PurposeRising human aspirations leading to rapid urbanisation, amidst climate changes and other environmental pressures have aggravated the needs for better-focused sustainable urban development in general as well as for smart and sustainable cities in particular. Indeed, smart infrastructure (SI) development is a prerequisite for smart cities (SCs). However, inadequate funding and expertise for such SI development pose profound challenges that may be partially addressed by mobilising private finance and efficiencies through collaborative public–private partnership (PPP) models. This paper provides a holistic review and analysis of the relevant literature, as a basis for proposing such PPP models for developing SI.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review helped to fulfil the aim of this paper in the first phase of the underlying longer-term study. Authoritative search engines like Scopus and Web of Science indexed articles were reviewed and analysed, 85% of these being journal articles.FindingsSCs that necessarily include SI are important in overcoming current urban challenges in developing and developed countries. Given shortfalls in traditional procurement and funding models, special PPP models are required for SI development. After identifying the relevant needs, drivers, barriers and challenges in different countries, a general indicative framework is developed to illustrate how the various interacting force fields can be harnessed to develop the envisaged PPP models that can complement non-PPP procurement models.Originality/valuePPP for SI development is a relatively new, hence, under-researched topic. This desktop review and analysis provide a useful launching pad for the development of SI through overcoming the potential challenges in traditional procurement and financial models.

Revamping infrastructure development with the best-emerging technologies and innovative procurement initiatives is seen as the optimal way forward to sustainable development, improved safety and health, performance and management of built infrastructure. The global COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these imperatives highlighting the global need for 'smart infrastructure'. The needs for overcoming resource constraints suggest the increased potential for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) procurement strategy worldwide. Thus, this study aims to assess the potential for successful partnering between the public and private sectors in developing and sustaining 'smart infrastructure' in Hong Kong (HK). A qualitative research design was adopted, leading to ten expert interviews after a comprehensive literature review. The findings unearthed the potential enablers, barriers and enhancing factors, which were built upon regulatory, social, technical and political factors, affecting the adoption and success of PPP in delivering smart infrastructure in HK. An indicative framework was developed to illustrate the fundamental causal relationships of these factors. Through the findings, managing stakeholders, citizen-centric approach and maintaining transparency throughout the project, were identified as significant for the success. The research findings facilitate further studies along with pilot-applications of better-informed approaches to derive enhanced perceived benefits from PPP under appropriate conditions for smart infrastructure in HK.

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Purpose Rapid changes in the environment escalate the requirement of environmental sustainability assessment within built environment. The purpose of this paper is to model the environmental sustainability of facilities management (FM) functions in apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was carried out in order to identify the importance of sustainability assessment for FM, sustainable FM functions and their environmental sustainability indicators. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was carried out to determine a relative weight of the sustainable FM functions and environmental sustainability indicators through the analytical hierarchy process analysis. Findings Energy management was identified as the most significant FM function in terms of environmental sustainability in apparel industry with a relative performance of 49.12 per cent. Subsequently, the functions of water management (29.39 per cent), maintenance management (11.98 per cent) and waste management (9.64 per cent) obtained the second, third and fourth ranks while asset management (7.85 per cent) was the function which had the least performance score. Relative weights for the environmental sustainability indicators were also determined. Research limitations/implications In respect of the apparel industry, the developed model can be utilised for assessing the environmental sustainability of FM in broader term. Originality/value No proper mechanism was found to assess the sustainability of FM in apparel sector since very fewer research studies were focussed on achieving environmental sustainability in different industries. Hence, the assessment of environmental sustainability of FM in apparel industry is an emerging necessity in the present day, which was addressed in this research.

The current trend in urban planning has been evolved for developing the cities smart. Smart city concept directs urban development in to a strategic path to achieve sustainability in urban development. The understanding made up on the concept of smart city within any region would be fruitful to review in this nature. Similarly, the various stakeholders who would influence and contribute on smart city development projects are profound to identify in order to make the project success. As previous researches denoted, a timely and effective consultation of relevant stakeholders is of paramount importance for the success of any project. In line of thinking, this research was aimed to conduct a stakeholder analysis through a comprehensive literature review. Thirty one (31) key literature projects were obtained from recognised research databases and were critically reviewed to identify the internal and external project stakeholders of smart city development projects. As the key findings, the concept of smart city was first recognised. Secondly, academia and research institutions, local and regional administrations, financial suppliers/investors, energy suppliers, ICT sector representatives, citizens, government, property developers, non-profit organisations, planners, policy makers, experts and scientists, political institutions and media were identified as key internal and external stakeholders of a smart city development project. The key research findings were presented through a conceptual framework. The developed framework could be utilised as a basis to analyse the different influences and contributions of stakeholders of smart city development projects in any context.