Capital Projects and Infrastructure in Urban and Economic Development

The paper examines the politics of infrastructure in the post-privatisation era. It shows the tensions between the interests of private investors and the expectations of the citizenry for the assembly of a raft of capital assets that collectively underpin the operation of liveable sustainable cities. The paper traces the intrinsic role of infrastructure as a generator of urban economies and then of the state as a mediator of often conflicting demands in relation to economic outcomes, the availability and distribution of positive externalities and, crucially, of assignment of responsibility for infrastructure funding. Implications are drawn for urban planning and design.