Attitudes towards transport modes influence delivery of the twin imperatives of moving towards lower carbon dioxide transport while improving people's health and well-being. This study provides a macro-level assessment of social value across eight transport modes in the UK, forming the social component of a broader research agenda examining transport's economic and environmental dimensions. A nationally distributed questionnaire (n = 300) collected pre-pandemic data on ten key attributes, including travel time, cost, comfort, safety, environmental impact and health benefits. Utilising statistical analysis, the relationship between overall and individual evaluations was investigated, revealing significant positive correlations. The results confirmed the relevance of the aforementioned factors in decision making. Younger participants provided more positive evaluations than older participants, suggesting that older individuals may feel underserved by transport options. Transport evaluations were independent of gender or ethnicity. Car ownership correlated with higher appreciation of car travel and lower appreciation of taxis, but did not affect evaluations of public transport or active modes. Qualitative responses clarified the reasons behind transport mode choices, identifying time and comfort as the primary influences. By offering a consistent, pre-Covid-19 baseline, the study enables comparison with macro-level economic and environmental analyses and supports more integrated transport policy design.

Though relatively new, the concept of smart villages empowers rural communities by providing essential amenities that support a self-sustaining lifestyle, reducing the need for migration to urban areas. As climate change intensifies, maintaining the current urban-to-rural population ratio of 60:40 is crucial in mitigating global warming and ensuring planetary sustainability ( United Nations (UN), 2017 , World Population and Housing Census Program ). The increasing adoption and use of the internet play a pivotal role in socio-economic development, particularly in rural areas where connectivity has the potential to transform lives. Enhanced digital access can empower communities, foster economic growth and curb urban migration. However, despite its recognised importance, rural regions struggle with inadequate internet access and usage. This study examines internet adaptation and usage patterns in rural areas, focusing on Assam, a state in north-eastern India where the digital divide hampers progress in education, healthcare and economic activities. Data were collected from 2,058 households across 12 villages, analysing mobile phone ownership, internet service quality and usage trends. The findings reveal that while approximately 75% of the surveyed population has mobile phone services, only 19% report internet access, and a mere 9% consider the internet quality satisfactory. Among those with connectivity, the primary uses include social networking (90%), education (85%) and entertainment (85%), followed by work-related activities (60%) and online shopping (40%). Despite the potential benefits of digital inclusion, infrastructure deficiencies, affordability constraints and limited digital literacy remain significant barriers to widespread internet adoption. The study further highlights that, for many rural residents, improved internet access is not yet a top priority compared to pressing needs such as clean water and sanitation. However, the research underscores the transformative potential of internet connectivity in fostering smart village development. By providing valuable insights into the relationship between digital adaptation and sustainable rural development, this study offers a framework for addressing connectivity challenges in similar global contexts.

Despite its proven benefits, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has witnessed limited adoption in developing countries. In response, recently, there has been a significant increase in research works investigating BIM in developing countries. These studies have investigated various aspects of BIM adoption and implementation, including barriers/challenges, drivers/enablers, benefits, implementation strategies, BIM awareness, and adoption rates, among others. However, there has been an absence of studies that have attempted to explore the potential application of various BIM functions across the construction lifecycle of public sector construction projects in the context of a developing country, such as Tanzania. Accordingly, the present study seeks to bridge this gap by employing a qualitative approach. Specifically, semi-structured interviews with 34 BIM knowledgeable experts with extensive knowledge of the delivery of public sector construction projects in Tanzania were conducted. Thematic analysis was then employed to report key findings. The findings revealed that BIM had various potential applications across the lifecycle of the public sector construction projects. It is anticipated that findings of the present study will provide valuable insights into the potential areas where BIM can practically benefit public sector construction projects in Tanzania taking into account its distinctive contextual issues. It is further hoped that the findings will generate interest for the wider adoption of BIM in developing countries. This would facilitate in the sustainable delivery of public sector construction projects which constitute the backbone of developing economies and hence promote the 9th goal of SDG.

With 8.1 billion people on the planet, currently about 60% live in urban centers and 40% live in rural settings. However, due to a clear disparity in living standards and also perhaps the availability of resources generally, as predicted by the United Nations, the urban population is increasing to reach 68% by 2050. This increasing trend of urbanisation is further escalated due to the traditional way of perceiving the urban-rural divide and worldwide efforts towards closing the gap. Demand for housing and infrastructure resulting from the rapid urbanization not only adds to the current carbon footprints but also hinders necessary innovations for sustainable development. Countering the current practices of traditional development models and rapid urbanisations for closing the urban-rural gap, the smart villages research program at the University of Melbourne offers an evidence-based alternative by promoting urban-rural share and context-specific development. Rather than extending the traditional brick & mortar-based development practices in the urbanization spree, value-based and purpose-built development of smart villages provides a significant new opportunity for innovative development and upgrading of the 40% rural community globally. While the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) are at the core of the smart villages development, this paper highlights how the data-driven context-specific planning and execution of the SDGs support rural communities to take control of their localised development and steer towards establishing resilient societies with clear distinctions in the rural lifestyle. Setting a clear point of departure, this paper demonstrates with conviction the unique roles and responsibilities of the urban-rural communities in shaping the sustainable built environment and contributing to the global war against climate change and global temperature rise.

Focusing on requirements, scope and configuration, Hemanta Doloi highlights the elements of the three interrelated dimensions. Keeping stakeholders and customers at the core of decision-making in front-end requirement analysis, the processes of managing and controlling projects with a clear alignment of needs and requirements in the product or services in relation to the operating environment are established. The underlying processes are analysed and the extension of knowledge in integrated management is highlighted. It is suggested that the project scope must be defined to include only essential activities to provide the deliverables and meet requirements. However, an important issue in scope planning is the alignment of the requirement and configuration with the activities that result in a product maximisation of the business goals. Lack of effective scope planning can lead to different issues such as dissatisfied customers which potentially results in sub-standard operational performance. The project management team must adopt a comprehensive approach to managing requirements and configurations within the processes of scope management meeting or exceeding the strategic and business objectives and ensuring long-term success.

PurposeThe present study employs social network analysis (SNA) to demonstrate the extent to which various building information modeling (BIM) functions can be used to address significant issues faced by the Tanzanian public sector construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted secondary data obtained from a comprehensive literature review on core BIM functions and the underlying issues faced by the Tanzanian public sector construction projects. This study then adopted SNA for associating the BIM functions with relevant construction issues.FindingsFor Objective 1, the findings revealed that BIM can address 68% of significant issues faced by the Tanzanian public sector construction projects. For Objective 2, the findings revealed that the identified functions mainly addressed issues in the early phases of the project. Finally, for Objective 3, the most effective function was "spatial coordination."Research limitations/implicationsThis literature-based study does not fully capture both the current contextual issues faced by the industry and the BIM capability of stakeholders involved. In addition, this research does not distinguish between public project size and type which can influence the types of issues faced and consequently the use of BIM function. Accordingly, the research presented in this study needs to be complemented by on-the-ground feedback of industry stakeholders and needs to investigate how project size and type impacts the types of issues that emerge and the use of BIM.Practical implicationsWith respect to practice, the findings of the present study highlight key BIM functions practitioners can begin to target.Social implicationsIn Tanzania, public sector construction projects contribute greatly to social development of Tanzania's population. Owing to the current state of public sector projects underperforming and the negative impact the projects have on the country's development, an intervention measure such as BIM has the potential to enhance the effective and efficient delivery of these projects and thereby promote the social development of the country's population.Originality/valueWith respect to theory, this study demonstrates how core functions of BIM can be mapped with various construction-related issues in order to evaluate the efficacies of the BIM-based investments for improving overall performance in the public sector projects. With respect to practice, the method illustrated in the present study can be applied by policymakers and practitioners to identify core BIM functions to target to address pressing contextual issues faced by public sector projects in the respective contexts.