Preface

The impact of the technological, social, and cultural transformations in the fields of urban planning, architecture, design, and engineering occurred in the last decades have radically changed the contemporary interpretations of sustainability and innovation, as well as the con- cept of development itself has become fluid, hybrid and sometimes ephemeral: the role of digital technologies, human interaction and environmental protection are now interested by new sensibilities and approaches within a framework of a common system of ethical values which draw a new cultural paradigm and, on the other hand, renovate relationships between local and global dimension of things. The book presents these approaches offering tools, critical argumentations, and concrete examples to understand these phenomena in different specific ambits better: from architec- tural design, urban planning, and infrastructure to electrical, mechanical engineering and fabrication, from computation and telecommunication engineering to aviation and aerospace engineering, from design, art and media production to manufacturing engineering, the differ- ent contributions redefine with new senses interesting interpretative perspectives the contem- porary sustainable development goals and practices, as well as the visions on the smart cities and landscapes, the methodological aspects of using innovative materials and techniques, the impacts of renewable energy, re-use of waste and recycling approaches, always including a deep analysis on the human factor in the construction of new contexts for livable commu- nities. Furthermore, in their different approaches, the contributions constitute fundamental parts of an interdisciplinary unity linked together by a fil rouge of necessity in relationship with the issues of sustainability, innovation, and cultural heritage, at different scales.