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Government infrastructure provision is much more important than its conception in mainstream economic theory as a response to 'market failure'. In practice, it draws on the state's capacity to fUnd [...]

With the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the demand for public charging services is steadily increasing. Consequently, the development of effective charging scheduling strategies, aimed at optimizing the utilization of limited charging infrastructure, has become a key problem. Considering the diversity of user demands, we propose a Cost-Aware Charging Scheduling Architecture (CASA). This architecture considers both urgent and nonurgent charging customers by designing two charging modes with different power levels and associated costs. However, optimizing multiple objectives simultaneously while ensuring the interests of all parties involved in the charging demand response presents a challenge. Moreover, the uncertainty in customer charging demands and Time-of-Use (TOU) tariff further complicates the establishment of the model. To address the aforementioned challenges, this study formulates EV charging scheduling as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL), employing the Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm for solution derivation. The objective is to minimize the operational costs of charging stations while ensuring the quality of service (QoS) requirements for customers. The simulation results demonstrate that CASA exhibits superior performance in optimizing both the average response time and service success rate, compared to commonly used baselines for charging scheduling. Furthermore, the CASA approach achieves a significant reduction in operating costs of EV charging station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like any disaster, COVID-19 laid waste to infrastructure and the ability for a community to do community. But, unlike a tornado or nuclear meltdown, COVID-19 laid waste to social infrastructure in unique ways that only a disease can do. On the one hand, a pandemic brings biological dangers that, in turn, make all individuals—loved ones, too—into potential threats of biological contamination. On the other hand, the efforts to contain disease present social dangers, as isolation and distancing threatens mundane and spectacular ritualized encounters and mask-wearing heighten our awareness of the biological risk. By exploring the link between disasters and disease, this paper leverages the lens of contamination, beginning first with the barriers it presents to making and remaking the self in everyday life. Constraints on ritualized encounters, both in terms of delimiting face-to-face interaction and in determining that some spaces have contaminative risks, reduces collective life to imagined communities or shifts to digitally mediated spaces. The former intensifies the sense of anomie people feel as their social world appears as though it were disintegrating while the latter presents severe neurobiological challenges to reproducing what face-to-face interaction habitually generates. Finally, these micro/meso-level processes are contextualized by considering how institutions, particularly polity but also science, manage collective risk and how their efficacy may either contribute to the erosion of solidarity or provide a sense of support in the face of anomic terror. Using the US to illustrate these processes, we are able to show how an inefficacious state response weakens the already tenuous connective tissue that holds a diffuse and diverse population together, while also exposing and intensifying existing political, economic, and cultural fissures, thereby further eroding existing solidarity and the capacity to rebuild post-pandemic cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concerns about institutional weakness in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are central to the discussion on environmental degradation in the region. This study employs a robust dynamic panel data estimator to explore the relationships between institutions, governance, and environmental quality, focusing on the ecological footprint of 25 SSA nations from 1990 to 2020. The results reveal the threshold effects of the interaction between institutions and governance, following an inverted U-shape pattern. This suggests that beyond a certain ecological footprint, increased interaction between institutions and governance leads to a decrease in ecological footprint. Additionally, high institutional quality (IQ) is associated with a lower environmental impact, while improved governance contributes to mitigating the decline in institutional performance. The panel causality tests among the variables and control components indicate a one-way causal relationship from ecological footprint to governance, infrastructural development, and energy use. Conversely, a feedback causal relationship exists between IQ, industrialization, and ecological footprints. Policymakers should prioritize investments in energy consumption that align with environmental quality, ensuring efficient use of energy budgets through coordinated planning, execution, and transfer of sound energy practices to prevent duplication of efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained increasing attention as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. Many countries should include electrification of their transport networks in their future smart city plans to ensure environmentally sustainable growth. The number of EVs in metropolitan areas is expected to experience extensive growth. EVs are often considered an alternative to addressing the challenges posed by increasing carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. However, the acceptance of EVs tends to be slow due to concerns such as range anxiety, prolonged charge times, inconvenient charging locations, and inadequate charging infrastructure. To address these challenges, this paper discusses the planning and optimization of EV charging infrastructure based on existing literature. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of publications focusing on EV charging stations. This demonstrates the growing interest and research activity in the field of EV charging infrastructure. Furthermore, the literature is categorized into recurring topics, specifically EV charging planning and optimization for EV charging infrastructure. This particular review paper includes empirical work on charging network planning for EVs. Therefore, this analysis provides the latest trends and findings for EV charging infrastructure planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the dynamics of parking traffic can better represent the real dynamic states of road networks, thereby allowing for a deeper analysis of the parking system's impact. This paper comparatively investigates the impact of parking policies on two traffic networks with different infrastructure, socio-economic, and policy characteristics. Parking space, average parking duration, and parking fee policies were analyzed as a function of cruising distances and cruising time with indirect effects on traffic emissions. Empirically, the system dynamics model application is tested and validated with the macroscopic data from two central business districts (CBDs) in Shanghai (Xujiahui area) and Zurich (Bahnhofstrasse area). Results showed Bahnhofstrasse CBD is more sensitive against the policy shifts with relatively higher elasticity and indicated greater responsiveness in aggregating traffic emissions when compared with Xujiahui CBD. The findings of this study may provide an overall framework to empirically assess the performance of different traffic conditions and strategies on urban parking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization and escalating climate change impacts have heightened stormwater-related concerns (e.g., pluvial flooding) in cities. Understanding catchment dynamics and characteristics, including precise catchment mapping, is essential to accurate surface water monitoring and management. Traditionally, topography is the primary data set used to model surface water flow dynamics in undisturbed natural landscapes. However, urban systems also contain stormwater drainage infrastructure, which can alter catchment boundaries and runoff behavior. Acknowledging both natural and built environmental influences, this study introduces three GIS-based approaches to enhance urban catchment mapping: (1) Modifying DEM elevations at inlet locations; (2) Adjusting DEM elevations along pipeline paths; (3) Applying the QGRASS plug-in to systematically incorporate infrastructure data. Our evaluation using the geographical Friedman test (p > 0.05) and Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC = 0.80) confirms the statistical and spatial consistency among the studying methods. Coupled with onsite flow direction validation, these results support the feasibility and reliability of integrating elements of nature and built infrastructure in urban catchment mapping. The refined mapping approaches explored in this study offer improved and more accurate and efficient urban drainage catchment zoning, beyond using elevation and topographic data alone. Likewise, these methods bolster predictive stormwater management at catchment scales, ultimately strengthening urban stormwater and flooding resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Three Rural Issues", encompass challenges related to agriculture, farmer, and rural area, which hold significant importance in driving comprehensive rural revitalization efforts in China. Farmer entrepreneurship, as a crucial means to enhance productivity, create job opportunities, and increase residents' income, has gradually become a key driving force in promoting rural revitalization in the new stage of development in China. With the rapid development of rural e-commerce, farmer entrepreneurship has encountered new opportunities. This study utilizes the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data and employs a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the direct impact of rural e-commerce participation on farmer entrepreneurial behavior, considering factors such as human capital, social capital, and network infrastructure. This study further explores the indirect effects and mechanisms of e-commerce participation as a mediating variable and analyzes the impact and mechanisms on agricultural entrepreneurship behavior. The findings are as follows: (1) E-commerce participation significantly promotes farmer entrepreneurial behavior; (2) E-commerce participation as a mediating variable has a positive indirect effect on the relationship between social trust, network infrastructure, human capital, and farmer entrepreneurial behavior; (3) E-commerce participation has a significant positive influence on farmer entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, and farmers with higher levels of network infrastructure and human capital have a higher probability of choosing agricultural entrepreneurship under the influence of e-commerce participation. Finally, this study provides policy recommendations in terms of infrastructure construction, entrepreneurial policy environment, and education level, aiming to optimize the situation of farmer entrepreneurship and contribute to the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization.Overall, the research in this paper effectively combines theory and empirical evidence to outline the direct and indirect impact mechanisms of rural e-commerce participation on farmers' entrepreneurial behavior and agriculture-related entrepreneurial behavior and to test the effects of their impacts. First, most of the existing literature deals with farmers in individual sample areas, while the sample selected in this paper is farmers in the whole country, which is relatively more generalizable; second, most of the previous studies explore the level of e-commerce in the inter-provincial or county areas, while this paper expands the empirical study of rural e-commerce on the entrepreneurial behavior of farmers and the micro-period of agricultural entrepreneurial behavior, and focuses on the impacts of the e-commerce activities of farmers on their entrepreneurial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Self-Sustaining Village is a Danish eco-community whose mission is to develop communal sustainable living. This paper evaluates its sustainable living through a questionnaire survey of residents that measures their carbon footprint based on self-reported consumption. The survey also measures their life satisfaction. Results show that residents have a carbon footprint that is 60% below the national average and have a higher life satisfaction than the national average. Results from long-term participant observation explain the lower carbon footprints relating to energy, transport, food and other material items by the existence of particular physical and social infrastructures that shape life in the Self-Sustaining Village. Residents live more sustainably because their collective decisions make sustainable choices the standard or default options. They do so without having to make conscious choices individually and without sacrificing their private comfort for the environment and the climate. These villagers live up to their sustainable ideals and enjoy a richer social life that provides a higher life satisfaction than if they lived separately as independent households. The Self-Sustaining Village provides us with a model in which people live happier with less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive usage of pervious concrete (PC) in pavement applications to mitigate the shortcomings in conventional impervious paving is on the rise. The primary performance parameters of PC are strength and porosity which greatly depend on aggregate grading and shape of the constituents, aggregate to cement (A/C) ratio, water to cement (W/C) ratio, and compaction effort. This paper discusses the development of a model to predict compressive strength of PC using compaction effort and A/C ratio and. For compaction effort of 0–90 blows and A/C ratios of 2.5–4.0, the proposed model perfectly predicted the compressive strengths of PCs in the range of 3.0–30.0 MPa. The mean deviation and mean relative error of the estimated compressive strengths were 1 MPa and 10%, respectively. Findings of this study could contribute in choosing the right A/C ratio and compaction effort for mix design of PC. Noticeably, strength requirements of typical pavement applications exist in the same range as the developed model predictions lie in, which guarantee the application of proposed model for transport infrastructure development but not limited to. Further extension of the proposed model is feasible by incorporating the effect of aggregate grading and shape on compressive strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the properties of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) obtained from different production processes for use as partial replacement of cement: (1) minimally post-processed (MP) SCBA, obtained by sieving and grinding SCBA from Louisiana's sugarcane field production; (2) fully post-processed (FP) SCBA, obtained by sieving, further burning under controlled conditions at temperature T, and grinding field-produced SCBA, denoted as FP-T; and (3) laboratory-produced (LP) SCBA, obtained by controlled burning at temperature T of bagasse fibers and grinding of the obtained ashes, denoted as LP-T. The temperatures of burning, T, for FP-T and LP-T SCBA were varied between 450 and 650 °C at 50 °C intervals. The significance of this study is the valorization of agricultural waste for the production of low-carbon concrete for transportation applications in Louisiana, and other locations where SCBA are produced from a low-efficiency boiler in a sugar mill. A comprehensive characterization of the different SCBA materials was conducted, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), laser diffraction particle size analysis, Chapelle's test, strength activity index (SAI), loss on ignition (LOI), and moisture content. Experimental results showed that all LP-T and FP-T SCBAs met ASTM C618 chemical requirements and SAI requirements for Class N pozzolans. By contrast, MP SCBA did not meet these requirements, thus resulting in unsuitable SCM application. LP calcinated at 650 °C and FP calcinated at 450 °C exhibited the greatest SAI and SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 among LP-T and FP-T SCBAs, respectively. Based on a combination of properties and production practicality considerations, FP calcinated at 450 °C was identified as the most promising SCM-grade SCBA for large-scale production in Louisiana, and was used to further evaluate the fresh and hardened properties of concrete incorporating SCBA at 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% cement replacement by mass. A decrease in workability as well as 28- and 90-day compressive strength with the increase in SCBA content was observed. However, the relative strength gain from 28 to 90 days and the 90-day surface resistivity increased with increments in SCBA dosage. Characterization of cement-SCBA paste through XRD and SEM revealed portlandite consumption and densification of the cementitious matrix from 28 to 90 days, thus suggesting the pozzolanic activity of SCBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attributes of diversity and concealment pose formidable challenges in the accurate detection and efficacious management of distresses within subgrade structures. The onset of subgrade distresses may precipitate structural degradation, thereby amplifying the frequency of traffic incidents and instigating economic ramifications. Accurate and timely detection of subgrade distresses is essential for maintaining and repairing road sections with existing distresses. This helps to prolong the service life of road infrastructure and reduce financial burden. In recent years, the advent of numerous novel technologies and methodologies has propelled significant advancements in subgrade distress detection. Therefore, this review delineates a concentrated examination of subgrade distress detection, methodically consolidating and presenting various techniques while dissecting their respective merits and constraints. By furnishing comprehensive guidance on subgrade distress detection, this review facilitates the expedient identification and targeted treatment of subgrade distresses, thereby fortifying safety and enhancing durability. The pivotal role of this review in bolstering the construction and operational facets of transportation infrastructure is underscored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in home, industrial, and business environments has made available the deployment of innovative distributed measurement systems (DMS). This paper takes into account constrained hardware and a security-oriented virtual local area network (VLAN) approach that utilizes local message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) brokers, transport layer security (TLS) tunnels for local sensor data, and secure socket layer (SSL) tunnels to transmit TLS-encrypted data to a cloud-based central broker. On the other hand, the recent literature has shown a correlated exponential increase in cyber attacks, mainly devoted to destroying critical infrastructure and creating hazards or retrieving sensitive data about individuals, industrial or business companies, and many other entities. Much progress has been made to develop security protocols and guarantee quality of service (QoS), but they are prone to reducing the network throughput. From a measurement science perspective, lower throughput can lead to a reduced frequency with which the phenomena can be observed, generating, again, misevaluation. This paper does not give a new approach to protect measurement data but tests the network performance of the typically used ones that can run on constrained hardware. This is a more general scenario typical for IoT-based DMS. The proposal takes into account a security-oriented VLAN approach for hardware-constrained solutions. Since it is a worst-case scenario, this permits the generalization of the achieved results. In particular, in the paper, all OpenSSL cipher suites are considered for compatibility with the Mosquitto server. The most used key metrics are evaluated for each cipher suite and QoS level, such as the total ratio, total runtime, average runtime, message time, average bandwidth, and total bandwidth. Numerical and experimental results confirm the proposal's effectiveness in foreseeing the minimum network throughput concerning the selected QoS and security. Operating systems yield diverse performance metric values based on various configurations. The primary objective is identifying algorithms to ensure suitable data transmission and encryption ratios. Another aim is to explore algorithms that ensure wider compatibility with existing infrastructures supporting MQTT technology, facilitating secure connections for geographically dispersed DMS IoT networks, particularly in challenging environments like suburban or rural areas. Additionally, leveraging open firmware on constrained devices compatible with various MQTT protocols enables the customization of the software components, a crucial necessity for DMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has become a major component of the modern IT ecosystem. A key contributor to this has been the development of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) architecture, in which users' virtual machines (VMs) are run on the service provider's physical infrastructure, making it possible to become independent of the need to purchase one's own physical machines (PMs). One of the main aspects to consider when designing such systems is achieving the optimal utilization of individual resources, such as processor, RAM, disk, and available bandwidth. In response to these challenges, the authors developed an analytical model (the ARU method) to determine the average utilization levels of the aforementioned resources. The effectiveness of the proposed analytical model was evaluated by comparing the results obtained by utilizing the model with those obtained by conducting a digital simulation of the operation of a cloud system according to the IaaS paradigm. The results show the effectiveness of the model regardless of the structure of the emerging requests, the variability of the capacity of individual resources, and the number of physical machines in the system. This translates into the applicability of the model in the design process of cloud systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the excessive prices and volatility in the energy derivatives markets over the period 2021–2023, margins increased considerably, leading major European energy companies to experience liquidity stress in meeting those. As a consequence, several local governments needed to provide guarantees to avoid their default. This article includes several legislative proposals to ensure that energy firms are prudentially safer and that there exists a level playing field among financial actors active in the same market segment. Specifically, this article proposes to (1) decrease the clearing threshold for commodity derivatives under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), (2) narrow the definition of hedging relevant to the calculation of the clearing threshold, (3) remove the intragroup exemption possibility under EMIR, and (4) make sure that energy firms can be categorised more easily as investment firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure has grown rapidly as an alternative asset class, yet many of the complex processes that transform public infrastructures into lucrative financial assets are poorly understood. This article examines investments by an infrastructure debt fund, to show how financial innovations expand and diversify the infrastructure asset class by finding new ways to generate financial returns from infrastructures. Infrastructure debt is an emerging sector of the infrastructure asset class, where private debt funds create assets that generate returns by extending loans or bond financing to physical infrastructures. The analysis uses assetization as a conceptual framework to scrutinise the construction of financial assets, centring the role of rent generation and extraction to show how infrastructure debt funds create financial value. By bringing the performative work of asset construction into dialogue with the political-economic forces enabling rent extraction, the analysis augments existing literature on financialized infrastructures. The findings show how infrastructure debt assets are predicated on multiple rounds of assetization: initially, the essential nature of infrastructure services is exploited to generate and extract monopoly rents as long-term revenue streams, and in turn, debt funds extend claims on these revenue streams to extract rents through interest payments. In this way, infrastructure debt extends the infrastructure asset class and provides a new route to extract rents, raising concerns over the potential of these investment practices to contribute to inclusive regional development and just transitions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces and critiques gaslighting – the manipulation of circumstances by elite actors to sow doubt or confusion in residents over what is 'real' – as an affective experience of infrastructure planning. Predominantly observed within intimate relationships, scholars now identify gaslighting as a structural condition that manipulates whole communities and reproduces systemic oppression. We concur, extending analysis to the realm of urban infrastructure planning, and drawing connections with Rancièrian critiques of elite orders of governance. In infrastructural worlds, regulatory arrangements have been harmonised to suit coalitions of elite government and private actors whilst extolling the virtues of participatory governance. Megaprojects are legitimised by planning processes that cement monopolies and shroud elite public-private deal-making, while detractors are delegitimised discursively in political and media discourse. Yet, dissent is also pacified via participatory planning processes that invite publics to give testimony but undermine their epistemic and moral validity. This, we contend, is an example of infrastructural gaslighting. The case of Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel Project (WGTP) is instructive – a 'Market-Led Proposal' from corporate infrastructure giant Transurban, backed by the Victorian government – where participatory planning was not simply tokenistic, but rather a discombobulating experience, concealing and 'breadcrumbing' information to publics, while undermining deliberative capacities. Exposing grounded experiences of infrastructural gaslighting, we join other critical urban scholars seeking conditions for just planning practices. Infrastructural planning regimes are consequential, but the realities they police are illusions that are as tenuous as they are politically constituted and, like other forms of gaslighting, are ready for challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of group percolation models in interdependent networks with reinforced nodes have rarely addressed the effects of the degree of reinforced nodes and the heterogeneity of group size distribution. In this paper, a cascading failure model in interdependent networks with reinforced crucial nodes and dependency groups is investigated numerically and analytically. For each group, we assume that if all the nodes in a group fail on one network, a node on another network that depends on that group will fail. We find that rich percolation transitions can be classified into three types: discontinuous, continuous, and hybrid phase transitions, which depend on the density of reinforced crucial nodes, the group size, and the heterogeneity of group size distribution. Importantly, our proposed crucial reinforced method has higher reinforcement efficiency than the random reinforced method. More significantly, we develop a general theoretical framework to calculate the percolation transition points and the shift point of percolation types. Simulation results show that the robustness of interdependent networks can be improved by increasing the density of reinforced crucial nodes, the group size, and the heterogeneity of group size distribution. Our theoretical results can well agree with numerical simulations. These findings might develop a new perspective for designing more resilient interdependent infrastructure networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development projects present ambiguous ethical terrain for anthropologists to navigate. Particularly in relation to WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) infrastructures which mediate human and environmental health. Our interdisciplinary team of anthropologists and engineers initially set out to design context‐sensitive on‐site wastewater treatment infrastructures for homes along Belize's Placencia Peninsula. The project's beginning coincided with the announcements of a government sponsored centralized wastewater infrastructure project and the construction of a cruise ship port on a nearby island, however. Soon the wastewater project's promises—economic opportunity, improved human and environmental health, modernization ‐ came crashing into its pratfalls—exacerbating existing inequalities, loss of livelihoods, and diminished local governance. Our team was left with uncertain decisions about how to engage with improving infrastructure, given the emerging community dynamics. By detailing the imperfect trade‐offs at play, we highlight ethical complexities inherent when communities' development futures are at stake. Anthropology's fraught history includes legacies of unintended harms from entanglement in others' inequities. However, avoiding involvement out of excessive caution risks leaving marginalized voices unheard and extant problems unresolved. This case immersed our team in the inherent optimism and ethical experimentation which underlie development contexts. Our analysis adopts the structure from Whiteford and Trotters' (2008) "Ethical‐Problem Solving Guide" to reveal the layered tensions that underly critical WaSH infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Ukraine's economic potential amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia, highlighting the investment opportunities it presents for reconstruction and recovery, with support from international aid and private sector investments. It also examines the staggering reconstruction needs, spanning infrastructure, housing, manufacturing, and agriculture, emphasizing the country's strategic importance and its aim to rebuild a resilient and sustainable economy.

In contrast to traditional randomized controlled trials, embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) are conducted within healthcare settings with real-world patient populations. ePCTs are intentionally designed to align with health system priorities leveraging existing healthcare system infrastructure and resources to ease intervention implementation and increase the likelihood that effective interventions translate into routine practice following the trial. The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), supports the conduct of large-scale ePCT Demonstration Projects that address major public health issues within healthcare systems. The Collaboratory has a unique opportunity to draw on the Demonstration Project experiences to generate lessons learned related to ePCTs and the dissemination and implementation of interventions tested in ePCTs. In this article, we use case studies from six completed Demonstration Projects to summarize the Collaboratory's experience with post-trial interpretation of results, and implications for sustainment (or de-implementation) of tested interventions. We highlight three key lessons learned. First, ineffective interventions (i.e., ePCT is null for the primary outcome) may be sustained if they have other measured benefits (e.g., secondary outcome or subgroup) or even perceived benefits (e.g., staff like the intervention). Second, effective interventions—even those solicited by the health system and/or designed with significant health system partner buy-in—may not be sustained if they require significant resources. Third, alignment with policy incentives is essential for achieving sustainment and scale-up of effective interventions. Our experiences point to several recommendations to aid in considering post-trial sustainment or de-implementation of interventions tested in ePCTs: (1) include secondary outcome measures that are salient to health system partners; (2) collect all appropriate data to allow for post hoc analysis of subgroups; (3) collect experience data from clinicians and staff; (4) engage policy-makers before starting the trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the transportation literature through questions with both the methods used and the econometric findings obtained by several analyses. In this context, CO2, GDP, freight transport (truck transport) and trade openness are considered as variables by performing multivariate regression, Johansen, Phillips-Ouliaris, Engle-Granger co-integration, FMOLS, DOLS, CCR and ARDL tests. According to results of econometric analysis truck transport, trade openness, economic growth caused environmental degradation and there is a stable long-run relationship among variables. All econometric models clearly confirm each other as empirically. The priority area in transportation is the reduction of emissions in road transportation, which has the largest share in greenhouse gas emissions. The steps to be taken at the global level in this field will accelerate the spread of hybrid and electric vehicles all over the world. The market share of electric vehicles is increasing day by day with the widespread use of electric vehicle technologies in recent years and many countries in the world turning to this new technology. With the interest in electric vehicles, it is observed that battery systems compatible with vehicles, engine systems, especially charging station systems have been developed, thus new market areas have emerged. Establishing the necessary infrastructure to achieve this transition is of great importance, and for this purpose, strategy development and planning activities for the development of electric vehicle and charging infrastructure should be aimed to be carried out to reduce carbon emissions. It is seen that there is also a feedback effect between the trade openness and CO2 emissions. Trade openness also affects economic growth by encouraging industrialization. Economic growth will also lead to an increase in energy demand. Similarly, insufficient energy supply will hinder economic growth by affecting exports and imports, and as a result, energy consumption will decrease. In this way, the "Green Deal Action Plan" will be a roadmap that is compatible with the transformation policies taking place in the world economy, especially in the EU, that encourages green investments, contributes to the transformation of global value chains, and thus supports value-added production. Thus, the green deal action plan can achieve the stated objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although rapid transition away from fossil fuels will be required to limit warming to any agreed upon level, long-lived fossil energy infrastructure buildout continues largely unabated. Many nations around the world have laws requiring regulators to meaningfully assess potential climate impacts when reviewing proposals for new fossil fuel infrastructure projects such as oil and gas extraction leases, major transmission pipelines, and power plants. However, reviewing agencies often report lack of appropriate tools to objectively assess the climate impacts of individual fossil fuel infrastructure projects, and to determine the significance of these impacts. Here we present a novel methodology to fill this critical gap by providing a science-based decision support tool, a 'climate test', for use in determining an infrastructure project's carbon emissions significance. The climate test defines emissions significance quantitatively according to a project's consistency with region-specific constraints and characteristics of climate mitigation pathways, considering both emissions and energy systems characteristics over the project's lifespan. We showcase the tool here, using an example of a natural gas pipeline to explore how often and under what conditions the project would 'pass' the climate test with an emissions significance result of ≤1, which indicates alignment with a 1.5°C goal. For this project, less than 1.2% of 10,000 scenarios yielded significance values ≤1, suggesting a high likelihood that the project has a significant climate impact, a determination that would be robust to uncertainty for such a project. This emission-based metric represents a first step toward a broader framework to align project-level infrastructure decisions – including and beyond new fossil energy projects – with climate, as well as economic and societal, policy goals. This novel 'climate test' tool is suitable to support U.S. regulators in meeting their statutory requirements to assess the significance of climate impacts for fossil energy infrastructure projects on an individualized basis. While the tool was designed based on specific gaps identified in the U.S. system, it can readily be adapted for use in other non-U.S. regulatory contexts. Widespread implementation of such a climate test tool would help the US, and other nations that use it, to act consistently with their national and international climate commitments by aligning individual project-level decisions with pathways to limiting warming. By defining project significance in the context of both the emissions constraints and energy needs of a warming-limited world, this climate test tool provides decisionmakers with integrated and nuanced analytical information necessary to responsibly manage both energy and climate policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of automated equipment for surface crack detection based on digital image acquisition is becoming increasingly popular in the inspection industry. While researchers typically focus on improving the accuracy of recognition methods, the image quality is essential to the effectiveness of the algorithm. However, evaluating the quality of crack images has received little attention in computer‐aided civil and infrastructure engineering. A prominent issue is whether surface cracks are visible and measurable in images. This study proposes an image quality evaluation method using an original standard test chart that simulates cracks of different widths and directions. Geometric transformations and preprocessing techniques are employed in a full‐reference strategy to process the acquired crack images. The resulting information provides quantitative scores for crack visibility and measurability. The proposed Crack Structural Similarity Index is more in line with human perception and offers an accurate evaluation of real image quality. The study shows that Gaussian blur disturbance and random noise disturbance primarily affect measurability and visibility, respectively. Furthermore, the study finds that the quality of the crack image improves with increasing sensor pixel size and using a prime lens over a zoom or long zoom lens. This approach enables comparing image quality collected by different devices in the field environment and provides guidance for optimizing field acquisition parameters. In the future, the results of this study can be applied to facilitate the application of automated testing equipment and improve overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity, as a sustainable energy carrier, plays a central role in the transition scenarios for carbon neutralization of energy systems. Expanding the potential of electricity requires intelligent integration of electricity infrastructures and electricity markets with distributed energy resources (DERs) including roof‐top solar photovoltaics (PVs), controllable loads, and storage batteries. This integration will advance the management of power distribution grids, resulting in harmonization of the distribution grids and variable renewable generation. In the foreseeable future, the DERs will be actively used to perform advanced management of power distribution grids and compensate fluctuation in variable renewable power generation such as PVs and wind power. Market‐based coordination mechanisms are already practiced in large‐scale electricity production, electricity trading and transmission around the world. Using these mechanisms at the distribution grid level to integrate numerous flexible devices into the grids remains an important research topic. This paper reviews the role of DER integration toward carbon‐neutral power systems, the state‐of‐art and challenges associated with market‐based approaches for integrating flexible demand, distributed generation, and storage. Methods for assessing the value of DER aggregation such as virtual power plants and microgrids are also explored. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the development of transport infrastructure, various networks characterised by cross-sector, interorganisational collaborations have been designed, structured and deployed to tackle project complexities and achieve predefined objectives. However, these endeavours have received limited scrutiny in prior studies. To address this gap and gain novel insights, we conduct a multi-case review of 34 mega transport projects (MTPs) across 14 countries and regions from the perspective of network-based collaboration governance. Three communal complexities that trigger the governance demand for collaborative networks are first identified, followed by an evaluation of their relationships with network structures and governance mechanisms. The findings reveal a multi-level structure within collaborative networks encompassing collaborative governance, financial governance and interorganisational governance, each of which involves distinct governance structures, processes and orchestrators. Following the above-mentioned analysis, we propose an integrative framework to underpin the typology for collaborative network governance, which enables MTPs to improve cross-sector, interorganisational collaboration. Furthermore, these findings consolidate the knowledge base for MTP development, providing a cross-disciplinary platform to guide developed, developing and undeveloped topics and the related discourse in this important field of academic endeavour. • Conducting a multi-case review of 34 mega transport projects (MTPs) across 14 countries and regions. • Developing a multi-dimensional framework of "complexity-structures- orchestrators" for MTP development. • Contributing rich insights to collaboration and network governance literatures. • Providing important implications for owners and orchestrators directing different collaboration in MTP-like networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is to analyze the trends and locations of accidents in the Greater Melbourne Area (GMA) during a 15-year period (2006–2020). The places where accidents were most prevalent were discovered and the reasons which are contributing to the high accident rates in those areas are determined. Analyzing the patterns over time and variations in the frequency of accidents helped to identify areas that have improved or deteriorated in terms of road safety. A Tweedie model was developed to examine the intricate interaction between the accident frequency and its potential contributing factors such as socio-demographics, road transport infrastructure, and built environment. Ultimately, a clustering analysis was performed to elucidate the dispersion of road accident risk ratings among different local government areas (LGAs), offering useful insights into road safety initiatives and prioritization. • The study linked built environment to accidents with Twidee and Space-time Cube. • Accidents down overall (20 yrs), but hotspots move outward. • Melbourne suburbs form five risk clusters based on accident frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, China's "Northwest Highway" was a major conduit for Soviet equipment to support the war effort against Japan. This article investigates the building and operation of the portion of this new motor route in Gansu province. While the Northwest Highway was a remarkable achievement in long-distance motorized logistics—and later became a lever for Nationalist state-building in the region—it came at a heavy cost in energy and labor and negatively impacted state–society relations. This article uncovers the multiple layers of energy inputs involved in the construction and operation of the highway, from organic human and animal power to the colossal fossil fuel demands of truck transportation. Many of these costs were imposed on civilian society in Gansu through corvée labor and requisitioning. To compound these burdens, this article argues, the Northwest Highway brought few positive spillover effects because of restrictions on civilian road use and the limitations of Gansu's wider transportation infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the transformations of informal transportation practices in Siberia as an example of the process of social embedding of infrastructure in remote regions. Research about informal transportation is predominantly based on studies of minibuses, motorcycles, rikshaws and other small, low-performance vehicles. Meanwhile, the railroad often best exemplifies formalization, control, and surveillance, the characteristics opposite to informal practices. On the basis of information gathered from local and regional archives and semi-formal interviews with railroad workers, their families, and BAM builders (2016–2020), this paper traces the roots of embeddedness in specific norms and expectations that formed during construction of the railroad and persisted during its operation. Informal transportation became the norm and a resource for coping with a lack of infrastructure. Recent reforms have changed the railroad from a public system to a private, profit-seeking, dis-embedded enterprise. This process affects local communities' access to the railroad. Workers' trains, or okurki, are a last refuge for the retention of local mobility mostly in an informal way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-speed turnout is a key part of railway track infrastructure. A process of wheel-load transition and single-wheel/multi-track contact take place in the turnout area, causing significant wheel-rail interaction. Most high-speed turnouts include movable-point crossings. To investigate the wheel-rail transient rolling contact behaviour in movable-point crossings, a 3D finite element (FE) model of a wheelset rolling over a crossing was introduced. The actual geometrical profile of the wheel and the rails in turnouts, the nonlinear materials, the actual relative motion between the point/wing rail, and the moving postures of the wheelset were considered. The simulated mode shape was compared with the experimental mode shape to verify the wheel-rail coupling model. Precise frictional rolling contact solutions and dynamic response, including wheel-rail force, contact stress, equivalent stress, equivalent plastic strain, and stick-slip distribution of the contact patches, were all studied. After this, the parametric analysis of dynamic wheel-rail contact behaviour was carried out. The simulated results indicate that the proposed explicit finite element method can characterise wheel-rail coupled dynamic interaction and mesoscopic rolling contact behaviour well, and improve the understanding of wheel-rail contact behaviour in the movable-point crossing panel of the high-speed turnouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prioritisation of public facilities' maintenance is a necessary but complex task due to the need of considering both physical and socio-economic criteria. This study addresses this problem by quantifying the improvement in the delivery of social benefits that the corrective maintenance of an urban area's public facilities could yield. Based on this, a decision framework is proposed to design and schedule corrective maintenance plans at a municipal scale. The methodology integrates multi-criteria assessment with an analytical method for evaluating the contribution of an area's public facilities to its sustainable urban development based on their type of social infrastructure and their maintenance condition. The decision framework is implemented as a software to facilitate its application to a case study, consisting in building urban regeneration strategies aligned with governmental guidelines. The results revealed that decision-making is more efficient when considering the facilities' type of social infrastructure. In addition, a cost-efficient prioritisation of corrective measures yields better results than neglecting the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tsunamis continue to pose an existential threat to life and infrastructure in many coastal areas around the world. One of the risks associated with tsunamis is the formation of deep scour holes around critical infrastructure and other coastal buildings, compromising their structural integrity and stability. Despite its importance, tsunami-induced scour is still given limited and simplified consideration in design guidelines for coastal structures. To further improve the understanding of tsunami-induced scour processes, and thus provide the basis for safer design of coastal structures, novel large-scale laboratory experiments have been conducted. The experiments featured a unique combination of boundary conditions, including a square coastal structure on a sloping and dry sandy beach. Single broken solitary waves were used to simulate tsunami bores. The spatiotemporal scour development directly at the square column was monitored by a high-resolution camera system, allowing a detailed description of the highly dynamic flow and scour process. Differences in the scour process between the wave runup and drawdown phases are described, and maximum and final scour depths are given as a function of inundation depth, wave height, and distance of the column from the shoreline. The scour process is characterized by several distinct phases of varying intensity and scour rate, the sequence of which varies depending on the location on the sides of the column. It is shown that the drawdown phase has a large influence on the overall scour development, adding up to 58% to the scour depth obtained during the wave runup phase. As a result of significant sediment infilling during the drawdown phase, the maximum scour depths achieved during the drawdown phase are up to twice the final scour depths at the end of a test. This discrepancy between final and maximum scour depths is greater than in previous studies using a flat sediment bed. The results of this study therefore help to interpret scour depths measured during field investigations after a tsunami event and provide a basis for extending design guidelines for coastal structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the impact of transport infrastructure on regional disparity has been widely examined, its effect on intra-regional inequality has received less attention. Based on panel data at China's prefecture-city level during 2007–2018, we adopt the Difference-in-Differences model to investigate whether high-speed rail affects one type of intra-regional inequality, the urban-rural income gap. The results show that high-speed rail operation has widened the urban-rural income gap by boosting the agglomeration of population, financial capital, and economic activities in urban areas adjacent to high-speed rail stations. Furthermore, the effect varies across cities. The impact of high-speed rail on the urban-rural income gap is more evident in small and less developed cities due to the polarization effect. In contrast, this is not observed in large and developed cities. One possible reason is that, in the latter, the diffusion effect is much stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airports represent a crucial a sector of the US infrastructure, but they were documented to have scored a D+. To mitigate this, governmental authorities have issued initiatives to update the airport infrastructure. With an expected critical junction for a major transformation in the airport sector, it is anticipated that airport projects will increase. This shall result in an escalation in the number of disputes. Previous research analyzed dispute concerns within the construction sector, but none tackled the perspective of airport projects. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to investigate the leading causes of disputes in litigation within US airport projects through data-driven techniques. To achieve this goal, a three-step methodology is adopted, including (1) collecting a comprehensive list of federal and state litigation cases to map the data and identify the causes of disputes; (2) clustering and visualizing the data using k -means and network analysis (NA), respectively; and (3) determining the key associations emanating from the dispute clusters through association rule analysis (ARA). The outcomes of this research revealed a total of 23 dispute causes clustered across four groups. Results of the NA indicated that the most common dispute causes are those involved with ambiguity in contractual interpretation, incurred damages, safety issues, and negligence or lack to duty of care. ARA identified several key associations and risk themes related to (1) financial assurance and operational performance: (2) contractual compliance and execution; (3) business affiliation, methods, and inclusion; (4) integrity and misconduct; (5) regulatory hurdles and area effects; and (6) collaboration and teamwork challenges. By identifying these associations and causes of disputes, airport stakeholders can implement early proactive measures that aim to mitigate dispute risks experienced. Ultimately, this study is of value to stakeholders concerned with the overall support and success of dispute management procedures in US airport projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the imperative of enhancing design flexibility in large-scale infrastructure projects to effectively navigate emerging uncertainties. Current appraisal methods often prioritize risk mitigation over uncertainty management, which hinders the implementation of flexible designs. Instead, this research explores the integration of design flexibility through real options reasoning (ROR) to create flexible infrastructures. As a result, a conceptual framework is proposed that draws from contemporary industrial practices such as modularization and project safeguards. Modularization, grounded in the alignment of functions and components, bolsters flexibility. Project safeguards, operationalized as passive or active measures, embed options in project outcomes. A proposed method emerges that synthesizes real options, modularization, and project safeguards into four guiding steps and nine helpful heuristics. These steps, enriched by heuristics, offer a structured approach to grasp, strategize, and implement design flexibility, transforming it from theory to impactful project management. Case-based and numerical validation was conducted to validate the proposed method. The proposed approach is illustrated through a case study of Heathrow Airport's £14 billion expansion. The research implications include the exploration of improved appraisal methods for large infrastructure projects, the advancement of ROR and application of heuristics in engineering management, and additional investigation into the integration of modularization and safeguards to enhance design flexibility in uncertain environments. This study presents a new methodological approach that offers a structured framework for effectively communicating the advantages of design flexibility in managing uncertainty during the appraisal process of large-scale infrastructure projects. The approach empowers project leaders to tackle uncertainties intrinsic to large-scale projects. It fosters design flexibility's benefits, guides project selection aligned with growth goals, and manages uncertainties by conceptualizing projects as sequenced steps. This method comprises four sequential steps, each pivotal for enhancing design flexibility. It begins by translating strategic needs into tangible options, enhancing adaptive decision-making. The subsequent step involves selecting optimal product types and modularization options to fortify flexibility. Operationalizing risk, modularization, and safeguards in the third step cements flexibility into project architecture. The final step involves cost–benefit analysis, aiding informed investment decisions. These steps, enriched by simple heuristics, offer a structured approach to grasp, strategize, and implement design flexibility, transforming it to impactful project management. Ultimately, this approach guides projects toward a more adaptive future. The proposed approach is ideal for intuitive executive decision-making through practical shortcuts, particularly when analytical modeling faces limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality control (QC) is an essential component of quality assurance (QA) programs used to monitor and ensure the highway construction projects' quality. After receiving the contractor's QC plan, state departments of transportation (DOTs) conduct review and acceptance, monitor the QC process, and ensure construction quality by performing inspection activities. Given that state DOTs are increasingly implementing alternative contracting methods (ACMs), including construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC), design-build (D-B), and public–private partnerships (P3), it is essential to consider the impact of shifting more responsibility to the contractor on quality management activities, including developing and monitoring QC plans throughout the project development. The objective of this paper was to investigate the implementation of QC plans for administering QA specifications in highway infrastructure projects delivered using ACMs. The data collected from a national survey questionnaire of 43 DOTs in the US and structured interviews with seven DOT representatives were employed to investigate this research's objective. As a result, eight typical requirements of QC plans in ACM projects were identified in terms of certification and qualification of QC personnel and process control. Additionally, the standard of care of QC staff in ACMs was not found to be higher than that in design-bid-build. Nine risk factors related to the oversight of QC plans in D-B, CM/GC, and P3 highway projects were identified. There was no statistical difference in the nine risk scores among D-B, CM/GC, and P3 projects. The findings from seven case studies provide insights regarding the implementation of QC plans for ACM highway projects. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by advancing the understanding of how state agencies execute and oversee QC activities in ACM projects. The outcomes of this study may help state DOTs identify optimal QC practices to administer the QA process in ACM projects. This study investigates the current state of practice in implementing QC plans to manage and improve QA processes for highway projects delivered using ACMs such as CM/GC, D-B, and P3. This study synthesized and documented typical QC requirements used by state DOTs in reviewing, accepting, and monitoring contractor compliance with their QC plans. Additionally, the descriptive and inferential testing results of nine risk factors in implementing QC plans in highway projects found in this study enable highway agencies to effectively justify their monitoring process of the QC plan implementation. Further, the results from seven case studies provide insights and key lessons learned regarding (1) the guidance and templates for developing a QC plan; and (2) risk perceptions in managing the QC plan implementation in ACM highway projects that can benefit both the contractors and state DOTs. The outcomes of this study also shed light on exploring the optimal allocation of responsibilities between state DOTs and contractors in implementing QC activities to administer QA programs in ACM highway projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airport refueling systems, composed of parallel pumps and pipe networks, serve as critical infrastructure within the realm of civil aviation. Although the optimal scheduling of centrifugal pumps based on the steady state or quasi-steady state of pipe networks has been extensively investigated, there is a scarcity of studies addressing the dynamic control of pipe networks considering transient characteristics. Due to random disturbances caused by aircraft refueling demand, the adjustment of pump speed needs to be further improved for safety and economics. The hydraulic transient simulation of airport refueling systems was first carried out and the accuracy of the calculation was verified. A two-stage disturbance rejection control strategy based on predictive control was proposed to adjust pump speed reasonably. At the first stage, a generalized predictive control method combined with extended state observer (ESO-GPC) was adopted for disturbance compensation and control stabilization, which was validated to be effective both under slope and general disturbance. A simplified model was employed for online prediction of the inlet pressure fluctuations of pipe networks. At the second stage, pump speed was adjusted based on the deadband judgment, eliminating unnecessary flow fluctuations that may lead to the repetitive start and stop cycles of centrifugal pumps. The proposed two-stage control strategy was implemented in the simulation of the airport refueling system and the results demonstrate that this approach can effectively ensure the safe and stable operation of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is important to China's development vision. Under the BRI, Chinese policymakers have focused on exporting railway systems to developing countries, yet progress on some projects remains limited. This article focuses on delays associated with a planned railway project in Pakistan: the ML-1. It answers the following question: What explains delays in the ML-1 railway project despite strong Chinese interest in it? The article uses a two-step conceptual framework to answer this question. In the first step, it highlights the role of railway bureaucrats involved in project-level negotiations. It shows that local bureaucrats contribute to delays by actively negotiating technical parameters. Chinese firms have limited policy levers to ensure their acquiescence. In the second step, the article places delays in the context of Pakistan's political economy by analysing the role of the political and military elite. It also explores the impact of political change and economic factors on the project. Projects not in sync with the local political elites' development vision face delays. Domestic political changes also contribute to delays. Furthermore, a failure to gain major veto actors' support, coupled with economic problems and differences over financing terms, constrains China's ability to pursue large-scale projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors influencing spice income in Tanzania are assessed, exploring household effects of spice diversification, socio‐economic and land characteristics on spice income. Spice diversification, household size, age and gender of the household head, non‐spice crops and off‐farm activities are factors influencing spice income. Results indicate that successful farmers can negotiate higher prices for most spices. This suggests that policymakers should encourage farmers to diversify production and supplement their income with non‐spice crops. Promoting cooperation among farmers, improving marketing infrastructure and implementing education programs could equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills to negotiate prices and reduce income differences among farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown how student circuits of consumption are mediated by the interest of commercial actors. However, little attention has been paid to the connections between international student stays and the tourism sector: how they intersect with each other? Our fieldwork in Lisbon (Portugal) showed the central role of student organizations in commercializing the leisure time of international students, approaching them to 'circuits of travel' and consumption populated also by tourists. Filling a gap in the literature, we conceptualize international students as consumers surrounded by entertainment industries, pointing out the centrality of touristic infrastructures and destination marketing in articulating their stays. Therefore, we argue that these organizations, in their partnership with tourism and leisure sectors, are contributing to the socio‐spatial segregation between local and international students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributive political economy of contemporary Arab Oman yields a status‐differentiated social infrastructure composed of elites who distribute and non‐elites who, in many ways, rely on those distributions. The construction of communicative links within social infrastructures via the performance of sung poetry depends on the phaticity of the link being activated. For Omani poets, different linguistic performance genres telescope the vast social distance between elites who listen and non‐elites who sing in different ways and with different results. Omani poets from the rural north of the country conduct cross‐class social contact—conceptually "vertical" social infrastructural movement—by way of two contrasting genres of Arabic praise poetry: a one‐off request or statement, the solo qasida, and a recognitive, addressive choral form that reciprocally establishes and evaluates such vertical relationships, the 'āzī. I argue that the metapragmatic distinctions that Omani poets draw between these two genres reveal a subtle phatic ideology that allows certain modes of communicative contact to index deeper, cross‐class social ties within grand public performances, while simultaneously reinforcing tacit norms of elite avoidance of non‐elites in everyday social intercourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem definition: We estimate the impact of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on volumes of consumer foot traffic received by nearby retail establishments. We also explore the conditions under which any effects manifest. Methodology/results: We use a differences-in-differences design, exploiting the staggered introduction of Tesla Supercharger stations across the United States. We combine data on Supercharger installations with mobile phone–based estimates of retailer foot traffic. We explore heterogeneity in the treatment effect, in terms of EV charger characteristics, visitor characteristics, establishment type, and local physical context. We estimate that establishments experience an average 4% increase in monthly visits following the installation of a Tesla Supercharger. These effects arise primarily for retailers that offer relatively quick services (e.g., fast food) and for those located very near to the charger (within 150 meters). The effects are also more pronounced when the Supercharger is one of the first EV chargers introduced into the local area. Managerial implications: We document evidence of the positive retail demand spillovers arising from EV charging station infrastructure. We also document the conditions under which the benefits manifest. Insights for EV network operators, retailers, and policymakers are included. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.0519. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]