Current complex society necessitates finding inclusive arrangements for delivering sustainable road infrastructure integrating design, construction and maintenance stages of the project lifecycle. In this article we investigate whether linking stages by integrated contracts can lead to more sustainable road infrastructure development by assessing Dutch experiences with inclusiveness of Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) projects in the dimensions of actors, scope and time. We examined practical public and private experiences through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. We find that in practice the closed procurement stage often results in a conservative, detailed contract. Awarding on quality criteria can stimulate inclusiveness in the actors and scope dimensions, and therefore provide possibilities to increase sustainability. In construction and maintenance, cooperation between actors has improved due to lifecycle linkages. However, in the time dimension the relation between integrated project and infrastructure network needs further optimization. We conclude that integrated contracts can lead to optimizations by lifecycle costing and management because of linked stages in the project lifecycle and recommend pursuing three avenues towards sustainable infrastructure development: green procurement, strategic asset management and relational contracting.
Using data collected among 742 respondents, this article aims at gaining greater insight into (i) the interaction between face-to-face (F2F) and electronic contacts, (ii) the influence of information content and relational distance on the communication mode/ service choice and (iii) the influence of relational and geographical distance, in addition to other factors, on the frequency of F2F and electronic contacts with relatives and friends. The results show that the frequency of F2F contacts is positively correlated with that for electronic communication, pointing at a complementarity effect.With respect to information content and relational distance, we find, on the basis of descriptive analyses, that synchronous modes/services (F2F and telephone conversations) are used more for urgent matters and that asynchronous modes (in particular email) become more influential as the relational distance increases. Finally, ordered probit analyses confirm that the frequency of both F2F and electronic communication declines when the physical and relational distance to social network members increases.
Planning approaches that integrate road infrastructure and other land uses are being increasingly applied. Dealing with functional interrelatedness and stakeholder fragmentation are the main reasons for this. This article conceptualizes and analyses why and how such integrated approaches can be applied effectively throughout consecutive stages of infrastructure planning. The two case studies illustrate that the concept of integration is applied for strategic as well as operational reasons, and they reveal that these reasons may alternate throughout the planning process. Effective integration is therefore dynamic: it appropriately focuses on strengthening the socio-economic perspectives of a region for the longer term, as well as on the relations between different land uses that are physically adjacent and competing for space within a smaller area. Due to fragmented institutional contexts, successfully dealing with interrelatedness requires an intense level of interaction amongst involved actors. Such "coproduction" of visions and plans has two important characteristics: negotiation, and learning about each other's goals. Ultimately the case studies also show that planning at the infrastructure-land use interface needs institutional mechanisms to guide the alterations between strategically and operationally inspired integration. Contracts with private parties, public participation, and positive conditions for learning about each other's referential frames are examples of the institutional mechanisms encountered in this study.
In this paper we focus on gaining insight into the residential satisfaction of households near highways, based on survey data collected among 1,225 respondents in the Netherlands living within 1,000 meters from a highway. Ordinal regression was used to study the impact of highway externalities on residential satisfaction. Moreover, we gained first insights into the reactions of people on highway adjustment projects, by studying people's expectations towards residential satisfaction as a consequence of the project with use of a multinomial logistic regression analysis. On average, 85 percent of respondents reported being satisfied with living near a highway. Regarding explanatory characteristics, subjective evaluations of air and noise nuisance and of accessibility are of comparable importance and seem to outperform objective exposure calculations or distance from the highway or access lane in explaining residential satisfaction. Moreover highway interest is directly reflected in a higher satisfaction. However, other factors such as neighborhood design, traffic safety and social cohesion are important as well. People react differently to highway adjustment plans, negative expectations being highly driven by current negative feelings towards nuisance, and positive expectations by personal interest in accessibility and a positive attitude towards cars. An important implication could be the notion that exposure is not the same as perceived nuisance, which may give reason to be cautious when making transportation planning decisions based solely on calculations. In addition, the finding that other (neighborhood) factors are also very important in explaining residential satisfaction is interesting when thinking about compensating for the negative effects of a highway in the neighborhood. Also, the results regarding reactions to an announced highway adjustment project might be used to better adjust the planning process to the characteristics of the residents in the area. Further research is necessary to deepen the results, for example through the addition of other road project locations, interviews and longitudinal data.Keywords: highway infrastructure planning, accessibility, nuisance, residential satisfaction, planned highway adjustment projects. Highlights We studied the impact of negative (nuisance) and positive (accessibility) highway externalities and a highway adjustment project on residential satisfaction near highways. Perceived nuisance and accessibility influence residential satisfaction, but other neighborhood factors are also important. Perceptions of accessibility and nuisance outweigh objective measures (exposure levels, distance from highway/accesslane). Highway users show a higher satisfaction level. Expectations towards highway adjustment projects are mixed; highway users and people who like driving in particular have more positive expectations, currently hindered people more negative expectations.3
The objectives of this review-based paper were twofold. Firstly, we aimed to explore the need and possibilities for broadening the scope of highway planning by taking account of the residential context, including residential satisfaction. Satisfaction appears to be an interesting, and in our opinion, valuable mediating planning concept between road infrastructure planning and the accompanying external effects on the one hand and household coping strategies on the other. Households living near highway infrastructure are influenced by both positive (i.e. accessibility gains) and negative road-related factors (e.g. noise nuisance and air pollution). Changes in these factors may trigger people to accept the new situation, adjust preferences, try to influence plans and/or even relocate. The second aim was to gain a greater understanding of the influence of both accessibility characteristics and negative externalities on the residential context of households. With respect to context, we make a distinction between residential satisfaction, housing prices and residential relocation. We see changes in residential satisfaction as a potential early predictor of opposition to plans, not only from active opposers but also from the more 'silent majority', and as a predictor of housing price changes and residential migration. Insights into residential satisfaction around highways may help transportation planners to relieve locational stress and may also prevent protests and relocations. Our literature review indicated that households prefer to live close to highways to benefit from high regional accessibility, but do not want to contend with the nuisances. This is also reflected in property values. However, the literature appears to put more emphasis on studying the impact of (regional) accessibility and externalities on location behaviour than on residential satisfaction. Because of the added value that the concept of residential satisfaction may provide in road planning, and the limited scientific insights, it is important to gain greater insight into how residential satisfaction is influenced by negative and positive externalities and into how residential satisfaction changes over time-from the stage when new road projects are discussed through to concrete planning, realization and the period after completion. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to gain a deeper understanding of the extent to which house prices, location behaviour and residential satisfaction near highways interrelate.
The competitive dialogue (CD) procurement procedure aims to structure and facilitate public–private interaction in procurement. In this article we examine the CD procedures of four complex Dutch road infrastructure projects and explore how the mix in public–private interaction between the three governance strategies of cooperation, competition, and coordination is conditioned by various external influences. We found that public authorities' strict legal coordination can structure the CD process, but may divert attention from the required interaction on project‐specific complexities. Combined with private contractors' focus on competition, this does not stimulate public–private cooperation. We conclude that CD is a promising tool for facilitating public–private interaction, but, in practice, the optimal mix of governance strategies is not achieved. We recommend strengthening cooperation by encouraging public and private tender organizations to collaboratively search for opportunities to deal with complexity in planning.
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