Public Infrastructure, Private Built Investment, and Local Planning Capacity

Abstract

Public works managers and planners are key players in the game of built investment in metropolitan regions. Public investments governed by transportation, water, wastewater, parks, and other public administrators join the private investment streams managed by private sector business organizations to create the urban and regional built environment. Therefore, the capacity of local public works officials to engage in planning street, water, and other public infrastructure will likely affect the coordination of investments by public agencies and private firms. These analyses examine a 44-county region in Central Indiana to determine how closely public investments in infrastructure systems co-vary with private built investments among counties with measurably different capacities for local planning. Counties that use more planning tools, such as capital improvement plans, full-time planners, and subdivision regulations, show a closer coordination between public infrastructure and private built investments. The policy implications suggest that public works managers should pay close attention to the available planning tools to assure a productive articulation of public infrastructure and private investments.