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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
21

Culture-led urban regeneration: The case of Maboneng

Meek, Louise Gardner January 2017 (has links)
This dissertation utilizes a case study of Maboneng in Johannesburg central business district (CBD) to make a case for culture-led urban regeneration in South Africa. The City of Johannesburg is still to a large extent locked into Apartheid-era spatial planning whereby most neighbourhoods' reflect the Group Areas Act's racial profiles of the past. Given this historical context, a more nuanced approach to culture-led regeneration is required in assessing the complexity of urban regeneration in South Africa. This dissertation analyses to what extend Maboneng has undergone a process of culture-led urban regeneration, examining the transformation in terms of social, physical and economic outcomes. It also seeks to uncover to what extend the case of Maboneng aligns with global literature- and to what extent it departs? Chapter 2 introduces the research method, which is case study based, and relies on Propertuity company data for the purposes of this paper, which is outlined as a gap that could be addressed in a future study of the area. Chapter 3 defines culture-led urban regeneration and focuses on a literature review, with Florida's (2002) creative class theory at the core of the discussion around urban regeneration, which is critiqued by Peck (2007) who believes it leads to further prioritization of the middle class at the expense of the poor. Moulaert, Demuynck & Nussbaumer (2004) suggest a nuanced perspective to culture-led urban regeneration that adopts a socially-rooted view which values the multi dimensional role of culture in urban development. The case of Maboneng uses this nuanced perspective from the literature as a framework to categorise the data in chapter 4, and analyse the data in chapter 5, using the three dimensions of urban regeneration (namely social, physical and economic transformation) in order to assess the culture-led urban regeneration in Maboneng. The findings highlight that Maboneng is socially-rooted in its approach to both the social and economic transformations that are occurring in the neighborhood with success in the establishment of a mixed-race neighbourhood that is reflective of the City of Johannesburg racial profiles, as well as the establishment of a local economy. It is argued that more could be done to ensure the physical dimensions and aesthetics of place that are less 'curated' by the property developer and more focused on cocreation of aesthetics.
22

Understanding conflicting rationalities in city planning: a case study of co-produced infrastructure in informal settlements in Kampala

Siame, Gilbert January 2017 (has links)
Kampala is Uganda's capital city and is one the fastest growing cities in the world. Over 60% of the city's urban population live and work informally. In 2002, the Ugandan Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development attended the World Urban Forum in Kenya, where he met with the international president of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), Jockin Arputham. The Minister requested the support of SDI to mobilise the residents of Kampala for settlement upgrading. Following this invitation, the SDI president, with Federation members from South Africa and India, visited Kampala. This visit resulted in the signing of an agreement to enable community residents and the state to jointly improve the living conditions of people in informal settlements in Kampala. This marked the beginning of a new form of state-society relations, called co-production. These relations have grown, evolved and progressively matured over the years. This evolutionary case study asks how co-production engagements in the City of Kampala provide empirical support for an enhanced theoretical framework in planning which contributes to ideas of state-society engagement in the cities of the global South. Drawing on poststructuralist theory and cases of co-production, a conceptual framework provides the theoretical basis to examine how service delivery and city planning under co-production are shaped by power and rationalities that occur at the interface between state and society. This study draws on key proponents of the case study method. Primary data and information were collected, using semi-structured interviews. Document analysis and observations were used to supplement the interview processes and data. The findings were analysed and then used to engage with the theoretical materials in order to write back to theory and then generate theoretical prepositions on planning theory and co-production as an interventive planning framework. Key findings show that communities and civic groups used tools of enumerations, exchange visits and savings to assert their claims and demands, as well as to advance and secure their survival assets and systems. The study reveals complex multifaceted and dynamic power struggles and matrixes within and between structures of the state in the implementation of various co-production initiatives and relations. The state displays and relies on incoherent legal and policy positions, acts informally and operates between old and new ways of engaging with communities. The study further reveals tension points, reversals and the 'holding back' of state power during encounters of state, networked and multiple community power bases that have strong and influential claims to urban space, materialities such as land, trading spaces, informal livelihood systems, place and belonging. The narratives show that community is segmented and conflicted, with individuals and civic groups straddling the divide between state and societal spaces. The combination of organised community resistance and collaboration led to 'quiet encroachment' to shift state positions on development regulations and to disrupt and refine states' schemes of community intervention to become open and more inclusive. The conflicting rationalities and deep differences between state agents and communities extend beyond the binary of state and 'community'. The narratives reveal the fragmented nature of the state - formal and informal - and the divisions within and between society and civic groups characterised by the politics of control of space and territoriality, differentiation and belonging. The case study engages with theory to provide an important caution against the limitations of assuming that planning can adopt consensualist processes in the cities of the South. It suggests that co-production offers a more productive and realistic way of approaching state-society engagement in planning, but is also fraught with difficulties that are also present in the wider context within which engagement occurs. Therefore, this thesis also argues that planning in the South should be seen as both a collaborative and conflicted process. In addition, it postulates that there is nothing peaceful about urban life, and that power and conflict are ubiquitous elements that both produce and are a product of the interface between state and society.
23

São Paulo - Paris, metrópoles fluviais. Ensaio de projeto de arquitetura das orlas do canal Pinheiros inferior, córrego Jaguaré e córrego Água Podre / São Paulo - Paris, fluvial metropolis. Architectural design essay on the edges of lower Pinheiros channel, Jaguaré stream and Água Podre stream

Eloisa Balieiro Ikeda 03 June 2016 (has links)
Esta pesquisa integra os estudos desenvolvidos pelo Grupo Metrópole Fluvial da FAUUSP, sobretudo o projeto do Hidroanel Metropolitano de São Paulo, iniciado em 2011. Seu objetivo é propor uma alternativa de reestruturação da metrópole de São Paulo a partir dos rios e canais que a irrigam. São apresentadas duas metrópoles que foram fundadas às margens fluviais: São Paulo e Paris. Para São Paulo, propõe-se um ensaio de projeto de arquitetura das orlas do canal Pinheiros inferior, córrego Jaguaré e córrego Água Podre. O intuito é explorar soluções através de desenhos e definir conceitos que poderiam orientar a retomada dos rios e canais como eixos fundamentais na formação urbana a partir da consideração de suas funções: abastecimento, drenagem, lazer, navegação e energia. Considera-se que somente quando os múltiplos usos da água forem plenamente desenvolvidos, de acordo com as condições e demandas de cada lugar, o espaço urbano poderá ter qualidade ambiental e social. Salienta-se que o uso do espaço fluvial para lazer não é somente aquele restrito aos limites dos leitos, mas também o que se desenvolve nas suas orlas. Articulada à infraestrutura verde, a infraestrutura azul pode ser a base da consolidação de um sistema de parques fluviais que permeiam toda a área urbanizada, de maneira abrangente e capilar, nas diversas escalas, do bairro, da cidade e da metrópole. Acompanhando os desenhos das águas, formados por lagos e canais, os parques nas orlas e a arborização das margens criam caminhos de micro-clima ameno e úmido, propício para o desenvolvimento da fauna e flora urbanas e para o lazer dos moradores. Esses espaços são necessários para prover o bem estar da população. A função de lazer deve sempre ser uma meta, pois é a função que garante a visibilidade dos rios e a demanda de sua manutenção, além da possibilidade de conexão fundamental entre o homem e a natureza do lugar em que ele habita. Paris é apresentada aqui como referência de projeto de arquitetura de infraestruturas urbanas fluviais. Como São Paulo, seus rios já foram imundos e davam vazão a esgoto, inundações eram frequentes e devastadoras, como a mais conhecida de 1810, e a falta d\'água, por outro lado, era um problema constante. Essas questões foram equacionadas e Paris vem desenvolvendo e implementando projetos para que seu rio Sena e os canais Saint Martin e Saint Denis tenham suas orlas projetadas para o passeio de pedestres e ciclistas. A Bacia de la Villette é aqui registrada como exemplo para se analisar as possibilidades paisagísticas e de lazer de uma bacia, (uma dársena ou um lago), ou um canal construídos no meio urbano. Esse lugar é um dos centros atrativos da cidade, de uso diurno e noturno constantes, em todos os dias da semana e por todo tipo de gente. Assistimos desde o século passado a morte dos nossos rios, que permeiam com abundância a região metropolitana. A melhoria das cidades que compõem essa metrópole deve passar por essa constatação e apresentar soluções para recuperar o potencial das águas. Essa pesquisa se propõe a fornecer dados, alternativas e temas para se repensar e discutir o papel que os rios podem ter. / This research is part of the studies developed by Grupo Metrópole Fluvial from FAUUSP, specially the Sao Paulo Water ring project, which has begun in 2011. It proposes an alternative of restructuring São Paulo metropolis, considering its rivers and canals. Two metropolis are presented, São Paulo and Paris, both were founded along its rivers. It was developped an preliminary study of a fluvial architecture project to São Paulo, to the rive sides of Pinheiros inferior canal, stream Jaguaré and stream Água Podre. The aim is to explore solutions presented by drawings and define concepts that could guide the recovery of rivers and canals as fundamental axes in the urban formation, considering their functions: water supply, drainage, recreation, navigation and energy. Only when the multiple uses of water are entirely activated, according to the needs and conditions of each place, the urban space will be able to have environmental and social quality. It is important to highlight that the use of leisure in the fluvial space is not only limited to the river bed, but it can also happen in its sides. Articulated to the green infrastructure, the blue one could be the base for the insertion of a system of fluvial parks in the whole urbanized area, in a broad and capillary way, in its different scales: neighborhood, city and metropolis. Based on the design of the waters, formed by canals and lakes, the parks on the river side and the plantation of trees on those spaces can create a micro-climate, pleasant and wet, ideal for the urban fauna and flora developments and for the leisure of the inhabitants. Those spaces are necessary to provide the well being of people. The leisure function of the water should always be one of the goals of a hydraulic project. This leisure function is the one that guarantees the visibility of the rivers and the demand of maintenance, and also the fundamental connection between man and nature. Paris is presented here as a reference of fluvial urban infrastructures architectural projects. As São Paulo, its rivers were also polluted e carried sewage, floods were frequents and devastating, as the remarking one of 1810. The lack of water, on the other hand, was a constant problem. Those questions were mostly resolved. The city has been developing and implementing projects for its river Senna and canals, Saint Martin and Saint Denis, in order to turn its river sides into promenades for walkers and cyclers. The Bassin of la Villette is registered here as an example to be analyzed in terms of landscape possibilities and leisure by the side of the urban canal, lake or river. This place is one of the attraction centers of the city, by day and night time, every day of the week, frequented by every kind of people. We have been watching from the past century until now the death of our innumerous rivers. The improvement of the cities that are part of this metropolis should have this consciousness and present solutions to regain the potential of the waters. This research proposes to provide data\'s, alternatives and themes to discuss and rethink the role that rivers should have.
24

São Paulo - Paris, metrópoles fluviais. Ensaio de projeto de arquitetura das orlas do canal Pinheiros inferior, córrego Jaguaré e córrego Água Podre / São Paulo - Paris, fluvial metropolis. Architectural design essay on the edges of lower Pinheiros channel, Jaguaré stream and Água Podre stream

Ikeda, Eloisa Balieiro 03 June 2016 (has links)
Esta pesquisa integra os estudos desenvolvidos pelo Grupo Metrópole Fluvial da FAUUSP, sobretudo o projeto do Hidroanel Metropolitano de São Paulo, iniciado em 2011. Seu objetivo é propor uma alternativa de reestruturação da metrópole de São Paulo a partir dos rios e canais que a irrigam. São apresentadas duas metrópoles que foram fundadas às margens fluviais: São Paulo e Paris. Para São Paulo, propõe-se um ensaio de projeto de arquitetura das orlas do canal Pinheiros inferior, córrego Jaguaré e córrego Água Podre. O intuito é explorar soluções através de desenhos e definir conceitos que poderiam orientar a retomada dos rios e canais como eixos fundamentais na formação urbana a partir da consideração de suas funções: abastecimento, drenagem, lazer, navegação e energia. Considera-se que somente quando os múltiplos usos da água forem plenamente desenvolvidos, de acordo com as condições e demandas de cada lugar, o espaço urbano poderá ter qualidade ambiental e social. Salienta-se que o uso do espaço fluvial para lazer não é somente aquele restrito aos limites dos leitos, mas também o que se desenvolve nas suas orlas. Articulada à infraestrutura verde, a infraestrutura azul pode ser a base da consolidação de um sistema de parques fluviais que permeiam toda a área urbanizada, de maneira abrangente e capilar, nas diversas escalas, do bairro, da cidade e da metrópole. Acompanhando os desenhos das águas, formados por lagos e canais, os parques nas orlas e a arborização das margens criam caminhos de micro-clima ameno e úmido, propício para o desenvolvimento da fauna e flora urbanas e para o lazer dos moradores. Esses espaços são necessários para prover o bem estar da população. A função de lazer deve sempre ser uma meta, pois é a função que garante a visibilidade dos rios e a demanda de sua manutenção, além da possibilidade de conexão fundamental entre o homem e a natureza do lugar em que ele habita. Paris é apresentada aqui como referência de projeto de arquitetura de infraestruturas urbanas fluviais. Como São Paulo, seus rios já foram imundos e davam vazão a esgoto, inundações eram frequentes e devastadoras, como a mais conhecida de 1810, e a falta d\'água, por outro lado, era um problema constante. Essas questões foram equacionadas e Paris vem desenvolvendo e implementando projetos para que seu rio Sena e os canais Saint Martin e Saint Denis tenham suas orlas projetadas para o passeio de pedestres e ciclistas. A Bacia de la Villette é aqui registrada como exemplo para se analisar as possibilidades paisagísticas e de lazer de uma bacia, (uma dársena ou um lago), ou um canal construídos no meio urbano. Esse lugar é um dos centros atrativos da cidade, de uso diurno e noturno constantes, em todos os dias da semana e por todo tipo de gente. Assistimos desde o século passado a morte dos nossos rios, que permeiam com abundância a região metropolitana. A melhoria das cidades que compõem essa metrópole deve passar por essa constatação e apresentar soluções para recuperar o potencial das águas. Essa pesquisa se propõe a fornecer dados, alternativas e temas para se repensar e discutir o papel que os rios podem ter. / This research is part of the studies developed by Grupo Metrópole Fluvial from FAUUSP, specially the Sao Paulo Water ring project, which has begun in 2011. It proposes an alternative of restructuring São Paulo metropolis, considering its rivers and canals. Two metropolis are presented, São Paulo and Paris, both were founded along its rivers. It was developped an preliminary study of a fluvial architecture project to São Paulo, to the rive sides of Pinheiros inferior canal, stream Jaguaré and stream Água Podre. The aim is to explore solutions presented by drawings and define concepts that could guide the recovery of rivers and canals as fundamental axes in the urban formation, considering their functions: water supply, drainage, recreation, navigation and energy. Only when the multiple uses of water are entirely activated, according to the needs and conditions of each place, the urban space will be able to have environmental and social quality. It is important to highlight that the use of leisure in the fluvial space is not only limited to the river bed, but it can also happen in its sides. Articulated to the green infrastructure, the blue one could be the base for the insertion of a system of fluvial parks in the whole urbanized area, in a broad and capillary way, in its different scales: neighborhood, city and metropolis. Based on the design of the waters, formed by canals and lakes, the parks on the river side and the plantation of trees on those spaces can create a micro-climate, pleasant and wet, ideal for the urban fauna and flora developments and for the leisure of the inhabitants. Those spaces are necessary to provide the well being of people. The leisure function of the water should always be one of the goals of a hydraulic project. This leisure function is the one that guarantees the visibility of the rivers and the demand of maintenance, and also the fundamental connection between man and nature. Paris is presented here as a reference of fluvial urban infrastructures architectural projects. As São Paulo, its rivers were also polluted e carried sewage, floods were frequents and devastating, as the remarking one of 1810. The lack of water, on the other hand, was a constant problem. Those questions were mostly resolved. The city has been developing and implementing projects for its river Senna and canals, Saint Martin and Saint Denis, in order to turn its river sides into promenades for walkers and cyclers. The Bassin of la Villette is registered here as an example to be analyzed in terms of landscape possibilities and leisure by the side of the urban canal, lake or river. This place is one of the attraction centers of the city, by day and night time, every day of the week, frequented by every kind of people. We have been watching from the past century until now the death of our innumerous rivers. The improvement of the cities that are part of this metropolis should have this consciousness and present solutions to regain the potential of the waters. This research proposes to provide data\'s, alternatives and themes to discuss and rethink the role that rivers should have.
25

Resilience of urban water systems: an 'infrastructure ecology' approach to sustainable and resilient (SuRe) planning and design

Pandit, Arka 08 June 2015 (has links)
Increasing urbanization is a dominant global trend of the past few decades. For cities to become more sustainable, however, the infrastructure on which they rely must also become more efficient and resilient. Urban infrastructure systems are analogous to ecological systems because they are interconnected, complex and adaptive, are comprised of interconnected components, and exhibit characteristic scaling properties. Analyzing them together as a whole, as one would do for an ecological system, provides a better understanding about their dynamics and interactions, and enables system-level optimization. The adoption of this “infrastructure ecology” approach will result in urban development that costs less to build and maintain, is more sustainable (e.g. uses less materials and energy) and resilient, and enables a greater and more equitable creation of wealth and comfort. Resilience, or the capacity of a system to absorb shocks and perform under perturbations, can serve as an appropriate indicator of functional sustainability for dynamic adaptive systems like Urban Water Systems. This research developed an index of resilience (R-Index) to quantify the “full-spectrum” resilience of urban water systems. It developed five separate indices, namely (i) Index of Water Scarcity (IWS), (ii) Relative Dependency Index (RDI), (iii) Water Quality Index (WQI), (iv) Index of Network Resilience (INR), and (v) Relative Criticality Index (RCI), to address the criticalities inherent to urban water systems and then combines them to develop the R-Index through a multi-criteria decision analysis method. The research further developed a theoretical construct to quantify the temporal aspect of resilience, i.e. how quickly the system can return back to its original performance level. While there is a growing impetus of incorporating sustainability in decision making, frequently it comes at the cost of resilience. This is attributable to the fact that the decision-makers often lack a life-cycle perspective and a proven, consistent and robust approach to understand the tradeoff between increased resilience and its impact on sustainability. This research developed an approach to identify the sustainable and resilient (SuRe) zone of urban infrastructure planning and design where both sustainability and resilience can be pursued together.
26

Value-mapping for major economic infrastructure projects

Kraatz, Judy Ann January 2009 (has links)
The establishment of corporate objectives regarding economic, environmental, social, and ethical responsibilities, to inform business practice, has been gaining credibility in the business sector since the early 1990’s. This is witnessed through (i) the formation of international forums for sustainable and accountable development, (ii) the emergence of standards, systems, and frameworks to provide common ground for regulatory and corporate dialogue, and (iii) the significant quantum of relevant popular and academic literature in a diverse range of disciplines. How then has this move towards greater corporate responsibility become evident in the provision of major urban infrastructure projects? The gap identified, in both academic literature and industry practice, is a structured and auditable link between corporate intent and project outcomes. Limited literature has been discovered which makes a link between corporate responsibility; project performance indicators (or critical success factors) and major infrastructure provision. This search revealed that a comprehensive mapping framework, from an organisation’s corporate objectives through to intended, anticipated and actual outcomes and impacts has not yet been developed for the delivery of such projects. The research problem thus explored is ‘the need to better identify, map and account for the outcomes, impacts and risks associated with economic, environmental, social and ethical outcomes and impacts which arise from major economic infrastructure projects, both now, and into the future’. The methodology being used to undertake this research is based on Checkland’s soft system methodology, engaging in action research on three collaborative case studies. A key outcome of this research is a value-mapping framework applicable to Australian public sector agencies. This is a decision-making methodology which will enable project teams responsible for delivering major projects, to better identify and align project objectives and impacts with stated corporate objectives.
27

A review of the green economy in Cape Town: local policy in the light of international approaches

Petrik, Marko January 2016 (has links)
The industrial economy of the last 100 years has resulted in significant externalities, chief of which has been anthropogenic climate change caused by the release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. The green economy is an approach to economic activity that has been developed in an effort to mitigate against this and attempt to shift the world economy onto a more sustainable course. South Africa has a particularly carbon-intense economy, and as such bears a considerable burden to follow this shift. Cape Town, following the lead of national government, has begun to respond to climate change and has made steps to adopt the green economy. However, much of the literature and theory developed around the green economy has been produced by developed nations, which may render it problematic to be adopted by a city in a developing nation, such as Cape Town. This dissertation begins with a brief description of the background and definition of the green economy. Based on a reading of the international literature, it then uses an analytical overview of conceptual descriptions of the green economy to develop a Transition Framework as a tool for evaluation and comparison. The Transition Framework is then applied to the green economy in the city of Cape Town as a case study. While the City of Cape Town quite overtly applies international conceptions of the green economy to its formulation, it was found that there were some significant local deviations: political parties play an important role in leading and shaping the local green economy; there is a particular need to balance green economy interventions against the preservation of municipal income from tax; the city's spatial-geographic character plays an important role in strategy and planning; and the primary aim of the local green economy is to increase economic growth and produce employment opportunities, in order to ensure social and political stability. This study highlighted the fact that international conceptions of the green economy do have a significant amount of flexibility towards local conditions, this may in some cases result in a drift away from some of its stated aims (reducing greenhouse gasses, for example) towards addressing the most pressing local issues. This may potentially render its goals unachieved.
28

City Infrastructure and Fractured Space: Creating Continuity in a Fractured Urban Fabric

Jalaian, Yasaman Rose 12 August 2015 (has links)
The changes in technology and cultures of mobility within dense North American cities have resulted in a space that intervenes between one thing and another which often generates seemingly uninhabitable zones and problematic discontinuities in the physical and social fabric. Over time, the pattern of cities has changed; movement spaces have fractured the social spaces. The social dimension in the design of movement spaces has been neglected and thus these spaces have primarily become products of the functional dimension, i.e. traffic flow, circulation, and access for vehicles. These approaches to developments and prioritizing the movement space over the social space have contributed to the creation of fractured people spaces in between the fabric of cities. This thesis proposes to reconnect the broken fabric of cities that are shaped as result of the juxtaposition of movement infrastructure. Furthermore, the research studies the methods by which such spaces can become transformed into successful people place through literature review of what constitutes a successful urban space. Case studies of successful places adjacent to roads, waterfronts, and in between the fabric of cities were studied to understand the methods by which underused, and fractured spaces were transformed to successful urban places. This thesis further implements the methods of place making into creating the new physical, visual, cognitive, and ecological connection between the fractured spaces. / Master of Landscape Architecture
29

Métodos e procedimentos para a execução e o georreferenciamento de redes subterrâneas da infra-estrutura urbana. / Methods and procedures for the execution and the georeferencing of underground network of the urban infrastructure.

Rocco, Jefferson 18 December 2006 (has links)
Neste trabalho foram pesquisados os métodos e procedimentos utilizados na execução de obras das redes subterrâneas da infra-estrutura urbana, desde a demarcação até a elaboração da planta do levantamento de como construído. Os equipamentos utilizados na execução de obras, tanto os não destrutivos, como os destrutivos e aqueles de localização de dutos e cabos enterrados. São também apresentados e detalhados os procedimentos à luz das normas técnicas, para o devido georreferenciamento das redes de infra-estrutura subterrânea. Foram inclusive analisados os resultados obtidos para o posicionamento das redes, conforme apresenta o estudo de casos, em obras com a utilização de equipamentos para a localização de cabos e dutos enterrados. Finalmente são sugeridas propostas para o georreferenciamento das redes de infra-estrutura urbana com a finalidade de constituição de um cadastro único. / This study investigates the methods and procedures used in the urban infrastructure underground network, from the demarcation to the production of the as-built survey plant. The equipments used in the execution of services, as far as non destructive, destructive as well as in the localization of underground pipe and cables are concerned, are presented and the procedures are detailed for underground infrastructure network georeferencing, considering the standard norms. The results of the network positioning with the utilization of equipments for underground pipes and cables equipments are analysed, as shown in the case study. Finally, proposals for the urban underground network georeferencing are presented in order to build a unique cadastre.
30

The role of private institutional investors for the development of urban infrastructure assets

Sharma, Rajiv January 2012 (has links)
The topic of infrastructure investment has emerged as a critical public policy issue over the last thirty years as governments grapple with an infrastructure deficit that has become one of the great global challenges of our time. Through the simultaneous processes of neo-liberalisation and globalisation, the urban infrastructure landscape has emerged as an attractive investment area for large financial institutions. With the recent Global Financial Crisis further exacerbating both the funding and growth lifting needs of nations, the urgency of linking institutional investors with urban infrastructure assets is more apparent than ever. This thesis looks at the evolving dynamics associated with the growing involvement of the financial industry in the provision of urban infrastructure assets. This is achieved by using a relational perspective, studying the interactions of financial actors, while simultaneously being aware that these decisions are made within a larger political economic context. It is argued that the complex, heterogeneous and long-term nature of institutional infrastructure investing requires a multi-disciplinary relational economic geography framework. Specifically, relational theory is used to explore the informational content and geographical structure of the infrastructure financial product, the influence of government decision-making, the corporate governance of infrastructure investments and the investment relationship between investors and financial intermediaries. Despite exponential growth in the field over the last decade, the infrastructure financial product has a level of sophistication and obscurity that prohibits it from being classed a transparent investment area, highlighting the importance of a relational approach to investments. From the case study on Auckland International Airport Ltd., it is shown that through a relational form of light-handed regulatory contract, the government plays a central role in affecting the favourable performance of an economically significant asset. The explication of the Spanish-led ADI consortium acquisition of UK airport operating company BAA illustrates the need for ‘glocal’ infrastructure governance to incorporate a wider stakeholder perspective as well as an appropriate shareholder wealth maximisation strategy. And finally, through analysing the relationships between investment partners for the infrastructure investment process, investment consultants are playing a crucial role to help align interests and promote the long-term relational approach to investing for the infrastructure asset class. In an age where infrastructure investment has been recognised by many nations around the world as the most important growth lifting strategy, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of how a relational approach can facilitate successful private institutional infrastructure investment.

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