The systemic city: Infrastructure interdependency and complex value business models

英国城市的基础设施有巨大的潜力可以更好地配置，以减少气候变化的影响。能源、电信、运输和供水部门的基础设施都是孤立的，由不同的公司和政府机构组合提供。长期以来，这种方法提供了安全可靠的服务，如可靠的电力、清洁的水、信息通信技术连接的快速发展和更智能的交通网络。然而，气候变化的挑战也意味着必须利用这些关键的基础设施来实现低碳发展，并适应气候变化的影响，如过热加剧、更严重的洪水和更长的干旱期。许多关键基础设施的供应商已经开始减轻和适应气候变化的压力，并为更不确定的未来做计划。然而，这些活动大多局限于单一部门的方法，并没有寻求与跨系统和部门的基础设施提供商的协同作用。即使在物理上相互连接的情况下，基础设施仍然在行业孤岛中交付。这是一个问题，因为通过采取更系统化的方法，从根本上改变主要城市基础设施系统的组织方式存在令人兴奋的机会；这意味着研究跨部门的效益，而这些效益只有通过将减缓活动跨系统联系起来才能实现。英国城市没有抓住这些机会，因为它们依赖于复杂的价值观。简单地说，复杂的价值是错失了使城市、经济和环境受益的机会，而这些机会只有通过将各个系统（即交通和电力、供热和绿色基础设施）的基础设施提供联系起来才能获得。从历史上看，这种资源共享非常困难，因为英国的每个基础设施部门都是独立运营的。本研究使用了城市气候变化减缓的两个复杂价值问题实例。首先是电动汽车、城市和电力网络之间的系统性联系。在这种情况下，城市、电动汽车基础设施供应商和电力网络分担城际充电基础设施的成本是有意义的，尤其是在采用智能电网的情况下。目前这是不可能的，因为电网、电动汽车基础设施提供商和城市的投资重点、系统监管和决策框架在空间和时间上都不匹配。其次，探讨绿色基础设施系统与城市热网之间的联系。具有碳捕获和储存的生物质能可以通过城市热网为城市提供“负碳”供暖。这将带来复杂的价值，包括减缓、适应和可持续的经济效益；但要依靠将城市建筑环境、生物能源和绿色基础设施部门的不同决策者联系起来。通过这些案例研究，研究将使用基础设施系统研究的方法，作为社会技术方法和决策科学，来研究采用这些“系统”方法对城市基础设施的影响：资源管理、基础设施弹性、温室气体缓解和城市经济绩效。这项研究将与这些系统的决策者合作，确定城市基础设施“全系统”管理的新战略。将使用复杂的价值识别和决策科学方法来生成这些问题的解决方案。这项研究的结果将是对城市如何重新配置基础设施网络以实现气候兼容发展和当地经济弹性的新理解。

There is huge potential for the infrastructures of UK cities to be better configured to reduce the impacts of climate change. The infrastructures of the energy, telecoms, transport and water sectors are all delivered in isolation and by different mixes of companies and government agencies. For a long time this approach has delivered secure, dependable services such as reliable electric power, clean water,rapid advances in ICT connectivity and smarter transport networks. However, the challenge of climate change also means these critical infrastructures must be leveraged to enable low carbon development, and be resilient to climate change impacts such as increased overheating, more severe flooding and longer drought spells. Many of the providers of critical infrastructures have started to mitigate and adapt to climate change pressures and plan for more uncertain futures. However, much of this activity is limited to single sector approaches and does not seek synergies with infrastructure providers across systems and sectors. Infrastructure continues to be delivered in industry silos, even when it is physically interconnected. This is a problem because there are exciting opportunities to fundamentally change the way infrastructure systems are organised in major cities by taking a more systemic approach; this means researching cross sectoral benefits that can only be realised by linking mitigation activity across systems. These opportunities not being captured in UK cities due to the fact they rely on complex values. Simply put complex values are missed opportunities to benefit cities, economies, and the environment that can only be captured by linking infrastructure provision across systems, i.e. transport and electricity, heat and green infrastructure. Historically this resource sharing has been very difficult, as each infrastructural sector in the UK has been operated in isolation. This research uses two examples of the complex value problem for climate change mitigation in cities. The first is the systemic links between electric vehicles, cities and electricity networks. Here it would make sense for cities, EV infrastructure providers and electricity networks to share the costs of intercity charge infrastructure, especially if smart grid approaches are taken. Currently this is not possible because the investment priorities, system regulation and decision frameworks of electricity networks, EV infrastructure providers and cities do not match in space or time. Secondly the link between green infrastructure systems and urban heat networks will be explored. Biomass energy with carbon capture and storage could provide a source of 'negative carbon' heating for cities through urban heat networks. The complex values this would deliver span mitigation, adaptation and sustainable economy benefits; but rely on linking diverse decision makers across the urban built environment and the bio energy and green infrastructure sectors.Using these case studies the research will then use methods from infrastructure systems research, as socio-technical approaches and decision science, to look into the consequences of adopting these 'systemic' approaches to urban infrastructure on: resource management, infrastructure resilience, GHG mitigation and urban economic performance. This research will work with decision makers across these systems to identify new strategies for 'whole systems' management of urban infrastructures. Complex value identification and decision science methods will be used to generate solutions for these problems. The outcome of this research will be a new understanding of how cities can reconfigure infrastructure networks for climate compatible development and local economic resilience.