Transport Infrastructure and Global Competitiveness: Balancing Mobility and Livability

In the United States, public infrastructure has been a necessary, though not sufficient, catalyst to economic growth and expansion, particularly in urban areas. However, infrastructure investments, and particularly highway construction, absent much in the way of proactive planning and farsighted land-use management, have for the most part also been sprawl-inducing. This article argues for carving a new relationship between public infrastructure and cities that balances the goals of economic productivity and community place-making. Often considered to be in conflict, they need not be. Experiences in San Francisco and Seoul show that the replacement of elevated freeways with greenways, boulevards, and public transit can improve neighborhood quality and increase land values. In Hong Kong, the aggressive application of value-capture strategies such as air-rights leasing with enhanced urban design increased economic rates of return.