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OCR for page 178
5
The Future of Urban Public Works:
New Ways of
Doing Business
Douglas C. Henton and Steven A. Waldhorn
INTRODUCTION
Two or three decades ago, the world of urban public works seemed
for the most part to be set in concrete. Financing methods were
standard, engineering designs uniform, and politics mostly local.
Starting in the mid-1950s, however, cracks began to appear in that
concrete, and recent developments have speeded up the crumbling
of the urban public works foundation.
Beginning in 1956 the federal government first increased, then
decreased, its involvement in such areas as interstate highways,
wastewater treatment, and mass transit construction. Over the same
period, deferred maintenance has presented the country with a huge
bill- now coming due for repair and construction. In the last few
years, fiscal constraints have forced localities to abandon traditional
financing approaches and to search for new ways to fund public
works.
In this context, infrastructure has within the past year or two
been discoverer! as a national issue. The once fairly traditional
arena of public works is being forced to adapt to new realities.
Federal, state, and local roles, as well as the nature and extent of
private-sector involvement in infrastructure issues, are being re-
thought in a fundamental sense. There" is debate regarding how
funds for capital improvements should be raised and spent at every
178
OCR for page 179
THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
179
level of government. New political alliances are emerging arounc}
these issues. Finally, at least some new technologies seem to have
developed to a point at which they can significantly affect both the
cost and design of some public works. In short, there is a new florid
of urban public works and a future that requires new ways of doing
business.
This chapter examines these new ways of doing business from
the diverse standpoints of economics, politics, and technology. It
draws in large part on research here at SR} International. We try
to identify some of the major questions that research in this area
should address over the next decade.
From an economic point of view, some questions requiring in-
vestigation include:
· What types of financing methods to pay for infrastructure are
likely to become more prevalent?
· Is there a significant shift in the willingness of people to pay
for different kinds of facilities and services?
From a political point of view, some basic questions need to be
addressed:
· Which stakeholder groups are likely to support increased in-
vestment in public works?
· What new coalitions are likely to emerge on different sides of
issues, and what new roles can we expect to see for business in this
issue?
Finally, from a technological point of view, critical questions that
need to be looked at include:
· How will new patterns of urban development linked to new
technologies change demands for infrastructure of different types?
· What potential innovations in public works technology are likely
to occur and what are likely to be major constraints to their adop-
tion?
We conclude that public financing for infrastructure is likely to
become more benefit-based and user-oriented, moving away from
traditional tax and spending approaches. New types of public-pri-
vate options will become more prevalent. Research is needed to
assess the equity effects of these new methods of finance and to
determine how extensively they can be applied.
We also find that new political coalitions are merging around the
OCR for page 180
180
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
infrastructure issue, often involving a special role for business at
the state and local levels. Infrastructure may be seen less as solely
a government issue and more as an issue of public-private invest-
ment. Research is needed to determine the consequences of these
structural changes and opportunities for joint investment.
Finally, we suggest that current demands to rebuild our decaying
infrastructure may not be taking into account new patterns of urban
development and new technology, which call for very different kinds
of investments in public works. Research is needed to determine
how critical developments in technology will shape demand for in-
frastructure and how technology innovation can be promoted in the
provision of infrastructure.
INFRASTRUCTURE AS AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL ISSUE
Infrastructure will remain a national issue because the problem
is going to get worse, and there is little indication that the root
causes are going to be addressed soon. State and local finances
cannot deal with the problem without major changes. The basic
tension in this issue for the future is determining who is responsible
for what. Is infrastructure a national, local, or state issue, and what
role should the private sector play?
A second question, only beginning to emerge, is how much in-
frastructure can we afford, and of what kinds? For example, is more
new industry likely to be attracted by a better highway or by the
installation of broadband data transmission lines and microwave
facilities? If local phone companies die, will municipalities be re-
sponsible for telephone service as well as sewers?
Visible Signs of Decay
In 1982 infrastructure went from an obscure term known to only
a few into the national spotlight. It is likely to remain high on the
national agenda for a number of reasons. The causes of the prob-
lems deferred maintenance and inadequate public investment-
are likely to continue at least into the near future. More recently
the public has become aware of visible signs of decay, notably in
the form of potholes, breaks in water mains, ant! bridge closings.
The media have picked up on these visible signs and dramatized
the worst cases in articles and news stories.
The business community has become especially concerned about
this decay because it recognizes how critical infrastructure is for
OCR for page 181
THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
181
its own future development. Most studies of business decisions to
locate plants and facilities put adequate infrastructure near the top
of the list of factors influencing decisions (Choate and Walters,
19811. Adequate roads, water systems, transportation, and sewers
are essential to business. While the current recession has slowed
company expansion and capital outlays, business can look ahead
and see potential bottlenecks and constraints on its growth and
development. A recent news article on infrastructure questioned
the ability of local governments throughout the nation to provide
the infrastructure needed for economic growth (Business Week, Oc-
tober 26, 1981:7-91. Although there is controversy over the extent
of infrastructure needs, few observers question that the task is one
of major magnitude.
Deteriorating State and Local Finances
Concern about how to pay for infrastructure has increased with
the deterioration of state and local public financing. Beginning with
the tax limitation movement heralded by Proposition 13 in 1978
and continuing through 1983 with the effect of the recession on
revenues, state and local governments throughout the nation have
been experiencing extreme fiscal constraints. The response has been
to cut services. Since 1978 per capita state and local expenditures
have decliner! steadily in constant dollars (U.S. Advisory Commis-
sion on Intergovernmental Relations, 19814. At first, like the public,
business saw the cutbacks mainly as a move to reduce the fat in
government; now the perception is that of being down to the muscle
and bone in some services. For example, a recent poll conducted for
the Bay Area Council in California by Mervin Field (Field Research
Corp.) found that for the first time since Proposition 13, a majority
of Bay Area citizens felt that cuts made in local budgets after Prop-
osition 13 were in the wrong places and that taxes should be raised,
if necessary, to maintain municipal services. A question that many
municipalities are grappling with is how operating and capital in-
vestment costs should be paid for in the aftermath of the tax lim-
itation movement. A lon~er-term Question is how much long-term
~ v ~ v ~ ~ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~ ~
investment should be made.
A National or Local Issue
While infrastructure has become a national issue, public works
still remain primarily a local concern. There is a basic tension
OCR for page 182
182
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
between forces that centralize this issue at the federal level and
forces that decentralize it to the community. During the 1950s and
1960s, there were strong centralizing forces resulting from such
acts as the creation of the interstate highway system and federal
grants for urban mass transit and wastewater treatment. In the
1970s, growing concerns about an overloaded federal system and
budget deficits led to moves to decentralize and reduce federal ef-
forts. By the l980s, growing fiscal constraints at the local level
have limited the ability of local government to finance capital im-
provements. Today there is a basic problem of increased federal
financing accompanied by federal standards versus local adaptation
to regional differences.
The next few years should provide an opportunity to sort out
some appropriate roles for federal, state, and local governments as
well as the private sector in infrastructure. It is important to avoid,
first, too many national standards that do not allow for necessary
regional variation and, second, local adaptation so decentralized
that there are tremendous inequities by region and among service
areas. How to avoid these traps is one of the most important ques-
tions the infrastructure debate will address in the future.
SOME FUTURE TRENDS IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND
TECHNOLOGY
Changing technology is affecting urban development and the type
of infrastructure that will be needed. At the same time, new tech-
nology is changing the way infrastructure can be provided. Thus,
engineering and technology affect both the demand for and the
supply of infrastructure. Those relationships need to be examined
more fully to understand what types of public works will have to
be paid for in the future.
Future Development and Public Works
Infrastructure is both a consequence and a cause of urban de-
velopment. The evolution of urban public works shows a clear re-
lationship between changing spatial dimensions (urban sprawl, for
instance) and infrastructure. New technology (e.g., railroads, au-
tomobiles), energy resources, and work and housing patterns all
interrelate and determine the types of public works that are needed.
Urban development from 1880 to 1920 demanded one type of cen
OCR for page 183
THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
183
tralized infrastructure, while the suburban developments of the
period 1950-1970 determined a different, more decentralized type
of public works. What type of urban development can we expect in
the future and how will these patterns determine the types of in-
frastructure that will be needed?
In many ways these basic questions of urban development and
new technology are not being asked today in planning for public
works. A large part of today's problem is repairing what has already
been built and thereby preserving the investment in public works.
The only controllable part of today's problem seems to be what type
of new infrastructure investments we want to make for the future.
However, rebuilding the nation's decaying infrastructure exactly
as it is may be like refighting the last war instead of the one we
really face. Perhaps we should instead be investing in new types
of infrastructure even for old systems for the emerging economy
of the United States.
One way to deal with the question is to say that changes will
come slowly and tomorrow will look pretty much like today. The
implication is that the necessary adjustments can be made as we
go along. Another way to look at this question, however, is to relate
infrastructure demand to future scenarios that are different from
today. SR} has used these types of scenarios to explore possible
future developments in such areas as transportation and energy
(SRT International, 1977a, 1980a). In laying out future scenarios,
it becomes possible to explore the relationships between technology,
urban development, and infrastructure requirements.
One future scenario is based on the continued emergence of the
postindustrial information economy. Increasing numbers of work-
ers are employed in high-technology, services, and information-
related fields; the application of computers changes the nature of
work. These developments combine with major advances in tele-
communications to drastically change the patterns of both urban
development and work itself. Businesses that communicate infor-
mation by satellite no longer need to be concentrated in central
cities. Increasing numbers of people can work at home using com-
puters connected to their telephones to do their work. It is estimated
that as much as 7 percent of the labor force will work by using
computers at home by the end of the century. With workplaces more
widely distributed instead of concentrated, there would be less com-
muting to work and lower demand for highways. The shift toward
high-technology information services that would reduce the demand
OCR for page 184
184
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
for heavy industrial infrastructure would also increase the demand
for communications infrastructure. This pattern of development
thus drastically alters needs for public investment: Are today's pub-
lic works planners preparing for it?
The Japanese have been giving this type of future and its im-
plications for infrastructure some serious thought. A recent journal
of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry described how
changes in Japan's industrial structure require a new type of in-
frastructure. It states: "Our industries have shifted toward knowI-
edge-intensive and high value added industries.... The high tech-
nology industries require an infrastructure remarkably different
from those required by the industries leading our economy in the
past.... Increasingly, a 'soft' infrastructure organized around the
demands of the information has become important" (Kobayashi,
1982:2).
New Technology of Infrastructure
Another scenario is based on the assumption that new technology
for providing infrastructure will emerge. New, less-expensive road
surfacing methods and materials, alternative bridge construction,
and new water system methods are becoming available. New types
of community waste treatment, solid waste disposal, and heating
systems are developing. Some examples of these technologies from
recent research at SR} include new membrane separation tech-
niques that can reduce the level of organic waste that has to be
treated and new uses of polyurethane to reinforce bridges (recently
used on the Golden Gate Bridge).
A particularly interesting innovation is the development of a
noncorrosive substitute for salt made from biomass feedstocks such
as corn. In a recent report for the Federal Highway Administration
prepared by SRT, methods of genetic engineering are described for
creating a mutant strain of bacteria critical to the fermentation
process for producing a substitute deicer, calcium magnesium ace-
tate (SR} International, 1982a). A recent article in Chemical En-
gineering states that "biochemical technology could well prove a
major weapon against the deterioration of our roads, bridges, rails,
autos, and other steel structures (Chemical Engineering, 19834. The
article notes that a major cause of the decay of these structures is
the use of salt about 9 million tons annually. The Federal High-
way Administration is now sponsoring efforts to develop methods
for producing calcium magnesium acetate economically.
OCR for page 185
THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
185
An important question is whether local governments can adapt
to new technology. Research by SRI for the National Science Foun-
dation on the adoption of science and technology by state and local
governments indicates that a variety of institutional, political, and
economic constraints stands in the way (SR} International, l980b).
Chief among those constraints is that bureaucracies tend to be
dominated by those who have a low propensity to innovate, at least
partly because there is an absence of rewards for risk taking. At
the same time, economic factors work against adoption. SRI's work
on transportation in the future found that "increasing cost and risk
associated with introducing a new technology on a grand scale seems
certain to slow down its acceptance and diffusion" (SRI Interna-
tional, 1977b:3~.
Suppose both scenarios apply to some degree, so that there is a
situation in which some new types of infrastructure will receive
more emphasis (satellite networks) and others less (new commuter
freeways) anti in which new technologies will be used in repairing
aged systems. The question then is, are we up to it? Robert Yin has
found that technological innovation can be promoted at the local
level, if the particular innovation can serve bureaucratic goals anct
economic self-interest (Yin et al., 19761. Thus the key to this sce-
nario seems to depend on the political, bureaucratic, and economic
characteristics of local governments.
A recent SRI effort to transfer space technology illustrates some
of these issues. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
had developed a new automated water quality monitoring system
that had application to municipal water supply systems. This tech-
nology had been tested at the Santa Clara Valley water reclamation
plant. SRI's technology applications team sought to transfer this
technology to other localities. For the most part, cities and counties
were not really to adopt it because they had not adopted recycling
methods that made the new technology economically feasible ant!
thus considered the cost of this new technology too high. Two cities
that die! adopt the technology, Denver and Houston, had decided
that the economics of water required recycling methods and saw
the value in purchasing this automated approach (SR} Interna-
tional, 1981a). In this case the acceptance of new technology was
linked to the economics of water systems and the willingness of
local government officials to change approaches.
Even old technology can be difficult to implement. An example
of a technology that is itself not so new but is innovative for most
U.S. communities is district heating and cooling. While a number
OCR for page 186
186
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
of European cities have district systems, few U.S. cities do. Pro-
ponents of district heating point out that it is economical in that it
reduces the need for large numbers of individual systems and is
energy-eff~cient in that it can burn a wide variety of materials with
less waste. Why then is it not readily adopted by cities that need
more economical and energy-efficient heating systems? One barrier
is the institutional complexities involved in obtaining agreement
from the multiple owners of user facilities so that specific projects
can become economically feasible. Another is that current public
policies do not encourage citywide district heating development.
Existing utility companies do not see the need to get involved in
such developments. In short, institutional, economic, and political
constraints plus the general weight of prior commitments to exist-
ing systems make massive redesign of heating and cooling systems
difficult. Changing economics and growing awareness of the option
may alter this situation in the future, but for now constraints block
action.
This problem of checks on new developments, innovation, and
risk taking is described in more global terms in Mancur Olson's
recent book, The Rise and Decline of Nations. The growth in the
number of organizations and interest groups committed to preserv-
ing the status quo (or at least their piece of the pie) acts as a check
to innovation. In terms of infrastructure, there is a risk that people
may be so committed to existing technologies and approaches that
they cannot adopt new approaches that are more suited to future
needs.
An Infrastructure for Infrastructure Innovation
Research by SRI for the National Science Foundation has found
the importance of a research and development "infrastructure" for
linking research and development to users (SR! International, 1977b).
Recent research on the adoption of innovations has pointed out the
key role that an infrastructure of intermediary institutions can play
in helping to translate new technology into forms that are useful
to adopters (Brown, 19821. In the area of public works, there is
clearly a need for networks for the diffusion of innovations in tech-
nology. Research on innovation diffusion has indicated that tech-
nical and scientific professional groups can help to perform a useful
function in this regard (Bingham et al., 19784.
One example is the engineering profession. A recent article (C)vi!
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THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
187
Engineering, 1982a) on infrastructure and the role of the civil en-
gineer points out that engineers have an important role in accu-
rately assessing needs and developing innovative and more cost-
effective techniques to renew and rehabilitate infrastructure. A
later article (C)vi! Engineering, 1982b) points out that civil engi-
neers have a direct impact on codes, regulation design, contractual
risk sharing, and technological innovation, all of which have a
major impact on cost. Civil engineers along with transit designers
and public works experts need to become a force in promoting tech-
nological innovation and more cost-effective methods. This could
involve a greater focus on innovation in career training and de-
velopment. In general, it may be useful to think about new ways
to promote better infrastructure for infrastructure innovation.
Engineering and technology are only part of the triad of concerns
involved in infrastructure. As we have seen, economics and politics
also shape the adoption of new technology.
THE SEARCH FOR CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES
Benefit-Based Approaches Versus Ability to Pay
No matter how many different types of new infrastructure are
built in the future, one thing is clear: New ways to pay for them
are needed. Major changes are occurring in public financing for
public works. Chief among these has been a shift toward user-
oriented, benefit-based approaches. Since the time of Adam Smith,
political economists have argued the virtues of a benefit approach
to public finance, whereby those who benefit from a service pay for
it. Concern over equity led John Stuart Mill and others to argue
for an ability-to-pay approach, in which each should pay for a service
according to his or her ability to do so. Thus income and property
taxes are based on an individual's financial resources. The twen-
tieth century saw a rapid increase in the use of a broad range of
taxes based on ability to pay. Then came the taxpayers' revolt,
initiated by Proposition 13. A variety of benefit approaches are on
the rise. A recent survey by the Municipal Finance Officers Asso-
ciation and the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Re-
lations found a 77 percent increase in user charges and a 26 percent
increase in benefit assessments by cities in the United States (Cline
and Shannon, 19821. When the U.S. Advisory Commission on In
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188
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
tergovernmental Relations (1982) surveyed the public, asking which
method is the preferred way to raise revenue, 55 percent chose
charges for specific services and only 5 percent chose to raise prop-
erty taxes (21 percent chose to raise sales taxes). In this phenom-
enon we see a return to basics in public finance-the link between
services and taxes is reestablished.
How does this evolution in public finance toward benefit-based
approaches address issues of equity? Not very well, if equity is
defined in terms of ability to pay. Anthony Pascal of the Rand Corp.
has suggested equity-based charges that take into account the user's
income. This can be done either directly, through discounts, or in-
directly, through rebates or credits on taxes. Any solution to the
equity problem, however, will create problems in administration.
Finally, one of the advantages of a user charge is its link to
efficiency. Consumers use public services more efficiently if they
know they have to pay for them. User charges will thus relate
consumer demand to supply more effectively. Here, then, is the
classic trade-off in economics: equity versus efficiency.
The Impact of Fiscal Constraints:
A New Role for Local Government
Some have called California a bellwether state in the past, and
it may well be leading the way in new approaches to infrastructure.
Recent studies of infrastructure options by the Bay Area Council
and the Association of Bay Area Governments, from the local per-
spective, and by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research,
from the state viewpoint, indicate the type of rethinking that has
been going on (Bay Area Council and Association of Bay Area Gov-
ernments, 19831.
First, Proposition 13 has forced local officials to consider alter-
native ways to finance public works. The ability to raise property
taxes was sharply curtailed, and the issuance of general obligation
bonds was limited. This has led to a move toward benefit-based,
user-oriented, pay-as-you-go approaches. Second, current budget
crises (arising as much from the economy and federal grant cutbacks
as from tax limitations), have made local governments look more
seriously at ways to work with private business as a partner in
solving problems. Infrastructure is a natural area for collaboration
with business, because business has so much to gain in terms of
the effects on economic growth. New types of public-private ar-
rangements have been emerging.
OCR for page 200
200
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
push for better methods to relate public works investments to pri-
vate investment; thus new approaches to negotiating public-private
investment at the local level will become increasingly important.
CONCLUSIONS
Ultimately the question of infrastructure boils down to the rel-
ative emphasis given to investment versus consumption. Many
economists will argue that the 1960s and 1970s were a time of
accelerated consumption, both public and private. Consumer spend-
ing skyrocketed, services expanded, and public and private savings
declined. Both inflation and the ability to deduct interest were in-
centives to buy now and pay later personal credit grew and public
debt expanded. We were disinvesting in the future. Infrastructure
received fewer and fewer investment dollars; when budgets tight-
ened, maintenance was deferred. In all, investment in public works
declined 30 percent over the 1970s in real dollars (adjusted for
inflation).
Now the bill for deferred maintenance and neglect of new in-
vestment that allowed our nation's physical plant to decline is com-
ing due. There is interest in reversing the trend of disinvestment
in investing more in public works. Whether this will occur is related
in part to attitudes toward private investment and investment in
general.
After all, many other kinds of disinvestment must also be paid
for at the same time by both the public and private sectors. The
decades-Ion" reluctance of American heavy industry to invest in
more modern plants and processes has imposed a cost in unem-
ployment and a lowered tax base in many states. The relative dis-
investment in public education over the 1970s imposes a similar
cost.
The picture is not all bleak, however. There has been a growing
investment in pollution control over the last decade that has a payoff
for both public and private sectors. In areas where water pollution
control has been vigorously enforced, for example, new industries
will have to spend less to obtain clean process water and cities can
continue to use existing municipal water supplies.
Individual changes in life-style- investments in smaller cars,
energy-saving appliances, shared housing, and recycling have re-
duced some of the demand for infrastructure that was foreseen in
the early 1970s. Highway systems can be repaired and improved
OCR for page 201
THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
201
rather than duplicated. Electricity use is not likely to expand as
fast as once thought. Municipal solid waste systems in many areas
are likely to change in a variety of ways through the application
of new technology.
Given these changes in public and private investment patterns,
how do we relate the private investment needs of the l980s and
l990s to public investment needs? Can both public and private
investments be promoted so they can be related to and reinforce
each other? By structuring tax policies and other incentives to dis-
courage consumption, perhaps an investment environment could
be created that would encourage greater savings to accommodate
the needs for both public and private investment. But what price
do we pay for doing that?
While the trend toward recognition of the need for greater in-
vestment is clear, how the issues will sort themselves out is much
less clear. The ways we adapt to technology, find new methods to
finance infrastructure, learn to work together, and develop coali-
tions to encourage investment will determine the future of urban
public works.
New and more efficient ways of combining public and private
investments are another possibility, but we are only beginning to
learn how to do that, and it could take a very long time.
Research Implications
We conclude by outlining a variety of research implications that
arise in the areas considered! in this chapter.
Technology
1. We need to assess how critical developments in new technology
will affect the demand for different types of infrastructure.
2. Key technological innovations in the provision of particular
types of infrastructure should be identified.
3. Major impediments to the adoption of technological innova-
tions in infrastructure should be identified to determine what
can be done to reduce or remove them.
4. Innovation diffusion networks for public works and what can
be done to promote them should be examined, with a special
focus on the role of professional associations and career de-
velopment and training for public works professionals.
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202
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Economics
1. The equity effect of the movement toward user charges and
benefit-based methods of financing should be assessed.
We should determine how extensively innovative financing
alternatives can be used at the local level. Are they of only
marginal utility or is there a large potential for their use?
3. A series of comparative case studies of the effect of design
standards on the cost of financing infrastructure should be
prepared.
4. The extent of private-sector participation in infrastructure fi-
nancing should be surveyed to help determine the willingness
of private business to pay for particular types of infrastructure
using different financing methods.
Politics
1. Emerging political coalitions for infrastructure should be iden-
tified.
2. The implications of the expansion of independent authorities
and special districts must be analyzed.
3. The experience with joint public-private investment efforts
should be evaluated.
Long-Range Assessment
1. The effects of life-style changes and changes in business op-
erations on needs for new infrastructure and public works
must be examined.
2. The effects of current government decisions in other fields,
such as telecommunications, energy, and industrial policy, on
future needs for infrastructure should be assessed.
REFERENCES
Bay Area Council and Association of Bay Area Governments
1983 Funding Bay Area Capital Improvements and Maintenance. San Francisco:
Bay Area Council and Association of Bay Area Governments.
gingham, Richard et al.
1978 Professional Associations as Intermediaries in Transferring Technology to
City Governments. Report prepared for the National Science Foundation by
the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
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THE FUTURE OF URBAN PUBLIC WORKS
203
Brown, Lawrence
1982 Innovation Diffusion: A New Perspective. New York: Methuen.
Business Week
1981 State and local government in trouble: the decay that threatens economic
growth. October 26:136.
California Office of Planning and Research
1982 Paying the Piper: New Ways to Pay for Public Infrastructure in California.
Sacramento: State of California.
Chase Econometrics
1978 Evaluation of National Impacts of Local Public Works Programs. New York:
Chase Econometrics.
Chemical Engineering
1983 Road-deicer researchers take the genetic route. May 2:27.
Choate, Pat, and Walters, Susan
1981 America in Ruins. Washington, D.C.: Council of State Planning Agencies.
Civil Engineering
1982a The infrastructure problem and the role of the civil engineer. 52(10):42.
1982b Public infrastructure are more dollars coming? 52(12):63.
Cline, Robert, and Shannon, John
1982 Municipal revenue behavior after Proposition 13. Intergovernmental Perspec-
tive 8(3).
Goldman Sachs & Co.
1982 Tax Exempt Leveraged Lease Financing for the Public Sector. New York.
Unpublished report, Goldman Sachs & Co., New York.
Hatry, Harry
J. Lewis Associates
1981 Maintaining the Existing Infrastructure: Current State of the Art and Practice
of Local Government Planning. An information bulletin. Prepared for the
Urban Consortium by the Urban Institute.
1982 California's Crumbling Infrastructure: A Political Strategy. Sacramento, Calif.:
J. Lewis Associates.
Kirlin, John, and Kirlin, Anne
1982 Public Choices and Private Resources: Financing Capital Infrastructure for
California's Growth Through Public-Private Bargaining. Sacramento: Cali-
fornia Tax Foundation.
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1982 Many Providers, Many Producers: A New View of the Public Service Industry.
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1962 The Polity. New York: Rand McNally.
Orski, C. Kenneth
1982 Urban transportation. In Meeting Human Needs: Toward a New Public Phi-
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1981 Financing Options for Urban Infrastructure. Washington, D.C.: Urban Insti-
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1982 The Allocative, Efficiency, and Equity Effects of a Shift to User Charges and
Benefit Based Taxes. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.
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Rohatyn, Felix G.
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DISCUSSION
John M. Armstrong
The chapter by Henton and Waldhorn provides an excellent sum-
mary of the major issues. My remarks focus on the relationship
between technology and patterns of urban development and on tech-
nological research.
We need a much more complete understanding of this chicken-
or-egg situation. We do not fully understand the extent to which
the level or pattern of growth is influenced by the technology of
infrastructure. We need to understand the obstacles to using new
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technology. In particular, there is a need to increase the investment
and commitment to specific technological research and clevelop-
ment. The payoff should be great in producing tools that can help
tackle the degradation of facilities.
As a rule university research has tended to follow the new tech-
nologies. Not much research has been done on facilities repair or
adaptation of existing technology. Repair technology as a discipline
in itself promises to be one of the most challenging aspects of en-
gineering. Interest in the subject has not developed because it is
perceived as unglamorous.
There is no distinct line between new construction technology
and repair technology. If we allow a rationale for repair as well as
replacement, we may develop one of the most challenging aspects
of the engineering profession. Otherwise we may have no alter-
native to a policy of replacing existing systems as they wear out.
One of the challenges for the engineering profession is to develop
systems by which replacement can occur incrementally.
Innovation will be critical, regardless of the nation's economic
fortunes, the use of creative financing, or improvements in the de-
cision process. We cannot afford not to be innovative. The respon-
sibility for innovation ultimately resides with the practicing en-
gineer. For the practitioner to be more innovative, education in
engineering must change. In addition to the fundamental training
given civil engineers, the professional schools must give more em-
phasis to the holistic character of infrastructure problems, including
system degradation and maintenance. One segment of civil engi-
neering, water resources, has learned to look at large, complex
systems. Those lessons could be applied to other branches of the
~ .
profession.
Engineers also need to be concerned not only with builcling fa-
cility systems well but also with operating them efficiently. Not
much attention is given in engineering education to the operation
of existing systems, although a few universities now offer programs
in engineering administration.
Finally, we need to give considerable research attention to how
we go about determining standards for the design ant! performance
of facilities, how we decide what is "safe," and how we measure and
quantify information for use by those who make decisions.
Larry d. Feeser
Although the paper deals with technological, economic, and po
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PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
litical issues, my remarks will focus on technology. First, ~ want to
address the direct effects of technology on infrastructure systems.
Some parts of the infrastructure system are basic and are likely to
change very little in the near future. Civil engineers will continue
to be involved in providing the basic necessities of urban life: shel-
ter, transportation, water, and waste disposal. We will have to find
more effective ways of providing these necessities. ~ foresee no amaz-
ing technological breakthroughs in most of these systems.
There is some technology on the frontier of change that will un-
doubtedly affect how we design, build, and operate facilities. The
computer is the most important of these. The technology is moving
very rapidly. The replacement cycle is now about 2-3 years, in
contrast with a tO-year cycle for most technologies. Computer-aided
design and drafting can soon have a direct impact on facilities
systems, as can simulation and operations research.
We must keep in mind that computers are a young industry. The
integrated circuit is only 40 years old. The advances in technology
in the last decade have been so rapid it is no wonder that assimi-
lation of it has been slow in public works agencies. But we can
expect public works applications to blossom rapidly, due in part to
necessity and in part due to the dropping costs of computer-aided
systems.
Scenarios for the future impact of the computer on the planning,
design, construction, and operation of urban facilities are not clear,
just as they are not clear with regard to the effect of the computer
on the structure of cities. ~ doubt that we are really ready for the
wired city. The impact, of course, could be startling on where people
live and work, on how they transact business, and the reasons they
come together in urban centers and settlements. The computer is
a revolutionary technology, so innovation in its use is very hard to
predict. Prediction is further complicated by the deregulation of
communications industries and the entry of communications com-
panies into computer services and vice versa.
Advances in biotechnology have great potential for waste treat-
ment. It may become possible to provide clean water and to treat
wastes at far lower costs than are necessary today.
Materials research and technological development have consid-
erable potential, as engineers begin to clevelop applications for some
of the basic scientific research that is under way. Materials research
has been generally underfunded, in part because the lead time for
results through practical applications is 10-15 years. Such research
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207
needs support, however, even though specific results cannot be
guaranteed.
Standards for infrastructure can have a tremendous impact on
the cost of facilities. We need considerable research on how such
standards are set, the kinds of standards that are used, and who is
involved in the process. Some standards may be too high, especially
in light of the resources that are available to provide facilities. Even
though basic materials may cost less today than in the past, the
escalation of performance or construction standards may have caused
costs to rise considerably.
Regulations need to be reviewed to determine if they pose barriers
to innovation. We need mechanisms that target resources but allow
considerable flexibility in the technology user! to achieve public
purposes.
Civil engineers can generate a strong technical basis for the fu-
ture of cities. Clearly, however, one of the things they need to do
is to improve their ability to communicate with nonengineers and
to get deeply involved in the process of developing the public con-
sensus on infrastructure policy.
SUMMARY
The Need for Research and Development
Research has been a small item in agencies that are concerned
with infrastructure and in the industries that supply the materials
and equipment used to build infrastructure. In industry the amount
spent on research and development is trivial. For transportation,
for example, only 0.017 percent of the total capital expenditure is
for research; even this percentage is falling. We cannot rely on the
industries involved to do the necessary research. In large part this
is because the public procurement process provides no incentives
for research so long as the industry standard is met for materials
and components. When all infrastructure is counted, an enormous
amount of money is involved, but there is little actual research.
There is not enough of a critical mass for anything to get done. If
we expect to improve the performance or durability of infrastruc-
ture, then a sustained research effort is needed.
We should take a hard Took at how technology has evolved for
each kind of facility system and determine if we can depend on that
same process for the future. New advances in facilities technology
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PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
may be more complicated than in the past, yet the leverage it can
exercise on cost is substantial. If a type of concrete with a 50 percent
longer life had been developed, for example, it might have made
unnecessary much of the current concern over the deterioration of
facilities. We need to clear with the research ant} development prob-
lem to make conferences like this one unnecessary 20-30 years from
now.
One of the impediments to the growth of the public budget for
research and development is that such funds are in the discretionary
part of the budget. In addition, lead time for research payoff is long.
In seeking federal support for research, it is important to remember
that two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives
have been elected since 1974 and over half the members have prob-
ably never been exposer! to research processes and facilities.
The Importance of Innovation Transfer
Not only must new technology for and approaches to infrastruc-
ture be invented and developed, but there is also a serious problem
in the diffusion and transfer of innovations among public works
agencies and industries. Currently, about half of all new technology
introduced in the Uniter! States comes from abroad.
Public works managers are realizing that they will have to be
innovative to maintain their systems, because there will be less
money available to JO things the same way as in the past. There
is a lack of knowledge about new technologies that are available,
let alone those that are under development. The profession has not
been creative in setting up leadership mechanisms to get decisions
on research and development and innovation transfer made, nor
has it encouraged innovation and the use of new technology. In
many cases regulations and standards have impaired the use of
new, feasible technology. Some efforts are being macle in such areas
as district heating; a program supported by the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development is uncler way that involves 28
. .
cities.
The Brain Drain" of Engineers Away from Public Works
With the movement of engineers into the more exotic branches
of the profession, such as computers and defense industries, there
is considerable concern about where the public works leaders of the
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209
future will be found. The American Society of Civil Engineers has
found a dramatic drop in civil engineering students and also a
decline in the relative quality of students pursuing a civil engi-
neering career. The engineering schools are trying to counter this
trend by placing emphasis on some of the more glamorous aspects
of civil engineering. There is, however, a real question of whether
the trained professionals needed will be available. Further work is
needed in the professional schools and elsewhere to give better
status to public works careers.
The Impact of the Computer on Cities and Their Needs for
Infrastructure
More studies are needed of the impact of the computer on cities
and patterns of urban development. Will cities be encouraged to
die? Some people seem to be going back to use of the infrastructure
of smaller communities. We need, for instance, to obtain some fee!
for the growth of telecommuting as a substitute for face-to-face
contact in work situations. There is some evidence that while re-
mote work locations are attractive for some purposes, people still
like to work in proximity to others.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
local government
