District heating with complexity: Anticipating unintended consequences in the transition towards a climate-neutral city in the Netherlands

District heating systems are considered a feasible heating alternative to replace natural gas to mitigate emissions in cities. However, urban transitions are very complex because energy systems often operate in densely populated areas, which gives rise to all kinds of interdependencies in cities. These interdependencies can result in...

Assessment criteria for inter-organizational collaboration in interconnected infrastructure projects

Purpose: Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern infrastructures, requiring close collaboration of various infrastructure owners. To effectively manage and improve inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) in...

Dealing with Cross-Sectoral Uncertainty: A Case Study on Governing Uncertainty for Infrastructures in Transition

The interdependencies between infrastructures are growing. Engineering decision making that earlier was largely confined to a specific sector now requires more and more understanding of how systems interact: a system-of-systems perspective. The article analyzes the effect of that added complexity in a single case study in de Zuid-As, Amsterdam,...

Inter-Organizational Collaboration in Interconnected Infrastructure Projects

This study aims to identify which factors affect inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) in interconnected infrastructure projects to enable practitioners to establish a collaborative environment at the project level. This specific form of inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) is characterized as “horizontal” and has received limited...

Socio-technical infrastructure interdependencies and their implications for urban sustainability; recent insights from the Netherlands

Cities are increasingly recognized as potential motors of sustainability transitions. These transitions build on existing as well as new infrastructures, and these infrastructures mutually influence each other in many ways, a phenomenon known as infrastructure interdependencies. These infrastructure interdependencies have significant...

Institutional dependencies in climate adaptation of transport infrastructures: an Institutional Network Analysis approach

Climate adaptation measures are shaped and implemented through processes of governance, where the interactions and decision-making among actors lead to the creation and reinforcement of institutions. Institutions in this respect are the rules that shape the interactions of actors in different phases of climate adaptation. Currently there is...

Collaboration and Data Sharing in Inter-Organizational Infrastructure Construction Projects

A close collaboration between infrastructure owners is crucial to address challenges in the design and execution of next-generation infrastructure projects for sustainable development. Managing and sharing data among parties involved in infrastructure projects, particularly the data required at the early stages of a project to design and develop...

Interdependent Infrastructure Interventions Optimization: an Integrative Systems Thinking Approach

Despite widespread attention for the governance of infrastructures and improvements of the way infrastructure assets are maintained, the interdependency of infrastructures is not often considered from a systemic maintenance and renovation perspective. In this context, the issue of unforeseen intervention delays is of particular relevance because...

Navigating transitions for sustainable infrastructures - The case of a new high-speed railway station in Jingmen, China

Sustainable development and Circular Economy (CE) have drawn massive attention worldwide. Construction practices consume large amounts of materials, resources and energy. Sustainability and CE could play a big role in reduction efforts. However, the potential influence of both concepts on the planning and construction of large infrastructures...