ATPs, and discuss them, for a loss of control of a minibus on a wet surface, which has been indicated as a world first test; And identify the need for a data fusion of sensory information to evaluate the injuries with the autopsy performed.


Author(s):  
David Konstan

New Comedy was a Panhellenic phenomenon. It may be that a performance in Athens was still the acme of a comic playwright’s career, but Athens was no longer the exclusive venue of the genre. Yet Athens, or an idealized version of Athens, remained the setting or backdrop for New Comedy, whatever its provenance or intended audience. New Comedy was thus an important vehicle for the dissemination of the Athenian polis model throughout the Hellenistic world, and it was a factor in what has been termed ‘the great convergence’. The role of New Comedy in projecting an idealized image of the city-state may be compared to that of Hollywood movies in conveying a similarly romanticized, but not altogether false, conception of American democracy to populations around the world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-31

Purpose Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The problem with developing a reputation of being something of an oracle in the business world is that all of a sudden, everyone expects you to pull off the trick of interpreting the future on a daily basis. Like a freak show circus act or one-hit wonder pop singer, people expect you to perform when they see you, and they expect you to perform the thing that made you famous, even if it is the one thing in the world you don’t want to do. And when you fail to deliver on these heightened expectations, you are dismissed as a one trick pony, however good that trick is in the first place. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Creaser

Purpose Library impact and how to evaluate it has been debated for a number of years. While the activity – the busy-ness – of the library is now routinely measured and described, the difference the library makes is less tangible and harder to measure. Libraries in all sectors and worldwide are grappling with this issue, and the purpose of this paper is to summarise international standards available to support them. Design/methodology/approach The first international standard concerning library impact, ISO 16439 Information and documentation – methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries, was published in 2014 after several years in development. Findings The standard describes a range of methods for assessing library impact which have been used across the world in a variety of libraries in all sectors. Originality/value This paper summarises the key methods described in the standard, and gives references for further reading.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 36-38

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings It is said that Latin America is one of the hardest places in which to do business, and within Latin America as well as considering the differing challenges that Argentina or Columbia may present, Brazil is perhaps the most difficult place to go to in order to develop trade and commercial agreements. In addition to the different language as compared to the rest of the region, there is a very specific culture and life view that will be wholly alien to many business people, whether they are from developed or developing countries around the world. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed M. Mostafa

Purpose This paper aims to examine the structure and dynamics of scholarly publications dealing with Wikipedia. The research also aims to investigate how such research evolved since its launch in 2001. Design/methodology/approach Wikipedia has grown to be the biggest online encyclopedia in terms of comprehensiveness, reach and coverage. Based on 1,040 PubMed Wikipedia documents written by 5,280 authors over two decades (2001–2021), this paper conducts a bibliometric review of the intellectual structure of scholarly publications dealing with Wikipedia. Findings Results show that annual scholarly publications on Wikipedia growth rate is 13.26. Major outlets publishing Wikipedia’s research are PloS One, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Nucleic Acids Research, Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, Bioinformatics and the International Journal of Medical Informatics. Results also show that the author collaboration network is very sparse, signifying rather negligible collaboration among the authors. Furthermore, results reveal that the Wikipedia research institutions’ collaboration network reflects what is sometimes termed Wikipedia’s “North-South divide,” indicating limited collaboration between rich and poor nations’ institutions. Finally, the multiple correspondence analysis applied to obtain the Wikipedia research conceptual map and its intellectual structure reveals the intellectual thrust and the diversity of the scholarly publications dealing with Wikipedia. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research represents the first application of bibliometric methods to investigate two decades of scholarly publications dealing with Wikipedia based on the PubMed database.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Trejo-Rangel ◽  
Adriano Mota Ferreira ◽  
Victor Marchezini ◽  
Daniel Andres Rodriguez ◽  
Melissa da Silva Oliveira ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to encourage graduate students to facilitate a participatory mapping activity with high school students, to have their voices heard in the disaster risk reduction (DRR) agenda.Design/methodology/approachA participatory mapping, youth-led session, was conducted with 22 high school students, where they had to identify flood and landslide-prone areas. Then, they were asked to propose and plan DRR measures in collaboration with local partners in São Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil.FindingsThe participatory method engaged the graduate students and the high school students in the DRR debate, allowing them to map hazards and vulnerabilities, and to discuss five incubation projects for enhancing DRR in the city.Originality/valueThis research highlights the importance of involving young people in DRR formulation and planning to build local capacities in younger generations. The outputs were shared with the local civil defense and a local non-governmental organization (NGO), who suggested recommendations to improve the five incubation projects.


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