Urban Planning and European Innovation Policy: Achieving Sustainability, Social Inclusion, and Economic Growth?

Innovation Trajectories for a Society 5.0

Big Data, the Internet of Things, and robotic and augmented realities are just some of the technologies that belong to Industry 4.0. These technologies improve working conditions and increase productivity and the quality of industry production. However, they can also improve life and society as a whole. A new perspective is oriented towards social well-being and it is called Society 5.0. Industry 4.0 supports the transition to the new society, but other drivers are also needed. To guide the transition, it is necessary to identify the enabling factors that integrate Industry 4.0. A conceptual framework was developed in which these factors were identified through a literature review and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology. Furthermore, the way in which they relate was evaluated with the help of the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology. The proposed framework fills a research gap, which has not yet consolidated a strategy that includes all aspects of Society 5.0. As a result, the main driver, in addition to technology, is international politics.

An Officious Impact of Financial Innovations and ICT on Economic Evolution in China: Revealing the Substantial Role of BRI

The Belt and Road Initiative removes regional barriers and brings communities closer together. In addition, ICT and financial innovation have helped transform the world into a big village and promoted economic growth. The study assessed the dynamic impact of ICT, economic globalization, and financial innovation on China’s economic growth. The study used quarterly data from 2000 to 2019 and used the ARDL model to determine long-term and short-term consequences. The results of the study show that ICT has a positive affiliation with economic growth in China. In addition, financial innovation has also shown a direct impact on economic growth. The study shows that China’s One Belt One Road project (economic globalization) has a great positive impact on its GDP. The consequences of the causality test discovered the significant unidirectional causality running from ICT and economic globalization (ECGI) to GDP. The study recommends mandatory policies related to ICT, financial innovation, and economic globalization to achieve long-term and sustainable development in China.

Digital Technologies for Urban Metabolism Efficiency: Lessons from Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy

Digital technologies engaged in urban metabolism for efficiency provide policymakers, urban managers, and planners with useful instruments to collect, monitor, analyze, and evaluate the circularity of environmental, social, and economic resources to improve their effectiveness and quality. At present, the digital technology-based approach is strategic for circular cities engaged in the development of smart and sustainable actions in the fields of mobility, energy, environment, waste, telecommunications, and security. Through the ‘Circular Resource Efficiency Management Framework’ developed by the European Commission, this paper generates insights into the digitalization practices of the circularity of urban metabolism by analyzing the initiatives implemented by the municipalities of Kaunas, Flanders region, Porto, Prato, The Hague, and Oslo, which constitute the Partnership on Circular Economy (PCE) of the Urban Agenda of the European Union. The results of the analysis provide a wide range of practices such as real-time monitoring stations for water and energy consumption, digital cameras for controlling vehicle flows, web platforms for sharing goods and services, and tracking sensors for public transport, which aim to optimize the efficiency of the circularity of urban metabolic flows. This study increases the understanding and awareness of digital technologies in this paradigm shift.