Ensuring energy security, stopping climate change, and improving urban air quality are the three main challenges of this century that are being addressed by governments globally. The transportation sector contributes significantly to these issues. Sustainable transport involves the consideration of three dimensions—economic development, environmental preservation, and social development—and one of its aspects is the focus on the transition towards electric vehicles. The sustainable transportation is a complex system with multiple relationships and feedback between their elements. Understanding this complexity in an integrated and holistic manner is a challenge that must be addressed. To obtain insight into this complexity, we perform a systematic review of studies in which the demand and supply components of the passenger transportation sector were modelled in an integrated manner along with the dimensions of sustainability. All the reviewed previous studies had taken into consideration both the economic and environmental dimensions; however, only a few had also considered social development. The holistic and systematic integration of the dimensions of sustainability along with their relationships and feedback would facilitate a better understanding of the transportation sector and promote the development of better policies for improving the diffusion of passenger electric vehicles.

One factor contributing to food and nutritional security is knowing consumers’ perceptions of agricultural products. This research aims to determine consumer perception to enhance the dynamics of short agricultural chains in Nandayure, Costa Rica. A survey was conducted among 300 consumers of agricultural products for the 2021-2022 period. The instrument was divided into three sections: demographic and socioeconomic aspects, purchasing behavior, and agricultural consumer products. Results show that among respondents, women purchase more than men, are between the ages of 21 and 40, and invest less than ₡20,000 a week. Shopping is done once a week at produce markets and supermarkets that must be organized and clean and offer information and different payment methods. The most important characteristics consumers prioritize in products are freshness, quality, and price. The main types of products consumed were fruits 38%, vegetables 23%, and medicinal and aromatic plants 18%. Understanding local marketing dynamics allows for the analysis or interpretation of short-chain models and consumer trends influencing the availability and acquisition of agricultural products. This could generate opportunities to develop market niches focused on high-quality products with added value and strategic alliances with public and private entities.

[Introducción]: Los plátanos por sus valores nutritivos se ubican entre los principales alimentos producidos a nivel mundial. Crece en los trópicos y son cultivados por pequeños agricultores que lo usan para economía de subsistencia y consumo. En Costa Rica, las plantaciones de plátano se ubican en diferentes sectores del país, una de las regiones más importantes es la región Huetar Atlántica (RHA). [Objetivo]: Se evaluaron indicadores de sostenibilidad adaptados a la realidad de sistemas productivos tradicionales y sistemas convencionales de pequeños productores de plátano en el Caribe Sur de Costa Rica, mediante la herramienta Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO, por sus siglas en inglés). [Metodología]: Esta investigación se desarrolló en el Caribe Sur de Costa Rica, distritos de Bratsi y Sixaola, pertenecientes al cantón de Talamanca. Esta región cuenta con una precipitación de 2387 mm anuales y una temperatura promedio de 26.5 °C. Se estudiaron dos sistemas productivos tradicionales y dos convencionales, con una extensión de 2 500 m2, cada uno. Se aplicó SAFA, herramienta holística para medir sostenibilidad en sistemas de producción agrícolas mediante 41 indicadores de integridad ambiental, resiliencia económica y bienestar social. [Resultados]: La integridad ambiental reflejó puntajes entre 42 y 87 %. Resiliencia económica, 78 y 96 % y bienestar social 81 a 96 %. [Conclusiones]: La evaluación de la sostenibilidad evidenció que los sistemas tradicionales tuvieron mejor puntaje que los convencionales.