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Current Topics in Urban Affairs: Current Topics is a listing of various themes relevant to the study and practice of public administration. These topic specific bibliographies have been created to facilitate the research needs of our patrons. Benchmarking Benchmarking is an approach used in organizations to set standards and to motivate everyone in that organization to meet those standards. Benchmarking can help improve service and efficiency. This bibliography offers various books, articles, and other resources that anyone can use to learn how people in the public sector can be motivated to reach benchmarks. The resources available in our bibliography cover a wide range of issues including the best practices in benchmarking, using reward and recognition to incentivize employees, benchmarking in local governments, and benchmarking in certain public sector departments. Building Green Building Green involves both increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources, such as energy and water, and using building materials that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and recyclable. The philosophy behind green building design is that a building should be in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding it. The designers and builders of green buildings bring together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. Core competencies are those skills that are most essential to an organization’s operation and are therefore the most valuable skills for an organization’s employees to have. Each organization has specific set of core competencies which are crucial to the organization’s growth. A particular organization’s core competencies embody what an organization does better than its competitors and add the most value to its products or services. Adaptability Livable Communities A livable community is one in which the housing is affordable and appropriate for the intended residents. It will also have supportive community features and services and provide adequate mobility options. All of these features foster personal independence and the engagement of the residents in the civil and social life of the community. Mentoring Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information, and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. Mentors take an interest in seeing that a mentee develops the talent and knowledge needed to succeed to have a successful career and contribute as much as possible to the company and society. Mentoring differs from coaching and advising in its emphasis on developing a personal relationship and advancing the career of the mentee. It's not just giving advice on how to work more effectively or handle a specific problem. Mentoring Sustainability or sustainable development is defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as "forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." In moving towards sustainability, we are attempting to reduce our ecological footprint and tread more lightly on the Earth. Some of the major areas that are ed by sustainability are waste and recycling, energy, water, building design, alternative transport, landscaping, paper, and purchasing. Developing sustainable communities requires a coordinated approach to planning and policy making that involves all of the key sectors of society, including private citizens, businesses, disadvantaged groups, environmentalists, civic associations, government agencies, and religious organizations. Careful planning and daring innovation and will allow cities to build on their assets and create unique communities with a strong sense of place. Sustainability Sustainable living branches from the concepts of sustainability and self-sufficiency. Sustainable living is the approach to leading fulfilling, productive and environmentally responsible lives, by balancing our economic, cultural and environmental needs to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. It is about taking more responsibility about the basic physical facts of how we live: what we eat, the buildings we live in, our relationship with nature, the health of our bodies, the human cost of the economic system we live in, and so forth. The idea is to reduce environmental degradation and improve quality of life by fostering new consumption patterns and promoting healthier lifestyles. Urban Landscaping The principle objective of urban landscaping is to achieve a harmonious blend of human technology (house or building) with natural surroundings. This perfect balance is accomplished by carefully considering where plants, trees and shrubs are placed, and how the plantings will relate to the climate, sun exposure, existing trees and current structures. It combines elements of art and science to create a practical, aesthetically pleasing transition from indoor living to the outdoors. Urban Landscaping Urban land use and development es issues such as control of the way land is utilized, design of transportation and communication networks, technical and political processes concerned with the welfare of people, and protection and enhancement of the natural environment. With the recent focus on sustainable living, the design of public spaces has become increasingly important to the long-term development and well-being of communities. Urban developers are concerned with the way public spaces are perceived and explored; their designs can provide towns and cities with a unique identity. Another key role of urban land use and development are renewal and re-generation of inner cities by adapting urban planning methods to existing cities suffering from long-term infrastructural decay. |
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