Urban Governance and the Control of Infrastructure

Abstract

Many cities have used special-purpose authorities, commissions, and quasi-public corporations to build and manage infrastructure projects. This article uses the Philadelphia region to illustrate an important reason why government officials resort to quasi-independent bodies to manage infrastructure investments—namely, because powerful economic and political interests outside the city increasingly seek to control the development of urban centers. As metropolitan regions become the economic units competing at the global scale, interest groups beyond the city’s boundaries act to ensure that the city’s future development serves regional interests. One important way to do this is to exert influence over the infrastructure investments that make capital productive. This case study shows how quasi-governmental forms of organization have served as the vehicles for outsiders to influence the development of greater Philadelphia’s core city.