Urban virtues and the innovative city: An experiment in placing innovation in Edmonton, Canada

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Edson Jones ◽  
Michael Granzow ◽  
Rob Shields
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
Local Identities ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The City

In the highly competitive landscape of global cities and entrepreneurial urbanism, the development goals of cities are increasingly framed through discourses of ‘innovation’. In this paper we critically examine this relationship through a case study exploring the attempt to build a nanotechnology sector in Edmonton, Alberta. Adopting a collaborative research methodology involving citizen engagement and urban touring, we explore participant representations of Edmonton as an ‘innovative city’. The conversations we had with participants follow some common themes within an emerging literature on innovation geographies, for instance as related to network collaborations and quality of life. However, participants furthermore articulated innovation pathways which were more closely linked to local identities and values within the city, including negative place narratives. We argue that paying attention to these ‘virtues of place’ can assist cities to counteract trends towards the homogenisation of urban innovation strategy, and affix the ‘innovative city’ to more socially robust articulations of the future prosperity and the possibility of place.

Strategic Digital City Projects

2018 ◽  
pp. 204-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Alcides Rezende
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital City ◽  
Municipal Management ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
The City

In order to face numerous challenges, cities need innovative solutions. Offering innovative information and efficient public services is a permanent challenge for cities concerned with citizens' quality of life and effective municipal management. The objective of this study is to describe and assess the strategic digital city projects in Chicago (USA) and Curitiba (Brazil), using innovative information and public services offered to citizens by the website. The research methodology emphasizes a case study covering the city hall, municipal departments, and other municipal entities. The results show advantages for the citizens who have free communal access to public services on the internet. Chicago offers its citizens 281 public services distributed in 256 subjects or themes and Curitiba 508 public services distributed in 26 subjects or themes. In both cities, it resulted in benefits for citizens through access to innovative information and public services offered by the internet. The conclusion reiterated the importance of the implemented innovative strategic digital city projects.

scholarly journals Strategies for the Development of Smart Cities: The Case of Kalampaka-Greece

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Christos Stamopoulos ◽  
Eleni Theodoropoulou
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
Construction Strategies ◽  
The City ◽  
Simple Selection ◽  
Selection Of

The present paper investigates the characteristics and best construction strategies of smart cities around the world, as well as the determining factors of the satisfaction of the quality of life and the importance of the value of environmental sustainability. A case study of the city of Kalampaka and its residents was examined. The survey was conducted between July 2016 and August 2016. The selection of the sample was done by using the method of simple selection and includes a random sample of N=150 individuals. Statistical analysis showed that resident’s knowledge about smart cities was fairly good (48% of sample knew the phrase “smart cities”). Furthermore, they believe that the appearance of the city of Kalampaka needs improvement (75% of sample is disappointed with the current appearance of the city). Regression analysis showed that the value of environmental sustainability is greatly influenced by the energy saving, as well as, innovation has an impact on the level of quality of life. Older people seem to be satisfied with administration’s efforts.

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development through International Collaboration. A Case Study on Concepts and Conceptual Change of School‐Students from India and Austria on Gender Equality and Sustainable Growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dür ◽  
Lars Keller
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Development Goals

Dealing with the great challenges of the 21st century requires far reaching changes in the lifestyle and perceptions of humans to ensure an appropriate quality of life for all, now and in the future. To provide people with the necessary competencies, the UN initiated the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) program. The two-year research-education, cooperative project ‘AustrIndia-4QOL’ aims to contribute to the goals of ESD. It is based on a collaboration between students from schools in Austria and India on the topics of quality of life, sustainability and global justice. The purpose of this particular case study is to explore the effects of a weeklong face-to-face collaboration in the final part of the AustrIndia-4QOL project. Therefore, it is examined whether or not Austrian and Indian students’ concepts regarding the Sustainable Development Goals ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ change as a consequence of encountering differing perspectives. Short texts written by the students at the beginning and at the end of this collaboration, according to guiding questions, form the basis for a qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate that the students’ awareness increased and their evaluation of topics related to the discussed sustainable development goals changed.

scholarly journals VIABILIDADE DOS MODOS NÃO MOTORIZADOS

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Verônica de Freitas ◽  
◽  
Luzenira Alves Brasileiro ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Statistical Method ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
To Come ◽  
Motorized Vehicles ◽  
The City

Traffic is getting increasingly chaotic and the jams are getting more and more frequent in such way that people's lives in cities are being affected with reduced quality of life due to the time spent to come and go for everyday tasks, therefore the importance of studying traffic demands for installation of cycle routes in order to contribute to the reduce the usage of motorized vehicles. This case study was held in the city of Presidente Epitácio-SP, applying 1763 questionnaires which were applied in a total of 41.511 inhabitants. The number of questionnaires that were applied were defined by the statistical method Simple Random Sampling (AAS). These data from the questionnaires resulted in matrices source destination, S/D, via Google Maps software, which allowed the research to obtain the main mode used, and the greater flow routes. Non-motorized modes predominated in results in 50%, thus clearly showing the necessity for cycle lanes in the aforementioned town.

Digital City Projects

2020 ◽  
pp. 1452-1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Alcides Rezende
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Full Information ◽  
Digital City ◽  
Municipal Management ◽  
The City

Offering full information and efficient public services is a permanent challenge for cities concerned with citizens' quality of life and effective municipal management. The objective of this study is to describe and assess the digital city projects in Chicago (USA) and Curitiba (Brazil), using information and public services offered to citizens by the website. The research methodology consisted of case studies covering the city hall, municipal departments, and other municipal entities. The results show advantages for the citizens who have free communal access to public services on the internet. Chicago offers its citizens 281 public services distributed in 256 subjects or themes and Curitiba 508 public services distributed in 26 subjects or themes. The conclusion reiterated the importance of the implemented projects. In both cities it resulted in benefits for citizens through access to information and public services offered by the internet.

scholarly journals A DANÇA COMO INSTRUMENTO DE EMPODERAMENTO FEMININO APLICADA EM MULHERES PARTICIPANTES DA ASSOCIAÇÃO FAMÍLIA PELA VIDA-AFAVI, DA CIDADE DO CAPÃO DO LEÃO-RS

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Neighborhood Association ◽  
The Social ◽  
Qualitative Nature ◽  
The City ◽  
South Zone

The dance has been increasingly sought as a practice of alternative physical activity to improve the quality of life and valorization of self-esteem among other benefits. This work is a study conducted in a neighborhood association in the city of Capão do Leão-RS. The aim of this study was to investigate the benefits of dance related to quality of life, relating the empowerment of women when practicing dance. The research is of a qualitative nature, with a bibliographical character using a questionnaire as an instrument. The methodology of the case study conducted in the Associação Família Pela Vida (AFAVI) founded more than two years ago, is located in the city of Capão do Leão-RS, in the neighborhood Jardim América in the South zone of the state. In this space are provided activities for the community in general, among which we highlight the dance classes (rhythms) with a class of 22 women, these classes have the purpose of socialization, quality of life and integralization. According to the results it is concluded that these activities can really influence in the lives of these women valuing the social, emotional side and fighting the sedentarism in their daily life.

scholarly journals Gentrificación en el centro Metropolitano de Monterrey, 2010-2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (44) ◽  
pp. 84-97
Author(s):  
Luis Fernando Campos-Sánchez ◽  
Jesus A. Trevino
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Housing Density ◽  
Apartment Buildings ◽  
Metropolitan Center ◽  
The City ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Section Level

The purpose of the study is to identify areas that are possibly gentrified or in the process of being gentrified, through a localized typology of two components: youthification and an increase in the quality of life. This typology can be applied in similar investigations. Thisd paper addresses the case study of the Metropolitan Center of the City of Monterrey (CMM), Nuevo León, Mexico. The current urban regeneration plans and the increase of housing density in the CMM have caused a vertical real estate “boom” of apartment buildings and have strengthened the emergence of gentrification in the area, understood here as the decrease in social backwardness (increase in the quality of life) over time, with an increase in young adults (25 to 34 years-old), compared to older adults (60+ years-old). This article suggests a procedure to measure gentrification by overlapping the Index of Social Backwardness (ISB) at the Basic Geostatistical Area (AGEB) level, with a youthification index at the electoral section level between the 2010-2020 period. Both the decline of social backwardness (2010-2020) and youthification (2010-2020), are analytically articulated for successive census years, to generate a localized typology of the gentrification process.

scholarly journals The Five-Minute-Walk Distance Concept, Case Study: City of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Oana Strinu
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Walk Distance ◽  
The City ◽  
Minute Walk Distance ◽  
Minute Walk

"The Five-Minute-Walk Distance Concept, Case Study: City of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This term, also known as the “pedestrian shed”, refers to the distance that would make a person’s option of walking or driving to a destination differ. The distance is visualized as a 400-meter radius area most commonly found in some major cities or capitals’ downtown areas/main areas. To further highlight the characteristics of this concept I applied it on a case study of the city of Cluj-Napoca, checking the adherence of many areas against the concept’s principles. This will display the percentage of studied areas that meet the definition criteria and the results will indicate the proposed collection of measures to be adopted by the local authorities to increase the area definition validity score and to improve the citizens quality of life. This concept could be easily replicated in any city or capital and its metrics could be used to assess citizens. Keywords: neighborhood, 5-minute walking distance, urban development, city driving, pedestrian shed."

scholarly journals Voluntary Local Review Framework to Monitor and Evaluate the Progress towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals at a City Level: Buraidah City, KSA and SDG11 as A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9555
Author(s):  
Taher Osman ◽  
Emad Kenawy ◽  
Karim I. Abdrabo ◽  
David Shaw ◽  
Aref Alshamndy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
National Review ◽  
Urban Quality Of Life ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The City ◽  
Global Carbon

Around the world, cities are on the front lines of sustainable development. They are responsible for more than 70% of global carbon emissions. Many of these cities are experiencing dangerous levels of pollution, underemployment, and health disparities. Since 2015, 193 countries have endorsed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), intended to help address a wide range of challenges affecting cities and ultimately secure the resources for their next generations. All states are expected to present the national progress towards the SDGs through a Voluntary National Review (VNR). Despite the importance of the cities within this framework, only a handful of them worldwide have actively begun to review and assess progress towards these SDGs on a city scale. This paper seeks to develop a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) framework to assess and evaluate the progress of cities towards contributing to the SDGs. This framework has been developed by localizing the international and national frameworks to measure the performance of cities as they advance towards achieving the SDGs. Such a framework can serve as a tool for benchmarking progress on different aspects of sustainable development and help urban planners and policymakers prioritize policies and actions to improve urban quality of life. This framework is applied to monitor and evaluate the progress of the city of Buraidah in Saudi Arabia, as it strives towards achieving the targets of SDG11 (“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”).

scholarly journals Modeling Photovoltaic Potential for Bus Shelters on a City-Scale: A Case Study in Lisbon

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 4801
Author(s):  
Teresa Santos ◽  
Killian Lobato ◽  
Jorge Rocha ◽  
José António Tenedório
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Bus Stop ◽  
Solar Exposure ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The City

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SGD7) and making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SGD11). Thus, across the globe, major cities are moving in the smart city direction, by, for example, incorporating photovoltaics (PV), electric buses and sensors to improve public transportation. We study the concept of integrated PV bus stop shelters for the city of Lisbon. We identified the suitable locations for these, with respect to solar exposure, by using a Geographic Information System (GIS) solar radiation map. Then, using proxies to describe tourist and commuter demand, we determined that 54% of all current city bus stop shelters have the potential to receive PV-based solutions. Promoting innovative solutions such as this one will support smart mobility and urban sustainability while increasing quality of life, the ultimate goal of the Smart Cities movement.

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