A smart city describes an urban setting which aims to effectively apply ICT technologies to help improve the well-being of its citizens and reduce the negative impacts of urbanization. The priority areas considered in the Global Smart City Index (SCI) by the Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Competitiveness Centre were key infrastructures and technologies in (1) health and safety, (2) mobility, (3) activities (e.g., recreational spaces), (4) opportunities (work and school), and (5) governance. A smart region is a term used to extend the concept of a smart city into both urban and rural settings to promote a sustainable planning approach at the regional level. A direction that must be considered is the adoption of a “Smart Region Mobility Framework” to effectively transform our urban and rural regional transportation networks. This research study focused on the development of the smart region mobility framework for an island region group in the Philippines. The smart region goal is to integrate intelligent transportation system (ITS) platforms such as advanced public transportation system (APTS), advanced traveler information system (ATIS), and advanced rural transportation system (ARTS) to the local public transportation route plans (LPTRP) of the region. The activities include the data collection, analysis, and evaluation of multimodal regional transportation networks and social services infrastructure. The transportation network modeling process follows the four-step transportation planning process of trip generation, trip distribution, modal-split analysis, and trip assignment. Based on the analysis of 6 provinces, 16 cities, and 114 municipalities included in the study, there are two cities identified as smart city candidates. One of the smart city candidates is designated as the smart city regional center. In the context of a smart region, the available social services (e.g., employment opportunities, education, and health services) in the designated smart cities can also be made accessible to connected cities/municipalities through ease of transportation and mobility services in the region. Lastly, the study presented the implementation of data flow architecture of the smart region mobility framework, and the regional traveler information system using mobile and web application services.

Coastal communities are exposed to various environmental risks, including natural hazards such as storm surges and flooding. As climate change has escalated, the management of such dangers has grown in importance and urgency, particularly among states with long coast lines. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction have attracted attention from policymakers in Southeast Asia, which is one of the most disaster-prone regions. Coastal community resilience, however, is not determined by climate and disaster risks alone, but by other factors as well. Waste pollution is an environmental threat that may affect those who are dependent on marine resources. These multiple factors contribute to coastal resilience and are, in fact, addressed separately as different issues; therefore, conflicts or synergies in respective countermeasures often become oversights in the policy-making processes. Through a case study of key Philippine stakeholders, including fishing communities, we identified impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and waste on the livelihoods of community residents and the interplay among these factors. We aim to better understand the situation on the ground and contribute by improving policy recommendations for coastal communities. An integrated approach to enhance coastal adaptation is critical for maximising the effectiveness of the limited resources of communities.

Death due to diseases from poor sanitation is a serious global issue and it has become one of the priorities of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (i.e., SDG6). This SDG6 aims to provide adequate improved sanitation facilities to over 2.3 billion people around the world who have no or limited access to sanitation, wherein more than two-thirds of these un-served people live in rural areas. One of the strategies for addressing this global issue is through emerging sustainable sanitation technologies such as the Eco-Toilet System (ETS), which uses small amounts of water or is even waterless and recovers nutrients from human waste thereby promoting water-energy conservation, improved sanitation and supplement nutrients essential to plant growth. Social acceptance, however, remains a key barrier in deploying the ETS. A social perception study on the use of the ETS was conducted in a rural community in Mulanay, Philippines. The researchers analyzed the proposed combined technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior (C-TAM-TPB) using multiple linear regression and the Mann-Whitney U-test to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of a rural community towards the use of the ETS. The results showed that more than 50% of the respondents are aware of the nutrient value of human excreta and believe that it is usable as fertilizer; however, less than 25% prefer to utilize it for food production. Results also indicate that the behavior of the users is driven by their attitude (β = 0.420, p-value < 0.010). Moreover, the Mann-Whitney U-test results revealed that people who are knowledgeable of the nutrient value of human excreta and are willing to collect them have more positive attitude towards the ETS.

Electric vehicles (EVs) play a pivotal role in decarbonizing global transportation. In the ASEAN region, emerging economies such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines face persistent barriers, including high upfront costs, limited charging infrastructure, and fragmented policies. This study presents a comparative analysis across five key dimensions: economic, infrastructural, technological, policy, and social factors. Unlike previous research focused on more developed ASEAN countries, this study highlights underrepresented markets, incorporating behavioral and cultural aspects alongside financing and policy issues. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including structured surveys, Kruskal–Wallis and Chi-square tests, confirmatory factor analysis, and thematic analysis of open-ended responses. Findings reveal common challenges such as affordability, charging access, and battery-related concerns, as well as country-specific issues like unreliable electricity in Myanmar and cultural skepticism in Cambodia. Based on the results, policy recommendations include tailored financing mechanisms, investment in charging infrastructure, public awareness initiatives, and the creation of a regional EV platform to support harmonization and knowledge sharing. This study provides timely insights for policymakers, development partners, and regional stakeholders seeking to promote inclusive and context-sensitive EV adoption strategies across ASEAN’s emerging economies.

In disaster response logistics, it is critical to evaluate strategies for operational speed and efficiency and fairness in aid distribution. Therefore, we developed a simulation-based framework for assessing emergency delivery performance using the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity (3E) model under uncertainty. Using the Monte Carlo simulation v4.4.9 and MATLAB v4.4.9, the model tests a greedy resource allocation strategy across 100 randomized scenarios involving variable regional demand and travel times. Each scenario is evaluated based on total fulfillment, distribution balance, and delivery effort. The results indicate that under ideal conditions with sufficient supply and no logistical constraints, the strategy achieves full effectiveness and perfect equity, with consistent efficiency outcomes. While the system performs optimally in the base case, the model also highlights the importance of testing strategies under more constrained or disrupted environments. The proposed approach enables planners to assess performance trade-offs, providing a robust foundation for future extensions involving optimization, real-time data integration, or prioritization schemes.