6th Conference on the Regulation of Infrastructures:
Regulatory Challenges for Smart Cities

 

June 16th, 2017

Florence School of Regulation
Florence (Italy)

 

The EPPP research group collaborates actively with the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) water group (http://fsr.eui.eu/water).We are also involved in the organization of this series of conferences on the regulation of infrastructures since 2012. This event is organized every year by the FSR in Florence.

Introduction

The de- and re-regulation of the different network industries is an ongoing process at national and global level. As this process unfolds, ever new phenomena emerge, which call for a constant reassessment of the content and objectives of regulation.

The question becomes even more challenging when looking at recent infrastructure development at the local level. Phenomena including (but not limited to)  demographic changes, the rapidly evolving consequences of climate change and the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have significantly challenged the traditionally stable landscape of urban infrastructure services provision. Providing traditional and new services in an innovative way is a growing trend among public authorities, traditional providers as well as new private prosumers and platforms for sharing economy. Both small and large agglomerations are seeking to become the so-called “smart cities”. However, together with great opportunities, disruptive innovations also give rise to new regulatory challenges,especially on infrastructure financing and management of future “smart cities”.

This 6^th Florence Conference on the Regulation of Infrastructures seeks to evaluate the major challenges infrastructure regulation is currently facing at the local level.

• Papers will be presented in different parallel sessions dedicated to the following infrastructure sectors:
  • Communications and Media
  • Energy and Climate
  • Transport
  • Water Distribution
  • Waste Water and Waste Management
• We encourage contributions that link technology and institutions in more than one infrastructure sector.
• Contributions utilizing multidisciplinary as well as interdisciplinary approaches to regulation are welcome.
• Papers linking academia and practice, as well as policy research papers are particularly encouraged.
• The conference is intended for academics such as PhD students, PostDocs and Assistant/associate/full Professors as well as academically minded practitioners. 

 

Conference Structure

The format of the Florence Conference on the Regulation of Infrastructures is unique:

• Each presenter has 45’, which includes 20’ of presentation, 10’ of qualified feedback and 15’ of discussion with the audience (there are only 2 papers per session, guaranteeing high quality);
• Feedback will be given by senior professors associated with the Florence School of Regulation, who are specifically knowledgeable about the topic at hand;
• Papers that will be retained for publication will receive additional feedback beyond the Conference;
• Poster section will be organised.

 

Timeline

• Submission of the abstract until 15^th January 2017 15^th February 2017 (word format download the guidelines) using the online form. For any issue regarding the submission, please contact Ms Nadia Bert at FSR.Transport@eui.eu;
• Notification of acceptance by 12^th February 2017 28^th February 2017;
• Submission of the full paper by 26^th May 2017;
• Social event on 15^th June 2017; conference on 16^th June 2017 in Florence (Italy).

 

Conference fee

100 EUR – A limited number of partial fee waivers for PhD students are available. Please contact FSR.Transport@eui.eu for further information

 

Publication opportunities

• Papers will qualify for being published in the Journal Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, which is published by Sage as of 2017.
• A summary of the 4-5 best papers will have the chance to be published in the dedicated issue of the Network Industries Quarterly (Issue 19, Vol 3, September 2017).

 

Scientific Committee

• Matthias Finger (EUI, Part-time professor and Director of the Transport Area of the FSR. EPFL, Professor and Director of the Chair of Management of Network Industries)
• Jean-Michel Glachant (EUI, Robert Schuman Chair, Director of the FSR, Director of the Energy & Climate Area of the FSR, Holder of the Loyola de Palacio Chair)
• Leigh Hancher (EUI, Part-time professor, Energy & Climate Area of the FSR. Tilburg University, Professor)
• Xavier Labandeira (EUI, Part-time professor, Energy & Climate Area of the FSR. Vigo University, Professor)
• Pier Luigi Parcu (EUI, Part-time professor, Director of the Communications and Media Area of the FSR, ENTraNCE, and CMPF)
• Ignacio Pérez Arriaga (EUI, Part-time professor, Energy & Climate Area of the FSR. Comillas University, Professor and Director of the BP Chair on Sustainable Development. MIT, Visiting Professor)
• Stéphane Saussier (EUI, Part-time professor and Director of the Water Area of the FSR. IAE de Paris, Professor and Director of the EPPP Research Group)

 

List of selected authors and titles of their papers (* presenting author)

• Baudoin, L.* “Water in Management Research: An Overview of Thematic and Theoretical Approaches”
• Baumgart, M.* “Does the Digitization Cost Our Privacy? Legal and Ethical Issues Concerning the Implementation of Smart Meters and Electromobility”
• Becchis, F.*, Russolillo, D., Sbandate, A., and Postiglione, M. “Governance, Competition and Service Innovation in Smart Cities: A Regulatory Approach”
• Beecher, J.* “Infrastructure at an Inflection: An Integrated Public-Service Paradigm for the Transformation of Urban Water Systems”
• Bergaentzlé, C.*, Skytte, K., Olsen, O.J., Soysal, E.R., and Katz, J. “Grid Tariffs to Support Flexibility in Decarbonised Energy Systems”
• Bock, B. B.*, Hosse, D. and Stolte, B. “Planning Infrastructure in Context of Integrated Energy and Transport Measures.”
• Bolognesi, T.* “In the Shadow of Sunshine Regulation: Barriers to the Good Filling of Performance Indicators in the Water Sector”
• Boulenguer, C.*, and Perez, Y. “Smart City or Smart Cities: How to Define This New Challenge”
• Brandstätt, C.* “Network Charges for Distribution Systems with High Shares of Distributed Generation”
• Claudel, C.* and Fazio, C. “A New Architecture for Place-Based Policy: Regulatory Experimentation in Urban Innovation Districts”
• Cseres, K.J.* “Postal Consumers in the EU: From Users of Universal Services to Users of All (Digital) Postal Services. How Does EU Law Facilitate Consumers in the Digital Postal Market?”
• Elsner, I. “Socio-technical challenges of the regulation of urban electricity systems in Smart Cities”
• Fernet, M. “Get what you pay for? The story underneath remunicipalizations in the water sector”
• Hennig, E.*, Sommerhalter, D.,  and Altschuh, B. “New Infrastructures: Cross-Linked, Energy Efficient Industrial Areas”
• Knieps, G.* “Internet of Things and the Economics of Smart Sustainable Cities”
• Marlot, G.*, and Brunel, J.* “Why Smart Cities Need Smart Road Traffic Mitigation Policies”
• Oliveira Cruz, C.* and Miranda Sarmento, J. “Reforming Traditional PPP Models to Cope With the Challenges of Smart Cities”
• Pieri, N.*, Baccelli, O., Galdi, R., and Grea, G. “E-Mobility Evolution in Italy: Between Technological Drivers and Game Changers”
• Saraiva, J. D.*, and Barbalho, A. “The Convergence of Business Models and Long-Term Financing in the Context of Smart Cities”
• Steffen, B.* and Schmidt, T.S. “The Impact of Global Cities’ Climate Action — Do Their Commitments Translate Into Effective Regulation?”

If you would like to register for this event, please send a short biography to fsr.transport@eui.eu. We will send you a registration link. Please know that spaces are limited.