Speaker
Description
Urban regeneration has been included in the urban planning of different cities, either as a response to observed urban degradation and decline or to give new functions to obsolete areas and control urban growth. Despite its enormous importance in today's urban contexts, urban regeneration is not a simple task, and, in many cases, urban regeneration projects are complex, involving different types of risks and high investments.
Furthermore, it is known that the public sector, as the provider of several types of infrastructure and public services, does not have the resources to meet all of today's urban demands. In this sense, the actions of the private sector through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements can be strategic in urban regeneration and the development of urban regeneration projects.
In the Italian case, Public-Private Partnership arrangements can be of three types: contractual, institutionalized, and negotiable. Urban Regeneration, in the Italian context, aims to increase the value of the existing.
However, implementing PPP arrangements in urban regeneration projects is controversial, and the initial objectives are not always achieved. Despite sounding good in theory in many cases, these projects do not meet their initial objectives, do not achieve the public service objectives proposed, and have negative consequences, both in financial and social terms.
Therefore, it is important to better understand best practices to make these partnerships work more effectively. Best practices can be observed if the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are being followed. Despite this, studies about CSFs in PPPs in urban regeneration projects are limited. Studies that analyze specific contexts or cases, which could benefit the understanding of these practices, are also limited.
In this sense, this study aims to analyze the Italian context concerning PPP agreements in urban regeneration projects and a specific case of an urban regeneration project carried out through a PPP agreement - the Livorno Port project called “Porta a Mare". The “Porta a Mare” project, carried out through an institutional PPP, aimed to regenerate a sprawling industrial area and give it new urban functions.
To this end, the study uses a previously established framework, which considers clusters related to the external environment related to the PPP projects - a country's enabling environment that facilitates or does not facilitate the implementation of partnerships and the exogenous factors found in that country - and the internal environment of the PPP projects - referring to the partnership itself and its different phases - the preparation phase, the procurement phase, and the contract management phase.
The analysis was based on primary data, resulting from interviews with the players involved, and secondary data, extracted from laws, regulations, official documents, scientific articles, and promotional documentation.
The results highlight the CSFs that have been well met and the factors that should be better developed in the Italian context and the specific case study. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the complexity of PPP arrangements in urban regeneration projects and the results obtained from these practices, including their social, economic, urbanistic, and architectural impacts.
The analysis of the Italian context and the case study based on the framework provide a better understanding of the CSFs for PPP agreements in urban regeneration, contributing to the literature on the topic and potentially assisting public and private managers in improving these practices.
| Keywords | Public-Private Partnerships; Urban Regeneration; Critical Success Factors; Italy; Livorno |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
