Tag: Urban Infrastructure

New Paper: The Complex Relationship between Capacity and Infrastructure Project Delivery

The second paper from Dr. Yehyun An’s award-winning PhD research has been published in a special issue of Sustainability focused on Achieving Sustainable and Resilient Urban Development: Effective Governance, Policy, and Practice. This qualitative paper enriches the quantitative findings captured in our World Development paper.

The paper focuses on how the concept of capacity development was applied to one of India’s largest urban infrastructure programs – the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). While the Indian government considered a lack of capacity to be the main problem in project delivery, there is little evidence that explains the relationships between capacity and project delivery. This case study presents the findings from 58 interviews with project engineers, managers, and administrators about the hurdles they experienced at each stage of project delivery and seeks to understand these hurdles through the lens of capacity development. The study identifies the influence of capacity factors on project delivery and the converse influence of project performance and outcomes on capacity development. Ultimately, this study reveals the complex two-way interactions between capacity and project delivery.

New Paper in World Development

Our new paper entitled “Pathways to Better Project Delivery: the Link between Capacity Factors and Urban Infrastructure Projects in India,” has been published in World Development. This paper presents part of the research undertaken by Yehyun (Hannah) An as part of her award winning PhD dissertation.

Yehyun’s research explores the concept of capacity development (CD) in the context of a large urban infrastructure program in India – the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Her research utilized a unique combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and I believe it is the first application of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in the field of CD.  We believe this papers makes an important contribution to both CD theory and practice.

Advanced Urban Infrastructure Planning

This fall, I will be offering a new course on Advanced Urban Infrastructure Planning (UAP 5854G) with Yehyun (Hannah) An. The course description is provided below. The course can be counted as an elective for the Graduate Certificate in Global Planning and International Development Studies.

ImageDescription: Urban infrastructure systems play a critical role in facilitating economic development and raising quality of life. However, the resource, energy, and capital-intensive characteristics of infrastructure can result in negative environmental and social impacts. Over the past two decades, the concept of sustainability and how it can be incorporated in the planning, design, and development of new infrastructure has gained significant attention. Sustainability principles have also been applied to the management of existing infrastructure.

This course will explore the emerging concepts, principles, and methodologies used to advance sustainable urban infrastructure planning. In particular, it will study national and international cases of infrastructure development, with an emphasis on projects in the US and India.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. describe an infrastructure system using accurate terminology;
  2. demonstrate an understanding of the main concepts and principles of infrastructure planning;
  3. identify the key features of a sustainable infrastructure system and explain how they promote sustainable development;
  4. apply analytical tools for infrastructure planning;
  5. critically evaluate infrastructure cases/projects/proposals through the lens of sustainability; and
  6. identify the gaps between theoretical principles of sustainable infrastructure and their application in practices.

Time: Tue & Thu 11:00am─12:15pm

Location: Architecture Annex 111

Credits: 3