SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

This book describes the impact on the agricultural sector worldwide of Era 4.0, highlighting the relationships between agriculture, food and industry (4.0). The main topics discussed are those associated with IoT in various sectors of the economy and its impacts on farming sustainability. It provides insights for policy makers, students, researchers and economic stakeholders.

This book explores the topic of proximity and its relations in the design of contemporary urban fabrics and public spaces. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and reflections on the future of cities have lately shed light on the concept of proximity, which is intended as the relationship between communities and urban functions and as relations among people, built spaces, and open spaces. The proximity is a historic and fertile field of interest for American and Northern European urban studies; it is a spatial and social program seemingly surpassed by the styles and rhythms of contemporary city life, but today it is back in vogue with different purposes. Meanwhile, the action research developed by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at the Politecnico di Milano for the Municipality of Milan reached its conclusion (2018–2020). The research work focused on contextualizing the new M4 Metro line stations under construction, and jointed mobility flows and places, long-range networks and local ones, boosting the idea of metro stations as regenerative urban thresholds and urban platforms for enabling environmental, sustainable settlement, and active mobility systems. In other words, the action research for Milan shows how to achieve the concept of proximity in the urban design practice in a dense, stratified, and complex urban context.

This book presents a design research on the basalt fiber, a natural mineral material with important characteristics, and investigates the material's properties, production techniques, and most common uses, while also delving into aspects yet to be improved. The work presents a part of original research in between art and design, in which concepts, prototypes, and ideas are proposed, aimed at the enhancement of basalt fiber also from an esthetic point of view and not only from a performance one. By working on its perceived qualities and creative and formal potential, it is possible to support and extend the use of this material in many areas of design, including product, exhibit, cultural industries, and fashion. Considering that environmental regulations are increasingly stringent, the use of basalt fiber may in some cases be more advantageous than other popular technical fibers, both because of its own performance characteristics and specifically because of its inherent sustainability.