Landscape design of major civil infrastructure works has often been undermined as a policy requirement or been neglected in practice. We investigate whether this is justified by technical challenges, high costs or proven lack of utility of landscape design of infrastructure, focussing on dam-design practice. Initially, we investigate global practice and identify 56 cases of dams in which landscape or architectural treatment has been applied. We then create a typology of utilised design techniques and investigate their contribution to improving landscape quality perception through literature review and through the analysis of photograph upload densities in geotagged photography databases. Finally, we investigate costs of landscape works, analysing three dam projects in detail. The results demonstrate that landscape design of civil infrastructure (a) improves landscape quality perception of infrastructures’ landscapes and (b) that its implementation can be both economically and technically feasible, especially if existing knowledge from best practices is utilised.

Renewable energy (RE) installations and civil works are beneficial in terms of sustainability, but a considerable amount of space in the landscape is required in order to harness this energy. In contemporary environmental theory the landscape is considered an environmental parameter and the transformation of the landscape by RE works has received increasing attention by the scientific community and affected societies. This research develops a novel computational stochastic tool the 2D Climacogram (2D-C) that allows the analysis and comparison of images of landscapes, both original and transformed by RE works. This is achieved by a variability characterization of the grayscale intensity of 2D images. A benchmark analysis is performed for art paintings in order to evaluate the properties of the 2D-C for image analysis, and the change in variability among images. Extensive applications are performed for landscapes transformed by RE works. Results show that the 2D-C is able to quantify the changes in variability of the image features, which may prove useful in the landscape impact assessment of large-scale engineering works.

Modern organized societies require robust infrastructures, among which hydraulic projects, such as water supply and drainage systems, are most important, particularly in water-scarce areas. Athens is a unique example because it is a big city (population 3.7 million) located in a very dry area. In order to support the development of the city, large hydraulic projects had to be constructed during its history and, as a result, Athens currently has one of the largest water supply systems in the world. Could Athenians choose smaller scale infrastructures instead? Analyzing social, technical and economical historical data, we can see that large capital investments were required. In order to evaluate these investments this paper presents a technical summary of the development. An economic analysis displays historical values of these investments in present monetary values. The cost of existing infrastructure is compared to the cost of constructing smaller reservoirs and a model is created to correlate the price of water and the cost of water storage with the size of reservoirs. In particular, if more and smaller reservoirs were built instead of the large existing ones, the cost of the water would significantly increase, as illustrated by modelling the cost using local data.

There is a widespread perception that every year wildfires are intensifying on a global scale, something that is often used as an indicator of the adverse impacts of global warming. However, from the analysis of wildfires that have occurred in the US, Canada, and Mediterranean countries, a trend that justifies this perception could not be identified. Arguably, instead of blaming climate change, research on the mitigation of wildfires should be re-directed to forest management policy and practices. Forests are admirable and complex natural ecosystems, and fires, albeit devastating, can be attributed to both human activity and to natural processes that contribute to their rebirth, with the latter constituting an intrinsic and perpetual process of the forest ecosystem. Other than their important ecological value, forests are, in the 21st century, also a capital resource, for many people’s livelihoods depend on them. In this study, we proposed a method for taking mitigation measures against wildfires based on the partitioning of forests, considering both the protection of the ecosystem and the inhabitants and aiming to utilize their co-dependent nature for the general protection and preservation of forests. As a case study, we analyzed the current devastating fire in Euboea (occurred in August 2021), initially in terms of the spatio-temporal progression of the actual wildfire that lasted several days and then by examining how an implementation of the proposed method in the study area could contribute to both the recovery of the ecosystem and the enhancement of the quality of life of the inhabitants as well as their long-term protection.

The modern globalized civilization is sustained by interactions, trade, the transportation of goods, and energy. Energy self-sufficiency is crucial in rural and disaster-prone areas like North Euboea because dependence on external energy supplies can leave regions vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, price volatility, and geopolitical risks. In such isolated regions, energy independence ensures resilience in natural disasters and economic instability. The alternative to self-sufficiency often involves reliance on centralized energy systems, fossil fuels, or external imports, which may not always be reliable or sustainable. Therefore, in this study, we explore the possibility of an area having energy self-sufficiency. As a case study, we chose North Euboea in Greece, explicitly focusing on the Municipality of Mantoudi-Limni-Agia Anna. The analysis combines local land use patterns, energy needs for inhabitants, agriculture and water requirements. It is followed by exploring various renewable energy sources, including hydropower, biomass, solar, and wind. We considered the stochastic nature of renewable energy production and the challenges associated with energy storage. The findings suggest that while wind turbines and solar panels could be installed in the area and contribute significantly to energy needs, achieving complete self-sufficiency requires careful planning, particularly regarding energy storage and the social acceptance of these installations. The results highlight the need for a holistic approach that integrates environmental, landscape, societal, and technical considerations in designing and implementing renewable energy systems. Additionally, it is highlighted that the available renewable energy from forest biomass (before the 2021 megafire event) could reliably and adequately meet the area's energy needs without requiring investments in photovoltaic parks and wind turbines and without competing with the use of agricultural land.