Social Value of Infrastructure Projects: Design, Construction and Global Practices
Overview of special issue
The rapid urbanisation trend is touching the lives of almost everyone in the 8 billion global population. Yet the natural evolution of theory and practice, along with some context specific interventions to spur economic growth, resilient infrastructure and development have not achieved the expected sustainable transitions. As reported by the World Bank, US$ 4.2 trillion can be saved globally, by investing in more resilient infrastructure projects that respond to the needs and requirements of communities in location specific contexts.
One in four projects fail due to just two key causes: failures/ shortfalls in selecting the right projects and public opposition to the selected projects. There are many examples where the economic viability of the projects alone does not provide the success from a societal perspective. Sadly, the community voice is still a passive minor consideration, if not afterthought, in major infrastructure decisions. However, with the increasing pace of rapid urbanisation, the integration of knowledge, power, culture, heritage and social value in general, have been largely ignored in infrastructure decisions.
It is envisaged that this timely Special Issue will help to drive home the significance of the Social Value concept as a valuable alternative focus in the development of infrastructure. In considering Social Value as a concept, new pathways will open up for rationalising infrastructure projects and countering unsustainable growth in cities.
The knowledge gaps in these areas in the mainstream literature and on the pressing issues, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, have heightened the urgency for more social value oriented multifaceted considerations for developing infrastructure systems and ensuring sustainable development. These complex challenges also open opportunities for innovative approaches to building smart infrastructure and supporting smart and sustainable communities.
Focusing on a wide range of interconnected topics addressing the above, this Special Issue will, for the first time, bring together new knowledge, theories and practice related to Social Value, infrastructure and projects. This will focus on those Social Value transitions currently being developed among academia, industry professionals and policy makers.
The Special Issue will bring to light the context specific development of infrastructure systems and contribute towards the promotion of sustainable transitions that will mitigate, if not bridge, economic and social divides. The research contributions and empirical insights in this Special Issue could strengthen institutional capacities of the relevant countries by testing relevant theories and practical implementations. As a result, the articles published in this Special Issue should garner higher visibility and, in turn, provide a sound platform for dissemination of leading-edge research findings and best practices leading to building socially responsive infrastructure projects and ensuring the same for complete social inclusivity in a societal perspective.
Objectives of the special issue:
The proposed special issue of Built Environment Project Asset Management (BEPAM) journal titled “Social Value of Infrastructure Projects: Design, Construction and Global Practices” aspires to encourage authors to develop papers encompassing the following objectives:
- To explore world best global practice knowledge and the prevailing and emerging theories relevant to the area of social value creation in design and construction. The Special Issue will contribute to and establish priorities and benchmarks required for new social infrastructure policies and projects.
- To investigate how to minimise the ever-increasing gaps between economic considerations, environmental concerns and social imperatives in infrastructure projects.
- To examine and understand the theoretical underpinnings for supporting the sustainable development of social infrastructure as an enabler for empowering communities at large.
- To identify any changes required in the practice, processes and governance of design and construction of infrastructure towards context specific development practices focusing on needs and requirements of local communities.
- To explore the interdependencies between economic, environmental and social dimensions of infrastructure projects, identify the risks and vulnerability and thereby develop resilience encompassing conceptualisation, design, implementation, delivery and operations of the next generation of infrastructure systems.
- To understand the evolution of drivers underpinning the adoption of past infrastructure models and to identify institutional frameworks and organizations that can be invigorated for enhancing Social Value through efficiency, performance and sustainability in the infrastructure systems from a holistic community perspective.
- To balance traditional economic drivers and increasingly important social imperatives in infrastructure development alongside emerging trends in rapid urbanisation, including smart cities, accentuated by the events of climate change and pandemic disasters.
- To explore and understand the current funding provisions, underlying inefficiencies and impediments in funding models for the design, delivery, operations and maintenance and renewal of social infrastructure and infrastructure systems; and thereby propose more efficient and sustainable funding models.
- To disseminate and build on new global best practices focused on social infrastructure projects that recognise and address issues of community resilience and climate justice.
Anticipated themes:
The following is an indicative, hence a non-exhaustive, list of anticipated themes that could be explored in different papers in this Special Issue:
- Built Infrastructure projects, society and community.
- Social infrastructure projects – contexts, principles and measurement.
- Co-evolution of design and sustainable infrastructure development.
- Data-driven planning and decision making for sustainable infrastructure.
- Design, construction, infrastructure and national economies.
- Global vs. local practices in design and construction.
- Sustainable infrastructure and sustainability transitions.
- Risks, vulnerability and community resilience in social infrastructure.
- New context specific models of financing and procurement.
- Delivery, operations and maintenance and renewals for community benefit.
- Infrastructure Governance and communities.
- Smart and sustainable housing.
- Health and wellbeing.
- Smart infrastructure for Social Value.
We will welcome submissions on any related topics in the context of the above themes.
Submission details
Submissions to Built Environment Project and Asset Management should be through ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here for these.
The total word count limit (including Figures and Tables, counted at 280 words each) is 8,500 words. Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Interested authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue “Social Value of Infrastructure Projects: Design, Construction and Global Practices” at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Key dates
Papers for this special issue should be submitted through the above portal from 1st December 2021 till 15th February 2022 inclusive.
Note 1: Those who may have suitable papers ready for submission before 1st December 2021 may contact us, for any possible early access.
Note 2: Any new submissions after the deadline of 15th February 2022 cannot be considered for this Special Issue.
Note 3: If considered useful by potential authors, Draft Abstracts may be submitted for consideration anytime before the submission deadline. If so, these must be in the structured Emerald format i.e., under prescribed sub-headings, as specified in the Author Guidelines; and submitted to Associate Professor Hemanta Doloi on [email protected]
Any inquiries should be emailed to Associate Professor Hemanta Doloi on [email protected].
