With massive infrastructure demands around the world, and against a reality of constrained public-sector budgets, bold leadership is required to prioritize assertive public policy, harness private capital, and bring innovation to infrastructure funding and project delivery. While many of the following observations and recommendations apply globally, much of the focus in this article pertains to the United States.

FOUR APPROACHES TO BRIDGE THE GAP

The need for substantial investment in infrastructure is well documented. Unfortunately, there are no silver bullet solutions and, given the stakes, inaction is not an option. What is required is a combination of approaches aligned behind a strong vision, transparency, innovation, and a conducive regulatory and permitting environment, as well as willing partners — across borders, governments and industries — that can rise above complicating factors, build trust and generate confidence to proceed forward.

In this spirit, we look at four approaches that, taken together, can help reduce the infrastructure financing and funding gap.

1/ PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Public-private partnerships (P3s) are an effective way of transferring life-cycle costs of infrastructure from public-sector budgets and creating investable assets for the private sector. We expect that the P3 market — which is quite evolved in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada — will deepen in the United States as concession terms become standardized and as valuation transparency is enhanced from higher transaction volumes.

2/ A REGIONAL APPROACH TO INFRASTRUCTURE

The U.S. has numerous authorities that operate — and have been responsible for developing — significant portions of the nation’s infrastructure. Their advantages? These bodies take a long-term and expansive view of infrastructure needs.

Governments seeking to advance P3s in a programmatic manner might adopt the successful model of infrastructure offices — such as the U.K.’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Canada’s Infrastructure Ontario and Partnerships BC — at a regional level. The role of these centers is, among other things, to spur P3 activity through encouraging enabling legislation, prioritizing projects, and interfacing between procurement agencies and private capital sources.

3/ BETTER MODELS FOR FUNDING OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Whether financed by public or private capital, there is much that can be done to enhance funding models for infrastructure assets.

• GENERATE SUSTAINABLE REVENUES THROUGH FAIR-USAGE CHARGES: Many infrastructure assets, particularly in the transportation and water/waste sectors, are subsidized or free to users. This is not uniformly sustainable and so we recommend a reality where, in the words of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), users “pay … rates and fees that reflect the true cost of using, maintaining and improving … infrastructure.
• CREATIVELY UTILIZE VALUE-CAPTURE TECHNIQUES: Land and property values increase, sometimes dramatically, when they benefit from adjacent infrastructure. Value capture leverages the increase in real estate valuation to fund infrastructure development.
• ENSURE DEDICATED AND ROBUST STATE AND LOCAL SOURCES OF FUNDING: Stressed state and local budgets inevitably lead to maintenance backlogs. Thus, it is of prime importance that local sources of maintenance funding be developed from tax revenues and safeguarded, protecting them from being diverted to other budgetary needs.
• MODERNIZE THE GAS TAX:The U.S. Highway Trust Fund, which finances most federal government spending for highways and mass transit, is funded primarily from gasoline taxes. Because wear and tear on roads is correlated much more closely to mileage driven than to gasoline usage, the fund could be stabilized using a mileage-based revenue source that accounts for both gasoline-powered and electric vehicles.

4/ ENCOURAGING GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT

Development of new infrastructure requires substantial capital and entails significant risks. We propose several approaches to address these challenges.

• GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED CONSTRUCTION FINANCING: We believe budgets for U.S. governmental programs that subsidize financing for infrastructure development should be expanded. They are an effective way of providing leverage to federal funds, from private capital and state or local public capital, in the development and maintenance of infrastructure.
• ASSET RECYCLING: An effective way to leverage public capital in a resource-constrained environment is to fund new infrastructure via “asset recycling,” whereby proceeds from the lease of existing assets are redeployed in the development of new infrastructure.
• MITIGATE RISKS FOR PRIVATE INVESTORS: Private capital is generally unwilling to invest in greenfield development because of the difficulties in accurately budgeting development costs and timelines, and forecasting future revenues in the absence of operating history. These risks can be mitigated by inclusion of the right partner in the development and operating consortium.
• REFORMING REGULATORY AND PERMITTING PRACTICES: Predictable regulatory guidelines and efficient permitting processes can be helpful in driving private investment into infrastructure. Policies set by one administration or legislature can fall away with the next, creating uncertainty.

CONCLUSION

As we have argued, there are practical steps that can be taken right now by participants in the infrastructure market, as well as public policy initiatives that we actively support. In future articles, we expect to expand our scope beyond the United States.

For the full article and source material, visit: https://www.archtam.com/infrastructure-funding 

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Public-private partnerships (P3s) create opportunities for innovation and cost savings across the lifecycle of a project. With renewed support for infrastructure development from the incoming administration, the use of P3s in the U.S. is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. On February 7, 2017, Congress reintroduced the Public Buildings Renewal Act (H.R. 960/S. 326), which would open the U.S. buildings market to P3 by creating a tax-exempt bond that state and local governments can pair with private financing to fund public building projects, such as schools and hospitals. I’ll be speaking at an Infrastructure Week briefing on the bill Friday May 18.

I have been involved in advancing P3 projects over the past 12 years and have seen the P3 idea transform from a nascent, controversial concept to a widely accepted, proven U.S. model. No longer do we need to point to Canada and the United Kingdom for examples, we have signature projects in the U.S. across all sectors. Nearly every governor, mayor, state transportation department and transportation agency is considering how to leverage P3s to advance their most tricky, sticky, complicated and overdue projects. Since 2008, P3s have catalyzed more than $15 billion in U.S. projects while delivering at least $5 billion in cost savings to taxpayers (according to InfraAmericas). Successful projects that otherwise would never have moved forward, such as the Port of Miami Tunnel, were made possible due to the P3 approach.

Already, P3 projects of all types are helping project owners gain much needed confidence as they look to develop new assets and improve existing ones, as the P3 approach inherently results in faster project delivery and improved long-term performance.

For example, the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse (pictured above) is the first civic building in the U.S. delivered through an availability-payment-based public-private partnership. Under this agreement, Long Beach Judicial Partners financed, designed and built the project and will operate and maintain it for a period of 35 years. The owner, the California Judicial Council’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), pays for the building incrementally (though they owned it upon land acquisition).

The key to the availability-payment structure is that if the building is unavailable due to maintenance issues for any significant period of time, the AOC can deduct money from their payments. As the project designer, ArchTam consequently prioritized durability along with a more convenient and less stressful experience for those on all sides of the justice system, an appropriate response to the varying heights of adjacent buildings, civic architecture that expresses the court’s purpose, and the provision of public space. The project was completed in August 2013 under budget and 11 days ahead of schedule.

As a participant in more than 650 P3 projects around the world, ArchTam is positioned to help address the nation’s pent-up demand for infrastructure project delivery. Our integrated design, build, operate and maintain capabilities are backed by a finance entity, ArchTam Capital, allowing us to provide assurance, certainty and longevity to public partners.

Our team recently received a Gold honor at the P3 Awards ceremony in the “Technical Advisor of the Year” category for helping to advance P3s in North America. Having served as a trusted advisor to government owners on the largest P3 projects in the U.S. — the LaGuardia Central Terminal Building program and the University of California Merced Campus expansion project — as well as having delivered projects on the private side brings a tremendous reservoir of experience and unique dual public and private perspective.

Accepting the Gold honor in the “Technical Advisor of the Year” category on behalf of ArchTam were (from left) Tom Kness, Samara Barend, Kent Dussom, Peter Morris, David Weeks and Jim Stankiewicz.

With many transformational P3 projects in development, we are working to create and unlock new opportunities for our clients while increasing the return on investment not only for our clients but also the taxpaying public.

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Ancient mariners caught in storms often called upon Poseidon, ruler of the seas, to save them and their ships from danger. The Greek god — or Neptune, if you prefer his Roman name — also had the power to cause earthquakes and tame wild horses. He might be a good guy to know these days, if you live in a coastal city facing sea level rise and other climate-related threats. In fact, statues of this powerful but capricious deity can be found in coastal cities in England, Sweden and the United States, among others.

Holding back the sea is more than just an academic discussion. Rising sea levels, caused by climate change, more frequent and intense storms and coastal erosion are all issues now gaining more attention, especially in the United States. Last month a Senate committee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, an initiative that aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures and is set to expire this September. Time magazine recently profiled the efforts to keep the water at bay in New York, New Orleans, Boston and Miami. ArchTam can’t claim to have a direct line to Poseidon, but we do have multidisciplinary teams working in all four of these cities to address their coastal resilience needs.

One of our assignments the article explores is New York’s Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency project. ArchTam’s team is working to create a new vision for the shoreline that balances urban design and coastal engineering. The project grew out of a design competition in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and is now in the feasibility study and conceptual design phase. What’s remarkable about this project is that its scope goes beyond just what to build; we are also working with New York to develop the funding strategies that leverage the value of managing the risks posed by a changing climate.

In the Gulf Coast region, ArchTam has been deeply involved in many aspects of the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. We are assisting Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states to develop and test new resilience strategies and coastal restoration efforts. In partnership with Texas’s Rice University, we recently convened a group of experts and stakeholders to look at new ways to make Houston’s Galveston Bay more resilient to the challenges of storm surge and storm water flooding. The regional port facilities are critically important. Not only do they drive critical commerce in and out of Houston, but they support strategic energy assets critical to the region and the nation. This work builds on our port and harbor resilience efforts on both coasts as well as in cities such as London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Shanghai.

Miami is another port city facing challenges from the sea. Here a group of officials representing the cities of Miami and Miami Beach along with Miami-Dade County have started to work jointly as part of the 100 Resilient Cities program, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, to develop a regional resilience strategy. With strategy support from ArchTam, this group is looking at the big picture by connecting the environmental issue of flooding to social and economic issues, ranging from affordable housing to criminal justice to employment opportunities. The goal of this holistic approach is to help Miami develop a plan that provides different assets and opportunities to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders impacted by sea level rise.

We’re proud of our efforts supporting the 100 Resilient Cities program in Miami and across the globe. Ancient sailors called out to Poseidon or other deities to help them overcome the challenges of the sea. Today, national governments, individual jurisdictions, NGOs and the private sector are working together to develop and implement both short and long-term solutions to the challenges we face in our coastal cities from climate change and other threats. The historical record is a little fuzzy on whether Poseidon and the other gods and goddesses were actually helpful to those who reached out. But with our work with cities on six continents as evidence, I place my hope in the growing level of public-private and multidisciplinary collaboration. Only this approach can match the scale and complexity of our changing world.

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Moderated by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, a panel of innovative mayors from Louisville, San Jose, Charlotte, South Bend, and Phoenix took off their political hats and discussed what they have done and the challenges they face in being disruptive and making their cities work for all of their diverse citizens. From using data and technology to drive better decision making to partnering with universities, NGOs, and local companies to drive economic growth, these mayors have shown how the US is a world leader in being innovative. As I have traveled the world, I have seen many of the ideas being developed in these cities now being explored across the globe. We can learn from other countries, and they can learn from us.

San Francisco and San Jose are leveraging their proximity to the tech hub in Silicon Valley to drive innovation at a municipal level, but each of the cities has built these partnerships with local experts at universities, tech startups, and old line companies, finding new ways to address the same problems all cities face. It was clear that no matter where you are, there are innovation partners like ArchTam and others in the private sector who can bring value to the city and are motivated to help because these are the places where we live and work as well as being clients.

I had the opportunity to ask the mayors how we can be better partners in this effort, and what I heard from South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, and others on the panel was that they need easy-to-implement solutions, as cities are always challenged in having enough staff to implement new ideas. Cities need turnkey, simple solutions that can be quickly and effectively brought online without a lot of investment of staff time. Mayor Lee also asked for help in creating better understanding for citizens on the salience of infrastructure projects and how large projects like the San Francisco sea wall project relate to their everyday life. Flood protection, transit maintenance, and wastewater treatment aren’t things most people think about – until it’s too late. What was very clear to me from this discussion was that mayors need help, and in many of our cities they are looking for new ways to do things and new ways to work across the public and private spectrum.

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Right now a range of forces, from new technologies, to environmental change, to demographic shifts, are changing the urban infrastructure equation. Private-sector innovators are offering new options for how we move around the city and to where we need to transport ourselves—new places and types of places to live, work, and play. In the context of climate change and diminishing natural resources, our approach to water and energy generation and distribution and the need to prepare for erratic weather and rising sea levels are also changing. As the global population grows and shifts into cities, increased social inequality worldwide and within any given city further drives a mandate for change.

We are still planning, funding, and governing for the traditional urban infrastructure equation, but technology, the environment, and society are changing very rapidly and thus demanding more infrastructure developed faster while offering a better quality and greater inclusiveness. Looked at with the existing set of tools, this may seem insurmountable: how can we possibly fund and deliver all of the infrastructure that the new global urban population will need in time? What about a different question: how can we change our infrastructure delivery approach to align with the new equation, and what opportunities could this unlock? Who are the new partners that need to be at the table?

As a company that designs, builds, finances, and operates infrastructure worldwide, and a company thinking deeply about what infrastructure is and needs to become in this rapidly changing world, ArchTam is engaged in a series of activities exploring this question.

This graphic was developed as part of a study by ArchTam of Brooklyn’s waterfront.

ArchTam CEO Michael S. Burke chaired a panel at the Milken Institute on May 3 that brought together Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Uber Chief Strategist David Plouffe, We Work/We Live CEO Artie Minson, Hyperloop founder Brogan Bambrogan, and the Milken Institute’s Executive Chairman of Plenary Concessions Dale Bonner. The panel represents not just a one-time conversation but an ongoing dialogue between public-sector agencies who deliver and govern urban infrastructure and private-sector agents whose ‘disruptive’ technologies are redefining living patterns and economies. The panel began to explore how the public and private sectors can partner to develop holistic urban infrastructure solutions that embrace mobility, water, energy, housing, logistics, work, and greater equity.

Meanwhile, ArchTam and Van Alen Institute in partnership with 100 Resilient Cities—Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation have launched the seventh Urban SOS competition in 2016, titled Urban SOS: Fair Share. The competition calls on multidisciplinary student teams to apply the tools and technologies of the sharing economy to support more equitable access to resources, improve the built environment and enrich the quality of life of urban residents. As we’re defining them, sharing economy models have two basic things in common: they use digital technology to connect people who have a shared need, and they provide access to resources that aren’t being used. Urban SOS asks students to apply these models to parks, schools, public housing, roads, and any other type of urban infrastructure.

These activities represent the beginnings of dialogues and idea generation. As we work with public and private-sector clients to deliver urban infrastructure around the world, we are ready to put the most promising new ideas into practice in search of new delivery models that align with the new equation.

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Brilliant exudes character and confidence. Brilliant works across boundaries in support of a greater vision. Brilliant finds the common ground between private and public to close funding gaps. Brilliant performs technically while achieving broader social and economic benefits. Brilliant overcomes obstacles to get essential projects delivered.

Cities can explore eight steps to capitalize on their strengths, address their weaknesses, and achieve brilliance:

Start at the end

Secure a legacy with strategic planning

What will your city be like in 50 years? Understanding where your city is headed—and how you want to shape its future—should guide how projects and infrastructure are prioritized today. Smart long-term planning anticipates social, economic and environmental changes and builds the strategic direction to secure a positive legacy, for cities and leaders.

Draw a crowd

Energize the center through compact urban design

People come to cities to be near other people. Cities need places where people can come together, places that resonate, inspire and excite; a waterfront promenade or central park, a distinctive district or event center, a signature tower or downtown area. A well-planned project can turn the tide and change a city’s fortune. Cities that work to boost business and celebrate life are positioned to compete and succeed.

Renovations at LAX will help Angelinos and world travelers ‘get there together.’

Get there together

Upgrade transportation to move people and business faster

A city’s economy moves at the pace of its transportation network. Efficient transportation speeds the flow of people, ideas and commerce. Airports and seaports are global gateways. Roads and rail establish regional connections. Bike and walking routes make mobility healthy, inexpensive, and fun. In a great city, access is built into the fabric.

Change the flow

Get more from innovative energy and water infrastructure

We depend upon civil infrastructure to meet our daily needs, but the investments we make for these essential functions can yield wider value when we take new approaches. Stormwater managed naturally can improve the urban landscape, increase property values and protect our waterways. Recycled wastewater can green our parks and neighborhoods. Solid waste treated organically can reduce landfill and produce energy for homes.

The restoration of Echo Park Lake is helping LA ‘change the flow.’

Make green pay

Take environmental action that provides an economic boost Investments in the environment can yield financial and social dividends. As cities take measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, remediate contamination, and protect and restore natural environments, they are finding a wealth of benefits, from energy savings and cleaner air to rising real estate values and healthier people. It creates a better climate for business and community.

Ignore borders

Collaborate across agencies and boundaries for bigger results

Challenges do not follow the boundaries of departments and municipalities. Neither should solutions. To compete at a global level, cities need to advance in step with their supporting regions. This means collaborating across disciplines and jurisdictions, and cooperating and planning at the regional level, to see the bigger picture, connect better ideas and find smarter solutions.

Act now

Identify and address physical and cyber vulnerability

Buildings and bridges are joining the internet of things. This increases the need for cyber security, along with security against physical attacks, violent weather, earthquakes, and decay over time. Proactive solutions begin with a comprehensive vulnerability assessment. Anticipating the most likely points of attack or failure lets a city know where to invest to prevent or mitigate disaster before it strikes.

A public-private partnership for the Gov. George Deukmejian Courthouse helped Long Beach ‘finish ahead.’

Finish ahead

Get projects funded, built and operating sooner

Public budgets are stretched. Roads, bridges, water systems, hospitals, schools and courthouses need maintenance or new structures, but there are new ways around old obstacles. Partnering the public and private sectors and linking the phases of a project’s life cycle can speed construction, reduce cost, increase performance and manage risk. It’s time to take advantage of the alternatives.

Stephen Engblom (Stephen.engblom@archtam.com) is an urban planner and designer, and global director of ArchTam Cities.

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The new Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, located in the redevelopment area of downtown Long Beach, California, opened its doors for operations on September 9, 2013. The project’s developer, Long Beach Judicial Partners, LLC (LBJP), a Meridiam Infrastructure project company, was pleased to announce that its design/build team of Clark Construction and ArchTam completed this landmark 11 days ahead of schedule and under budget.

This 530,000-square-foot building, constructed at a total cost of $495 million, including financing, is the first social infrastructure public private partnership (PPP) of its kind in the United States. This project delivery approach, under which a private entity (in this case LBJP) finances, designs, builds, operates and maintains the asset, is well established in both Europe and Canada, but had not been previously attempted in this country outside of transportation infrastructure projects.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

What is unique in this approach is that the public entity (in this case the State of California’s Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts) makes “availability payments” over 35 years. The state expends no funds until its first monthly payment (service fee), which was due LBJP only after the building’s completion. The state assumed full ownership of the building upon occupying it. Availability refers to the unusual contractual condition that if any area of the courthouse is unavailable for longer than two hours’ time, an appropriate deduction is made from the service fee. This incentivizes the private partner to design the building for endurance and to operate and maintain it in excellent condition both in the short and long term. The building must also be turned back to the state at 85% of new condition in 35 years.

Think of a mortgage payment that also includes maid service, a gardener, and an on-duty handyman who replaces worn out building systems as your house ages!

From a programmatic perspective, the building is home to 31 civil and criminal courtrooms for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, as well as extensive court administrative space, a secured sallyport leading to the sizable basement detention center for in-custodies, judge’s chambers, and jury deliberation and assembly areas, all of which occupies approximately 415,000 square feet. Five County of Los Angeles justice agencies lease 100,000 square feet in the building. Public amenities include a large, architecturally striking secured courtyard with fountains and a lush landscape, as well as a food court and convenience store.

Images courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

The courthouse, on its expansive six-acre site, will act as a major redevelopment catalyst for downtown Long Beach. The urban design is especially successful, with major building elements scaled to the density of surrounding existing land uses, ranging from one to five stories accordingly. Rich ipe wood, which clads the dramatic canopies projecting out at either end of the building’s great hall, continues through the ceiling of the interior. The courthouse’s massing is both dramatic and civic in nature. Some have mistaken the building for a museum or performing arts center.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

And speaking of art, two major public art pieces are especially effective. Four 60-foot “Air Columns” by artist Ned Kahn mark the building’s entrance, with hundreds of anodized aluminum vanes spinning and creating complex patterns in response to climatic conditions.

Images courtesy of Ned Kahn.

Upon entry, Jennifer Steinkamp’s massive LED installation, “Murmuration,” depicts vividly colored feathers dancing in wild abandon, in contrast to the solemn judicial proceedings that lie beyond.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

Stephen Reinstein is CEO of the Long Beach Judicial Partners.

The post National landmark in Long Beach appeared first on Blog.

The new Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, located in the redevelopment area of downtown Long Beach, California, opened its doors for operations on September 9, 2013. The project’s developer, Long Beach Judicial Partners, LLC (LBJP), a Meridiam Infrastructure project company, was pleased to announce that its design/build team of Clark Construction and ArchTam completed this landmark 11 days ahead of schedule and under budget.

This 530,000-square-foot building, constructed at a total cost of $495 million, including financing, is the first social infrastructure public private partnership (PPP) of its kind in the United States. This project delivery approach, under which a private entity (in this case LBJP) finances, designs, builds, operates and maintains the asset, is well established in both Europe and Canada, but had not been previously attempted in this country outside of transportation infrastructure projects.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

What is unique in this approach is that the public entity (in this case the State of California’s Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts) makes “availability payments” over 35 years. The state expends no funds until its first monthly payment (service fee), which was due LBJP only after the building’s completion. The state assumed full ownership of the building upon occupying it. Availability refers to the unusual contractual condition that if any area of the courthouse is unavailable for longer than two hours’ time, an appropriate deduction is made from the service fee. This incentivizes the private partner to design the building for endurance and to operate and maintain it in excellent condition both in the short and long term. The building must also be turned back to the state at 85% of new condition in 35 years.

Think of a mortgage payment that also includes maid service, a gardener, and an on-duty handyman who replaces worn out building systems as your house ages!

From a programmatic perspective, the building is home to 31 civil and criminal courtrooms for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, as well as extensive court administrative space, a secured sallyport leading to the sizable basement detention center for in-custodies, judge’s chambers, and jury deliberation and assembly areas, all of which occupies approximately 415,000 square feet. Five County of Los Angeles justice agencies lease 100,000 square feet in the building. Public amenities include a large, architecturally striking secured courtyard with fountains and a lush landscape, as well as a food court and convenience store.

Images courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

The courthouse, on its expansive six-acre site, will act as a major redevelopment catalyst for downtown Long Beach. The urban design is especially successful, with major building elements scaled to the density of surrounding existing land uses, ranging from one to five stories accordingly. Rich ipe wood, which clads the dramatic canopies projecting out at either end of the building’s great hall, continues through the ceiling of the interior. The courthouse’s massing is both dramatic and civic in nature. Some have mistaken the building for a museum or performing arts center.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

And speaking of art, two major public art pieces are especially effective. Four 60-foot “Air Columns” by artist Ned Kahn mark the building’s entrance, with hundreds of anodized aluminum vanes spinning and creating complex patterns in response to climatic conditions.

Images courtesy of Ned Kahn.

Upon entry, Jennifer Steinkamp’s massive LED installation, “Murmuration,” depicts vividly colored feathers dancing in wild abandon, in contrast to the solemn judicial proceedings that lie beyond.

Image courtesy of Long Beach Judicial Partners.

Stephen Reinstein is CEO of the Long Beach Judicial Partners.

The post National landmark in Long Beach appeared first on Blog.

Public buildings often define the impression of a city. But many are being neglected and overlooked.

In the U.S., millions of children are attending deteriorating schools. Hospitals are postponing badly needed repairs. According to Business Insider, public construction (as a percentage of U.S. GDP) is at its lowest point in 20 years.

The challenge to fund critical infrastructure is a concern of governments throughout the world. When it comes to the infrastructure gap—the shortfall between the investment needed and the amount funded—transportation gets the lion’s share of the discussion. And indeed, the need with aging bridges, highways, railways and airports is readily apparent. Yet our social infrastructure and water and wastewater systems have equally pressing demands—and often the responsibility to maintain and improve much of it rests with regional organizations and municipal governments.

A mechanism that offers potential to spur investment in all facets of infrastructure is public-private financing. Common in the transportation realm, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become a widely accepted project delivery model outside of the U.S. across a variety of infrastructure sectors. PPPs permit the public sector to leverage private sector investment capital, shift project risk, and facilitate a higher level of maintenance for significant projects.

A new paper from ArchTam outlines how PPP’s can be an effective to help close the infrastructure gap, even to address disaster resilience at the local level, and examines the advantages and common misunderstandings of public-private financing.

For more information, see the press release on “Fostering a Larger Private-Sector Role in United States Infrastructure” including a link to the paper executive summary. (Though the paper focuses on U.S. issues the principles apply universally.)

Erik Miller (erik.miller@archtam.com) is an editor of the Connected Cities blog.

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