Talks on tracks - debating urban infrastructure projects*

Assessment of spatio-temporal changes in terrestrial carbon sequestration due to Kochi metro rail project in India

Private Sector-led Urban Development Projects. Management, Partnerships and Effects in the Netherlands and the UK

Private Sector-led Urban Development Projects. Management, Partnerships and Effects in the Netherlands and the UK

Private Sector-led Urban Development Projects. Management, Partnerships and Effects in the Netherlands and the UK

Private Sector-led Urban Development Projects. Management, Partnerships and Effects in the Netherlands and the UK

Are green wall technologies suitable for major transport infrastructure construction projects?

Liveability as determinant of health: Testing a new approach for health impact assessment of major infrastructure

National administrative law traditions are changing under the influence of socio-economic factors and the Europeanisation of legal norms. To illustrate this evolution this paper discusses the roles of judges in three European major transport infrastructure projects in England, France and Belgium where long-term public-private co-operation was developed and strong public opposition voiced. Public-private co-operation to develop infrastructure projects is not new. EU financial requirements and EU procurement directives, though, constrain more than ever how these public-private co-operations can be contractually designed, while EU sectoral legislation may offer new opportunities for public-private co-operation. In parallel, citizens are entitled to be involved in large projects affecting the environment and no longer mainly seek protection for their individual property rights. These changes illustrate the changing role of private parties (economic actors and citizens) in major infrastructure projects. They also result in public bodies endorsing an increasingly supervisory and monitoring role while not having the suitable skills, resources or information in-house to do so. These adaptations under the pressure of socio-economic and political concerns call for administrative law to revisit the role that judges play in adjudicating issues arising from these complex public-private contracts, where public bodies and private parties are locked together for a long term and where changing the relationship is extremely expensive for the public purse.

National administrative law traditions are changing under the influence of socio-economic factors and the Europeanization of legal norms. To illustrate this evolution this article discusses the roles of judges in three European major transport infrastructure projects in England, France and Belgium where long-term public-private cooperation was developed and strong public opposition voiced. Public-private cooperation to develop infrastructure projects is not new. EU financial requirements and EU procurement directives, though, constrain more than ever how these public-private cooperations can be contractually designed, while EU sectoral legislation may offer new opportunities for public-private cooperation. In parallel, citizens are entitled to be involved in large projects affecting the environment and no longer mainly seek protection for their individual property rights. These changes illustrate the changing role of private parties (economic actors and citizens) in major infrastructure projects. They also result in public bodies endorsing an increasingly supervisory and monitoring role while not having the suitable skills, resources or information in-house to do so. These adaptations under the pressure of socio-economic and political concerns call for administrative law to revisit the role that judges play in adjudicating issues arising from these complex publicprivate contracts, where public bodies and private parties are locked together for a long term and where changing the relationship is extremely expensive for the public purse.

Five major infrastructure projects are evaluated that could substantially reduce emissions from intermodal goods movement in Southern California: on-dock railroad expansion, near-dock railroad expansion, mainline railroad capacity expansion and grade separation, electrification of the Alameda Corridor, and electrification of the entire mainline regional railroad system. Given the importance of Southern California as a gateway for international trade, the need for expansion of the capacity of the region's goods movement system, and the contribution of goods movement to the region's serious air quality problems, it is important to understand the emissions impacts of major goods movement infrastructure projects. This study finds that all five infrastructure projects can reduce a significant amount of emissions. Electrification of the entire mainline railroad system would achieve by far the largest emission reductions, eliminating emissions of more than 7,500 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 236 tons of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or smaller (PM2.5) annually. Mainline capacity expansion would achieve the next-largest reductions. Alameda Corridor electrification is the most cost-effective of the five strategies at $9,000 per ton of NOx and $304,000 per ton of PM2.5.

Major infrastructure projects (MIPs) are growing rapidly worldwide and have a “double-edged-sword” effect on the economy, society, and environment. Sustainability, therefore, has become a critical concern for MIPs. The sustainability of MIPs emphasizes the need to take the value creation view to scrutinize MIP practices, which calls for a deeper understanding of the value creation process of MIPs. Although research efforts have been devoted to understanding value creation in MIPs, scarce attention has been focused on the question of how a project client governs project activities, operational preparation activities, and their interplay to create value in MIPs. Based on an in-depth case analysis of the Beijing Daxing International Airport, we found that the project client adopted the three different governance arrangements of vertical blended integration, dynamic matrix integration, and continuous coupling to govern project activities, operational preparation activities, and their interplay, respectively; likewise, the hybrid values of project management value, business value, and public value were created. Following the results, we establish a conceptual framework for the governance of value creation in a project client organization of MIPs. This study not only contributes to the literature on project governance and project value, but also provides practical guidance for emerging MIPs worldwide.

Urban Tunnelling requires handling of a wide range of ground conditions and multiple challenges generated by work access constraints, settlement sensitive structures, as well as testing socio economic needs such as limitations to noise and dust emissions as well as impact on traffic. Such projects and their bespoke technical solutions come at a price. The realisation of large‐scale urban infrastructure projects is often accompanied by intensive discussions about the cost in support of the social need for such projects. This article provides socio‐economic reasoning for major urban infrastructure projects and insight in selected technical solutions that are required to realise these projects in urban settings.

This paper reviews the literature on factors which help to realise major transport infrastructure projects within the forecasted budget, schedule and with the expected output. The most mentioned factors overall are as follows: (1) improving the cost and benefit estimates of projects, (2) containing the risks involved in these projects, (3) increasing accountability and (4) maintaining clear scope and objectives. Statistical research, in particular, focuses on these particular factors, but different research methodologies produce different results. Research based on case studies and interviews does not discuss accountability at all, while literature reviews and discussions show a remarkable focus on this specific factor. Furthermore, there is variety in the factors mentioned in papers investigating cost overruns, schedule overruns or output shortfalls. Overall, the research in this field focuses on failure within major transport infrastructure projects. These results show that a framework for building major transport infrastructure projects within budget, in time and with the expected output is emerging, but that more research is needed using multivariate analyses. Also, more research focusing on projects which have actually achieved their forecasts is needed.

There is continuing demand for more and better major infrastructure to achieve sustainable high quality growth in China. Approval process of major infrastructure projects is vital to the successful construction. Ineffective and inefficient decisions lead to irretrievable results, long duration, great financial loss and waste. Therefore, conducting a research in the approval process of the major infrastructure is quite necessary. This paper is aimed at finding the shortages in the approval process of the major infrastructure in China. Comparative case studies of Australia and China were adopted in this research and documentary analysis was employed as the supplementary to facilitate the analysis. Recommendations are provided for achieving greater uniformity and efficiency in approval process for major infrastructure. The solutions have practical implications for approval process of general major infrastructure projects in China.

PurposeThe complexity of the integration of non-financial benefits (NFB) in major infrastructure projects (MIP) engenders the formulation of networked knowledge between researchers and practitioners. The authors’ research question is as follows: To what extent does scientific knowledge about the integration of NFB into MIP support engaged scholarship or co-construction of knowledge between researchers and practitioners?Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a review of literature published in academic journals on the integration of NFB in MIP. Nearly 300 papers are analysed in depth, based on categories (aspects and sub-aspects) inspired from engaged scholarship and paradoxical participation approaches. The culture of collaboration and the notion of boundary objects are the two main aspects of this categorization of journal papers.FindingsFirst, research on the integration of NFB into MIP is either project-oriented or society-oriented but in a larger proportion for society-oriented. Second, a lot of researches favour an analytic over a holistic approach, despite their openness to dialogue with practitioners through the complexity and conflict.Practical implicationsIt contributes to the theorization of the engaged scholarship. It also provides insights about research avenues to be exploited where these aspects were not sufficiently exploited, as it is often the case with sustainability, for a better collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Linking the culture of collaboration, boundary objects and knowledge co-creation in the engaged scholarship setting encourages a better understanding of the needs (problem to be resolved) of practitioners, by themselves and the researchers.Originality/valueThe systematic review was conducted in parallel with the organization of two workshops with participants concerned by the integration of NFB into MIP. The paper identified four clusters from their level of compatibility with engaged scholarship.