Roelich, KE, Knoeri, C, Steinberger, JK et al. (7 more authors) (2015) Towards resource-efficient and service-oriented integrated infrastructure operation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 92. 40 - 52. ISSN 1873-5509
Abstract
Infrastructure is a means to an end: it is built, maintained and expanded in order to enable the functioning of society. Present infrastructure operation is characterised by: governance based on unmanaged growing demand, which is both inefficient and ultimately unsustainable; lack of integration of the end-users, in terms of the variety of their wants, needs and behaviours; separate and parallel delivery of different infrastructure streams prohibiting joint solutions. To achieve long-term sustainability, infrastructure needs to be designed and operated to provide essential service delivery at radically decreased levels of resource use. This new approach will need to: (1) incorporate the end-user, in terms of their wants and behaviours; (2) focus on the service provided; (3) use Information and Communication Technologies more effectively; (4) integrate the operation of different infrastructure systems; (5) be governed in a manner that recognises the complexity and interconnectedness of infrastructure systems; and (6) rethink current infrastructure valuation. Possible configurations incorporating these aspects with the explicit goal of contributing to long -term sustainability could be Multi -Utility Service Companies or “MUSCos”. This article presents new insights and ideas generated by considering the challenge of the transition towards a MUSCo infrastructure.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). |
Keywords: | Sustainable infrastructure operation; performance economy; Energy Service Company (ESCo); infrastructure integration; valuation; Multi-Utility Service Company (MUSCo) |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) > Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2015 14:04 |
Last Modified: | 22 Oct 2019 14:49 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.11.008 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.techfore.2014.11.008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:82424 |