Urban facilities management: a means to the attainment of sustainable cities?

Citation

Michell, K. (2013), "Urban facilities management: a means to the attainment of sustainable cities?", Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 11 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfm.2013.30811caa.001

Urban facilities management: a means to the attainment of sustainable cities?

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Facilities Management, Volume 11, Issue 3

The growing demand from both the public and the private sector for the creation and management of sustainable human settlements, or sustainable cities, is likely to place facilities management as a key actor in the delivery of this objective for both sectors. The notion of adapting facilities management principles from the micro, building level scale, to a macro scale, which focuses on the urban precinct, remains an unexplored space in facilities management, i.e. the “city is the facility” view or, urban facilities management. This is possibly because the concept of urban facilities management straddles a number of fields, to name a few: that of facilities management, urban development, urban management and urban sustainability.

The emergent field of urban facilities management is seen as a flexible platform that enables new, innovative integration of private and public sector services in order to benefit society at the urban precinct scale. In the same manner that the physical infrastructure at the singular building (micro) level, is a crucial aspect in the spatial experience of users of the building and therefore plays a significant role in the social processes between users of that building, the same is true at an urban precinct (macro) level. Hence, in embracing the underlying concepts around “space, place and people” that underpin facilities management, it can be argued that the physical infrastructure of an urban precinct is a critical feature in the spatial experience of the said urban precinct, and therefore in the attainment of sustainable cities. Moreover, that the relationship between “space, place and people” in terms of an urban precinct has a considerable role to play in the creation of sustainable cities. To date the facilities management response to the sustainable cities agenda has tended to focus on the maintenance of resources and ecological support systems; the long-term sustainability of the profession; sustainable life cycle planning and management of facilities; the reduction of energy consumption in existing facilities; and, the need to develop tools for the purpose of monitoring building performance. What is needed is an improved understanding of the relationship between buildings, people and the urban precinct thereby facilitating the development of an increased understanding of sustainable cities.

One of the many challenges facing this early work in urban facilities management is in understanding how the five dimensions to inclusive urban sustainable development and urban sustainability are interrelated and mutually dependent. The five dimensions to urban sustainability are the: physical, environmental, social, cultural, economic and political (Pieterse, 2010). What is of particular note in the work of Pieterse (2010) is that he places the physical, environmental, social and cultural dimensions of sustainability in a political relationship with one another. Hence, the attainment of any solution is as a result of a “political” negotiation between the remaining four dimensions to urban sustainability. Early research findings in this regard highlights the need for the interaction, inter-connectivity and integration of facilities, services and precinct stakeholders. In addition, the successful implementation of this sustainability agenda at the urban precinct level is highly dependent on two factors. First, the relationships that exist between the private sector, the public sector and “participants” to the urban precinct. This raises the question as to whether or not a non-performance based contract or a form of relationship contract is essential for the successful management, maintenance and operation of infrastructure and facilities within the urban precinct?

Second, that the identification, provision and management of major infrastructure within the precinct is a key driver to the attainment of a sustainable urban precinct.

The increasing pressures, from a variety of sources, that are being placed on urban areas and its associated infrastructure, indicates that the question of how we ensure the long-term sustainability of cities and urban precincts is a permanent feature of all cities and/or urban areas. In attempting to address these issues, and the development of urban facilities management in this context, what is required is transdisciplinary research in order to effectively address the multitude of issues inherent in the sustainable cities agenda.

Kathy Michell