Does China’s smart city pilot policy (SCPP) do more than raise economic output? This paper asks whether it also spreads development gains across regions and between urban and rural areas, treating the policy as a lens on selected socioeconomic dimensions of sustainable urban development. We study the 2012 SCPP on a panel of 167 prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2022. A common prosperity index, constructed with entropy-weighted TOPSIS, measures overall prosperity, urban–rural integration, and regional coordination; the policy effect is estimated with PSM-DID. The SCPP raises the index by 0.0328 points in the fixed-effects model and 0.0304 points in the PSM-DID model with controls. The gains are uneven across dimensions: they concentrate in overall prosperity, appear weakly in urban–rural integration, and are not statistically detectable in regional coordination. Digital economy development and new-type urbanization both moderate the policy effect upward. Location matters as well: the effects concentrate in eastern cities and in cities with higher human capital and better informatization infrastructure. Local development conditions, in short, shape where the benefits of smart-city investment land.
Projects in the infrastructure sector are becoming increasingly interdependent and complex, and how to deal with that complexity is something to pay close attention to in the process of developing a sustainable society. This article sets out to provide an overview of how complexity is dealt with in real projects and thus asks the question of how complexity is considered in scientific literature, based on empirical studies about collaboration in infrastructure projects. Consequently, this article presents a structured literature review using PRISMA. Three scientific libraries were used: Web of Science (for 1 January 2000–31 December 2023), Scopus (for 2000–2026), and OpenAlex (for 2024–2026). The search query included complexity, collaboration, infrastructure, project management, and case study, as well as synonyms. A total of 43 articles were included in the final sample for the review. Interestingly, the analysis of the sample reveals that the initial expectations were not met, so instead of creating a comprehensive overview of the methods used to deal with complexity, a different discovery is made instead: complexity is often mentioned, but is hardly defined, barely operationalized, and not understood.
The tourism industry is recognized as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, significantly advancing climate change. Carbon offsetting is often suggested as an ancillary approach to alleviate or counterbalance inevitable emissions generated by tourism activities; nevertheless, what is the public impression of this measure? When are they expected to engage in it? This study employing the Value–Belief–Norm theory (VBN) mainly aims to investigate the influence of visitors’ value orientations on their overall perceptions regarding carbon offsetting within the leisure context of protected-area visitation—a realm where leisure pursuits represent a considerable contributor to carbon emissions. A total of 517 protected-area visitors in Spain and 383 in the Netherlands participated in the study. Results indicate that individuals who prioritize biospheric and altruistic values are more likely to exhibit robust support for carbon offsetting initiatives in protected areas, demonstrating the importance of fundamental value orientations in shaping pro-environmental attitudes. In addition, the findings stress human accountability for climate repercussions and reveal offsetting alternatives as ethically justifiable and effectively gratifying. The study offers governance-related implications, indicating that harmonizing carbon offsetting programs with fundamental societal principles may bolster the perceived legitimacy of offsetting initiatives, foster visitor involvement, and lead to improved environmental results.
Studies have shown that the use of readily available and easily prepared modifiers can control the specific properties of the starch material, targeting those that are most beneficial for specific applications. Starch is one of the materials poised to replace traditional polymers in food packaging and wound dressings. However, its functional properties, including barrier properties, antibacterial and mechanical properties, need to be improved. Films made of kuzu starch cross-linked with citric acid and plasticised with glycerol were modified with various modifiers: Kalanchoe pinnata extract, silver nanoparticles in this extract, an extract additionally stabilised with a biopreservative, and chitosan. The effect of these modifiers on the chemical structure and morphology of the starch films, as well as on their barrier properties, thermal, mechanical, and bacteriostatic properties, was determined. Only films containing silver nanoparticles produced clear inhibition zones against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Chitosan-containing films exhibited weak antibacterial activity, while no measurable inhibition zones were observed for unmodified starch films or films containing only Kalanchoe pinnata extract. No viable yeasts or moulds were detected on the film surfaces during the 14-day storage period under the conditions of the study. The starch film with chitosan had the highest tensile strength, while film with the Kalanchoe pinnata extract had the highest elongation. The film made of starch with Kalanchoe pinnata extract had the highest water vapour transmission rate and the lowest contact angle, while the film made of starch with chitosan had the highest barrier properties.
This study investigates the mechanical performance, freeze–thaw durability, and microstructural characteristics of marl soil treated with iron and steel cooling water sludge (CWS) and polypropylene fibers (PPFs). The CWS used in this study is an Fe-rich industrial by-product generated from the cooling water circulation system of an iron and steel production facility. In an initial screening stage, mixtures containing 5–30% CWS and 0.2–1.4% PPF were evaluated using 7-day unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests. The highest UCS values within the investigated ranges were obtained at 15% CWS and 1% PPF, increasing the UCS of untreated marl from approximately 254 kPa to 430 kPa with 15% CWS and 450 kPa with 1% PPF. These dosages were subsequently selected for the freeze–thaw durability program. Untreated and treated specimens were conditioned or cured for 7, 28, and 90 days and subjected to up to 10 freeze–thaw cycles. Repeated freeze–thaw exposure reduced the UCS of all the specimens; however, the magnitude of deterioration depended strongly on the treatment type and the curing duration. Untreated marl exhibited strength losses of 27.7–31.5% after 10 cycles. The 15% CWS-treated specimens showed comparatively stable freeze–thaw resistance, with strength losses of 20.5–22.6%, whereas the performance of 1% PPF was strongly curing-time dependent, with the strength loss decreasing from 58.2% at 7 days to 27.5% at 90 days. The combined 15% CWS + 1% PPF treatment exhibited the most favorable response at 90 days, with a strength loss of 20.7% after 10 freeze–thaw cycles. The SEM observations qualitatively indicated a comparatively more compact and continuous matrix in the treated specimens, while the XRD patterns showed mineralogical differences associated with CWS incorporation; however, specific cementitious or hydration products could not be conclusively confirmed. Overall, the combined CWS–PPF treatment improved the mechanical integrity and freeze–thaw durability of marl soil and may provide a practical route for the beneficial reuse of an iron and steel industry by-product, provided that its environmental suitability is confirmed.
