PUBLIC VS PRIVATE SECTOR OWNED URBAN PUBLIC SPACE PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF USER PERCEPTION IN CITY OF COLOMBO

Public spaces are considered one of the fundamental elements in the urban context to promote leisure and recreation for urban dwellers. Public spaces contain variations within each other from the physical appearance, activities, and to usage factors. Private sector involvement for public space provision was increased in the recent past where public space ownership and access controls were shifted from solely public to private. This was criticized as privatization of public space and lead to debates on the decline of publicness and privacy of space. In this context, this research studied the public space from the user perception by considering publicly owned and operated versus privately owned and operated public spaces within Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is also explored the balance between ownership and access controls to determine the user preference in terms of the publicness features. User defined public space features were identified using 35 semi-structured interviews and 119 online questionnaire surveys. Qualitative analytic tools were used to evaluate the results including Content analysis and Space-shaper models with the support of NVivo software. The results revealed that publicly owned spaces were preferred by the users due to easy access and freedom for activities while privately owned spaces were preferred due to better infrastructure, safety, and security within. Also, it is identified that urban public space offered users the freedom to experience based on the levels of ownership and access controls. Finally, people preferred ownership by public over private sector as anecdotal evidence and values dominated in the public space attributes. This study provides key insights for planners to consider in the public space planning and the importance of private sector involvement and balance in the provision of optimal urban spaces in cities.

Making Medicare Complicated: The Consequences of Privatization

Starting with policy changes in the 1980s, Medicare has largely become privatized, with nearly 40 percent of beneficiaries enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans and another 30 percent with private supplemental coverage, including for prescription drug coverage. As a result, Medicare has become laden with administrative burdens and barriers. Beneficiaries are faced with a confusing array of plans and coverage options when they enroll, and are expected to choose a new plan every year. The choice they make has large implications for their health care costs, as well as their actual access to health care. While we typically think that targeted policies are burdensome and social insurance programs are accessible, Medicare contradicts this easy categorization. Instead, it demonstrates how private sector involvement in public programs can increase complexity and increase burdens for beneficiaries.

SPACE-CENTRIC CONCEPT TO ANSWER TOMORROW SPACE CHALLENGE: A SMALL STEP FOR FUTURE SPACE LAW

Space activities have shown significant progress since they begin in the late '50s. Under current development, the U.S. with Artemis program and Luxembourg with its space mining program will enhance their outer space involvement. Most of those programs will elevate private sector involvement. Furthermore, the future space program will mainly intersect with the space environment as the primary consideration. It remains high-risk activities that could have catastrophic results if not regulated immediately. However, the current existing space law began obsolete because it was composed more than 50 years ago and too geocentric by putting the earth as the primary protection area. Consequently, existing space law could not govern future space programs properly, including protecting the space environment defense, Etc. Afterward, this paper will introduce the space-centric concept. Space-centric concepts create to answer future space challenges from legal perspectives. This concept emphasizes how future regulation and policy should cover all space objects equally, recalling outer space is vulnerable to such activities by humans, and how the best way to mitigate unforeseeable calamity on outer space.

Involving private sector developers: building affordable rental housing in the City of Toronto

This research makes the argument for increasing private sector participation in affordable housing development in the City of Toronto. It explores the demand for affordable rental housing in Toronto, examines the national, provincial and municipal legislative situation affecting Toronto and demonstrates the potential for the municipality of Toronto to update and implement policies to produce more affordable housing with private sector developers. Policies used across Canada and the United States to encourage or require affordable housing contributions from private sector developers are explored and case studies of Vancouver, Montreal and San Francisco highlight how municipalities facing similar housing pressures have attempted to address their situations. Interviews with key stakeholders contributed Toronto-specific ideas regarding private sector involvement in the construction of affordable rental housing as well as the accompanying policies that have potential in Toronto. Actions and policies are recommended for the consideration of the Toronto municipal government.

Involving private sector developers: building affordable rental housing in the City of Toronto

This research makes the argument for increasing private sector participation in affordable housing development in the City of Toronto. It explores the demand for affordable rental housing in Toronto, examines the national, provincial and municipal legislative situation affecting Toronto and demonstrates the potential for the municipality of Toronto to update and implement policies to produce more affordable housing with private sector developers. Policies used across Canada and the United States to encourage or require affordable housing contributions from private sector developers are explored and case studies of Vancouver, Montreal and San Francisco highlight how municipalities facing similar housing pressures have attempted to address their situations. Interviews with key stakeholders contributed Toronto-specific ideas regarding private sector involvement in the construction of affordable rental housing as well as the accompanying policies that have potential in Toronto. Actions and policies are recommended for the consideration of the Toronto municipal government.

Asgardia’s project for a new module to expand Space Station

Private sector involvement in the International Space Station (ISS) is becoming increasingly important as commercial organisations provide services and hardware to enhance the orbital operations of the Space Station which, in November 2020, marked two decades of continuous occupation. During the first Asgardia Space Science & Investment Conference, held in Germany in October 2019, a project to add a new commercially procured docking module to the ISS was announced as a key step to expanding the permanent human presence in low Earth orbit. Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, General Designer, provides a technical overview of the project and the industrial partnership arranged to deliver it.

Potential Private Sector Involvement in Supporting Refugee Livelihoods and Self-reliance in Uganda: Annotated Bibliography

There is some evidence of the private sector playing a role in supporting refugee livelihoods and self-reliance in Uganda during the period 2016-2020. However, a number of evaluations and research reports highlight the potential for greater private sector involvement, if existing constraints are addressed. Key lessons identified in the literature include the need for more research, especially on market potential, to address the existing knowledge gaps on the role the private sector can play in supporting refugee livelihoods and self-reliance in Uganda. The literature notes that limited access to capital, as well as appropriate financing schemes, are key constraints to the growth of the agribusiness sector. Furthermore, access to natural resources required for agri-business, such as land and water needs to receive more attention from NGOs and donors. The evidence also shows that there is a need for guidelines on the monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian adaptations of market systems development programming. The literature also notes that local actors should be involved in the design and assessment of investment opportunities and risk of interventions to increase project impact.