ABSTRACT
These trends signal an important convergence between telematics and urban infrastructure. Figure 7.1 provides an illustration of these processes in the UK. The first element in the reorientation of urban networks is the convergence between previously separated infrastructure operators and networks. In the emerging infrastructure and utility marketplaces, cross-investment between utility and infrastructure operators is burgeoning. The new pressure to secure profitability is leading investors to investigate new complementary arrangements between infrastructures that previously were completely divorced in their development within separate public monopolies. This cross-investment is part of a wider trend towards diversification away from core businesses, a process driven by the aim to improve financial performance in utility and infrastructure companies (Brewer, 1989). In part, this is a response to the vulnerabilities imposed on networked services by their local dependence.
