Urban agriculture in São Paulo: an analysis from the sociology of public action.

How can one analyze the public actions of organizations and actors from different sectors? Studies using a policy analysis perspective have shed light on the role of the state in making and implementing urban agriculture (UA) policy. However, this perspective has limitations when it comes to explaining the interactions between the state, civil society, and the business organizations that support it. This article provides an analytical framework derived from the sociology of public action (SPA) to understand how multiple organizations support UA.

BiomiMETRIC Assistance Tool: A Quantitative Performance Tool for Biomimetic Design.

This article presents BiomiMETRIC, a quantitative performance tool for biomimetic design. This tool is developed as a complement to the standard ISO 18458 Biomimetics-terminology, concepts, and methodology to quantitatively evaluate the biomimetics performance of a design, a project, or a product. BiomiMETRIC is aimed to assist designers, architects, and engineers to facilitate the use of the biomimetic approach beyond the existing frameworks, and to provide an answer to the following question: How can a quantitative evaluation of biomimetic performance be carried out? The biomimetic quantitative performance tool provides a method of quantitative analysis by combining the biomimetic approach with the impact assessment methods used in life-cycle analysis.