https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1065 2026-05-13T17:36:43Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1099 Compound urban crises Gupta, Mukesh Kumar The crises that cities face—such as climate change, pandemics, economic downturn, and racism—are tightly interlinked and cannot be addressed in isolation. This paper addresses compound urban crises as a unique type of problem, in which discrete solutions that tackle each crisis independently are insufficient. Few scholarly debates address compound urban crises and there is, to date, a lack of interdisciplinary insights to inform urban governance responses. Combining ideas from complex adaptive systems and critical urban studies, we develop a set of boundary concepts (unsettlement, unevenness, and unbounding) to understand the complexities of compound urban crises from an interdisciplinary perspective. We employ these concepts to set a research agenda on compound urban crises, highlighting multiple interconnections between urban politics and global dynamics. We conclude by suggesting how these entry points provide a theoretical anchor to develop practical insights to inform and reform urban governance. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1094 The residential energy futures of Bhutan Gupta, Mukesh Kumar It is expected that with the increase in population and modernization of any country, ener- gy consumption would increase. Bhutan is a carbon- negative country and committed to remaining car- bon-neutral. Thus, identifying energy-saving poten- tial will increase energy efficiency and contribute to continue fulfilling this pledge for years to come. This study aims to find the energy-saving potential of Bhutan by analyzing future energy demand from the residential building sector using a scenario-based modeling tool called Long-range Energy Alterna- tives Planning (LEAP). The research was an integra- tion of primary and secondary data calculations. Final energy-savings from Bhutan in 2040 by attaining the efficient scenario is estimated at 830 GWh. Overall, the result suggests that 53% final energy-savings can be achieved in 2040 from all end-uses and energy sources compared to the refer- ence scenario. Cumulatively, 19 TWh final energy- savings can be achieved in the study period (2018– 2040) from the efficient scenario while all basic energy needs are fully met in 2040. This result obtained would provide a reference for Bhutan’s future energy planning and guidelines for policy- making. It would also provide policy recommenda- tions about the scope of shifting to energy-efficient end-uses. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1088 Ecotourism as a Forest Conservation Tool: An NDVI Analysis of the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Ecopark in Chattogram, Bangladesh Gupta, Mukesh Kumar Ecotourism, a sustainable form of tourism, is increasingly being viewed as a tool that can promote global biodiversity and forest conservation. This study explored the scope of ecotourism in forest conservation practices in the developing context by taking the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Ecopark (SBGE), Bangladesh’s first ecopark established in 2000, as a case study. Using GIS and remote sensing technology, NDVI analysis revealed that, unlike the anticipated outcomes of the SBGE project, after a brief increase in vegetation coverage of 84.6% from 1995 to 2000, the vegetation coverage fell drastically from 2000 to 2015, wherein 33.4% of vegetation had been completely removed, and much of the dense and medium vegetation had been converted to sparse vegetation or other land uses. Anthropogenic activities, namely, unplanned urbanization, are suggested as the major contributors to this decline. From the period of 2015 to 2020, however, vegetation was seen to regenerate, potentially due to the decelerating urbanization or the possible manifestation of the ‘U’ shape relationship between the changes in vegetation and rates of urbanization. Sustainable land-use policies may help attain the targets of the project and lead the SBGE to emerge as a success story of the Bangladeshi ecotourism industry. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1085 10 New Insights in Climate Science 2020 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z