U.S. Infrastructure Gap(s): Federal Policy and Local Public Institutions

Abstract

Urban infrastructure development and maintenance needs in the United States are not being met. Likewise many U.S. cities have been slow to adopt innovative new procurement models for infrastructure development and smart city programs despite their apparent benefits. This paper assesses the impediments to the adoption of new models for urban infrastructure development and finance unique to the United States as a function of federal, state and local investment policies and institutions, and how those institutions differ from other developed economies globally. The paper identifies institutional reform, via the creation of new public infrastructure organizations and institutions in U.S. states and cities, as a solution to spur the adoption of life-cycle based infrastructure procurement, smart city programs, and other proven reforms to urban infrastructure development and maintenance.

Keywords: Infrastructure, Urbanization, Smart Cities, Public-Private Partnerships, Life-Cycle Based Procurement, Asset Management

JEL Classification: H54, H80, R51, R53