The Elgar Companion to Urban Infrastructure Governance

Providing a comprehensive overview of the governance of urban infrastructures, this Companion combines illustrative cases with conceptual approaches to offer an innovative perspective on the governance of large urban infrastructure systems. Contributions by leading scholars in the field present a transdisciplinary approach to the topic, with a global scope.

Chapters examine the challenges facing urban infrastructure systems, including financial, economic, technological, social, ecological, jurisdictional and demand. Using novel conceptualizations of urban infrastructure, and examining global cases of specific energy, mobility, water, housing, green and telecommunication systems, the Companion further illustrates how these challenges are interrelated with their governance. Finding efficiency, sustainability, and resilience to be key governance performance indicators, it concludes by highlighting the role that digitalization plays in making cities smarter and argues for the potential of digitalization for large urban infrastructure governance.

With global significance, this Companion will be an invaluable read for students and scholars of urban studies, governance and infrastructure. The informative case studies will be an excellent resource for city practitioners, officials and policymakers.

Editor: Matthias Finger and Numan Yanar

A Modern Guide to the Digitalization of Infrastructure

Providing a coherent and multidisciplinary approach to digitalization, this Modern Guide aims to systematize how the digitalization process affects infrastructure-based industries, including telecommunications, transport, energy, water and postal services.

This important book reviews the literature on how digital technologies can impact infrastructure design, construction and maintenance costs, with specific references for each industry. Contributors analyse how digitalization is disrupting traditional infrastructure managers in terms of capacity management and traffic flows as well as discussing key topics including data governance, data sharing, digital platforms and sector convergence.

With special attention devoted to regulatory and governance challenges, this will be welcomed by researchers of network industries and digitalization. This will also be of special interest to academics and scholars interested in the digitalization process, data governance and infrastructure management.

Editor: Matthias Finger and Juan Montero

Infrastruktur Schweiz – Ein Erfolgsmodell in Gefahr

Die Schweiz ist berühmt dafür, die besten Strassen, die besten Bahnen, die beste Strom- und Wasserversorgung zu haben. Tatsächlich hat das Land seine Infrastrukturen früh und systematisch ausgebaut. Die funktionierenden Einrichtungen für Transport, Energie und Kommunikation sind immer noch ein zentraler Standortvorteil.
Doch das Erfolgsmodell ist in Gefahr: Infrastrukturen altern und Ersatz ist teuer. Zudem fehlt es für Ausbauten oft an Platz, an Akzeptanz und vielfach auch an Koordination. Hinzu kommen das Bevölkerungswachstum, die Verstädterung und ständig steigende Ansprüche. Die Digitalisierung verlangt nach neuen Einrichtungen wie Datenspeichern und Rechenzentren. Am stärksten ist die Schweiz herausgefordert durch die Klimaerwärmung: Sie macht Dekarbonisierung und Elektrifizierung des gesamten industriellen Systems erforderlich, vom Personen- und Gütertransport über die Stromproduktion bis hin zu Fernwärmenetzen und Geothermie.

Matthias Finger macht klar, was auf die Schweiz zukommt. Er zeigt, welche neuen Infrastrukturen nötig werden und was dies für Akteure auf den verschiedenen Staatsebenen und im privaten Sektor bedeutet. Daraus leitet er einen Aktionsplan ab, um das Erfolgsmodell Infrastruktur Schweiz in die Zukunft zu überführen.

Editor: Matthias Finger

The Rise of the New Network Industries: Regulating Digital Platforms

Cutting through the confusion around the nature and implications of digitalization, this book explores the rise of the new digital networks, how they affect traditional infrastructure, and how they will eventually need to be regulated. The authors examine how digitalization affects infrastructures in telecommunications, transport, and energy, and how digital platforms establish themselves as a new network on top of and in addition to traditional ones.

Complex concepts are introduced through short and colorful stories about the founders of the most popular platforms (Google, Facebook, Skype, Uber, etc.) and how they grew to positions of power, drawing parallels with century-old traditional network industries’ monopoly power (AT&T, General Electric, etc.). The authors argue that these digital platforms strongly interfere with traditional infrastructures that are heavily regulated and provide essential services for society – meaning that digital platforms should be considered as a new and much more powerful type of infrastructure and will require regulation accordingly.

A global audience of policy makers, public authorities, consultants, lawyers, students, and academics, as well as anyone with an interest in these digital platforms, will find this book enlightening and essential reading.

Publisher : Routledge; 1st edition (5 May 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 292 pages
ISBN-10 : 0367693054
ISBN-13 : 978-0367693053
Dimensions : 17.78 x 25.4 cm

Network Industries: A Research Overview

This book analyses the de- and re-regulation of the network industries and the regulatory challenges these industries will face in the future. Network industries are characterised by economics that entail limiting effects on competition and market creation, and the book highlights the drivers behind their liberalisation as well as the inherent need for regulation as liberalization unfolds. A concise overview of the state of thinking about the network industries, this book will be vital reading for researchers, advanced students and practitioners.

20% Discount Available – enter the code FLR40 at checkout* 

Author: M. Finger; T. Holvad 
Extent: 110 pp 
Publication Date: 2019
Availability:In Stock

Towards Cognitive Cities: Advances in Cognitive Computing and its Application to the Governance of Large Urban Systems

This book introduces the readers to the new concept of cognitive cities. It demonstrates why cities need to become cognitive and why therefore a concept of cognitive city is needed. It highlights the main building blocks of cognitive cities and illustrates the concept by various cases. Following a concise introductory chapter the book features nine chapters illustrating various aspects and dimensions of cognitive cities. The logic of its structure proceeds from more general considerations to more specific illustrations. All chapters offer a comprehensive view of the different research endeavours about cognitive cities and will help pave the way for this new and innovative approach to governing cities in the future.

Author: Portmann, Edy , Finger, Matthias 
Extent: 211 pp 
Publication Date: 2016 
ISBN: 978-3-319-33798-2 
Availability: In Stock