Infrastructure Development

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 activities 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 infrastructure (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 infrastructure development are capable of exerting significant impacts on location decisions (Graves, 1979).

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rations of economic efficiency, and (4) techniques which may lead to improvements in the coordination process. 41 42 Needs Assessment Rational infrastructure development begins with a planning process, within which an assessment of the infrastructure needs for an area is the first step. This planning process, which is heavy on projections and forecasts, is, in a sense, "inventing the future" (Gabor, 1964, p. 2). The needs assessment, however, must assure that the future invented is the one (1) most beneficial for the area, and (2) which will be supported by the area's residents. Infrastructure systems fall within the classification of public goods, which are consumed, to a great extent, in a collective manner. Collective consumption goods are those to which the benefits cannot be easily restricted (Gwartney, Stroup, & Studenmund, 1985). If air pollution is eliminated in an area, as an example, the benefits of clean air may not be restricted to only those individuals who either eliminated or paid for the elimination of the pollution. To an extent, the costs associated with some infrastructure systems can be charged to users. Thus, some infrastructure systems a

Category: Economics - I