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Surveying the Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Implications: Urban Health, Data Technology and Political Economy explores social, economic, and policy impacts of COVID-19 that will persist for some time. This timely book surveys the COVID-19 from a holistic, high level perspective, examining such topics as Urban health policy responses impact on cities economies, Urban economic impacts of supply chain disruption, The need for coherent short term urban policies that aligns with long term goals, The rise to citizen science initiatives, The role of open data, The need for protocols to support research collaborations, Building larger infectious disease modelling datasets, NS Advanced computing tools for health policy.

Chapter 1 - Biotechnology to render future cities as living and intelligent organisms -- Chapter 2 - The Triple B: Big data, biotechnology and biomimicry -- Chapter 3 - Revisiting energy policy and planning in future living cities -- Chapter 4 - On gene editing and the conflicts between biodiversity and urban liveability -- Chapter 5 - Biometrics, privacy, safety and resilience in future cities.

Foreword – By Robert J. Marks II -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Data as the New Driving Gears of Urbanisation -- Chapter 2: Urban Chaos and the AI Messiah -- Chapter 3: Digital Urban Networks and Social Media -- Chapter 4: Privatisation and Privacy in the Digital City -- Chapter 5: On Culture, Global Cities and Technology -- Conclusion

This paper contrasts urban sustainability policies in France and the UK, revealing significant differences in their approaches to climate action and urban mobility. France's policies, such as tripling SUV parking fees and promoting the 15-min city concept, aim to reduce carbon emissions and improve livability by encouraging walking and cycling, reflecting a commitment to sustainable mobility and environmental equity. In contrast, the UK's extension of a 5p fuel duty cut benefits wealthier, multiple-vehicle owners, showing a different prioritization. With urban populations rising globally, the necessity for sustainable urban planning becomes increasingly critical. This analysis demonstrates how France and the UK's divergent strategies underscore the importance of integrating sustainability and equity into urban policy to mitigate environmental impact and enhance urban livability, advocating for a reevaluation of long-term urban development and sustainability impacts.

Intro -- The Metaverse and Smart Cities: Urban Environments in the Age of Digital Connectivity -- Copyright -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction to the metaverse -- Introduction -- History of the metaverse -- On the perceived importance of the metaverse -- From the internet to the metaverse -- The metaverse and its foundational elements -- Use cases of the metaverse -- The metaverse economy -- Fears and critisms of the metaverse -- Challenges and imperatives -- How does the metaverse link to smart cities? -- References -- Chapter 2: The history and evolution of the metaverse -- Introduction -- The origins of the metaverse concept -- The first steps: Early virtual worlds and gaming environments -- The rise of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGS) -- The metaverse in science fiction and pop culture -- The emergence of virtual reality and augmented reality -- The metaverse in the 21st century -- References -- Chapter 3: The metaverse and smart cities -- Introduction -- Overview of smart cities -- Understanding the metaverse -- Intersecting the metaverse and smart cities -- Case studies and examples -- Ethical, legal, and social implications -- Future directions -- References -- Chapter 4: The metaverse and sustainable cities -- Introduction -- Sustainable cities: Challenges and opportunities -- Case studies of the metaverse in sustainable cities -- Copenhagen: Virtual collaboration for climate adaptation -- Singapore: Smart nation initiative and virtual Singapore -- Barcelona: Superblocks and the metaverse -- Amsterdam: Circular economy and the metaverse -- Lessons learned and implications for future applications -- Benefits and challenges of using the metaverse in sustainable cities -- As a tool for promoting sustainability -- Challenges and limitations of using the metaverse -- Potential risks and unintended consequences.

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) expands its impact from China, expanding its catchment into surrounding regions and other countries, increased national and international measures are being taken to contain the outbreak. The placing of entire cities in 'lockdown' directly affects urban economies on a multi-lateral level, including from social and economic standpoints. This is being emphasised as the outbreak gains ground in other countries, leading towards a global health emergency, and as global collaboration is sought in numerous quarters. However, while effective protocols in regard to the sharing of health data is emphasised, urban data, on the other hand, specifically relating to urban health and safe city concepts, is still viewed from a nationalist perspective as solely benefiting a nation's economy and its economic and political influence. This perspective paper, written one month after detection and during the outbreak, surveys the virus outbreak from an urban standpoint and advances how smart city networks should work towards enhancing standardization protocols for increased data sharing in the event of outbreaks or disasters, leading to better global understanding and management of the same.

AbstractTradable permit schemes (TPS) are market‐based policy instruments, which are claimed to be more statically and dynamically efficient in achieving their policy objectives compared to the traditional regulatory instruments. However, some researchers argue that the high level of transaction costs associated with these policy instruments might undermine their efficiency. This paper addresses this issue through exploring the use of Blockchain technology in order to lower transaction costs that arise from TPS transactions. More specifically, it identifies the benefits of using Blockchain smart contracts in implementing TPS that include: increasing the amount of relevant information available to interested actors thus reducing uncertainties; reducing the amount of irrelevant information available to interested actors thus decreasing complexities; correcting information asymmetries among the actors involved thus limiting opportunistic behaviours; lowering the need for the involvement of intermediaries thus decreasing direct monetary costs; and facilitating the linkage between buyers and sellers thus improving trading quality. These potential benefits can increase the efficiency of TPS by decreasing policy‐related transaction costs.