Collaborative facilities management in urban regeneration projects: problems and potentials

Abstract

Urban areas are now being regenerated in great extremes to match with the local and global demand in Sri Lanka. Upgrading infrastructures, land and buildings are highly pressurized in urban regeneration projects given that it is critical to the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of a country. However, there is a question of the sustenance of urban regeneration projects due to limited public funds and other resources. Collaborations between authorities responsible for urban development & maintenance and the private/public sector organisations in facilities management could be a solution for the above issues in Sri Lankan context, which has not been articulated yet. This study therefore aims to investigate the applicability of collaborative approach as a solution to stimulate the participation of private and public sector organisations in terms of facilities management in the regeneration project. The aforementioned aim was achieved through the literature review and case study methodology. Beira Lake Urban Regeneration Project (Phase I & II) was selected as the case study to determine the applicability of collaborative Facilities Management concept to Sri Lankan context. Observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out with the executives who are in responsible for urban development & maintenance and public/private sector organisations in the regenerating area. Case study revealed that the collaboration between Public Authorities (Urban Development Authority & Municipal Council) and private organisations in urban regenerations would uplift the value of physical environment and infrastructures of inner city. Further, Public Authorities can allow private organisations to use car park, recreation facilities, open spaces, and other developments with the agreement of maintaining and developing above facilities. On the other hand, private organisations would fulfill organisational requirements while contributing to corporate social responsibilities. It can be concluded that both Public authorities and private organisations can mutually benefit from the collaborative FM in urban regeneration projects.