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Books in Social sciences

The Social Sciences collection forms a definitive resource for those entering, researching, or teaching in any of the many disciplines making up this interdisciplinary area of study. Written by experts and researchers from both Academic and Commercial domains, titles offer global scope and perspectives.

Key subject areas include: Library and Information Science; Transportation; Urban Studies; Geography, Planning, and Development; Security; Emergency Management.

    • Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 2
      • April 1, 2026
      • English
      Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change, Volume Two provides readers from a broad range of backgrounds – including students, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners – with a central reference for core elements the economics of climate change. Topics in this new release include Mitigation Costs, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Development, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Trade, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Financial Markets, Industrial Climate Policy, Technology, and Innovation, Climate, Health, and Human Behavior, Critical Perspectives on Climate Economics, and Future Directions for Climate Economics.
    • Smart Cities of AI Robots and Autonomous Vehicles

      • 1st Edition
      • March 1, 2026
      • Paras Chawla + 2 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 8 3 5 9 5
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 8 3 6 0 1
      Smart Cities of AI Robots and Autonomous Vehicles: The Vision for 2030 explores the transformative potential and challenges of integrating AI-powered robots and autonomous vehicles in urban landscapes, envisioning a futuristic smart city landscape by 2030. It examines how artificial intelligence (AI) robots and self-driving cars will transform daily life, healthcare, education, industry, agriculture, and transportation.
    • Improving Environmental and Human Health with Community Trees and Forests

      • 1st Edition
      • January 1, 2026
      • David Nowak
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 2 9 1 2 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 2 9 1 3 5
      Improving Environmental and Human Health with Community Trees and Forests provides the latest and most comprehensive information on community forests globally, how these trees improve human health and well-being, the value of community trees, and what local land managers, from the lot to regional scale, could do to improve the benefits provided by community trees. It offers a complete understanding of the benefits and costs associated with trees in cities and how these benefits occur. This book facilitates the creation of sustainable community forests that provide optimal benefits to individuals and society.It takes a systems approach, focusing on the forest population rather than the individual tree, and providing information on the best tree species and designs to produce optimal effects. The book is divided into three major sections: The Basics, Urban Forest Benefits, and Improving the Urban Environment with Trees. It covers how cities affect our local environment, the monetary value of trees, and specific steps that land managers should follow to manage and improve their local tree and forest population. This comprehensive resource is valuable for city forest and park managers, policy makers, regional managers, and non-profit groups.
    • Reinventing Transit for the 21st Century

      • 1st Edition
      • March 1, 2026
      • Baruch Feigenbaum
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 2 7 6 9 0 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 2 7 6 9 1 0
      Reinventing Transit for the 21st Century addresses the critical state of urban transit systems in the U.S., exacerbated by declining ridership and looming fiscal challenges post-COVID. The book advocates for substantial reforms, including transitioning to contracted services, fostering competition, and redesigning transit boards to emphasize expertise over politics. It also calls for integrating various service modes and adopting new technologies to reduce costs and enhance the rider experience.Spanning 10 chapters, the book begins with an overview of current transit systems and the factors behind their decline. It outlines a vision for modern transit, focusing on customer needs, service redesign, complementary services like bike-sharing, funding mechanisms, and international lessons on contracting. Governance improvements and the role of technology are also discussed, with a concluding chapter presenting a model 21st-century transit system.Accessible to political leaders, transit executives, researchers, planners, and riders, the book includes a glossary for clarity. It emphasizes the importance of serving transit-dependent riders, often from lower-income Communities of Color, to boost ridership and provide essential services. This book is essential for anyone invested in the future of urban transit.
    • Managing Disaster Induced Displacement in the Global South

      • 1st Edition
      • January 1, 2026
      • Shray Pathak + 2 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 6 4 8 0 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 6 4 8 1 5
      Managing Disaster Induced Displacement in the Global South provides a crucial examination of the rising challenge of displacement caused by natural disasters—a consequence increasingly felt in the world's most vulnerable regions. This timely volume delves into the complex interplay of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-economic factors that drive displacement, offering a comprehensive look at how communities, governments, and international organizations can respond effectively. Drawing on an array of case studies from across the Global South, the book presents innovative strategies and policies that have been employed to manage the risks and realities of displacement.The book explores themes of resilience, adaptation, and the often-overlooked human rights issues that arise during such crises. It highlights the complexity of the issue by examining the multifaceted causes and consequences of disaster-induced displacement, shedding light on the interconnected roles of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio-economic vulnerabilities. It brings knowledge together in a single resource, compiling recent research, case studies, and best practices from various contexts within the Global South to provide a comprehensive guide that can inform policy, practice, and research. Through detailed analysis and presentation of innovative solutions and policy frameworks that have shown promise, the book guides policymakers, community leaders, and international organizations toward adopting more holistic and proactive approaches to managing displacement.Written by leading experts in disaster management, human rights, and environmental policy, this book is an indispensable resource for policymakers, scholars, and activists seeking informed and practical paths forward in the face of one of the most pressing global challenges of our time.
    • Future Smart Cities

      • 1st Edition
      • January 2, 2026
      • Uday Chatterjee + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 3 6 6 7 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 3 6 6 8 3
      Future Smart Cities: A Blueprint for Inclusive and Sustainable Living provides a guide to the intricate process of urban development in the 21st century. As an extensive manual for those involved in urban planning, policy-making, technology, and community leadership, it provides a clear blueprint for constructing cities that are intelligent and fair, ecologically conscious, and economically sustainable.Examinin... the convergence of technology, sustainability, and social fairness from an interdisciplinary perspective, it offers valuable insights into the transformative capabilities of smart city programs. The content explores fundamental concepts such as digital innovation, data-driven decision-making, inclusive governance, and sustainable design. These principles are shown through the analysis of real-world case studies and the presentation of best practices. The book aims to inspire practical approaches for urban development that prioritize the well-being of all people, minimize environmental impact, and promote resilience in the face of global crises by highlighting the significance of inclusion and sustainability.Futur... Smart Cities: A Blueprint for Inclusive and Sustainable Living provides readers with the necessary knowledge, resources, and motivation to contribute to a future in which cities flourish as dynamic, inclusive, and environmentally-frie... centers of innovation and potential.
    • Air Transport: A Computer Science Perspective

      • 1st Edition
      • February 1, 2026
      • Sebastian Wandelt + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 4 5 1 5 0 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 4 5 1 5 1 5
      Air Transport: A Computer Science Perspective thoroughly examines the integration of computer science principles in the field of air transportation. Bridging the gap between theory and real-world applications, it delves into automation, complex problem-solving, and cutting-edge technology in aviation. Authored by a seasoned team of a computer scientist and an airspace engineer, it offers a unique blend of expertise that highlights practical applications of algorithms, data structures, and optimization techniques essential for enhancing flight operations and enabling autonomous systems. Readers will gain insights into the latest regulatory frameworks, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the evolving air transport landscape.Structured in five parts, the book begins with foundational concepts such as computational complexity and intelligence. It then delves into critical aspects of airline operations, including network design, flight scheduling, fleet assignment, and aircraft routing. The exploration continues with airport operations, focusing on gate assignment, ground vehicle allocation, and delay prediction. In the realm of air traffic flow management, readers will discover trajectory optimization, airspace sectorization, and network resilience assessment. The concluding section summarizes key findings and provides an outlook on future advancements in the field.This book is an invaluable resource for a diverse audience, including transportation engineers, computer scientists eager to tackle real-world air transport challenges, and professionals in data science, software engineering, and aviation research. It is ideal for students in aerospace engineering, computer science, and data science programs, emphasizing practical applications that drive innovation and efficiency in the air transport sector.
    • Spatial Analysis for Complex Territorial Systems

      • 1st Edition
      • February 1, 2026
      • Luca Salvati
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 4 4 1 3 3 2
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 4 4 1 3 4 9
      Spatial Analysis for Complex Territorial Systems: Geo-information Technologies and European Official Statistics offers a multidisciplinary exploration of spatial analysis, geo-information technologies, and official statistics, focusing on their application to environmental, economic, and planning challenges in Europe and the Mediterranean. Comprising 16 insightful chapters authored by leading scholars from Southern and Eastern Europe, Ireland, and the United States, it delves into the complexities of socio-ecological monitoring through data integration and refined statistical indicators. Key topics include climate monitoring, land degradation, settlement patterns, and disaster resilience, providing a comprehensive understanding of local contexts and policy implications.The book begins with contributions from a traditional ecological/agronomic... vision, then continues with a set of studies having a more strict socio-demographic and economic focus. It then discusses how other quantitative approaches, e.g. based on big data and primary surveys, may clarify the role of policies and planning addressing sustainable development goals in the ‘kaleidoscopic’ European landscapes. The conclusions of this book confirm the urgent need of integrating the vast potential of geo-information techniques, together with spatial analysis and official statistics, into more flexible sustainable development strategies reflecting local conditions and spatially explicit background contexts, starting from the basic demands of local communities and topical environments.Spatial Analysis for Complex Territorial Systems: Geo-information Technologies and European Official Statistics serves as an essential resource for academics, students, spatial planners, policymakers, architects, engineers, sociologists, and environmental demographers. It equips readers with practical tools and theoretical insights to inform data-driven approaches to sustainable development and regional planning, making it a vital addition to any academic curriculum in geographic information systems, applied statistics, and environmental science.
    • Autonomous Driving and Traffic Dynamics in Road Transportation

      • 1st Edition
      • April 1, 2026
      • Michail Makridis + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 3 1 9 2 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 3 1 9 3 0
      Autonomous Driving and Traffic Dynamics in Road Transportation: Modeling, Simulation, and Control discusses the introduction of autonomous vehicles (AV) on road transport systems and the similarities and differences with human drivers, focusing on key concepts in traffic dynamics and AI-based modeling. Simply treating AVs as conventional vehicles with slightly altered characteristics can lead to inaccurate conclusions, posing risks for researchers, engineers, and policymakers alike. This book addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive discussion of the unique dynamics introduced by AVs and their impact on congestion, safety, energy, and their role in sustainable future intelligent transportation systems. Part I delves into traditional driving behaviors, examining the basics of car-following, driver characteristics, lateral movement, and how well AI models generalize these behaviors. Part II shifts to autonomous driving systems, analyzing their operational principles and providing comparative evidence with human drivers. Additionally, it assesses the performance of traditional car-following models against artificial intelligence developments highlighting strengths and weaknesses for each approach. Part III integrates human drivers and AVs into broader traffic flow theories, presenting findings on how autonomous driving impacts traffic patterns. It studies the impact from the perspective of traffic dynamics, energy efficiency and safety. Part IV looks at the role of AI and modeling, exploring the pros and cons of various methods and data sources. It emphasizes the need for physics-informed models to improve policy decisions and technical performance. Part V discusses real-world traffic management applications, combining AI and traditional models for traffic estimation, control, and ensuring fair, disruption-resilient outcomes. The book serves as a detailed guide for researchers, engineers, and policymakers who need to understand why there is a need to pay attention on the driving style of autonomous vehicles, where we should use analytical models and where data-driven approaches (or physics-informed ones), see the big picture, and learn about the state of the art in traffic state estimation and traffic management domains with the presence of autonomous vehicles.
    • Assembling Smart Cyber-Physical Systems

      • 1st Edition
      • January 1, 2026
      • Zakaria Benomar + 3 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 2 9 8 3 7 0
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 2 9 8 3 8 7
      Assembling Smart Cyber-Physical Systems: Heterogeneous, Diffuse and Green Technological Infrastructures for Cities and Industries offers a comprehensive approach on how to design, implement, and use Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs)-computing systems with a strong interaction between the physical environment (equipped with sensors and actuators) and the cyber realm (the Cloud). Through a carefully structured methodological approach to systems design, readers will learn how the infrastructure continuum represents our environment, where we can move from edge computing to the Cloud, going through fog resources to set up an entire framework for services deployment and application in smart cities and industries.As dealing with complex systems has become increasingly difficult, CPSs are increasingly critical to cope with integrating software, which people are used to, with hardware, which is distributed among different domains. This book shows how to deal with such systems where there is no distinction among the different parts: computing, storage, networking, and IoT all contribute to setting up the modern processing environments, thus it is mandatory to keep them simultaneously under control.