Search Results (197)

Urban resilience has emerged as a critical paradigm for addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, rapid urbanization, and social inequality, positioning green public spaces as catalysts for social, ecological, and institutional transformation. This article presents a systematic review conducted under the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, examining how collaborative and community participation influenced transformative urban resilience in green public spaces between 2021 and 2025. A total of 6179 records were initially identified across ScienceDirect and MDPI (last search: July 2025), of which 26 empirical studies met the inclusion criteria (peer-reviewed, empirical, published 2021–2025). Methodological rigor was strengthened through the application of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT, 2018) and confidence in qualitative evidence was assessed using the GRADE-CERQual approach, enhancing transparency and reliability. Data extraction and synthesis followed a theoretical-methodological coding framework, allowing for the comparison of participatory strategies, typologies of green spaces, resilience dimensions, and applied instruments. The results show that multi-actor co-management, co-design, and community self-organization are the most frequent participatory strategies, while urban green infrastructure, pocket parks, and urban gardens constitute the predominant spatial contexts. Socio-ecological and social-participatory resilience emerged as dominant theoretical perspectives, with qualitative and mixed-methods designs prevailing across studies. Evidence synthesis through GRADE-CERQual identified seven key pathways—multi-actor co-management, Nature-based Solutions, community-based actions, social equity, cultural identity, institutional innovation, and planned densification—each contributing differently to resilience dimensions. Overall, the findings highlight that transformative resilience depends on deep, inclusive participatory processes, multi-level governance, and the integration of social, ecological, and cultural dimensions. Despite the heterogeneity of designs and unequal data adequacy, this review confirms that transformative urban resilience is a co-produced process grounded in community action, ecological sustainability, and collaborative governance. Strengthening underexplored areas—technological innovation, cultural resilience, and standardized methodological instruments—is essential for advancing comparative research and practice. Full article

The global countryside constitutes a complex social–ecological system undergoing profound transformation. Understanding how such systems navigate transitions and achieve resilient, sustainable outcomes requires examining the interactions and adaptive behaviors of multiple actors. This study investigates the restructuring of rural China through a complex adaptive systems lens, focusing on the county of Lin’an in Zhejiang Province. We employ a middle-range theory and process-tracing approach to analyze the co-evolutionary pathways shaped by the interactions among three key agents: local governments, enterprises, and village communities. Our findings reveal distinct yet interdependent behavioral logics—local governments and enterprises primarily exhibit instrumental rationality, driven by political performance and profit maximization, respectively, while villages demonstrate value-rational behavior anchored in communal well-being and territorial identity. Crucially, this study identifies the emergence of a vital integrative mechanism, the “village operator” model, underpinned by the collective economy. This institutional innovation facilitates the synergistic linkage of interests and the integration of endogenous and exogenous resources, thereby mitigating conflicts and alienation. We argue that this multi-agent collaboration drives a synergistic restructuring of spatial, economic, and social subsystems. The case demonstrates that sustainable rural revitalization hinges not on the dominance of a single logic, but on the emergence of adaptive governance structures that effectively coordinate diverse actor logics. This process fosters systemic resilience, enabling the rural system to adapt to external pressures and internal changes. The Lin’an experience offers a transferable framework for understanding how coordinated multi-agent interactions can guide complex social–ecological systems toward sustainable transitions. Full article

Urban forests and green spaces are increasingly promoted as Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) to mitigate climate risks, enhance human well-being, and support resilient and sustainable cities. Focusing on the theme of optimizing urban green space ecosystem services to foster resilient and sustainable cities, this study systematically analyzes 861 relevant publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 2005 to 2025. Using bibliometric analysis and scientific knowledge mapping methods, the research examines publication characteristics, spatial distribution patterns, collaboration networks, knowledge bases, research hotspots, and thematic evolution trajectories. The results reveal a rapid upward trend in this field over the past two decades, with the gradual formation of a multidisciplinary knowledge system centered on environmental science and urban research. China, the United States, and several European countries have emerged as key nodes in global knowledge production and collaboration networks. Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analyses indicate that research themes are mainly concentrated in four clusters: (1) ecological foundations and green process orientation, (2) nature-based solutions and blue–green infrastructure configuration, (3) social needs and environmental justice, and (4) macro-level policies and the sustainable development agenda. Overall, the field has evolved from a focus on ecological processes and individual service functions toward a comprehensive transition emphasizing climate resilience, human well-being, and multi-actor governance. Based on these findings, this study constructs a knowledge ecosystem framework encompassing knowledge base, knowledge structure, research hotspots, frontier trends, and future pathways. It further identifies prospective research directions, including climate change adaptation, integrated planning of blue–green infrastructure, refined monitoring driven by remote sensing and spatial big data, and the embedding of urban green space ecosystem services into the Sustainable Development Goals and multi-level governance systems. These insights provide data support and decision-making references for deepening theoretical understanding of Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services (UGSES), improving urban green infrastructure planning, and enhancing urban resilience governance capacity. Full article

The healthy evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem relies on the symbiotic relationships among its diverse internal actors. This study addresses a gap in entrepreneurial ecosystem research, which has predominantly focused on two-agent models, by constructing a tripartite symbiotic evolution model that incorporates entrepreneurial ventures, incubation chains, and customers. Based on the Logistic and Lotka-Volterra models, the research identifies the system’s equilibrium points and their stability conditions. Simulations reveal evolutionary paths from parasitism and commensalism to mutualism. A comparative case study of SenseTime (Shanghai, China) and Lanma Technology (Shanghai, China) validates these findings. The comparison shows that an influx of multiple agents, coupled with the core venture’s ability to strengthen key symbiotic coefficients, drives the ecosystem towards a dynamic multi-agent symbiosis in the post-optimization phase. Conversely, the failure to establish these robust reciprocal value flows leads to ecosystem fragility. The results indicate that: (1) Multi-agent entrepreneurial ecosystems are complex systems where symbiotic units form adaptive relationships for value creation, adhering to market laws. (2) The system’s equilibrium depends on symbiotic coefficients, leading to four modes—independent coexistence, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism—with mutualism being the optimal state. (3) The contrasting cases further demonstrate that the evolution towards mutualism is not automatic but hinges on the core venture’s strategic agency in constructing and strengthening synergistic pathways with forward and backward linkages. This study provides a theoretical model for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers practical insights for optimizing ecosystem governance. Full article

As artificial intelligence systems proliferate across critical societal domains, understanding the nature, patterns, and evolution of AI-related harms has become essential for effective governance. Despite growing incident repositories, systematic computational analysis of AI incident discourse remains limited, with prior research constrained by small samples, single-method approaches, and absence of temporal analysis spanning major capability advances. This study addresses these gaps through a comprehensive multi-method text analysis of 3494 AI incident records from the OECD AI Policy Observatory, spanning January 2014 through October 2024. Six complementary analytical approaches were applied: Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) topic modeling to discover thematic structures; K-Means and BERTopic clustering for pattern identification; VADER sentiment analysis for emotional framing assessment; and LIWC psycholinguistic profiling for cognitive and communicative dimension analysis. Cross-method comparison quantified categorization robustness across all four clustering and topic modeling approaches. Key findings reveal dramatic temporal shifts and systematic risk patterns. Incident reporting increased 4.6-fold following ChatGPT’s (5.2) November 2022 release (from 12.0 to 95.9 monthly incidents), accompanied by vocabulary transformation from embodied AI terminology (facial recognition, autonomous vehicles) toward generative AI discourse (ChatGPT, hallucination, jailbreak). Six robust thematic categories emerged consistently across methods: autonomous vehicles (84–89% cross-method alignment), facial recognition (66–68%), deepfakes, ChatGPT/generative AI, social media platforms, and algorithmic bias. Risk concentration is pronounced: 49.7% of incidents fall within two harm categories (system safety 29.1%, physical harms 20.6%); private sector actors account for 70.3%; and 48% occur in the United States. Sentiment analysis reveals physical safety incidents receive notably negative framing (autonomous vehicles: −0.077; child safety: −0.326), while policy and generative AI coverage trend positive (+0.586 to +0.633). These findings have direct governance implications. The thematic concentration supports sector-specific regulatory frameworks—mandatory audit trails for hiring algorithms, simulation testing for autonomous vehicles, transparency requirements for recommender systems, accuracy standards for facial recognition, and output labeling for generative AI. Cross-method validation demonstrates which incident categories are robust enough for standardized regulatory classification versus those requiring context-dependent treatment. The rapid emergence of generative AI incidents underscores the need for governance mechanisms responsive to capability advances within months rather than years. Full article

The rapid growth of China’s prepared food industry has created new opportunities for industrial upgrading, but it has also intensified concerns regarding product quality, supervision gaps, and the long-term sustainability of governance structures. In response to these challenges, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving local governments, enterprises, and consumers, and further integrates a Markov chain framework to capture stochastic disturbances and long-run state transitions. This dynamic–stochastic modeling approach enables an examination of how collaborative supervision evolves under varying regulatory intensities, compliance costs, and consumer reporting costs. The results show that (1) multi-actor collaborative supervision substantially increases firms’ incentives to operate honestly and reinforces positive feedback loops between regulators and consumers; (2) excessive regulatory, compliance, or reporting costs weaken system stability and reduce policy effectiveness; (3) aligning regulatory intensity with penalty mechanisms accelerates the system’s convergence toward a stable equilibrium, balancing industrial development with food safety objectives; and (4) Markov chain simulations confirm the robustness and long-term stationarity of the governance system. Overall, this study provides a dynamic and evidence-based framework for designing sustainable and resilient regulatory mechanisms in the prepared food industry. The findings offer practical guidance for advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 12, and 16 through improved food safety, responsible production, and stronger institutional governance. Full article

This paper is dedicated to analysing sustainability and digitalisation in the transport systems of the European Union (EU) and Ukraine, with a particular focus on three representative subsectors: freight rail, urban public transport and last-mile postal logistics. It explores how technological innovation, operational efficiency and environmental responsibility interact within these sectors under distinct institutional and economic conditions: mature, market-based systems in the EU and resilience-driven systems in wartime Ukraine. This study applies a comparative, descriptive–analytical methodology using secondary data drawn from corporate sustainability reports, official statistics and sectoral databases for 2022. Quantitative KPls were complemented with a qualitative assessment of digitalisation maturity to ensure cross-country comparability. Through a comparative analysis of KPIs, such as freight volumes, emissions intensity, revenue efficiency and digital maturity, this study identifies structural and policy gaps that hinder progress toward sustainable mobility. This study develops a multi-dimensional framework combining operational, financial, environmental and digital indicators. In this paper, digital integration refers to the degree to which transport operators embed digital tools such as tracking, data management and automation into their core processes, while environmental efficiency denotes the ability to deliver transport services with minimal resource consumption and carbon emissions per operational unit. Institutional resilience is understood here as the capacity of transport organisations and governing institutions to maintain functionality, adapt and recover under crisis or systemic stress, which is particularly relevant for Ukraine’s wartime context. The findings demonstrate that while EU operators lead in transparency, digital integration and environmental performance, Ukrainian actors exhibit rapid adaptive innovation and significant potential for technological leapfrogging during reconstruction. This paper concludes that the EU must overcome regulatory inertia and infrastructure fatigue, while Ukraine should institutionalise resilience and transparency. Full article

Food systems operate as socio-ecological systems (SES) in which governance, markets, and biophysical constraints interact through feedback. However, how resilience capacities accumulate across sequential shocks, particularly in hyper-arid, import-dependent rentier states, remains under-traced. We analyze Qatar’s food-system SES across three distinct stress tests: the 2017–2021 blockade, the COVID-19 pandemic (multi-node logistics and labor shock), and the post-2022 Russia–Ukraine war (global price and agricultural input-cost shock). Using a qualitative longitudinal case-study design, we combine documentary review with process tracing and a two-layer coding scheme that maps interventions to SES components (actors, governance system, resource systems/units, interactions, outcomes/feedback) and to predominant resilience capacities (absorptive, adaptive, transformative). The results indicate path-dependent capability building: the blockade activated rapid buffering and rerouting alongside early adaptive investments; COVID-19 accelerated adaptive reconfiguration via digitized logistics, e-commerce scaling, and targeted controlled-environment agriculture; and the Russia–Ukraine shock validated an institutionalized portfolio (fiscal buffering, reserves, procurement diversification, and upstream linkages). Across episodes, supply continuity was maintained, but resilience gains also generated water–energy–food tradeoffs, shifting pressures toward energy-intensive cooling/desalination and upstream water demands linked to domestic buffers. We conclude that durable resilience in eco-constrained, import-dependent systems requires explicit governance of these tradeoffs through measurable performance criteria, rather than crisis-driven expansion alone. Full article

This paper examines how county-level government in China formulates and implements solar photovoltaic (PV) policies through an adaptive-governance lens, using Lin’an District (Hangzhou) as a case study. Drawing on multi-level policy document analysis and 30 semi-structured interviews with government officials, developers, grid actors and experts, we identify three stages of local PV development (rooftop diffusion; rapid utility-scale expansion; and market-oriented regulatory adjustment). Key governance innovations include a district PV task force, an industry alliance, and a dual acceptance safety mechanism that together accelerated deployment while managing technical and political risks. We show how adaptive governance operates within an authoritarian, hierarchical system by combining top-down targets with bottom-up development and stakeholder coordination. The findings illuminate practical trade-offs between market liberalization and regulatory control, and provide transferable lessons for other developing countries pursuing decentralized renewable energy transitions. Full article

This article addresses the need to rethink models for managing religious diversity in Europe, which, among other causes, has transformed into a multi-religious society, breaking with Christian hegemony as a result of the migration processes of the last century. The author proposes governance as an essential tool for managing religious diversity, understood as a style of government that promotes interaction and cooperation between the State and non-state actors, including religious denominations, in decision-making processes to regulate this phenomenon and enable individuals and the groups they belong to, to exercise their fundamental right to religious freedom. This approach seeks the social inclusion and effective participation of religious minorities to combat their marginalization and radicalization. To this end, we propose moving away from laicism positions that seek to exclude religion from the public sphere or from those that defend the political use of religion as an element of national identity, proposing instead a model of positive secularism like the Spanish one. Analysing the Spanish model, the article argues how the political participation of religious minorities through a model of religious governance in the management of religious diversity is crucial for building inclusive and safe societies where social cohesion and the full observance of religious freedom and other fundamental rights are achieved. Full article

This paper examines the tensions between existing infrastructure and the need for transitional change in Dutch municipal wastewater collection and treatment. In the Netherlands, sanitation is primarily managed by public actors, with local government playing a major role. The paper demonstrates how local governments navigate these tensions and are both restricted and enabled by the current infrastructure and governance arrangements. Based on interviews, literature reviews, and analyses of statistical trends, it describes five attempts at reform in Dutch sanitation from 1980 to 2020: phosphorus removal; separating stormwater from combined sewers; water cycle companies; energy factories; and decentralized sanitation. The multi-level governance system, with decentralized infrastructure and financing, allows local governments to experiment with alternative practices, develop knowledge, and employ various interactions to mainstream innovations. However, the division of tasks in Dutch sanitation governance tends to optimize sub-systems rather than the entire system. For nationwide implementation, legislation and strong central coordination are essential. Additionally, New Public Management reinforces existing infrastructure lock-in. The paper enhances our understanding of the local government’s role in transitional change and offers insights into how the challenges of existing infrastructure can be mitigated in pursuit of sustainable wastewater solutions. Full article

Urban mobility in Lisbon faces persistent constraints driven not only by congestion, parking scarcity, and emissions but also by deeper structural issues such as fragmented governance and limited cross-peripheral public transport connectivity. These shortcomings hinder integrated mobility planning and motivate the exploration of Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) as a complementary urban transport solution. Existing SAV frameworks rarely integrate governance coordination, data interoperability, and contextual adaptation for medium-sized European cities. This study addresses this gap by designing and validating a reference model for the deployment of SAVs in Lisbon using a design–science approach combining a literature review, enterprise architecture modelling, and stakeholder validation. The proposed model contributes the following: (i) a governance coordination framework for multi-actor urban mobility ecosystems; (ii) an integrated digital and application architecture supporting multimodal services and user trust mechanisms; and (iii) a technology layer enabling V2X communication and interoperable mobility data flows. The model is demonstrated through Lisbon-specific scenarios aligned with local sustainable mobility strategies. Scenario interpretation is informed by literature-based performance benchmarks—including travel-time reductions of 13–42%, energy-use reductions of 12%, and GHG reductions of 5.6%—which are used as reference indicators rather than simulation outputs. The resulting framework bridges strategic policy and implementable system architecture, supporting the transition towards integrated, sustainable, and autonomous mobility in medium-sized European cities. Full article

This study investigates the factors influencing stakeholders’ willingness to contribute to the Bucak Model Forest (BMF) in Türkiye, a participatory governance initiative aimed at promoting sustainable forest management. Based on a survey of 1134 local residents and stakeholders, the research employs both descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses, including stepwise multiple linear regression and Chi-square tests. The regression analysis revealed that variables such as awareness of the BMF, positive attitudes toward ecotourism, trust in forestry institutions, and willingness to engage in forest-related activities without financial gain positively affect the intention to contribute, while gender showed a weak negative relationship. The overall explanatory power of the regression model was 23%, indicating the need to consider additional variables for a deeper understanding. Chi-square analyses demonstrated weak but significant associations between demographic characteristics and perceptions of forest use, conservation, and organizational trust. The findings underscore the necessity of refining participatory strategies in Model Forests by enhancing outreach, adjusting strategic planning based on local dynamics, and strengthening institutional capacities. The study contributes to the literature on collaborative forest governance and provides practical insights for improving stakeholder engagement in similar landscape-scale sustainability initiatives. Full article

Deposit Refund Systems (DRS) are widely adopted in many European countries as effective mechanisms for increasing recycling rates and promoting circular-economy practices. Greece is currently preparing for the introduction of a national DRS for beverage containers, a transition expected to reshape existing waste-management structures. This study investigates the systemic challenges that may hinder the successful implementation of the upcoming Greek DRS. Focusing exclusively on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), aluminum, and glass beverage containers, this study adopts a multi-stakeholder qualitative approach involving 28 semi-structured interviews with beverage producers, retailers, recyclers, logistics actors, consumer representatives, and regulatory authorities. Thematic analysis reveals four interdependent barriers: restricted consumer accessibility due to uneven distribution of return infrastructure; fragmented governance and unclear institutional responsibilities; weak coordination and operational misalignment among supply-chain actors; and low consumer participation shaped by behavioral and cultural factors. These findings underscore that Greece’s DRS readiness is constrained not by technological limitations but by systemic gaps in governance, infrastructure planning, and stakeholder collaboration. This study contributes to the DRS literature by providing one of the first pre-implementation, multi-actor assessments in a Southern European context and offers policy-relevant insights to support an effective, equitable, and transparent rollout of the national DRS. Full article

Farmers’ low-carbon transition has become a critical issue for achieving sustainable agricultural development. Fundamentally, this transition is driven by multi-actor collaboration and is subject to stochastic disturbances. However, the collaborative governance mechanisms that facilitate farmers’ low-carbon transformation remain insufficiently understood, particularly under the influence of random factors. To address this gap, we construct a four-party game model involving farmers, government, enterprises, and financial institutions by employing a stochastic evolutionary game approach that incorporates random disturbance factors to capture real-world uncertainty. Numerical simulations are conducted to examine how different policy tools and external environments shape the system’s evolutionary path. The results show the following: (1) In the early transition stage, external uncertainties cause notable fluctuations in strategy evolution, during which the government, farmers, and enterprises gradually form a collaborative mechanism, while financial institutions remain reluctant to participate due to risk and policy uncertainty. (2) Government subsidies, profit returns, and risk-sharing mechanisms exhibit a substitutive relationship, and an appropriate mix of these tools can effectively enhance the willingness of farmers and enterprises to adopt low-carbon practices. (3) Excessive government incentives may crowd out the role of green credit from financial institutions. (4) The profit-sharing ratio among farmers exerts the strongest motivational effect in the early stage, while higher levels of risk-sharing and reputation benefits are more effective in stabilizing the system structure and enhancing transition resilience. This study reveals the dynamic mechanisms of multi-actor interaction in agricultural low-carbon transition and provides theoretical and policy insights for differentiated government strategies and collaborative emission reduction. Full article