Urban and Regional Research Program

Governments increasingly seek the involvement of private investors in the financing of infrastructure. The expectations and investment demands of global private finance are now a key factor shaping decisions about urban infrastructure - and this in turn affects our urban environments and everyday lives. This research project aims to build our knowledge of the nature and impacts of infrastructure financing.

This project will analyse the shift in the character of infrastructure provision from public utility to financialised investment opportunity, how this influences the decisions that are made about urban infrastructure, and the broader social, economic and environmental implications of this transition. The project will:

• Develop a classification of modes of infrastructure financing, based on empirical observation, in order to provide a framework for understanding and analysing private finance as it relates to urban infrastructure.
•  Explore how these financing modes shape infrastructure and impact on urban environments, as the modes of finance are transferred across different locations and different types of infrastructure.
• Examine the ways that infrastructure financing modes adapt and change to accommodate the needs of communities, differences in local markets, and the opportunities and constraints of local regulatory environments.
• Examine the ways in which the demands of private investors and the interests of other parties involved in infrastructure design, delivery and operations shape urban infrastructure - including how the resulting infrastructure items engage with and alter urban environments.

The project has a strong empirical focus, with research into the actors and activities involved in the infrastructure industry. The project involves comparative international research, with case studies of infrastructure projects across different locations and infrastructure types. Twelve of the case studies will be developed into in-depth studies of modes of infrastructure financing. This will involve interviews with key actors involved in the infrastructure projects including financial institutions, regulators, design agencies, project managers, construction companies and operators.

This research will build on existing work on financialisation and the elevation of the role of finance in the economy. The research will extend the knowledge base on the power that financial markets exert over cities and everyday life.

This is an ARC Discovery Project, led by Professor Phillip O’Neill. The project is being undertaken in partnership with Professor John Allen and Dr Michael Pryke, from the Open University UK. The project is funded from 2013 to 2015.

Professor Phillip O’Neill