The provision of infrastructure in suburban areas is a major factor for suburban development. On the one hand, the lack of infrastructure is an obstacle to urban growth, if a city needs new areas for urbanization, but on the other hand, the availability of a well-developed road network stimulates urban sprawl. Sprawl generally means that urban expansion outstrips the rate of population growth and thus, it is inefficient. In this context, planning should balance very carefully between policies providing urban growth and policies aimed at regulating the consumption of land and natural amenities.
Expanded road networks facilitate the development of private transport and thus, funding raised by local taxes is used to provide favourable conditions for suburban housing, and hence, encourage residents to settle down in suburban areas. However, suburban networks consume 10 to 15 times more public funding than infrastructure in dense urban areas. As a result, the proper allocation of the financial burden is a major issue with regard to suburban infrastructure. In this light, the assessment of the value of infrastructure comes first.
Without a proper assessment of the resources needed for a certain activity, local authorities may not elaborate the necessary urban policies and this is particularly important in terms of infrastructure development in suburban areas. In this regard, the preparation of a toolkit and guidelines for the assessment of suburban infrastructure can assist the evaluation of the required public spending. Furthermore, the estimation of its value has a crucial relevance in the preparation of policies, because authorities have to balance between urbanization trends and the goals of sustainable development, ecological standards, and measures to preserve natural amenities and rural land.
In order to achieve sustainable and resilient development, it is essential that the burden of the costs of suburban infrastructural networks are borne by its direct consumers through the application of the principle "the user pays". The assessment of the value of infrastructure refers to the evaluation of two types of costs: primary and secondary costs. While primary costs (technical infrastructure) are those associated with the development of road and utility networks, secondary costs (social infrastructure) are those for public buildings and premises.
FACILITATORY (PUBLIC) BODIES:
planning and development department; green spaces department; traffic department; socio-economic department; land use department; asset management department; environmental and sustainability department; policy development department
LOCAL TASK FORCE:
local or regional authority; professional expert
urban region; urban-rural interface
MAIN NECESSARY RESOURCES ARE:
monetary investments; expert knowledge; public institutional set-up; legal legitimization
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