A comprehensive water-energy-carbon (WEC) nexus model for an urban water system (UWS) using system dynamics is proposed to assist municipalities, urban developers, and policy makers for neighborhood water planning and management. The proposed model and decision support tool was developed for the operational phase of UWSs. The model was validated using historical water and energy consumption data (2005–2014) of Penticton (British Columbia, Canada). Spearman’s correlation coefficients between water and energy, water and carbon, and energy and carbon were 0.94, 0.89, and 0.83, respectively, revealing highly significant interconnections. The energy for water was $11.1\mathrm{MWh}/\mathrm{ML}$ , water for energy was $\mathrm{6,512}\mathrm{L}/\mathrm{MWh}$ , and carbon emissions were $124.4\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{CO}}_2\mathrm{e}/\mathrm{MWh}$ from energy use and $120.8\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{CO}}_2\mathrm{e}/\mathrm{ML}$ from wastewater processes. A Monte Carlo–based sensitivity analysis showed residential outdoor irrigation and water heating energy for showers and dishwashers have higher contribution to model variability. The intervention analysis reveals significant differences in savings in water, energy, and carbon for various water and energy-based interventions in UWSs and the developed tool is well capable for analyzing these dynamic savings.

The construction industry is continuously searching for sustainable materials to combat the rapid depletion of global resources and ongoing ecological crises. Biocomposites have recently received global attention in various industries due to their renewability, low cost, and biodegradability. Biocomposites’ potential as a sustainable substitute in construction can be understood by identifying their diverse applications. Moreover, examining their life cycle environmental and economic impacts is important. Therefore, this study is a novel attempt to encompass biocomposites’ construction applications and their environmental life cycle performance. Statistical analysis is done related to the temporal distribution of papers, publishers, literature type and regions of studies. First, this paper reviews the latest research on the applications of natural fiber biocomposites in construction with their key findings. The applications include fiber reinforcements in concrete, external strengthening elements, internally filled hollow tubes, wood replacement boards, insulation, and non-structural members. The second part covers the life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost studies on biocomposites. The life cycle studies are currently rare and require more case-specific assessments; however, they highlight the benefits of biocomposites in cost savings and environmental protection. Finally, this study provides key suggestions for increasing the applicability of biocomposites as sustainable construction materials.