Advancing Urban Sustainability through Public–Private Partnerships: Case Study of the Gu’An New Industry City in China
Publication: Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 39, Issue 1
Abstract
Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become an increasingly popular means of delivering urban development projects (UDPs) and have long-lasting effects on urban sustainability. However, private interests tend to conflict with environmental and social sustainability goals in UDPs. Through an in-depth case study of the Gu’An New Industry City, the earliest UDP delivered via PPP in China, this study investigates whether PPPs advance urban sustainability and what governance strategies in UDPs may help reconcile private sector participation with broader sustainability goals. The success of the Gu’An project suggests PPPs are promising instruments for advancing urban sustainability. Good practices extracted from the Gu’An project show collaborative partnerships improve efficiency, incentive contracts enhance effectiveness, and public participation advances democratic ideals. By developing a framework that links PPP network features with public values, this research demonstrates how PPPs might serve as an effective policy for achieving sustainable development goals in private-led UDPs.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Key Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education (Grant No. 21JZD029) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 71702132 and 71722002).
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Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 39 • Issue 1 • January 2023
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Apr 7, 2022
Accepted: Aug 29, 2022
Published online: Nov 10, 2022
Published in print: Jan 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Apr 10, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Case studies
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Engineering fundamentals
- Industries
- Infrastructure
- Methodology (by type)
- Organizations
- Practice and Profession
- Private sector
- Project management
- Public private partnership
- Research methods (by type)
- Sustainable development
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
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