Infrastructure Planning

Abstract

This course explains how ideas for infrastructure emerge from strategic planning (macro scale), are taken up in the planning of systems (meso scale) and progress to approval through project evaluation (micro scale). It also provides infrastructure planners with principles for the appraisal of possible projects with and without the explicit valuing of costs and benefits.

Objective

Infrastructure planners ensure our built environment optimally meets our future needs. This is challenging, as the built environment is a large and complex system, which interacts extensively with the natural environment. Additionally, there is considerable uncertainty with respect to the expectations of the built environment in the future, due to the uncertain environment in which we live, e.g. changing technologies and the changing climate. It is in the face of this complexity and uncertainty that infrastructure planners need to help develop strategic goals, and propose and defend specific potential infrastructure improvements and to a large and diverse set of stakeholders. This course provide infrastructure planners with an understanding of how ideas for infrastructure emerge from strategic planning (macro scale), are taken up in the planning of systems (meso scale) and progress to approval through project evaluation (micro scale). It also provides infrastructure planners with principles for the appraisal of possible projects with and without the explicit valuing of costs and benefits. More specifically, upon completion of the course students will understand: - how ideas for infrastructure are generated at a strategic level, are interpreted in the development of system plans and reach concrete project proposals - how project ideas emerge from system plans and are iteratively developed and appraised until approval - the principles of system modelling and system modelling over time in appraising and defending infrastructure proposals - the advantages and disadvantages of explicitly evaluating the costs and benefits in the appraisal of infrastructure proposals and the advantages and disadvantages of not evaluating the costs and benefits in the appraisal of infrastructure proposals.

Content

The course consists of 5 lectures, 4 help sessions and 4 presentation / evaluation sessions. The two hour weekly lecture period is used as follows: 1-Introduction: Strategic planning to project appraisals – This lecture provides an introduction to the course and an explanation of how the impetus for infrastructure modifications emerge from strategic planning and evolve to the appraisal and approval of specific infrastructure projects. The requirements for successful completion of the course are discussed. 2-Project appraisals: Case for change to approval – This lecture explains how project ideas are generated from system plans and iteratively evolve to become an appraised project. 3-Modelling how a system works and doesn't work - This lecture explain the principles of how to model a system to facilitate the appraisal of the project. 4-Modelling how systems evolve over time - This lecture explains how to model how systems evolve over time using Monte Carlo simulations and both system changes and planner decisions triggered by system changes. 5-Appraising potential projects with/without cost benefit analysis - This lecture explains two way of appraising projects. The first can be used when it is possible to explicitly estimate the costs and benefits of the proposed modifications. The second can be used when it is not possible to explicitly estimate costs and benefits of the proposed modifications. 6-10-Help sessions – We use the lecture periods to answer any questions you might have on your project. Your project is due on Friday of week 9. 11-14-Project presentations – In these lecture periods each group will be asked to present their project and be asked to field questions from the lecturers and fellow students. The presentations will be graded by the lecturers. Fellow students will give their impressions of the presentations and ability of the group to answer the questions. The course uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative analysis required in the project requires at least the use of Excel. Some students, however, prefer to use Python or R.

Resources