A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of sustainability transitions in urban basic infrastructure services

Basic infrastructure services – water and sanitation, waste collection and management, transport, energy, and housing – form the foundation upon which cities are built. Sustainable and equitable provision of services is key to combating climate change, eradicating poverty and meeting targets set out in international sustainability agendas....

Sustainable construction and financing—asset-backed securitization of expressway’s usufruct with redeemable rights

Asset-backed securitization will greatly promote the sustainability of infrastructure construction and financing. However, there are quite limited researches conducted in this field. Given the project characteristics of infrastructure project securities, this paper proposes the issuance steps of redeemable asset-backed notes (ABN) based on...

The impact of smart city technologies: Lessons from three UK cities

The concept of smart city has been discussed widely in the academia and policy terms, mainly referring to the ways in which cities can be managed more efficiently. Nevertheless, the real implications of smart technologies in urban practice often remain unexplored. Today, especially, not much is known about the challenges of smart city...

Understanding urban infrastructure via big data: the case of Belo Horizonte

One major impact of the global economic crisis is the way it has deepened inequalities around the world. Infrastructure remains essential within this debate as it provides wider health, economic and environmental benefits for society beyond the conventional calculations of cash returns. With the potential exploration of big data, cities now face...

Smart cities as a mechanism towards a broader understanding of infrastructure interdependencies

Cities are centres of innovation, but they also face great challenges such as rapid urbanization, climate change and increased pressure on city services. While working in partnership has been considered as an essential element in urban management, the increasing interconnected nature of infrastructure networks has provided opportunities for...