A unified data: framework for mapping underground: Project Iceberg. Work package 2, defining the problem space for an integrated data operating system above and below ground

Project Iceberg is an exploratory project undertaken by Future Cities Catapult, British Geological Survey (BGS) and Ordnance Survey (OS). The project aims to address the serious issue of the lack of information about the ground beneath our cities and the un-coordinated way in which the subsurface space is managed. Difficulties relating to data capture and sharing of information about subsurface features are well understood by some sectors and have been explored in previous research and industry reports. This study does not replicate past work, but rather reviews outcomes and explores the barriers to wider uptake of subsurface management systems. The long-term goal is to help increase the viability of land for development and de-risk future investment through better management of subsurface data and ground-related risk. To help achieve this, our study aims to enable a means to discover and access relevant data about the ground’s physical condition and assets housed within it, in a way that is suitable for modern data driven decision making processes. The project considers both physical infrastructure i.e. underground utilities and natural ground conditions i.e. geological data and is divided into three different work packages: Work Package 1: Market research and analysis Work Package 2: Data operation systems and interoperability for a subsurface data platform Work Package 3: Identification of use cases for a subsurface data platform This report summarises the findings of work package 2

Mapping underground assets in the UK: Project Iceberg. Work Package 1, market research into current state of play and global case studies

Project Iceberg is an exploratory project undertaken by Future Cities Catapult, British Geological Survey (BGS) and Ordnance Survey (OS). The project aims to address the serious issue of the lack of information about the ground beneath our cities and the un-coordinated way in which the subsurface space is managed. Difficulties relating to data capture and sharing of information about subsurface features are well understood by some sectors and have been explored in previous research and industry reports, many of which are highlighted in this report. This study does not replicate past work, but rather reviews outcomes and explores the barriers to wider uptake of subsurface management systems within integrated city management. The long-term goal is to help increase the viability of land for development and de-risk future investment through better management of subsurface data. To help achieve this, our study aims to enable a means to discover and access relevant data about the ground’s physical condition and assets housed within it, in a way that is suitable for modern, data driven decision-making processes. The project considers both physical infrastructure i.e. underground utilities and natural ground conditions i.e. geological data and is divided into three different work packages: Work Package 1: Market research and analysis Work Package 2: Data operation systems and interoperability for a subsurface data platform Work Package 3: Identification of use cases for a subsurface data platform This report summarises the findings of work package 1 and identifies the following key findings and recommendations. There is substantial potential for commercialisation of data tools and data services using an integrated surface-subsurface data platform, which would support, for example, urban planning, redevelopment, infrastructure assessments and street works. Realising the full benefit of these opportunities relies on the sharing of data beyond statutory undertakers, albeit with suitable controls in place. Statutory undertakers do not necessarily have the national overview, capability or remit to develop an integrated platform. Stakeholders acknowledge that incomplete subsurface information means that land value is not being protected or worse, is being diminished and that organisations are incurring 6 indirect costs due to project delays and requirements for additional surveys. However, the direct costs of obtaining subsurface data and the indirect costs incurred because of incomplete access to subsurface data is largely unknown. Amendments to existing and introduction of new data standards (PAS 128 and PAS 256) make provision for more consistent and accurate data capture of buried utilities. Sharing of more accurate utility data will be facilitated and links to building information models and smart city standards will be more explicit. However, currently, storage of data and the integrity of data stores is not being addressed consistently at national level. There is a currently a lack of national standard that addresses commercial sensitivities and security risks concerning subsurface data sharing that can potentially guide “the right people getting access to the right and comprehensive set of data, at the right time without fear that parts of it have been redacted or manipulated” Investment in research and innovation to support the development of tools to identify the location of buried infrastructure has been successful and new systems are being brought to the market that will enable more accurate mapping of underground infrastructure. Precedents have been set for the sharing of underground utility data of national importance – exemplar projects, such as the VAULT and Greater Manchester Open Data Infrastructure Map (GMODIN), demonstrate successful collaboration across the utility sector to generate an integrated utility infrastructure map. Meanwhile adoption of AGS data formats by the ground investigation community has led to large-scale sharing of geotechnical data. National scale sharing of buried utility data has only been demonstrated in Scotland, largely driven by nationalised utilities. Upscaling of exemplar projects across the UK needs prioritising. The National Infrastructure Commission, Infrastructure Projects Authority and Digital Built Britain should take leadership of the development of an integrated data framework that combines surface and subsurface data. Future legislation and standards may be required to ensure the accurate and standardised capture and supply of buried infrastructure data. The benefits and business opportunities that may be delivered through an integrated data framework that embeds subsurface data are not sufficiently highlighted to stakeholders. Thus, the incentives and business drivers to collaborate on a subsurface data platform need to be better illustrated. Project Iceberg WP3 goes some way to addressing this but further work is needed

Integrated governance of the urban subsurface - a systems-based approach

The ground our cities are built on has always been a constitutive part of urban life, but is only in recent decades starting to become recognised by built environment professionals and academics as an area that might require more intentional governance. While the task of doing so is usually assigned to the realm of urban planning, a major body of literature engaging with this stems from the engineering discipline. This thesis draws on systems thinking and uses London as a case study to bridge these two disciplines and confront currently engineering-centred ideas of urban underground governance. Applying a mixed methods strategy, the thesis presents a review of planning legislation, affirming the central position of engineers and Local Planning Authorities in the current governance arrangement around London’s subsurface. Overarching theoretical and strategic suggestions are drawn from a thematic analysis of interviews with tunnelling and planning professionals, designed to provide insights into discipline specific perceptions of the urban underground, with additional insights provided by a questionnaire with a broader group of practitioners. The research shows that the spatio-material context of the ground is underrecognised when specific functions are managed within it and that despite growing engagement in the field, governance of the subsurface remains fragmented across sectors as well as temporal scales. The findings indicate that (a) an integrated data format and repository and (b) an integrated evaluation of priority for interventions in the subsurface could serve as enabling mechanisms towards a more holistic understanding of subsurface value that extends beyond purely financial assessments, and moves towards more integrated overall strategies. Reflection on ownership models, specific local contexts, early citizen engagement, and consideration of pathways are shown to be key elements of a potentially broader conversation about the role of the subsurface in cities like London today and in the future

Asset management in urban water utilities: Case study in India

Access to safe and sufficient drinking water and adequate sanitation are now recognized as basic human rights. One Millennium Development Goal is to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. However, ensuring sustainability of existing and new services is considered to be one of the major challenges for the water sector in the years to come. In India, in addition to service expansion, existing water service quality has been observed to be deteriorating over recent years. There is therefore an equally urgent need to address sustainability and improvement of service quality to the presently served population. In this low-income country, where water utilities are unable to recover even the service costs of operations and minor maintenance through user charges, there is a need to determine ways and means to be able to maintain a cost-effective service to consumers. For such a capital intensive service these ways have to include not only the introduction of efficiency measures but also the long-term planning of capital maintenance, that is the maintenance of the fixed assets upon which services depend. Water utilities in high-income countries have been using various fixed asset management techniques to improve asset operational efficiency, to plan capital maintenance and to demonstrate their ability to maintain and improve service to their customers. This study explores the viability of the application of asset management techniques and their potential contribution towards improving water service provision in urban centres in India. Following a literature review, a generic asset management model for a low-income country water utility was developed and then applied in the water utility serving Jaipur, Rajasthan to assess the viability of this adaptation. Having identified strengths and weaknesses during this fieldwork a revised model was proposed, including distinct phases of asset management/data intensity, which could be used as a generic approach in large urban centres in India. Following consultations with prospective users in six States, the study showed that it is feasible to take a first step towards asset management at low cost but this will require a change in the management approach. The study identified lack of relevant data as a key factor influencing an effective and comprehensive application of a generic asset management model. The study concludes that the proposed phased asset management models can contribute to improving serviceability for customers; however the concern that remains is the willingness of the organisation to adapt to the necessary changes

Asset management of drainage facilities using advanced technologies

Parallel Session - Theme A4: Asset Management: A4-2The Drainage Services Department, in collaboration of the Water Supplies Department, of the Hong Kong SAR Government has to invest and maintain an extremely large public urban water infrastructural asset to provide world-class water supply, wastewater, and stormwater services to enable the sustainable development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). A brief outline of the concepts of asset management is given in this paper. Effective management of urban water assets needs extensive planning, design and construction, and operation and maintenance. Accurate real-time data collection, transmission, and management in different inter-related functions of asset management become extremely important for the effective and efficient functioning of asset management. Some of these advanced technologies that have been and may be adopted in the Hong Kong SAR are presented in this paper.postprin

Resources allocated to tackling the tax gap: a comparative EU study

Since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 and the development of austerity as a widespread economic strategy there has been continuing focus on the tax gap as an issue, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, theoretically, be collected by a tax authority within the prevailing system that a tax jurisdiction has legislated for and the actual amount of tax collected. The efficiency, or otherwise, of a tax authority in tackling the tax gap has come to be seen as a measure of its effectiveness in raising revenue, whether to balance budgets or fund additional government spending. Despite this, relatively little formal attention has been given to technical dimensions of the tax gap, or to the link between that tax gap and tax authority spending. We have sought to address these last issues. In the process we have appraised the quality of the data available for this process, including whether available GDP data is reliable as a basis for estimation; whether data on tax collected is comparable and whether available data on tax authority spending is appropriate for this purpose. Data on estimates of the shadow economy have also been appraised as a consequence. Whilst it has proved possible to prepare new estimates of the tax gap for EU member states limitations in the resulting estimates are highlighted. In addition, weaknesses in all other data sources are noted, and their suitability is questioned. The resulting analysis of tax authority expenditure and its relationship to the tax gap is, consequently, heavily constrained, but in any event no apparent statistical association is noted. It is suggested that other approaches to the 2 management of the tax, and the effectiveness of tax authorities, are required, with a recommendation that tax spillover assessments be considered as an alternative

Saving Time and Making Cents: A Blueprint for Building Transit Better

Cities, states, and metropolitan areas across the United States are looking to invest in a range of public transit projects in order to connect people to jobs and economic opportunity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and shape development patterns.  According to one estimate, the United States invested about $50 billion in new transit projects in just the last decade.1 These include underground subways in Los Angeles, commuter rail lines along the Front Range near Denver, a streetcar in downtown Atlanta, light rail lines in suburban Phoenix, and bus rapid transit in Richmond, Virginia, among many others.While these projects are as diverse as the country itself, they all have one thing in common: increased scrutiny over their costs and timelines to build. A few very visible projects have reinforced the narrative that rail transit investments have systemic issues that are endemic to the United States.This all begs the questions: Is this true? If so, why? And what should we do about it?These are precisely the questions Eno set out to answer through this research, policy, and communications project to analyze current and historical trends in public transit project delivery. We convened a set of advisors and conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders to understand the drivers behind mass transit construction, cost, and delivery in the United States. A comprehensive database of rail transit projects was created and curated to compare costs and timelines among U.S. cities and peer metropolitan areas in Western Europe and Canada. Through this quantitative and qualitative approach, we developed actionable recommendations for policy changes at all levels of government as well as best practices for the public and private sectors