INFRASTRUCTURE AS A GROWTH INDUCING FACTOR
This study examined infrastructure development as a growth inducing factor; as a catalyst for urban growth. As used in this study, infrastructure was defined as the set of physical systems which support human habitation and economic activity within a given geographic area. Infrastructure systems may be categorized as (1) buildings required to house various activi ties and services, (2) public works and utilities required for the support of various activities and services, and (3) land required for the accomodation of the various buildings, public works, and utilities which are components of an area's infra structure (Office of Planning and Research, 1980).
In this current study, emphasis was placed on the public works and utilities systems of an area's infrastructure. In this chapter, the effects of infrastructure development on land values, land use, and the environment are considered, within the contexts of location decisions, and infrastructure development actions initiated by government.
Location decisions and patterns by firms, households, and individuals are capable of having significant impacts on
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regional economic growth (Lowry, 1981). Prior studies have demonstrated that a variety of factors, including infrastruc ture development are capable of exerting significant impacts on location decisions (Graves, 1979).
The industrial revolution, together with the economics of nineteenth century transportation, created the great cities of the developed countries, and similar effects contribute to the creation and development of Third World cities in the twentieth century (Economist, 1986). In general, such economics mean that it is cheaper to move goods than it is to move people. Thus, people congregate in cities, which are located in places possessing some natural advantage a port site, an energy sup ply, a ...