Dear all,

Please consider a call for papers for a session at the SPRU 50th Anniversary conference ‘Transforming Innovation’ 7th -9th September 2016 at the University of Sussex. Brighton is lovely at that time of the year!

Sustainable and inclusive urban infrastructure: a need for a sea change?

We are thought to be in the midst of an infrastructure renaissance and plans for unprecedented levels of investment for building new or upgraded power plants, electricity girds, digital networks, roads, railways, airports and housing. These developments can offer opportunities for building more sustainable and inclusive cities, through more energy efficient technology and processes, and innovative business models and concepts like intelligent mobility. The increasingly interconnected nature of infrastructure sectors is also profoundly reshaping the decision-making process, opening up new sites of political intervention, influence, and inclusion of marginalised groups, engagements and approaches. While interest in the role of social innovation is growing within governments and the public, it is unclear how are development decisions and options being opened up to, or kept away from, some groups within society.

Fragmented and disconnected arrangements within and between infrastructure sectors are brought together by ‘smart’ operational systems and technologies (like smart grids) by ICT companies and utilities, as the building blocks of ‘smart cities’. Infrastructure interdependencies, seen at the national level as security threats capable of shutting down critical infrastructure services like energy supply, in the context of cities become a panacea for all ailments of society and are targeted as sites key to the delivery of higher efficiency, higher reliability and new services. Pilot projects targeting city services have emerged that seek to integrate ICT with other infrastructure sectors like transport and waste management, providing real time services within urban areas.

Cities are emerging as potent cites and centres for innovations, particularly in the service industries, in terms of products, roles taken by actors, and processes. ICT technologies and increasing societal expectations for the performance of infrastructure systems, can drive innovation in cultural, normative and regulative structures, with the purpose of enhancing collective resources and improving economic and social performance of infrastructure. Innovation in infrastructure governance is emerging through the introduction of more and non-traditional actors, platforms and means for coordination between (public and private) actors. Can governance models, as seen with the Northern Powerhouse, involving a directly elected city region Mayor and the transfer of significant powers over transport and strategic planning from central government to the region bring increases in sustainability and inclusivity? Can they support the social innovations around volunteering and sharing initiatives that are changing business models for infrastructure services within cities, creating value and capturing public benefits in terms of sustainability and inclusion which would otherwise be marginalised or lost through complex governance arrangements?

This session aims to explore 1) the nature of urban innovation in relation to infrastructure, and 2) to what extent it is oriented towards inclusion and sustainability. On one hand when interpreted through the lens of urban ‘smartness’, sustainable and inclusive infrastructure within cities is understood as multiple, deeper and/or thicker connectivity and efficiency enabled through the flow of data and technology. However, is this logic of smart urban infrastructure emerging at the expense of the `modern infrastructural ideal’ based on universality of services and ubiquity of access (Graham and Marvin, 2001)? Real time data only empowers those who can access it and work with it, while many vulnerable groups may find themselves even further from intelligent urban spaces and services.

A sea change in the direction of innovation for infrastructure could also promote infrastructure being used as an engine of change, in an unashamedly purposive way and seeking to underpin a sustainable and inclusive society. Infrastructure decisions have the potential to accelerate transformation, embed forces of inclusion, and create spaces for diverse and democratic innovation for sustainability. Can governance and oversight mechanisms be developed to allow infrastructure development to be used for the creation of sustainable and inclusive cities?

The session seeks to explore in more depth the following topics:

•             To what extent are we seeing a sea change in how infrastructure is governed and organised in cities?

•             Is there such a thing as an urban direction of innovation, in the context of sustainable and inclusive infrastructure? If so, what can we learn from it when thinking nationally and globally?

•             What does inclusive infrastructure look like at the urban scale and how and by which actors should it be developed?

•             What does sustainable infrastructure look like at the urban scale and how and by which actors should it be developed?

•             What governance innovations are needed to enable infrastructure development to contribute to the creation of sustainable and inclusive cities?

Please submit a 600 word abstract and a short bio (2-3 sentences) to the session organisers by 12 noon Monday 29th February 2016 to the organisers: Ralitsa Hiteva, Kat Lovell and Tim Foxon

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Dr. Ralitsa Hiteva

Research Fellow

SPRU, Jubilee Building

Tel: 01273877201
University of Sussex

Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9SL, UK

Latest publication available open access at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718514000852