Enterprise Resilience of Maritime Container Ports to Pandemic and Other Emergent Conditions; Sustainable Development: How Diverging Ideas Can Accomplish a Common Goal

Given the United Nations’ recent call-to-action to address climate change, strategic economic planning and measures of economic growth must be reexamined.

The Port of Virginia (PoV), the seventh busiest U.S. port by container volume, plans for emergent and future conditions. As a contribution to this strategic planning effort, the following seven scenarios were analyzed: (1) Funding Decrease (2) Natural Disaster (3) Green Technologies (4) Pandemic (5) Increased Automation (6) Alternative Financing (7) Population Changes. Results indicate that pandemics, natural disasters, and population changes are the most disruptive scenarios. The PoV was then advised on how to address each scenario in its strategic plans.

Poole’s Land, Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED), and Masdar City are eco-villages that have foregone the economic growth model in pursuit of sustainable development. Conceived by individuals, architects, or governments, each community reflects distinct goals consistent with its founders’ ideas and values. These eco-villages may therefore serve as alternative models of and experimental testbeds for distinct versions of sustainability.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering
Technical Advisor: James Lambert
STS Advisor: Peter Norton
Technical Team Members: Courtnay Edwards, Arjun Iyer, Tan Karamete, Peter Myers, Simone Olson, Robert Prater, Daniel Andrews, Thomas Polmateer, Mark Manasco, Daniel Hendrickson