An econometric analysis of private sector participation in China’s urban water supply

This paper explores the impact of private sector participation on industrial performance of urban water supply by using panel data for 35 major cities in China over the period 1998 to 2008. We find that the introduction of private sector participation is significantly correlated with improvement in integrated production capacity and water coverage rate, but not correlated with the investment in fixed assets. Private sector participation has a positive impact on the integrated production capacity in the developed eastern cities and contributes to narrowing the gap of water coverage rate between the less developed central and western cities and the more developed eastern cities. We also find that the participation of foreign companies, but not domestic private companies, significantly improves water industry performance. The research sheds some light on the importance of private participation in urban water markets. However, the performance of domestic private firms in urban water supply still needs be improved.     

The private sector and public space in Dutch city centres

Private sector involvement in the design and financing of urban redevelopment projects has been relatively rare in the Netherlands. The public sector has traditionally played a central role in spatial planning and development. Since the 1980s, however, local authorities have been sharing the responsibility for urban development with the private sector. This article explores the viability of claims drawn from the literature about the effects of private sector involvement in redeveloped public space. Confronting those claims with our empirical material, we expected to find that the participation of the private sector would increase the redevelopment budget but would also lead to restrictions on public access. These two expectations are evaluated in light of the experience in four redeveloped squares in four Dutch cities: Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Enschede and ’s-Hertogenbosch. We found that actors on the public and private sides have different interpretations of what constitutes a direct financial contribution. Those from the private sector believe they have made significant contributions, while those from the public sector see themselves as the sole funders. But they agree on the issue of free access: both public and private actors deny any negative effects of private sector involvement in this respect.     

A review of global research on private investment in the water sector

This study critically examines the evidence on private-sector water investment over the past 24 years. It provides a basis on which future research can consider how global water investment issues can be better addressed. Moreover, this study exhibits scenarios of water investment performance that can potentially help investors make better investment decisions. Overall, we find that the water sector is expanding, and the market appears to be resistant to economic forces, suggesting that private investors can obtain positive returns.     

Public–public partnerships in the Finnish water services sector

Public–public partnerships (PUPs) are emerging in the water and sewerage sector as an alternative to improve the performance of water and sewerage undertakings. While most of the research on PUPs has concentrated on development and international partnerships, examples can also be found in developed countries. This article presents two relatively recent cases of PUPs in Finland, one of which is already in operation and the other in transition from planning to implementation. The good experiences from the two cases add to the evidence that PUPs indeed offer a viable solution for cooperation in the water services sector.     

与私营部门共同为贫民窟改造融资的案例对比

把商业贷款和偿还机制引入“贫民窟改造”的尝试有着漫长的历史，但是取得成功的并不多。本文中，联合国人居署贫民窟改造基金（SUF）资深顾问Michael Mutter审视了该机构与加纳各级商业银行的合作，以便找出一些答案。     

The private rental sector: Problems,prospects and policy

Abstract

Despite the neglect in research and policy for rental housing, there is a developing awareness of the problems of the private rental sector and the need for policy intervention. The paper suggests that the development of policies must proceed with caution; there are many areas where our knowledge of the problems and processes of the private rental market are insufficient for policy development.     

Hybridity in the housing sector: examining impacts on social and private rented sector tenants in Scotland

Abstract

Housing Associations in many countries exhibit increasing levels of ‘hybridity’, as reductions in state financing for social housing, exacerbated by austerity policies since the 2008 crash, have instigated ‘enterprising’ approaches to maintaining income. Alongside this, hybrid organisations have emerged in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), responding to sectoral growth and consequent increases in vulnerable households entering private renting. These developing hybridities have been considered at a strategic level, but there has been little exploration of the impacts on tenants. This article examines two organisations, operating across the social and private rented sectors, to elucidate potential implications for tenants. The research suggests that different forms of hybridity can affect tenant outcomes and, moreover, that examining such impacts is important in understanding hybridity itself. Furthermore, the study suggests that emerging forms of hybridity, particularly in the PRS, may be blurring the boundaries between housing sectors, with implications for policy and research.     

Influence of anthropogenic sources on total gaseous mercury variability in Grenoble suburban air (France)

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) has been monitored at Champ sur Drac, a suburban site of Grenoble in southern east France. TGM measurements have been made over 4 periods of approximately 10 days throughout 1999-2000 using cold vapour atomic fluorescence absorption technique. The first monitoring campaign was initiated on November 4, 1999, followed by three other campaigns respectively on January 12, 2000, April 10, 2000 and July 17, 2000. Concurrent monitoring of O3, NO, NO2, SO2 and of meteorological parameters have also been performed. The mean TGM concentration was 3.4 ng m(-3) with maximum hourly mean concentration of 37.1 ng m(-3). Although mean TGM concentration was not greatly different from those previously measured in the troposphere, the greater TGM variability as well as the occurrence of high TGM concentration linked to particular wind conditions suggested the strong influence of anthropogenic sources. The chlor-alkali plant located nearby, the others chemical industries using fuel combustion and the municipal waste incinerator were thought to contribute to mercury pollution events.     

Fences,private and public spaces,and traversability in a Siberian city

Segregation, exclusion and partitioning of urban space are widely discussed in social sciences. Thus far, however, remarkably few studies have addressed micro-practices of dividing space. This article explores such practices in private and public spaces of a post-socialist city. It sets the focus on fences as a particular structuring element of urban space, examining both their material and symbolic meanings. Using Yakutsk, a city in north-eastern Siberia, as an example, we explore a twofold hypothesis. First, has the post-socialist condition brought about a growing awareness of individual space and, furthermore, an extension of private space? Second, can we assume that houses and their surroundings, in particular fences, walls and hedges, serve as means of displaying social status? An examination of these questions requires a typology of buildings and neighbourhoods. Significant are the differences between apartment-building areas and private-property neighbourhoods across the city with regard to the use and materiality of fences, notions of private space, and the web of shortcuts within the urban grid. Drawing on the work of anthropologist Alexei Yurchak, we finally discuss the concept of traversability of contemporary urban space.     

中国非政府组织决策参与的有效路径探析——以“自然之友”为例

作为多元社会力量重要组成部分的非政府组织,在有效参与公共政策时也呈现了一些治理困境和不足,文章以非政府组织参与政策的内容和作用,以及参与政策中存在的困境为出发点,提出有利于非政府组织参与公共政策的建议,逐步实现非政府组织有效参与公共政策。     

浅谈历史街区保护中的公众参与

介绍了国外历史保护中关于公众参与的立法与实践,并以上海提篮桥历史街区为例,采用调查问卷和访问的形式,分析了我国历史街区保护中公众参与存在的问题,提出了完善历史保护中公众参与的对策。     

Public versus private water delivery,remunicipalization and water tariffs

Evidence regarding the drivers and the effects of remunicipalization remains in short supply. In this paper we exploit existing analyses of earlier historical phases of the remunicipalization of water delivery services to disentangle the role played by a range of different factors – most notably overpricing and corruption under private ownership – in the decision to remunicipalize these services. Additionally, we discuss what the effects of remunicipalization might be in the light of the, as yet, somewhat sketchy evidence. In the specific case of water tariffs, our analysis casts some doubt on whether the initial price reductions introduced following remunicipalization are sustainable over time.     

The evolution of prefabricated residential building systems in Hong Kong: A review of the public and the private sector

Prefabricated building components have been adopted in Hong Kong for over two decades for high-rise buildings. In the public sector, prefabrication together with standard modular design was introduced in the Housing Authority's public housing projects in the mid-1980s. Over the years, precasting techniques have significantly evolved in public housing projects. In contrast, prefabrication has only recently been adopted in the private sector. The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of precasting technology in high-rise residential developments in Hong Kong, and then explore the technological influences in both sectors. A database of 179 prefabricated residential buildings was developed and detailed case studies of five residential developments were conducted. The findings revealed that a greater extent of prefabrication use over the years, in terms of precasting percentage by volume and types of precast elements utilised. Major prefabrication innovations, in both sectors, influenced the technological advancement in prefabrication in Hong Kong.     

日本历史环境保护的理论与实践——法律、政策与公众参与

历史环境是指与一定范围的土地密切相关的历史文化遗产构成一体的实体环境状态,它与居民的精神生活息息相关,1966年日本制定了《古都保存法》来保护古都的“历史风上”,1975年修订了《文化财保护法》,创立了“传统建造物群保存地区”制度,对一般城镇内的历史街区以及以村落聚落景观为代表的历史环境进行切实保护与合理再利用。70年代又对全国综合开发规划中的国土政策进行了重大调整,在这人转变过程中,历史保护运动中的公众参与和地方自治体条例起了积极的推动作用。     

Turkish experience with public private partnerships in infrastructure: Opportunities and challenges

Turkey has been the most active user of PPP contracts for the delivery of infrastructure services in Eurasia in recent years. Also, it has an ambitious PPP portfolio which would be realized in coming years. This study attempts to explore whether PPPs would genuinely bring efficiency gains in the delivery of public services or pose new challenges for the performance of public administration from a broader economic perspective. The government has considered them as a panacea to deliver much needed infrastructure services, due to the large fiscal deficits and high public debt. This study argues that although PPPs can play a role in facilitating infrastructure investments, they can still impose unduly costs on the society, if enabling institutions, rules and procedures surrounding PPPs remain immature.     

上海地下工程建设中的经验和教训

近年来,随着上海经济的发展以及2010年上海世界博览会的迫切需求,上海市掀起了基础设施建设(特别是地下工程建设)的新高潮。本文着重介绍了上海近几年来地下工程建设的现状和所取得的成就,这其中包括轨道交通工程、越江隧道工程、地下道路工程、地下市政工程以及地下空间规划利用等多方面的进展情况。同时结合笔者多年来的地下工程建设经验,对上海地下工程建设过程中存在的规划、建设以及管理等方面的问题和所得到的教训进行了总结。在此基础上笔者对上海地下工程今后的发展趋势进行了展望,认为今后地下工程将向深层次化、信息化、以及节能化等方向发展,并对今后地下工程的建设提出一些建议,希望加强今后地下空间的立法管理以及地下工程建设过程中的风险管理。     

On place-making,participation and public art: the Gorbals,Glasgow

Public art has become part of the rhetoric of regeneration and within this participation has come to play an increasingly significant role. Public art, through its aesthetic and process, is perceived as integral to place-making within regeneration practice, affording cohesion to otherwise disaffected and disillusioned communities and distinctiveness to reformed places. Based on the example of a regenerated inner-city neighbourhood in Glasgow, the Gorbals, this paper questions the role of public participation in the installation of public art. How the regeneration of the neighbourhood unfolded was heavily influenced by new urbanist ideals in which place-making techniques were instrumental in repositioning the perception of the neighbourhood for its residents as well as externally. We argue that within a complex process of regeneration there are limits to how public participation can be built into the process of installing public art, reflecting in turn the different routes through which places become meaningful.     

Housing, the state and the market in Thailand: Enabling and enriching the private sector

Housing has never been high on the political agenda in Thailand. Except in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the National Housing Authority built low-cost rental apartments, successive governments have not much interfered in the land and housing market, but allowed supply and demand to meet. When it played an active role, the government would facilitate private-sector housing development and keep interest rates low to support homebuyers. However, over the years, the number of slum dwellers in Bangkok has not decreased, while government policy may have benefited private developers more than it benefited low-income homebuyers.