Towards Smart Green Cities: Analysis of Integrated Renewable Energy Use in Smart Cities

This study aims to estimate and explore the experience of introducing renewable energy use in the context of the world’s smart cities. In this regard, the study points out that the use of green energy is an important part of sustainable development. Environmental problems are a matter of global concern. Hence sustainable development is one of the approaches to end the harmful anthropogenic impact. The work includes quantitative assessment methods, for example, statistics, quantitative analysis, analogy, and synthesis. As a result, the analysis confirms that the effective development of a smart green city is impossible without the introduction of several renewable energy sources, the integrated use of which will reduce the likelihood of problems with the city’s energy supply. Likewise, the outcome accentuates that the desire to fully switch to renewable energy sources (RES) can be accompanied by several problems as the creation of RES technologies does not always take the risk of abnormal situations into account. In conclusion, the research findings are recommended to be taken into consideration by researchers in the field of smart and sustainable cities development, as well as urbanists and economists for designing future smart green cities based on renewable energy sources.

Factors Affecting People’s Environmental Awareness In The Urban Areas: A Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: In developing countries, the urban environment is deteriorating over time. In the meantime, people's demand for clean and green residential and recreational places has increased. If so, why has it been hard to keep clean and green cities? This paper investigates the level and determinants of environmental awareness in Addis Ababa. From three sub-cities, a three-stage sampling procedure applies to select 293 sample respondents. The data collection applies a structured questionnaire. We applied a five-point Likert scale to classify the levels of awareness. Besides, an ordered logit model was applied to analyze factors that affect the level of awareness.Results: The result shows that the knowledge of forest degradation is high, while the attitude to reduce the use of glass bottles is medium. The cognitive skill on the cause of acid rain is medium. The probability of low (13%) and medium (26%) levels of environmental awareness increases for the income group of 601 to 1650. Likewise, the likelihood of having low levels of environmental awareness rises by 9%; in contrast, the probability of having a moderate level of environmental awareness increases by 12% for the age of 50 to 59. The TVET educational level has a low chance of having low (8%) and medium (12%) levels of awareness.Conclusions: An income-generating activity raises employment opportunities and creates a better income, which would influence the environmental mindset. So, improving the living standard assures clean and green cities. Besides, the higher the education, the better would be environmental knowledge, cognitive skills, and attitude. In the meantime, besides formal education, adult education, training, and workshops are alternatives to enhance environmental awareness.

Designing a Wind Energy Harvester for Connected Vehicles in Green Cities

Electric vehicles (EVs) have recently gained momentum as an integral part of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) when authorities started expanding their low emission zones (LEZs) in an effort to build green cities with low carbon footprints. Energy is one of the key requirements of EVs, not only to support the smooth and sustainable operation of EVs, but also to ensure connectivity between the vehicle and the infrastructure in the critical times such as disaster recovery operation. In this context, renewable energy sources (such as wind energy) have an important role to play in the automobile sector towards designing energy-harvesting electric vehicles (EH-EV) to mitigate energy reliance on the national grid. In this article, a novel approach is presented to harness energy from a small-scale wind turbine due to vehicle mobility to support the communication primitives in electric vehicles which enable plenty of IoV use cases. The harvested power is then processed through a regulation circuitry to consequently achieve the desired power supply for the end load (i.e., battery or super capacitor). The suitable orientation for optimum conversion efficiency is proposed through ANSYS-based aerodynamics analysis. The voltage-induced by the DC generator is 35 V under the no-load condition while it is 25 V at a rated current of 6.9 A at full-load, yielding a supply of 100 W (on constant voltage) at a speed of 90 mph for nominal battery charging.

INOVASI LINGKUNGAN: PEMBERDAYAAN SOSIAL MASYARAKAT KAMPUNG PERKOTAAN (STUDI KASUS DI SURABAYA)

The leading kampung in the city of Surabaya has become a self-supporting social entity with a hybrid organizationalfunction. This has made Surabaya one of the Global Green Cities in 2017. These kampungs in Surabaya carry outcommunity empowerment independently in their function to complement or balance the government functions. Theempowerment puts forward social functions based on environmental innovation in creating commercial goals that provide benefits for its members. This study aims to find the determinants of environmental innovation resulting from social empowerment of urban village communities with a qualitative approach. The researcher acts as an instrument withsix sources from five selected leading kampungs: Mangrove Kampung, Bratang Binangun Kampung, Grudo Kampung,Maspati Kampung, and Jambangan Kampung. Data were collected through field observations and document searches forapproximately two months from August to September 2019. The analysis and validation were processed by triangulation,checking group members, and rich descriptions of the essence of environmental innovation in the city of Surabaya.

An apposite framework for green cities development in developing countries: the case of Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to guide green cities development in developing countries. The study adapted and validated indicators that can be adopted, to predict, estimate, depict and measure green city development in developing countries. In using a covariance-based structural equation model (CBSEM), the study developed a framework for green cities development in developing countries using Kumasi city (Ghana) as a case study. Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed framework, a quantitative methodology was used, in which, data was collected using research questionnaires that targeted a sample of 200 green city experts. In total, 154 useable questionnaires were retrieved, representing a response rate of 77%. The confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were adopted in a CBSEM. Findings The indices reported were indicative that the model/framework is a good fit for the data. This points to the direction that the model for measuring green city development was statistically significant and acceptable. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a robust fit of the indices, as they met the standardised cut-off points and as such the model fits the data. Practical implications This novel research is one of the few studies investigating green cities development in Ghana which could serve as a lesson for other developing countries. The proposed green city framework will serve as a guide to stakeholders in identifying the key indicators/factors that are critical to green city development in developing countries, especially Ghanaian cities. Originality/value This study proposed a green city framework to guide the development of green cities based on the local context of Ghana.

Evaluation of Green Cities in the Drainage Area of China’s Beijing–Hangzhou Canal

The phrase ‘green cities’ refers to an idealised and modernised urban development model that features harmonious development among the environment, ecology, society, culture, and the inhabitants of a city. Harmonious humanistic relations and green pathways have become predominant models in modern urban development. Green city construction has drawn considerable attention. However, the construction and development of green cities involves numerous problems. The various needs of different populations must be coordinated to foster the green development of a city. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process was used to classify factors related to green city construction into different levels. The scope of the empirical verification was eight cities alongshore the drainage area of the Jiangsu section of the Beijing–Hangzhou Canal. Data from 2009, 2014, and 2019 were selected for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed using these data, and standards were established to serve as a reference for city administrators in the process of decision-making regarding green city construction.