Megaproject development in the context of sustainable urban regeneration

Megaprojects are large-scale ventures of inherent great complexity; they last long, cost much, and affect the lives of a significant number of people. A common type of megaprojects that aspire to (re)form the so-called “cities of tomorrow” is the urban megaprojects, i.e., megaprojects including all types of infrastructure involved for a holistic intervention in the city’s environment. The decision to initiate and develop such projects, though, is a very hard task that requires the inclusion of a broad agenda of issues to be taken into consideration, such as: a) scarcity of required resources, b) assessment of the project’s decisive impact on the structure of urban functions and city planning, c) alignment with the principles of urban sustainability, etc. This paper reviews the interface between urban megaprojects and urban sustainability taking into consideration the emergence of smart cities. Through synthesis and comparative analysis of these concepts, the paper explores their compatibility and the extent to which they can be integrated, in order to promote the growing needs of contemporary cities in a manner that reduces resource waste, environmental pollution and the creation of social inequalities. Some examples of case studies around the world are used to lighten the associated challenges to megaprojects in the urban environment context. Based on the above analysis, the paper provides an analytical overview of crucial aspects, such as the early stakeholder engagement, the adoption of a problem-solving oriented strategy, and useful recommendations for future policy makers

All you need is data: the added value of National Access Points as backbone European ITS data exchange infrastructures

Intelligent Transport Systems are crucial in the digital transformation of transportation. The EC mandates the establishment of National Access Points (NAPs) in each Member State, serving as common national interfaces for ITS data exchange. While progress has been made in standardizing NAP data, integration with operational ITS practices remain limited. This paper presents five NAP use cases from the NAPCORE (National Access Point Coordination Organization for Europe) CEF funded project. The first one outlines a National Virtual Traffic Management Center offering real time visualized KPIs supporting motorway traffic operations. The second focuses on NAP enabled Cooperative ITS and dynamic traffic management services. Next use case involves a Pan European interface, providing visualizations of data availability. The fourth use case enhances the digitization of traffic management plans, among different TMC. Finally, the fifth use case demonstrates a technical interface combining NAP traffic data with meteorological information for KPIs on extreme weather impacts on traffic.Comment: 6 page