Community Ownership and the Infrastructure Investment Gap

Abstract

We stand on the brink of humanity’s most fundamental transformation to the built environment since the beginning of time. In communities around the world, existing governmental funds cover only a fraction of the cost needed to develop critical infrastructure, with local leaders given limited means and flexibility to adequately address deteriorating services to their communities. As a result, public-private partnerships have become key to addressing sub-national and municipal infrastructure challenges. In authoritarian political systems, centralized planning has expedited reform processes to provide long-term support to infrastructure investments; meanwhile, democratic societies have lagged behind as complex checks and balances continue to impede decision-making, capital allocation, and the transfer of knowledge in critical infrastructure development.