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REVIEW article
Front. Sustain. Cities
Sec. Sustainable Infrastructure
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsc.2025.1591278
Public-Private Partnerships as Catalysts for Green Infrastructure: A Three-pronged Analysis of Economic, Environmental, and Institutional Factors
Provisionally accepted- 1Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
- 2University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
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As cities contend with the escalating challenges of climate change, rapid urbanisation, and resource depletion, the need for sustainable infrastructure solutions has never been more urgent. Cities account for 75% of global CO₂ emissions, yet efforts to implement green solutions remain fragmented. Green public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a sustainable solution, but the mechanisms for effectively leveraging these collaborations remain underexplored. Despite growing interest in PPPs, a critical knowledge gap persists: How is PPP leveraged in tackling crucial urban challenges for advancing green infrastructure? This study critically examines how PPPs drive progress in six key sectors: renewable energy, sustainable urban mobility, water management, waste management, green building and urban greening. Through qualitative case studies, the study analyses flagship projects from cities in both developed and developing countries. The study presents that green PPPs will thrive when backed by strong institutional frameworks, long-term financial commitments, and adaptive collaborative environments. The key to sustainable urban futures lies not just in government action but in strategic PPPs. This study makes a call to rethink urban partnerships-aligning private sector innovation with public mandates. It offers actionable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and investors, demonstrating that green PPPs are catalysts for urban sustainability and if scaled effectively, they could redefine the trajectory of sustainable development.
Keywords: green infrastructure, PPP, Renewable Energy, sustainable urban mobility, Water Management, Waste Management, Urban greening
Received: 10 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Owojori and Erasmus. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Oluwatobi Mary Owojori, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.