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The City of Colwood in British Columbia, Canada, has engaged in a wideranging project aiming to encourage whole community transformation, through the use of environmental education, incentives and the adoption of energy efficiency behavior and technologies. Researchers and students from Royal Roads University partnered with a Middle School to deliver an action research driven educational program to 120 Grade 7 (age 12/13) students that reflected goals of the City program: water conservation, solar hot water and the energy efficiency of homes. Students engaged in classroom activities and field trips to homes with energy upgrades installed. The students' subject matter engagement was captured through systematic observation, field notes and photographs, and the development of knowledge was assessed through curriculum exercises and a quantitative survey. Both students and their parents were surveyed to see whether the interaction with the students had implications for intergenerational learning and the possibility of increasing wider community engagement in the program. It was found that while the students engaged in the classroom session did increase their awareness and understanding of energy efficiency, curriculum design needed to include more opportunities to discuss the issues at home to maximize the opportunities for intergenerational learning and an increase in awareness more generally.

Purpose This study aims to examine two innovation zones in China, including the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city, to gain a comprehensive understanding of city locations attributes and its relationship to inward foreign direct investment (FDI) from multinational enterprises (MNEs) in innovation zones embedded in nonhub cities in China. Design/methodology/approach This research incorporates two site visits and in-depth interviews with 39 personnel working with innovation zones. Thematic analysis is used to analyze interview data and documents. Findings The results highlight that cities can use innovation zones as a strategy to build high scale knowledge community precincts to connect MNEs and other global actors. As an important institutional feature of city locations, innovation zones increase within-city connectivity and connect cities in global networks resulting in cross-city connectivity to attract FDI from MNEs. From a dynamic knowledge community perspective, this research also compares active and passive approaches toward building knowledge communities and identifies several elements of knowledge communities within innovation zones in China. Research limitations/implications The research results could be further explored in other institutional and economic contexts, to understand the interplay of city locations, FDI and innovation zones, and the dynamics of building knowledge communities. Practical implications This research has several implications for policymakers and administrators who work with municipal economic development and the development and enhancement of innovation zones. It offers recommendations for MNEs to consider where to make foreign investments and the advantages innovation zones may offer to support FDI. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature related to economic development and how nonhub cities can attract FDI and join global networks. It offers empirical insights drawn from two successful innovation zones located in nonhub cities in China.

This chapter focuses on Mongolia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mongolia was highly successful in containing Covid-19 and preventing community outbreaks. It worked closely and successfully with neighbouring countries and international organizations such as the World Health Organization to develop and implement public health measures and testing. Moreover, Mongolia was one of the first countries to close its borders; quick and successful actions by the government to shut schools and businesses, restrict social gatherings, and ban international arrivals allowed the country to self-isolate and avoid a larger outbreak. This self-isolation, however, presents challenges in maintaining economic functioning as the country is highly dependent on imports of many consumer products and exports of natural resources. In May of 2020, the country started to move ahead with plans to reopen some businesses; trade with China started to resume to allow the export of key commodities such as coal and copper, but longer-term challenges remained due to high internal and external debt levels, continued international travel and trade restrictions, and the global economic slowdown.

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