Social Media in Sustainable Tourism Recovery

In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to manage tourist destinations to allow the recovery of tourism on the one hand and reduce its negative impact on the environment and the local community on the other. Information provided via social media (SM) by both residents and tourists can help restart tourism. This paper identifies ways of sharing travel experiences by tourists on social media. The research was conducted in Poland on a sample of 271 respondents from each generation using questionnaires. Results showed that the way tourists use SM during and after their trip differs by generation and gender what could be used in promoting responsible behaviour for sustainable tourism. Differences between generations can be observed in behaviours such as ongoing planning the trip, obtaining information about the place to stay, keeping a photo album for friends, and writing reviews. Moreover, more often than men, women use SM to obtain information about the place of stay and share their impressions of the trip by sending MMS or emails. Tracking tourists’ travel behaviour on social media will allow city managers to gather information and respond to their needs and expectations and ensure effective urban management and city promotion.

The Phenomenon of Regional Euphemisms and the Work of City Managers (the Analysis of Euphemisms in the Internet-Based Discourse)

This article discusses the issue of the relationship between euphemisms and regional phenomena. The author dwells on the definition of euphemisms and the indication of their main features, emphasizing that the main aspect in understanding euphemisms is replacing a rude or undesirable word with a softer and more appropriate one. According to the author, understanding euphemisms that are found in the speech of residents of a certain geographical area is very important for heads of administrations at various levels, employees of departments, working with the local residents, i.e. for managers who ensure the well-being of city dwellers. The notion of euphemisms is closely related to culture and social attitudes that are developed in society. It is the link between euphemisms and culture, certain stereotypes, traditions of society, systems of values, etc. that makes the existence of regional euphemisms possible. In this study, a hypothesis is put forward about the presence of euphemistic substitutions, characteristic of a certain region. As part of the research, an attempt was made to identify euphemisms characteristic of the Tula region (Russia). Examples of direct discussion of Russian-language publications made in the “Overheard in Tula” community of the VKontakte social network serve as the empirical material for the study. As a result of the analysis, it was proved that in most cases, participants in communication use euphemisms when discussing the shortcomings and problems of their region. Understanding such use of euphemisms can help city managers in their work. The research reveals which regional events most often induce the residents of the Tula region to use euphemistic substitutions. Based on the comparison of selected discourse samples and data from lexicographic sources, it is determined whether the used substitutions can be considered euphemisms. The authors come to the conclusion that it is possible to speak about the existence of the very phenomenon of regional euphemisms and that its further study is much needed as it can improve the efficiency of city managers.

EVALUATION OF PARTICULATE MATTER (PM10) DISTRIBUTIONS IN İZMIR USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR SMART CITIES APPLICATIONS

In this study, PM10 values from the air quality monitoring station in Izmir was evaluated. 9 stations could be used in this study, since PM10 data are suitable to evaluate for the years 2020-2019-2018. The 4-season and annual PM10 distribution map for 3 years was prepared using ArcGIS. The benefits of these maps to city managers in the smart city application were expressed. In addition, PM10 data of 9 stations were evaluated according to legal limit values. It was determined that Aliağa and Gaziemir stations exceeded the limit values more than other stations. It has been observed that different sources of air pollution such as industry, traffic and heating affect different districts. When the number of days exceeding the limit value and the number of days without measurement are evaluated together, it is seen that the limit values are exceeded by all stations.

Dynamics of Open Green Areas in Polish and Romanian Cities during 2006–2018: Insights for Spatial Planners

Studying green urban infrastructure is important because of its ecosystem services, contributing to the welfare and comfort of citizens, mitigation of climate changes, and sustainability goals. Urban planning can increase or diminish the performance of ecosystem services. Despite numerous studies on the green infrastructure–services–planning nexus, there are very few concrete planning recommendations. This study aims to provide such recommendations for a broader audience by analyzing the dynamic of open green areas in Polish and Romanian cities, connected with its drivers. A novel approach including mathematical modeling and geostatistical analyses was applied to Urban Atlas and statistical yearbooks data. The results indicated that open green areas were lost and fragmented in all Romanian and Polish cities during 2006–2018. The drivers included urban built-up areas, population and density, the number of building permits, number of new dwellings completed, number of employees, and total length of roads. The study also revealed a tremendous lack of consistent datasets across the countries using the same statistical indicators. Based on the findings, planners should aim to preserve and develop urban greenery and maintain its continuity. City managers should use more research and decision-making policy developers to develop targeted policies and scientists should develop planning manuals.

CIM in the context of smart cities: how the interoperability between BIM and SIG can assist the development of smart cities.

Nowadays, Smart Cities are one of the most debated and discussed subjects related to urban development. Various technological and innovative processes are being integrated into society’s everyday life, aiming at fulfilling the new demands for a sustainable growth that is led by the citizens, by and large. In this context, the infrastructure sector figures as one of the most important points to reach that goal. This paper seeks to study the applicability of the Building Information Modeling (BIM), and of the Geographic Information System (GIS) to Smart Cities, highlighting the main potentialities and challenges of the utilization of these processes. The study will be realized through a literature review of the most relevant works, focusing on the integration of technologies and placing the concepts of City Information Modeling (CIM) in the discussion. It is our understanding that the adoption of CIM concepts by city managers, and by the entire construction sector, could be an important step in the development of Smart Cities around the world.

The First City Organizational LCA Case Study: Feasibility and Lessons Learned from Vienna

Cities are recognized as a major contributor to environmental pressures. Recently, organizational LCA (OLCA) has been found to align well with requirements for city-scale environmental decision support and a novel city-OLCA framework was introduced. City-OLCA combines two relevant aspects: It covers activities beyond public service provision (multi-stakeholder) and emissions beyond greenhouse gases (multi-impact). Its unique approach of acknowledging responsibility levels should help both city-managers and academia in performance tracking and to prioritize mitigation measures. The goal of this work is to test city-OLCA’s feasibility in a first case study with real city data from Vienna. The feasibility was confirmed, and results for 12 impact categories were obtained. As an example, Vienna’s global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, and marine eutrophication potential for 2016 were 14,686 kt CO­2 eq., 6796 kg CFC-11 eq., and 310 t N eq., respectively. Our results indicate that current accounting practices may underestimate greenhouse gas emissions of the entire city by up to a factor of 3. This is mainly due to additional activities not covered by conventional standards (food and goods consumption). While the city itself only accounts for 25% of greenhouse gases, 75% are caused by activities beyond public service provision or beyond governmental responsibilities. Based on our results, we encourage city managers to include an organizational based LCA approach in defining reduction strategies. This will reveal environmental blind spots and avoids underestimating environmental burdens, which might lead to setting the wrong focus for mitigation.

Assessment of management efficiency of city managers (based on focused interviews with entrepreneurs)

The topic of the research is relevant to modern sociological science and social practice. The research problem lies, on the one hand, in the importance of the development of the municipality through contracts for municipal-private cooperation, and on the other hand, in the absence of a comprehensive scientific understanding of the barriers to the implementation of this process. The aim of the research is to assess the effectiveness of the management practices of city managers, in particular, their potential to attract private capital to the municipality. The methodological basis of the research in general theoretical terms is based on the new theory of institutions, in particular, on the concept of institutional evolution by D. North, and in the specific applied - focused interviews conducted with representatives of the business community and local administration in the Southern Federal District. As a result of the research, the following obstacles to the effective work of city managers have been identified: imitation practices, low qualifications of municipal employees, reduced trust of entrepreneurs, high economic risks and institutional instability. To overcome the above problems, the following recommendations have been made: to solve the problems of joining the law on PPP and MPP with anti-corruption legislation, to create a body to support MPP projects and increase business confidence in the municipality by setting clear «rules of the game» in the economic space.

Accessibility of Transit Stops with Multiple Feeder Modes: Walking and Private-Bike Cycling

The accessibility of transit stops (ATS) is a critical index for the evaluation of transit service, focusing on the first/last mile portions of transit trips. It is significantly affected by feeder modes, such as walking and cycling. Comparison of the application of different modes has been addressed in previous research, thus there is mostly only one feeder mode considered in this case study. This study has proposed a model for ATS with multiple feeder modes (ATSMFM), capable of integrating multiple feeder modes and considering the heterogeneity of travellers from the perspective of city managers. It is a bi-level model, combining cumulative and utility-based approaches. The final form of ATSMFM is developed referring to the cumulative approach, while the determination of the catchment area is utility-based. A numerical experiment has been conducted to demonstrate the necessity and applicability of ATSMFM. The results show that the ATS with a single feeder mode, such as cycling or walking, underestimates the catchment area of nearly one-third or two-thirds of travellers. As for ATSMFM, this proposed approach can automatically select the feeder mode from alternatives according to traveller attributes, thus removing the limitation of a single feeder mode, and is suitable for calculating ATS in the complex environment with multiple feeder modes. Besides, the ATSMFM model can support city managers with different emphases in transit planning via flexibly setting the threshold.

When Small Is Not Beautiful: The Unexpected Impacts of Trees and Parcel Size on Metered Water-Use in a Semi-Arid City

Colorado’s water supply is under threat due to climate change pressures and population growth, however Colorado has been recognized to have some of the most progressive water conservation programs in the country. Limiting outdoor water consumption is an increasingly popular approach to conserving water in semi-arid cities, yet in order to implement effective water reduction and conservation policies, more utilities and city managers need a firm understanding of the local drivers of outdoor water consumption. This research explores the drivers of outdoor water consumption in a semi-arid, medium-sized Colorado city that is projected to undergo significant population growth. We used a combination of correlation and linear regression analyses to identify the key descriptive variables that predict greater water consumption at the household scale. Some results were specific to the development patterns of this medium-sized city, where outdoor water use increased 7% for each additional mile (1.6 km) a household was located from the historic urban center. Similarly, more expensive homes used more water as well. Surprisingly, households with a higher ratio of vegetation cover to parcel size tended toward less water consumption. This result could be because parcels that are shaded by their tree canopy require less irrigation. We discuss these results to assist city managers and policymakers in creating water-efficient landscapes and provide information that can be leveraged to increase awareness for water conservation in a growing, semi-arid city.