Spatial Planning Leadership by Infrastructure: An American View

Savvy planners around the globe have always used infrastructure as a key tool in their box. Today in the USA, the strategic use of infrastructure is being revived, and offers a new opportunity for the planning profession and academy. This essay assesses links between infrastructure and city planning. The aim is to show how infrastructure provision can improve by being in the hands of planners, and how planning can improve by employing infrastructure strategically. It suggests that infrastructure services and the cities and activities that they support benefit greatly if planned, designed, and financed comprehensively, using a life cycle approach, with the form, function, and sustainability of the city in mind. Building on this insight, infrastructure provides a basis for an invigorated planning practice that is strategic and visionary, yet grounded and pragmatic - a combination suited for effective planning leadership.