Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), by and large, have increasingly committed to integrate sustainable development (SD) into their policies, practices, and programs. Recently, there have been several sustainability assessment tools specifically developed for HEIs. Many HEIs, especially small-to-middle sized HEIs in Thailand, are planning to enhance SD but are reluctant due to resource requirements. This study was conducted to investigate important sustainability implementation issues, including the effect of HEI sizes and UI GreenMetric participation. A weighting approach on sustainability dimensions and issues was utilized, and HEI’s sustainability reports and official websites were reviewed to evaluate their sustainability performance of large-, middle-, and small-sized HEIs as well as UI GreenMetric participants and non-participants in Thailand. The findings reveal that the issues of the sustainability-integrated vision and strategy, safety and well-being, waste, and the SD-enhancing educational system were fundamentally critical for HEI sustainability. Moreover, most of the large-sized HEIs in Thailand that participated in UI GreenMetric were evaluated to have higher sustainability performance than others, apparently in administration, environment, and education/research dimensions. This study supports the necessity for a sustainability assessment tool for HEIs.
A “Smart City” framework was used to investigate and develop visions of alternative futures for a peri-urban superblock north of Bangkok, Thailand. The Smart City framework considers seven smart pillars: environment, economy, energy, mobility, people, living, and governance, with a focus on community wellbeing that is supported by information and communication technology (ICT). A mixed-method approach that included: community and industry surveys, both online and face-to-face (total n = 770); in depth, semi-structured, stakeholder interviews; passive participant observation; and photo-documentation was used to inform and organize the project visions and designs. Several themes emerged from the community surveys and key stakeholder interviews: (i) connected green space is highly valued and effectively links multiple smart pillars, enhancing community wellbeing and resiliency to flooding; (ii) superblock mobility, connectivity, and sustainable development could be achieved through a seamless, integrated public-transit system following the principles of transit-oriented development (TOD); (iii) the superblock should prepare for the implementation of Thailand 4.0 through the improved programmatic and physical integration of local industry, community, and universities, including plans for a Digital Village and co-work space. Example designs that address these considerations and vision alternative futures for the superblock are presented in this Smart City case study.
A
Research through Designing
approach was used to explore nature-based solutions (NbS) for flood management at the fluvial (regional) and pluvial (local) scales as part of a Smart District visioning study in a peri-urban area north of Bangkok, Thailand. The NbS visions were informed by community surveys (total
n
= 770) as well as in-depth, semi-structured interviews with community leaders and key stakeholders representing private sector business. Both fluvial and pluvial flooding commonly occur in the study area and the cost of damage incurred by individuals generally exceeds aid remuneration. The surveys revealed that flood insurance was not widely used as a form of resiliency to flood conditions. Furthermore, survey participants generally considered common space and green space unsatisfactory and inadequate to meet community needs. In light of these survey responses, example NbS visions were developed to address community concerns and promote well-being, while concurrently providing resiliency and improved ecosystem services through connectivity of blue and greenscapes. This case study provides a novel linkage between the concepts of NbS, Research through Designing, and Smart City/District, in exploring sustainable and resilient approaches to flood management in the context of tropical, Global South development and also provides a first step towards developing an NbS typology.
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