Articulating Soft and Hard Infrastructures

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Articulating Soft and Hard Infrastructures Emerging New Roles for Designers and Planners: Articulating Soft and Hard Infrastructures Roberto Rocco Assistant Professor, Section Spatial Planning and Strategy, TU Delft Hard infrastructure are often purposed by urbanists to facilitate further economic and societal development. However, the recent protests in Brazil and Turkey against the urban plans told the other side of the story of infrastructure: the design of hard infrastructure alone is not enough. Roberto Rocco, an assistant professor of TU Delft and also a Brazilian, reviews the underlying causes of the protest in Brazil, from which he stresses the importance of soft infrastructure and the political role of urban planners and designers. The idea explored in this edition of Atlantis, that cities are composed one in order to be able to effectively and responsibly act and intervene Figure 1. Protest in Brazil 2013 ©http://blogs.independent.co.uk by “hard” and “soft” infrastructure, immediately caught my attention. in space. I was initially not familiar with the work of Edward Malecki, for whom both “public and private sectors, and their interactions, are The interactions between society and space are complex and to a large Once we have acknowledged that the design of sustained by networks. To be effective, these networks must operate extent indomitable, as they cannot be fully understood and managed. at the global, national, regional and local scales, gathering knowledge However, in times of “big data” and “smart cities”, we must still hard infrastructures alone is not enough, via social interaction, that is, through ‘soft’ networks”. acknowledge the importance of governments and formal planning as steerers of urban development. We must also acknowledge the is it possible that the design and planning of soft infrastructures Of course, these expressions are open for interpretation. Hard role of politics in urban development and accept that urban planners infrastructure is easily understandable as the physical environments and designers have a political role. Bringing politics back to design can help us attain our objectives? and places where life occurs. But what is “soft infrastructure”? and planning studies is crucial in order to avoid the irrational belief An understanding of soft infrastructure could perhaps include some designers and planners seem to have on the effectiveness of culture, political structures and institutions or the way these things architectural and urban designs and plans to “solve” social conflict are articulated and bound together by values, rules, traditions and by themselves; without an understanding of and without real violently. A similar development took we have acknowledged that the design of located far from where they can afford to conventions. Together they conceivably form the soft infrastructure connections to the larger social and economic processes and decision- place in my native Brazil, where a peaceful hard infrastructure alone is not enough, is live. They argue that the economic benefits that inhabit (and produce) physical space. making structures. movement for better public transportation it possible that the design and planning of of such a scheme would far surpass the costs was equally violently repressed by the soft infrastructure can help us attain our of subsidizing transport, and have even In urban planning and design studies, however, there is a specific Urban space is essentially the space of politics, as Plato and a host of authorities. Demonstrations multiplied and objectives? produced studies demonstrating the viability way to understand these relationships. We try to understand how other thinkers have stated. It is the space of dispute and conflict, but the nature of those movements changed into of their proposals. governments (and most specially formal spatial planning systems also of negotiation, cooperation and cross-fertilization of ideas (as full-throttle pleas for better democracies, But before we try to answer that question, and spatial intervention practices) interact with civil society Jane Jacobs has brilliantly theorized in her book “The Economy of effective government, transparency and let’s examine the events in Brazil more Mobility is a serious issue in Brazilian and the private sector for the production of space. This is called Cities and new economic geographers have been busy investigating accountability. closely. What are people so angry about metropolises. A heated economy means that “governance”. Governance is perhaps an effective shorthand to ever since). All decisions concerning urban development are political and what do they ultimately want? As more and more people have access to private express the complexity of soft infrastructure in urbanism. The decisions, since they must be negotiated among different parties that What is the role of design and planning in all I said, the initial demand concerned a cars. As car ownership is already high and relationships among the public sector, the private sector and civil often hold conflicting views. this? It seems evident to me that we, urban plea for free public transportation. An public transportation ineffective, traffic society happen within formal institutions (of which the rule of law planners and designers, can contribute to organized movement called “Movimento jams are inevitable. On the other end of is the best expression) and informal institutions (cultures, traditions All this became evident to me while anxiously watching recent the debate of what better democracies mean Passe Livre” (roughly translated as “Free the social spectrum, the poor must struggle and customs). developments in Brazil and Turkey, where millions took to the streets today through the understanding of how Pass Movement”) argues that it would be with inefficient but expensive transportation because of spatial demands, which quickly turned to pleas for better to act on urban space democratically and feasible and even economically beneficial systems that highly limit their possibilities of As I hinted in the first paragraph, the correlation between hard and democracies. It is revealing that both movements stemmed from two responsibly. Turkish urbanists can design if public transportation were entirely social and economic advancement. soft infrastructure in the production of space is diachronic and mutual. crucial urban demands: the demand for public space and green in the good inner-city parks and Brazilian traffic- subsidized by public money. They claim As radical as the proposals of ‘Movimento Hard infrastructure simultaneously produces and is produced by soft city and the demand for mobility. In Turkey, a peaceful protest against engineers are very good at planning bus that mobility is a fundamental right and Passe Livre’ might seem, they have played a infrastructure. Space is socially constructed, as Henri Lefebvre so the construction of a shopping centre in one of the last remnants of and metro lines. But there is nothing good that by providing free transportation to big role in steering opinions about the role of masterly argued in his 1974 book “The production of space”. Here, green in the symbolic centre of Istanbul, quickly turned into a plea design can do against ineffective and corrupt the poor, the government would be greatly the State, the nature of urban rights and the I argue that one of our roles as Urbanists is to try and understand the for real democracy when authorities turned a blind eye to legitimate governments or failures in negotiation advancing their life chances, allowing them importance of urban mobility. complex relationships between the hard infrastructure and the soft demands from civil society and instead repressed demonstrations and implementation. Or is there? Once prompt access to jobs and services frequently 6 7 1 MALECKI, E. J. 2002. Hard and Soft Networks for Urban Competitiveness. Hard infrastructure simultaneously produces Urban Studies, 39, 929-945. 2 OSTROM, E. 2005. Understanding and is produced by soft infrastructure. Institutional Diversity, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press. 3 LEFEBVRE, H. 1991. The production of space, Oxford, OX, UK; Cambridge, Mass., USA, Blackwell. 4 JACOBS, J. 1969. The economy of cities, New York, Random House. 5 OTTAVIANO, G. & THISSE, J.-F. 2004. New Economic Geography: What about the N? CORE Discussion Paper No. 2004, 1-26. 6 You can get more information (in Portuguese) at the official site of Movimento Passe Livre http:// saopaulo.mpl.org.br. Former Transport Secretary of the city of São Paulo, engineer Lucio Gregori, argues that Figure 2. Brazil stadium for 2014 World Cup ©http://www.wsdg.com the tributary policies in Brazil do not allow for free transportation, but that otherwise transport could be free, just After the initial grotesque and violent repression of demonstrations social inequality) is very high (54.7 according to the World Bank, It is my profound belief that our task is not only to deliver the like the public health system (SUS), for free transportation, other sectors of society got mobilized. similar to Guatemala and Zambia) and the Inequality Adjusted plans and designs that will shape the physical world (the hard public schools and garbage collection. Perhaps the Passe Livre Movement’s ideas seemed undoable, but they HDI (Human Development Index) is 0.53 (which puts Brazil as infrastructure), but we must also simultaneously design the soft All these things are already free in certainly had the right to demonstrate and propagate their views. 70th in the world in terms
Recommended publications
  • 62Nd Euroconstruct Conference
    A-1103 WIEN, POSTFACH 91 TEL. 798 26 01 • FAX 798 93 86 ÖSTERREICHISCHES INSTITUT FÜR WIRTSCHAFTSFORSCHUNG 62nd Euroconstruct Conference The Prospects for the European Construction Market Country Reports December 2006 Munich, December 2006 Country Report 62nd Euroconstruct Conference Munich, December 2006 Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich © EUROCONSTRUCT Munich, December 2006 This Country Report has been written and prepared by the EUROCONSTRUCT organisation from the country reports of the 19 EUROCONSTRUCT member institutes. The report has been edited and formatted by: Ifo Institute for Economic Research Poschingerstrasse 5, 81679 Munich Germany Tel.: ++49-89-9224-1388 or -1383 Fax: ++49-89-9224-2430 or -2383 E-Mail: russig@ifo.de or gluch@ifo.de Website: www.ifo.de www.euroconstruct.org © EUROCONSTRUCT December 2006 All rights reserved Reproduction or passing-on of the whole or parts of the report is strictly forbidden without prior written authority from the Ifo Institute, acting on behalf of the EUROCONSTRUCT group. © EUROCONSTRUCT Munich, December 2006 Index Contents The Euroconstruct Network....................................................................... 5 Country Reports Austria ............................................................................................ 31 Belgium .......................................................................................... 45 Czech Republic.............................................................................. 63 Denmark........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Regulation of Utility Infrastructure
    4 Economic Regulation of Utility Infrastructure Janice A. Beecher ublic infrastructure has characteristics of both public and private goods and earns a separate classification as a toll good. Utilities demonstrate a Pvariety of distinct and interrelated technical, economic, and institutional characteristics that relate to market structure and oversight. Except for the water sector, much of the infrastructure providing essential utility services in the United States is privately owned and operated. Private ownership of utility infrastructure necessitates economic regulation to address market failures and prevent abuse of monopoly power, particularly at the distribution level. The United States can uniquely boast more than 100 years of experience in regulation in the public in- terest through a social compact that balances and protects the interests of inves- tors and ratepayers both. Jurisdiction is shared between independent federal and state commissions that apply established principles through a quasi-judicial pro- cess. The commissions continue to rely primarily on the method known as rate base/rate-of-return regulation, by which regulators review the prudence of in- frastructure investment, along with prices, profits, and performance. Regulatory theory and practice have adapted to emerging technologies and evolving market conditions. States—and nation-states—have become the experimental laborato- ries for structuring, restructuring, and regulating infrastructure industries, and alternative methods have been tried, including price-cap and performance regu- lation in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Aging infrastructure and sizable capital requirements, in the absence of effective competition, argue for a regula- tory role. All forms of regulation, and their implementation, can and should be Review comments from Tim Brennan, Carl Peterson, Ken Costello, David Wagman, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy are greatly appreciated.
    [Show full text]
  • NORTH WEST Freight Transport Strategy
    NORTH WEST Freight Transport Strategy Department of Infrastructure NORTH WEST FREIGHT TRANSPORT STRATEGY Final Report May 2002 This report has been prepared by the Department of Infrastructure, VicRoads, Mildura Rural City Council, Swan Hill Rural City Council and the North West Municipalities Association to guide planning and development of the freight transport network in the north-west of Victoria. The State Government acknowledges the participation and support of the Councils of the north-west in preparing the strategy and the many stakeholders and individuals who contributed comments and ideas. Department of Infrastructure Strategic Planning Division Level 23, 80 Collins St Melbourne VIC 3000 www.doi.vic.gov.au Final Report North West Freight Transport Strategy Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... i 1. Strategy Outline. ...........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background .............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Strategy Outcomes.................................................................................................................1 1.3 Planning Horizon.....................................................................................................................1 1.4 Other Investigations ................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Framework for Soft and Hard City Infrastructures
    Cite this article Research Article Keywords: design methods & aids/ Dyer M, Dyer R, Weng MH et al. (2019) Paper 1900021 infrastructure planning/ Framework for soft and hard city infrastructures. Received 28/06/2019; urban regeneration Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Urban Design and Planning 172(6): 219–227, Accepted 03/10/2019; https://doi.org/10.1680/jurdp.19.00021 Published online 04/12/2019 Published with permission by the ICE under the CC-BY 4.0 license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Urban Design and Planning Framework for soft and hard city infrastructures Mark Dyer DPhil, FICE, CEng Thomas Grey BArch, MSc Professor, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Senior Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (corresponding author: mdyer@waikato.ac.nz) Richard Gleeson BA, MSc (Orcid:0000-0002-6766-0893) Retired Dublin City Planner, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland Rachel Dyer BA, MSc Tomás García Ferrari Planning Officer, Hamilton City Council, Hamilton, New Zealand Senior Lecturer in Graphical Design, University of Waikato, Hamilton, Min-Hsien Weng PhD New Zealand Senior Research Fellow, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Shaoqun Wu PhD Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand The term city infrastructures is often restricted to the physical elements of a city, while in practice it comprises both hard infrastructures for built environment and utilities, as well as soft infrastructures involving services, social groupings and personal skills. Part of the confusion is the lack of clarity about the role and delivery of city infrastructures and its relationship to livelihood and livability.
    [Show full text]
  • Improving Road Infrastructure and Traffic Flows IRU Resolution Adopted by the Council of Direction at Its Meeting in Brussels on 18 May 2000
    Improving road infrastructure and traffic flows IRU Resolution adopted by the Council of Direction at its meeting in Brussels on 18 May 2000 The mobility of people and goods is dependent on the efficient use of existing traffic infrastructure, and the modernisation and expansion of traffic infrastructure to meet the future demand for transport services efficiently and cost-effectively. This applies in particular to roads, since road transport accounts for more than 90% of all passenger transport and more than 80% of all goods transport in most countries in terms of passengers and tonnes carried. Impediments to mobility such as traffic restrictions, road blockades, closures of certain road infrastructure sections, or congestion due to bottlenecks in road infrastructure ignore the fact that • road infrastructure investments are a vital prerequisite for improving road safety, (see annex 1) • revenues from the transport of goods by road (fuel taxes, vehicle ownership taxes, road user charges) more than cover expenditure on road building and maintenance, as do revenues from the transport by bus and coach (see annex 2) • congested traffic leads to a significant increase of fuel consumption by a factor of up to 3, (see annex 3) • on average, only 0.5% of total land surface in most countries is used for road infrastructure, (see annex 4) • the economic benefits of road infrastructure investments are 29 times its investment costs, and thus the highest of all infrastructure sectors, including other transport modes, (see annex 5) • the economic cost of impediments to road transport (congestion, border delays, traffic bans, blockades etc.) amounts to 0.5% of GDP, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Product Declaration in Accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804:2012+A1:2013 For
    Environmental Product Declaration In accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804:2012+A1:2013 for: Under Ballast Mat, type UBM-H35-C from Programme: The International EPD® System, www.environdec.com Programme operator: EPD International AB EPD registration number: S-P-02061 Publication date: 2021-02-08 Valid until: 2026-02-08 An EPD should provide current information and may be updated if conditions change. The stated validity is therefore subject to the continued registration and publication at www.environdec.com PAGE 1/13 General information Programme information Programme: The International EPD® System EPD International AB Box 210 60 Address: SE-100 31 Stockholm Sweden Website: www.environdec.com E-mail: info@environdec.com CEN standard EN 15804 serves as the Core Product Category Rules (PCR) Product category rules (PCR): Product Category Rules for construction products and construction services of 2012:01, version 2.33 valid: 2021-12-31 PCR review was conducted by: Technical Committee of the International EPD® System, A full list of members available on www.environdec.com. The review panel may be contacted via info@environdec.com. Independent third-party verification of the declaration and data, according to ISO 14025:2006: ☐ EPD process certification ☒ EPD verification Third party verifier: Damien Prunel from Bureau Veritas LCIE Approved by: The International EPD® System Procedure for follow-up of data during EPD validity involves third party verifier: ☐ Yes ☒ No The EPD owner has the sole ownership, liability, and responsibility for the EPD. EPDs within the same product category but from different programmes may not be comparable. EPDs of construction products may not be comparable if they do not comply with EN 15804.
    [Show full text]
  • Road Transport Infrastructure
    © IEA ETSAP - Technology Brief T14 – August 2011 - www.etsap.org Road Transport Infrastructure HIGHLIGHTS TECHNOLOGY STATUS - Road transport infrastructure enables movements of people and goods within and between countries. It is also a sector within the construction industry that has demonstrated significant developments over time and ongoing growth, particularly in the emerging economies. This brief highlights the different impacts of the road transport infrastructure, including those from construction, maintenance and operation (use). The operation (use) phase of a road transport infrastructure has the most significance in terms of environmental and economic impact. While the focus in this phase is usually on the dominant role of tail-pipe GHG emissions from vehicles, the operation of the physical infrastructure should also accounted for. In total, the road transport infrastructure is thought to account for between 8% and 18% of the full life cycle energy requirements and GHG emissions from road transport. PERFORMANCE AND COSTS - Energy consumption, GHG emissions and costs of road transport infrastructure fall broadly into the three phases: (i) construction, (ii) maintenance, and (iii) operation (decommissioning is not included in this brief). The construction and maintenance costs of a road transport infrastructure vary according to location and availability of raw materials (in general, signage and lighting systems are not included in the construction costs). GHG emissions resulting from road construction have been estimated to be between 0.37 and 1.07 ktCO2/km for a 13m wide road – depending on construction methods. Maintenance over the road lifetime (typically 40 years) can also be significant in terms of costs, energy consumption and GHG emissions.
    [Show full text]
  • Extracting Value from Municipal Solid Waste for Greener Cities: the Case of the Republic of Korea
    KNOWLEDGE NOTE SERIES 04 EXTRACTING VALUE FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FOR GREENER CITIES: THE CASE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA EIKO WATAYA WB, FAROUK MOLLAH BANNA WB, INHYE BAK WB, DR. JAEMIN SONG UNIVERSITY OF SEOUL, SANG HYUN YOON SUDOKWON LANDFILL SITE MANAGEMENT CORP., AND DR. SORA YI KOREA ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE1 INTRODUCTION Municipal solid waste is discarded material that originates mostly from human activities in urban areas. It is well documented that improperly disposed of solid waste can negatively impact human health and the environment. For example, uncollected solid waste is one of the leading causes of flooding in slums, which claims thousands of human lives worldwide every year. Uncollected municipal solid waste can also affect other key sectors, such as tourism, hindering a country’s economic growth. The irony is that much of this waste could be reclaimed as renewable resources and help alleviate raw material and energy shortages in a cost- effective manner. To make municipal solid waste a usable resource, recycling must be encouraged, and ideally collected and separated at the source. Such a shift requires an integrated approach to policy creation that includes governance structures, technologies, investments, and citizen engagement— often challenging in fast-growing urban centers witnessing population growth, rapid urbanization, economic development, changes in human consumption, technology development, and more. As countries urbanize and 1 This paper has benefited from the peer review and input of Silpa Kaza (Urban Specialist/World Bank) and David Lerpiniere (Consultant/World Bank). grow economically, the level of waste generation per capita increases. The complexity of the waste stream typically also increases as the proportion of plastics, electronics, and hazardous waste grows and the share of biodegradable materials decreases.
    [Show full text]
  • Infrastructure Failure I. Introduction Two Broad Areas of Concern
    Infrastructure Failure I. Introduction Two broad areas of concern regarding infrastructure failure include: • Episodic failure: temporary loss of power, technology associated with maintenance of the babies may fail, or some other temporary issue may occur. • Catastrophic failure: significant damage to hospital infrastructure or anticipated prolonged outage of critical systems may trigger a decision to perform a hospital evacuation. Preplanning requires recognition of potential threats or hazards and then development of management strategies to locate the resources and support patient needs. • In disasters, departmental leaders need to develop an operational chart to plan for a minimum of 96 hours for staff needs, as well as patient care needs and supplies that may be depleted as supplies are moved with the patients. In the event that supplies or equipment cannot be replenished, staff may need to improvise. It is important that staff become familiar with non-traditional methodologies to assist equipment-dependent emergencies for neonatal patients. • The first task in dealing with infrastructure emergencies is to complete a pre-disaster assessment of critical infrastructure (see Appendix A). A key consideration in deciding whether to issue a pre-event evacuation order is to assess vulnerabilities and determine anticipated impact of the emergency on the hospital and its surrounding community. II. Critical Infrastructure Self-Assessment Worksheet A Pre-Disaster Assessment of Critical Infrastructure Worksheet (Appendix A) is divided into eight sections: municipal water, steam, electricity, natural gas, boilers/chillers, powered life support equipment, information technology, telecommunications, and security. The Worksheet can be used in conjunction with the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), which is a management guide for protecting critical infrastructure and key resources.
    [Show full text]
  • Data for the Public Good
    Data for the public good NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION National Infrastructure Commission report | Data for the public good Foreword Advances in technology have always transformed our lives and indeed whole industries such as banking and retail. In the same way, sensors, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning can transform the way we use and manage our national infrastructure. Government could spend less, whilst delivering benefits to the consumer: lower bills, improved travel times, and reduced disruption from congestion or maintenance work. The more information we have about the nation’s infrastructure, the better we can understand it. Therefore, data is crucial. Data can improve how our infrastructure is built, managed, and eventually decommissioned, and real-time data can inform how our infrastructure is operated on a second-to-second basis. However, collecting data alone will not improve the nation’s infrastructure. The key is to collect high quality data and use it effectively. One path is to set standards for the format of data, enabling high quality data to be easily shared and understood; much that we take for granted today is only possible because of agreed standards, such as bar codes on merchandise which have enabled the automation of checkout systems. Sharing data can catalyse innovation and improve services. Transport for London (TfL) has made information on London’s transport network available to the public, paving the way for the development of apps like Citymapper, which helps people get about the city safely and expediently. But it is important that when information on national infrastructure is shared, this happens with the appropriate security and privacy arrangements.
    [Show full text]
  • How Iot, AAI Can Contribute to Smart Home and Smart Cities Services: the Role of Innovation
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Skouby, Knud Erik; Lynggaard, Per; Windekilde, Iwona; Henten, Anders Conference Paper How IoT, AAI can contribute to smart home and smart cities services: The role of innovation 25th European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society (ITS): "Disruptive Innovation in the ICT Industries: Challenges for European Policy and Business" , Brussels, Belgium, 22nd-25th June, 2014 Provided in Cooperation with: International Telecommunications Society (ITS) Suggested Citation: Skouby, Knud Erik; Lynggaard, Per; Windekilde, Iwona; Henten, Anders (2014) : How IoT, AAI can contribute to smart home and smart cities services: The role of innovation, 25th European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society (ITS): "Disruptive Innovation in the ICT Industries: Challenges for European Policy and Business" , Brussels, Belgium, 22nd-25th June, 2014, International Telecommunications Society (ITS), Calgary This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/101421 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich
    [Show full text]
  • DLA Piper. Details of the Member Entities of DLA Piper Are Available on the Website
    EUROPEAN PPP REPORT 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Report has been published with particular thanks to: The EPEC Executive and in particular, Livia Dumitrescu, Goetz von Thadden, Mathieu Nemoz and Laura Potten. Those EPEC Members and EIB staff who commented on the country reports. Each of the contributors of a ‘View from a Country’. Line Markert and Mikkel Fritsch from Horten for assistance with the report on Denmark. Andrei Aganimov from Borenius & Kemppinen for assistance with the report on Finland. Maura Capoulas Santos and Alberto Galhardo Simões from Miranda Correia Amendoeira & Associados for assistance with the report on Portugal. Gustaf Reuterskiöld and Malin Cope from DLA Nordic for assistance with the report on Sweden. Infra-News for assistance generally and in particular with the project lists. All those members of DLA Piper who assisted with the preparation of the country reports and finally, Rosemary Bointon, Editor of the Report. Production of Report and Copyright This European PPP Report 2009 ( “Report”) has been produced and edited by DLA Piper*. DLA Piper acknowledges the contribution of the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC)** in the preparation of the Report. DLA Piper retains editorial responsibility for the Report. In contributing to the Report neither the European Investment Bank, EPEC, EPEC’s Members, nor any Contributor*** indicates or implies agreement with, or endorsement of, any part of the Report. This document is the copyright of DLA Piper and the Contributors. This document is confidential and personal to you. It is provided to you on the understanding that it is not to be re-used in any way, duplicated or distributed without the written consent of DLA Piper or the relevant Contributor.
    [Show full text]