poor infrastructure essay

Why Infrastructure Matters: Rotten Roads, Bum Economy

Subscribe to the brookings metro update, robert puentes robert puentes nonresident senior fellow - brookings metro @rpuentes.

January 20, 2015

• 12 min read

Cities, states and metropolitan areas throughout America face an unprecedented economic, demographic, fiscal and environmental challenges that make it imperative for the public and private sectors to rethink the way they do business. These new forces are incredibly diverse, but they share an underlying need for modern, efficient and reliable infrastructure.

Concrete, steel and fiber-optic cable are the essential building blocks of the economy. Infrastructure enables trade, powers businesses, connects workers to their jobs, creates opportunities for struggling communities and protects the nation from an increasingly unpredictable natural environment. From private investment in telecommunication systems, broadband networks, freight railroads, energy projects and pipelines, to publicly spending on transportation, water, buildings and parks, infrastructure is the backbone of a healthy economy.

It also supports workers, providing millions of jobs each year in building and maintenance. A Brookings Institution analysis Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals that 14 million people have jobs in fields directly related to infrastructure. From locomotive engineers and electrical power line installers, to truck drivers and airline pilots, to construction laborers and meter readers, infrastructure jobs account for nearly 11 percent of the nation’s workforce, offering employment opportunities that have low barriers of entry and are projected to grow over the next decade.

Important national goals also depend on it. The economy needs reliable infrastructure to connect supply chains and efficiently move goods and services across borders. Infrastructure connects households across metropolitan areas to higher quality opportunities for employment, healthcare and education. Clean energy and public transit can reduce greenhouse gases. This same economic logic applies to broadband networks, water systems and energy production and distribution.

Big demographic and cultural changes, such as the aging and diversification of our society, shrinking households and domestic migration, underscore the need for new transportation and telecommunications to connect people and communities. The percentage of licensed drivers among the young is the lowest in three decades, as more of them use public transit and many others use new services for sharing cars and bikes. The prototypical family of the suburban era, a married couple with school-age children, now represents only 20 percent of households, down from over 40 percent in 1970. Some 55 percent of millennials say living close to public transportation is important to them, according to a recent survey by the Urban Land Institute.

Yet unlike Western Europe and parts of Asia, the United States still has a growing population. We’ve added 25 million people in the past 10 years. This tremendous growth, concentrated in the 50 largest metropolitan areas, will place new demands on already overtaxed infrastructure. Metropolitan areas must be ready to adapt not only to serve millions of new customers but also to help poorer residents, many of whom are jobless, have the best chance possible to find work.

A recent Brookings analysis found that only a quarter of jobs in low-skill and middle-skill industries can be reached within 90 minutes by a typical metropolitan commuter. Successful cities will be those that connect workers to jobs and close the digital divide between high-income and low-income neighborhoods. The White House notes that broadband speeds have doubled since 2009 and that more than four out of five people now have high-speed wireless broadband, adoption rates for low-income and minority households remains low (about 43 and 56 percent, respectively.)

Our economy is changing as fast as our society. Over 83 percent of world economic growth in the next five years is expected to occur outside the United States, and because of rapid globalization, it will be concentrated in cities. This offers an unprecedented opportunity for American businesses to export more goods and services and to create high-quality jobs at home. It also amplifies the importance of our seaports, air hubs, freight rail, border crossings and truck routes, which move $51 billion worth of goods quickly and efficiently each day in the complex supply chains of the modern economy.

The diverse energy boom also disrupts our infrastructure. Natural gas needs new truck, pipeline and rail networks. Rooftop solar panels have rattled electric utilities, which are scrambling to find ways to incorporate and store the energy they produce while keeping the grid operating. At the same time, finding the money to pay for the development of a smart electricity grid and for clean energy presents challenges, as hundreds of thousands of small and large projects are projected to come online in coming decades.

High-profile natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy, drew attention to problems with water infrastructure. Overwhelmed waste water systems, washed-out roads, shorted electrical circuitry and flooded train stations not only highlighted the economy’s reliance on these networks, but also revealed their poor condition. The nation’s water systems are now being rebuilt. Cities are working to capture storm and rain water rather than building costly pipes to sluice it away. The Center for an Urban Future recently described how New York City plans to spend $2.4 billion over 18 years in so-called “green” infrastructure such as rooftop vegetation, porous pavements, and soils to soak up rain.

Over and above the new types of needed infrastructure is a big change in how projects are financed.

Despite the importance of infrastructure, the U.S. has not spent enough for decades to maintain and improve it. It accounts for about 2.5 percent of the economy, compared to about 3.9 percent spent in Canada, Australia and South Korea, 5 percent for Europe and 9-12 percent in China. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the U.S. must spend at least $150 billion more a year on infrastructure through 2020 to meet its needs. This would add about 1.5 percent to annual economic growth and create at least 1.8 million jobs.

Split between Republicans and Democrats, the federal government appears incapable of doing this. For the foreseeable future, the Highway Trust Fund, the State Revolving Funds for water and others will face cuts and squeezed budgets. Other experiments, such as a National Infrastructure Bank, seem prohibitively complex in the current political environment. And of course, rising interest costs on federal debt, increases in entitlement spending and declining traditional revenue sources such as the gasoline tax mean that competition for limited resources is fiercer than ever.

Some cities and states are enjoying budget surpluses because property and sales tax revenues. But most localities will take years to build back their reserves, repay additional debt incurred during the recession and pay for deferred maintenance on infrastructure. Unfunded pension obligations and other debts facing all levels of government mean there just aren’t the public funds to pay for necessary infrastructure. And though interest rates remain at historically low levels, the ability of many governments to borrow from capital markets is hindered by debt caps and weak credit ratings.

Despite gradual acceptance in the past decade that infrastructure is vital to economic growth, debate of spending remains an amorphous and simplistic. Infrastructure is made up of interrelated sectors as diverse as a water treatment plant is from an airport, a wind farm, a gas line or a broadband network. The focus on infrastructure in the abstract led to unrealistic silver-bullet policy solutions that fail to capture the unique and economically critical attributes of each. In reality, each infrastructure sector involves fundamentally different design frameworks and market attributes. And they are owned, regulated, governed and operated by different public and private entities.

The federal role should not be exaggerated. American infrastructure in selected, built, maintained, operates and paid for in a diverse and fragmentary fashion. For certain sectors, such as transportation and water, federal spending is relatively high, averaging $92.15 billion each year from 2000 to 2007. But even there, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Washington’s share of spending never topped 27 percent. For other sectors, such as freight rail, telecommunications, and clean energy, the federal role is more limited.

So what does all this mean and how are we going to pay for what we need?

Roads, bridges and transit must be paid for largely from public funds. Ballot measures have been important for fund raising, particularly at the local level, because general obligation bonds require popular approval. That’s how regions and municipalities pay for public transit systems, bridges, road construction, water and sewer improvements and a host of other infrastructure projects. Many cities are following this trend. Those places, especially in Westerns cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, are taxing themselves, dedicating substantial local money and effectively contributing to the construction of the nation’s infrastructure.

Metropolitan transportation initiatives are popular among voters. According to the Center for Transportation Excellence, 71 percent of measures were passed in 2014 as were 73 percent in 2013. While state level ballot measures on infrastructure spending are far less common, in 2013, eight states voted to raise taxes for such projects. This includes both conservative strongholds such as Wyoming and Democrat-controlled legislatures in states such as Maryland.

A number of cities are using market mechanisms that capture the increased value in land that accrues from infrastructure. This provides a more targeted way to finance new or existing transportation projects by matching the benefit from infrastructure with its cost. These techniques include impact fees where land developers are assessed a charge to support associated public infrastructure improvements, generally local roads and public works like sidewalks. The lease or sale of air rights is another practice that has been used by to finance development around transit stations for decades, famously around Grand Central Station in New York, and more recently in Boston and Dallas.

Another growing trend is the use of tax increment financing districts. These TIFs support infrastructure projects by borrowing against the future stream of additional tax revenue the project is expected to generate. Examples include a TIF used to pay for improvements at the Atlantic Station project in Atlanta and Portland, Ore.,’s similar strategy to fund its streetcar by creating a local improvement district that leveraged the economic gains of nearby property owners.

For its part, the federal government can allow greater flexibility for states and cities to innovate on projects that connect metros. Passenger Facility Charges used to fund airport modernization are artificially capped at $4.50 and do not begin to cover the airport’s operating and long-term investment costs. Busy airports could be freed to meet congestion and investment costs by removing the caps. Archaic restrictions on interstate highways tolls could also be lifted. Metropolitan and local leaders, with the states, are in the best position to determine which segments of road could best raise revenue.

Other infrastructures could be public-private partnerships. These often complex agreements allow the public sector to bring in private enterprises to take an active role during the life of the infrastructure asset. At their heart, these partnerships share risk and costs of design, construction, maintenance, financing and operations.

The public-sector interest in partnerships is propelled by the shortage of money. Ever since the recession, many states and local governments have been plagued by high debt, low credit ratings and limited options to borrow. PPPs are not “free money,” but they can offer benefits such as better and faster completion of the project, more budgetary accountability and overall savings.

Partnerships with the private sector are not appropriate for all infrastructure sectors or projects. Some may not be profitable enough to attract investors. Green infrastructure or public parks, for example, may lack a revenue stream. Private conservancies maintain and oversee parks in New York, Pittsburgh, Houston and St. Louis, but they are all nonprofit organizations set up solely for that purpose and do not help spread risk.

The best infrastructure projects for private sector involvement are those with a clear revenue stream from rate-payers, such as water infrastructure and toll roads. The private sector can bring in new technologies for metering and billing that can improve services. Thoughtful procurement can also facilitate projects that do not include ratepayers. Nearly any project can be suitable for a private partnership as long as there is a mechanism to spread risk among all parties, even without user fees. So-called availability payment models allow the public sector to pay a recurring user fee for the use of an asset based on its condition and accessibility. These payments are a form of debt since but require continuous public expenditure and a binding budgetary obligation.

It would help spur public-private partnerships if there were standard contracts and pricing, risk sharing and returns. In the past, Washington has set these kinds of standards for such vast areas of the consumer market as housing and small business. But the federal government appears unlikely to do so for infrastructure investment. A mix of public, private and civic bodies will have to do so instead.

An emerging example is the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange, a collaboration between California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia standardizing transparency, contracts, labor and risk allocation. The goal is to build a market for projects. By sharing details, project finance and delivery methods can be scaled and replicated.

If successful, the WCX could be a model for other state, city and metro infrastructure exchanges. Each exchange could focus on the infrastructure delivery and finance strategies suited to the culture, traditions and needs of the region it serves. An East Coast or Mid-Atlantic Exchange could focus on rebuilding coastlines and climate resiliency after Hurricane Sandy, or on transportation projects that cross state borders. A Midwestern Exchange might focus on water infrastructure in a largely slow growth environment or on projects with Canada. A Southern Exchange might facilitate new infrastructure to accommodate fast growth and new manufacturing, supply chains and movement of goods. Regardless of their focus, exchanges could be linked through a project clearinghouse to share data, information and best practices.

Energy, telecommunications and freight rail will remain dominated by the private sector typically with federal and state regulatory oversight. But there will also be new types of public and private relationships in these sectors, too. For example, while broadband networks are still delivered by private companies, local governments recognize that this kind of network access is equally important to the future economic success of households as well as businesses. So as cities such as Los Angeles explore ways to extend broadband to all homes, they also are working to figure out the financing arrangements and business opportunities for firms interested in developing those networks.

The trade and logistics industry is highly decentralized, with private operators owning almost all trucks and rails, and the public sector owning roads, airports, and waterway rights. Unlike such countries as Germany, Canada and Australia, the U.S. does not have a unified strategy that aligns disparate owners and interests around national economic objectives. Innovative partnerships are therefore necessary to make freight movements in and around big cities more efficient and reliable. The CREATE program in Chicago aligns several such interests in a citywide effort to relieve freight and passenger bottlenecks that cause delays. The $2.5 billion for the program will come from a mix of traditional sources (federal grants), private investments (railroads), state loans (bonds) and existing local sources.

It is clear that projects are becoming more complex. There is not one-size-fits-all form of financing for them. It very much depends on the place, time and particulars of each project. The level of private engagement will depend on market and business opportunities.

In many respects, America’s ability to realize its competitive potential depends on making smart infrastructure choices. These must respond to economic, demographic, fiscal, and environmental changes if they are to help people, places and firms thrive and prosper.

This commentary was originally published by the Washington Examiner .

Infrastructure

Brookings Metro

Adie Tomer, Ben Swedberg

May 10, 2024

NACo-NLC Conference Center, Washington DC

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Alan Berube, Mark Muro

May 3, 2024

The effects of poor infrastructure in education, transport and communities

Infrastructure is directly linked to the economic development and growth of a country. 

It acts as a catalyst for the development of poverty alleviating solutions, providing access to basic needs such as health care, education, food resources, transportation, job opportunities and more. It also increases productivity and improves the quality of life for many communities. 

Infrastructure refers to the structures, facilities and systems that contribute to the function of a country. These include buildings, roads, bridges, airports, airways, power supplies, water and sanitation supplies, telecommunication systems and more. When these infrastructures are not operating properly, the chain of production is disrupted. This disruption hinders development, which causes economic deficit and, in turn, brings low standards of living. 

The social impact of transportation in SA’s poorest communities is under-considered. For example, when a community lacks transport infrastructure like roads, it means that the people from that community are unable to travel to cities. Or places where job and social networking opportunities, as well as quality health care facilities, are available. 

This leads to a deteriorating quality of life for people in this community. It means they’re also unable to contribute to the economic activity of the municipality in which they live, therefore, unable to contribute to the national economy at large.   

What are the causes of poor infrastructure?

There are several factors that contribute to poor infrastructure, and they include the lack of, or shortages, of funds, insufficient provision of developmental resources and inefficiency of developmental labour as well as poor repair and maintenance. The lack of infrastructure in poor communities significantly impacts the lives of the people living in these communities. 

Poor infrastructure examples include dilapidated classrooms, pit toilets and other damaged school infrastructure. These infrastructure problems in schools not only affect academic performance, but they also infringe on the rights to education, as well as the rights to safety and health of learners as well as of teachers. The effects of poor infrastructure in schools can also be seen in learners’ drop out rates and low-teachers retention rates.   

What are the solutions for poor infrastructure?

Solutions start with investments channelled toward infrastructure development in communities across the country. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) procures funding to help accelerate the implementation of social and economic infrastructure projects such as transportation, education, health and more. 

Through our preparation project financing portfolio, we fund several large scale projects that result in the development of new and advanced school infrastructure. We also inject funds toward the upgrading of ageing, inadequate, unsafe and poor school infrastructure in previously disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the Bank has committed funds to public transport networks. This is done with the goal to ensure that safe, efficient and green transport systems are put in place. 

And, because public transport in South Africa is expensive, these systems are specifically designed to be accessible at affordable rates to people living in beneficiary communities. 

Through our non-lending infrastructure planning support portfolio, we also support under-resourced municipalities. We facilitate the creation of a cost-effective socio-economic municipal infrastructure. This, in turn, enhances the municipal revenues and improves the financial viability of the beneficiary municipalities. When municipalities are operating efficiently, they’re able to produce and offer sufficient services to the communities they serve. 

The people in these communities are able to access basic needs and opportunities. In addition, their livelihood improves, and youth empowerment becomes a possible reality.  

Final thoughts

Poor infrastructure is a serious obstacle in the development of communities and in economic progress. It changes the lives of communities drastically and contributes to poverty. 

This is why DBSA prioritises socio-economic infrastructure by providing funds to development projects in SA’s most vulnerable areas. By doing so, the Bank has the power to help stimulate job creation as well as economic activity and growth.  

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-infrastructure-has-historically-promoted-inequality

How infrastructure has historically promoted inequality

It’s no secret that U.S. infrastructure is struggling. This year’s report from the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country a C-, citing public roadways in “poor or mediocre” condition, “structurally deficient” bridges and aging power grids.

But what has historically received less attention is the role infrastructure construction and maintenance have played in promoting inequality and racial segregation.

“There is racism physically built into some of our highways,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with the Grio this month.

That recognition shaped President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion plan to improve U.S. infrastructure . In addition to fixing highways, bridges and roads, the proposal calls for an investment of $20 billion into communities that have historically been hurt by infrastructure projects. It would also provide $45 billion to replace lead pipes and service lines in communities like Flint, Michigan, as well as billions to expand broadband access and affordable housing options.

“I think that the conversation we’re having now about race, inequality and infrastructure at this level is new, and to me that’s encouraging,” said Eric Avila, an urban cultural historian and professor at UCLA.

Fifty-six percent of Americans support Biden’s infrastructure plan, according to a recent PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll . Yet the package faces opposition from Republican lawmakers critical of its far-reaching provisions and proposed increases in corporate taxes to fund them.

But advocates hope the attention on Biden’s plan will foster more conversation about the real history of inequity in American infrastructure and possible solutions.

Infrastructure as a relic of racism and classism

One of the clearest examples of inequity in infrastructure is the interstate highway system.

The 1956 National Interstate Highway Act authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highway stretching from coast to coast in the largest public works program ever undertaken.

But when it came to where those highways would be built, many communities of color were uprooted to make way for construction, Avila said. In a 2016 speech at the Center for American Progress, then-Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the first two decades of the federal interstate system displaced 475,000 families and more than one million people.

One of those affected communities was Overtown, an economically and culturally vibrant Black neighborhood in Miami where about 10,000 people were displaced in order to build a section of Interstate 95. In a 2020 Vanderbilt Law Review article on the subject, New York University law professor Deborah Archer said the destruction of Overtown was the culmination of a decades-long effort by local white business owners to move Black residents out of the area with the hopes of expanding their own business district.

MORE: How President Biden plans to make racial equity a part of his infrastructure package

“The interstate highway system did not cause all the problems facing urban communities,” Archer wrote. “However, its construction compounded discrimination and exploitation and triggered a process that weakened urban neighborhoods, from which they have never fully recovered.”

Similar displacements have resulted from the construction of airports and urban renewal projects that in some cities drove up the cost of housing and pushed out existing community members. In other cases, communities of color and low income areas were cut off from access to opportunities or necessities like clean water.

In the late 19th century, Los Angeles officials quietly bought up land and water rights about 200 miles away in Owens Valley, a region home to farmers, ranchers and indigenous people. In 1913, the city completed an aqueduct that siphoned water for Los Angeles from a lake in Owens Valley that is now mostly dried up and has been a source of toxic dust storms for nearby residents. Cut off from a major water source, the community’s agricultural economy sank.

Research also indicates that low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are most likely to be targeted for hazardous waste sites . All of these factors affect physical and economic well-being for historically marginalized populations.

The effects of poor infrastructure and looking beyond roads and airports

Safe, reliable infrastructure can have a significant effect on the well being of a community.

“Infrastructure is the physical framework upon which the U.S. economy operates, and our standard of living depends,” the American Society of Civil Engineers wrote in this year’s report . “This framework enables us to move goods, power businesses of all sizes, connect people to jobs and services, heat and cool office buildings, and enjoy a glass of clean water.”

The organization determined that without more investment to improve infrastructure throughout the country, each U.S. household stands to lose an average of $3,300 in disposable income every year through 2039 . This loss of wealth manifests in different ways, said Steven Pressman, an economics professor with emeritus Professor of Economics and Finance, Monmouth University.

For example, poor roads can damage cars and leave drivers paying for the added expense of repairs. And proximity to health hazards like waste sites lead to higher health care expenses. While poor maintenance of infrastructure can cost Americans, the construction of new infrastructure has the potential to benefit them. Having public transportation lines nearby can significantly raise property values, for one. Rail transit and bridges can enable people from underserved groups to travel to better paying jobs or to obtain different services, said Daniel Armanios, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

In one 2020 study, Armanios and his co-researcher determined that communities in Pennsylvania with more people of color and single-parent families tended to have fewer bridges. The bridges that existed were more likely to be “restrictive” or low-clearance, which can obstruct the influx of business goods and transportation services.

Biden’s infrastructure plan budgets more than $600 billion for roads, bridges, rails and ports. It would also invest in programs that aren’t typically included in infrastructure packages, but that seek to address some of the inequities of past infrastructure decisions.

The plan includes $100 billion for workforce development to assist dislocated or underserved individuals, $25 billion to upgrade and build new child-care facilities, and $400 billion to support caregiving for older people and those with disabilities, which would include wage increases for home health workers, a disproportionate number of whom are women of color.

The plan would also fund clean energy initiatives to address climate change. In 2018, researchers from Rice University and the University of Pittsburgh determined that natural disasters widen racial wealth gaps. That same year scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency examined exposure to an air pollutant linked to higher risks of lung and heart disease. According to the report, Black people overall are exposed to 1.54 times more of the pollutant PM 2.5, compared to white people. People of color overall are exposed to 1.28 times more of the pollutant and poor people are exposed to 1.35 times more.

MORE: America’s infrastructure is crumbling. What should be prioritized?

Critics of the social policy aspects of the plan say it falls outside what people recognize as infrastructure. The Republican National Committee is describing the proposal as a “Trojan horse for far-left progressive policies.”

Others say there’s a more holistic way to look at infrastructure. “It’s not the sorts of things that are traditional infrastructure, but they have the same impact,” Pressman said. “They have effects that improve the productivity of workers, that improve the nation, that yield a whole lot of tax revenue to the government in the future when people are making more money.”

For example, research indicates that affordable, quality child care would improve the economy by allowing more parents to stay in the workforce.

As the congressional battle over Biden’s plan continues, equity advocates will be watching.

Armanios of Carnegie Mellon University said he hopes the Biden administration applies metrics to track investments made directly to communities most in need.

Aspects of Biden’s plan, like funding for housing and workforce development, appear to reflect conversations between the administration and groups that do this work on the ground, said Irma Esparza Diggs, the director of federal advocacy for the National League of Cities.

“It is about proposing a vision [and] being intentional at every level of government to implement public policy and direct federal funding so that you can really target resources where they are needed,” Diggs said.

Candice Norwood is a former digital politics reporter for the PBS NewsHour.

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Infrastructure around the world is failing. Here’s how to make it more resilient

How can we close a $18 trillion gap in infrastructure investment? Image:  REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly

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Stay up to date:, infrastructure.

Persistent underfunding of critical infrastructure worldwide is hampering economic progress, and exposing businesses and communities to significant risks. Existing physical and digital infrastructure are under stress from population growth and face challenges from cyberattacks, extreme weather and climate change. New infrastructure development is increasingly intertwined with rising geopolitical tensions, and given the potential for a global economic downturn, funding could come under further pressure.

This year’s risk perception survey, which underpins the Global Risks Report 2019 , highlights the need for a renewed global focus on infrastructure resilience and investment. While respondents’ near-term risk concerns centre around geopolitical conflict, trade relations and cyberattacks, the failure of critical infrastructure and infrastructure investment shortfalls are prominent among longer-term concerns.

Although there is widespread consensus among governments and businesses on the importance of infrastructure to a growing economy and evolving society, the world on average continues to underinvest. Worldwide investment in infrastructure is expected to be $79 trillion by 2040. However, the actual global investment need is closer to $97 trillion . To close this $18 trillion gap, average annual global infrastructure investment would need to increase by approximately 23% per year.x

Almost three quarters of this global infrastructure investment gap is attributable to the road and electricity sectors, with the remainder in telecommunications, rail, water, airports and ports. On a regional basis, a similar proportion of the need can be attributed to Asia and the Americas. In developed markets, investment is predominantly required for infrastructure replacement and upgrading purposes. In underdeveloped regions, new infrastructure is predominantly required to enable economic development and meet basic needs such as utilities and transport networks.

Around the globe, this need is clear. US infrastructure was recently rated a D+ overall , with dams, roads and energy scoring some of the lowest grades. In Italy, some 300 bridges are at risk of collapse . Ageing power plants in Europe and recent load-shedding (shutting down power in localized areas to prevent countrywide blackouts) in South Africa due to breakdowns continues to be concerning. India has the 10 fastest-growing cities globally and its continued economic success depends on meeting vast infrastructure needs. Meanwhile, state-sponsored cyberattacks in the US and Saudi Arabia have elevated concerns about the vulnerability of infrastructure to growing geopolitical tensions.

Underinvestment in infrastructure amplifies our exposure to major global risks. Ageing physical infrastructure increases the vulnerability of communities to natural catastrophes, and outdated security infrastructure adds to the risks stemming from cyberattacks.

Bridging the underinvestment gap is made more complex and challenging by growing geopolitical frictions. Current tensions are leading to increasing project costs, lengthy project timelines, restrictions on investment and exports, and competition for influence.

Economic protectionism for home-grown players, trade tariffs affecting commodities, buy/make local agendas, and preferred suppliers within bilateral deals are impacting the competitiveness and reliability of suppliers and increasing construction costs. For example, the cost of steel for an infrastructure project on the Lower Rogue River in Detroit increased by 13% due to recent US tariffs on steel imports.

Deepening security concerns about foreign technology suppliers in critical infrastructure deployments are leading much-needed next-generation infrastructure deployments to become a long and more expensive process. For example, there has been a recent push from Western economies, such as the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, to exclude Huawei 5G equipment from their communications infrastructure.

From a geostrategic perspective, China has been aggressively seeking infrastructure investments and contracts around the world to extend Beijing’s influence, including its signature Belt and Road Initiative. The US recently countered with the establishment of the US International Development Finance Corporation, a new foreign aid agency with $60 billion in funding to bankroll infrastructure projects in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

With over 90% of global risk survey respondents anticipating increased economic confrontation between the world’s major powers in 2019, infrastructure development and financing is likely to get even more complicated and challenging in the near term.

Given the fiscal pressures on government, the private sector needs to be engaged more fully to close the investment gap. To improve the resilience of global infrastructure, we need new approaches to public-private partnerships, project finance and risk management.

First, businesses and government should collaborate to strengthen existing infrastructure resilience. Government and industry should expand the sharing of information about critical infrastructure threats so that key physical and system vulnerabilities can be explored and addressed.

There should also be greater public-private sector coordination around the design of critical infrastructure networks in urban planning, and more collaborative emergency response plans for natural catastrophes, cyberattacks and other risk events.

Second, we need to improve project “bankability”. There is no shortage of private investment capital available, so the challenge is to define economic structures which are sufficiently attractive to investors.

Investors value stability in the political and regulatory environment, and governments can take steps to de-risk investments for the private sector side of blended investments. For example, in Argentina the government has committed to a contingent contribution if the sums in the public-private trust don’t meet public-private partnership obligations.

The public sector should also consider monetizing existing infrastructure assets which have attractive investment characteristics (through leasing or sales to the private sector) to free up public sector capital for investment in new infrastructure.

More than ever, companies in the broader economy need to think hard about their dependencies on infrastructure, and examine risks to their bottom line and share price due to unexpected failures.

Not only should they devote efforts to exploring “what-if” scenarios, but they should engage more fully with the public sector to explore opportunities to collaborate constructively, in order to remain resilient in this challenging risk environment.

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101 Infrastructure Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best infrastructure topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on infrastructure, 💡 most interesting infrastructure topics to write about.

• Moomba Festival in Melbourne: Event, Significance of the Place, Infrastructure, and Effect on the City Image The reason for the event includes a number of factors that reflect the events that were held in the early 1950s and predestined the start of the festival.
• The Components of the Public Health Infrastructure The present essay describes the components of the public health infrastructure that contributed to the progress in public health outcomes and explains which of them are the most important.
• Infrastructure Finance: Emirates Stadium The costs depend on not provision of the public funds for a new stadium but threats of losing the right to host the matches of the team to other places.
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IvyPanda. (2024, February 25). 101 Infrastructure Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/infrastructure-essay-topics/

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A Poor Infrastructure Hinders Under Developed Countries From Progressing

by Manjusha Nambiar · Published March 14, 2020 · Updated April 18, 2024

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Most developing countries fail to grow beyond a certain level because of the lack of adequate infrastructure. Hence, some people argue that foreign assistance should be primarily used to tackle this problem. I partly agree with this idea. While I do admit that infrastructure is important, it is not the only factor determining the success of a nation.

One of the main problems that plague developing and underdeveloped countries is the lack of adequate infrastructure. For example, many of them do not have a good network of roads or railways. Likewise, they do not have enough power supplies or water distribution systems. Needless to say, foreigners do not want to invest in such countries.

Infrastructure development requires a great deal of capital. Since poor countries cannot afford to invest that kind of money, they have to struggle with inadequate infrastructure. Unfortunately, this limits their growth prospects. Developed countries are unlikely to invest in developing countries that do not have good infrastructure. That explains why foreign investors are bullish on countries like China where they have excellent infrastructure conducive for growth. By contrast, few entrepreneurs want to invest in African countries where the infrastructure hardly exists. Needless to say, while China is on the path to growth, African nations are still struggling. Hence, the argument that foreign assistance should be primarily used for building infrastructure certainly holds some water.

Even so, it is preposterous to utilize the entire aid received from abroad for building infrastructure. Good infrastructure alone will not ensure the development of nation. Along with infrastructure, a nation needs healthy and educated citizens capable of giving back to the society. For this reason, it is important to invest in areas such as education and health. In addition to building schools and hospitals the government must ensure that quality education and healthcare are provided at these places for free or at affordable rates. Social welfare schemes should also be given a push.

In conclusion, I contend that infrastructure development is certainly important and a certain portion of the foreign assistance should be used for this purpose. However, it is equally important to invest in key human development areas such as education, healthcare and social welfare.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, the causes of poor infrastructure management and maintenance in south african municipalities.

Property Management

ISSN : 0263-7472

Article publication date: 24 September 2021

Issue publication date: 15 March 2022

Infrastructure development and management form the central part of the government's commitment and responsibility to deliver essential services to the communities. However, much focus has been placed on the development aspect, with very little focus on the management and maintenance aspects, causing service delivery problems. This study explores the causes of poor management of immovable municipal infrastructure in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was adopted; thus, a sample of 15 participants consisting of senior municipal workers, local organizations and forums in Ngqushwa Municipality in Eastern Cape were identified and interviewed. The interview data were analyzed using thematic content analysis to determine the common themes and the frequencies.

The study's findings indicate numerous causes of poor municipal infrastructure management, including lack of funding, lack of capacity, poor planning and oversight, lack of By-laws, grant dependency and corruption. The municipality's failure to address these issues has resulted in increased service protests, destruction of public property, interruption of services and loss of confidence in municipal administrations.

Research limitations/implications

Although the study concentrated on one municipality, the findings may be applicable to other South African municipalities.

Practical implications

To provide efficient services for the inhabitants to curtail aggravated service delivery protests, there is an urgent need for the municipalities to institute effective measures to manage and maintain the infrastructure that serves the communities.

Originality/value

The study has identified the factors underpinning ineffective management of the municipalities' facilities and the resultant's effects. Thus, the findings will guide the government and the authorities on the infrastructural management strategies for effective service delivery.

• Infrastructure
• Municipality
• Maintenance
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

Limitation of the study: The study was done in only one municipality; thus, the generalization of the findings is limited. Albeit, the findings may be applicable in municipalities with similar settings.

Mazele, O. and Amoah, C. (2022), "The causes of poor infrastructure management and maintenance in South African municipalities", Property Management , Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 192-206. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-06-2021-0042

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Three ways to improve the quality of infrastructure investments

August 29, 2016 por Sven-Uwe Mueller Leave a Comment

We all agree that we want quality infrastructure, because we know that quality reduces project risks, increases availability and durability over a project’s lifecycle, improves customer experience and as such makes the infrastructure worth the investment. But how can we ensure quality?

The IDB –as well as other development banks– uses a suite of safeguard policies to ensure the environmental and social quality of the infrastructure projects it finances. While this helps project owners comply with certain minimum environmental and social standards, this must be accompanied by a process of continuous improvement as is standard in quality management. To that end we must clearly define what sustainable infrastructure is and how it can be achieved and sustained over time.

Taken in its broadest sense, sustainable infrastructure encompasses all four sustainability dimensions: social, environmental, economic and institutional sustainability. With institutional sustainability I mean an institutional set up which ensures good governance, that is adequate upstream planning, preparation, execution and operation of infrastructure projects by transparency, accountability, measurability, and trackability of results. The importance of this was recently highlighted by Garry Bowditch , a leading Australian infrastructure expert. Bowditch stresses the importance of “ institutional architecture to help the various parts of the infrastructure system work together – markets, land use, planning, approvals, project prioritization, funding, financing, delivery and operation ”. This architecture is crucial because it can provide the certainty needed for long term investments and the avenues to manage and mitigate the inherent risks of infrastructure projects. More specifically, in his paper “ Infrastructure Imperatives for Australia ” Bowditch identifies three imperatives for better infrastructure project preparation and implementation, which can serve as critical recommendations for the development of sustainable projects financed by the IDB:

1. Create markets for infrastructure projects and services ,

The rationale is to change the way how infrastructure is managed: “ Governments typically approach infrastructure procurement on a project-by-project basis and as a result their interactions with the market are often uncoordinated and fragmented. When demand from government is lumpy and ‘stop-go’ in nature this can exacerbate the cost of infrastructure and lower the quality of market responses .” This affects the development of the infrastructure market and the ability of bidders to provide best possible services and innovation.

A unified market for infrastructure assets and services makes sure all the different parts of the infrastructure system work together. It ensures proper planning and avoids the common pitfalls of infrastructure procurement: e.g. that infrastructure is treated as a static-physical asset and is procured without proper consideration of the services it will deliver, or that new infrastructure is instead of choosing to renovate and/or make better use of existing infrastructure.  A strong infrastructure market should be defined as having:

• long term pipeline of projects,
• strong private sector participation and ownership,
• a shift from assets to outcomes and service delivery,
• innovation, responsiveness, and ability to scale-up,
• full cost recovery,
• regulations to protect the long term interests of consumers in the absence of market competition.

2. Enhance the attractiveness of infrastructure projects for private funding

Mobilizing private funding for infrastructure projects is crucial to bridge the infrastructure gap in Latin America and the Caribbean, and indeed elsewhere in the World. For this we need improved transparency in the infrastructure project generation process, higher certainty concerning the framework conditions for project execution and reduced risk for the operation phase. A long term infrastructure pipeline and better, broader and more independent cost benefit analysis are the major levers to reach this. It is therefore recommended by Bowditch that:

• To implement a consistent and unified methodology for cost benefit appraisals to have better comparability, and ensure full transparency for all public projects listed for consideration including those rejected,
• A culture of continuous improvement for project evaluations by reviewing them upon completion and 10 years after,
• To align infrastructure funding and capital market development through long-term bond market development, superannuation and pension fund preferences, and
• To enhance investment attractiveness through higher asset utilization: For this, price signals should guide supply and demand for infrastructure; full cost recovery should improve the attractiveness of private investment; and new technologies can enhance asset utilization.

3. Overhaul infrastructure for radical innovation and productivity growth

Improving productivity and harnessing the power of innovation in the infrastructure sector are important preconditions for increased infrastructure productivity. The recommended methods to promote this are:

• Placing outcomes as the central premise in infrastructure procurement is an innovation in itself, but also a catalyst for innovation in the provision infrastructure services as it shifts the focus from the physical attributes of an asset to the service to be delivered.
• High quality decisions which reflect the whole of government considerations ensure consistency and a streamlined approval process which is the most important precondition for efficient implementation.
• Long–term strategic land acquisition based on prior identification of strategic land corridors in cities and regions speeds up project implementation as it avoids delays from property disputes.
• Well qualified, multidisciplinary and teams in the relevant government agencies, equipped with the necessary decision making power and actively involving the project contractor are crucial for speed and quality of the delivery process.
• Better information and analytics for infrastructure construction and operation and the use of big data for infrastructure service planning can dramatically boost the performance of existing infrastructure assets as well as the efficiency and optimization of new infrastructure service offerings

In order to improve the quality of our infrastructure, institutions for good governance are key. While this topic is primarily in the sovereign responsibility of our partner countries, Multilateral Development Banks can help: for example, with workshops on how to set up and operate national project evaluation and preparation facilities. The IDB organized one in Colombia and one in Paraguay in the last 12 months.  It can also help to support platforms for the standardized presentation of infrastructure projects for the investment community. That is why the IDB recently hosted the launching of the International Infrastructure Support System: a platform of the sustainable infrastructure foundation, which is supported by a broad alliance of National and Multilateral Development Banks. Setting up an “ecosystem for quality infrastructure” still requires additional efforts, but we have taken the first steps, and we know the environmental, social and economic gains will be immense.

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In order to solve traffic problems, the government should tax private car owners heavily use their money to improve public transportation. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution?

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food. it is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion, discuss the advantage and disadvantage of following the same diet daily or on regular basis, some people tend to buy products or get services instantly, without waiting. why is it happening is this a positive or negative development, some people think that money is one of the most essential factors in promoting happiness. do you think people can be happy without much money what other factors contribute towards happiness.

Why education infrastructure matters for learning

Janssen teixeira, jeremie amoroso, james gresham.

Buildings, classrooms, laboratories, and equipment- education infrastructure - are crucial elements of learning environments in schools and universities. There is strong evidence that high-quality infrastructure facilitates better instruction, improves student outcomes, and reduces dropout rates, among other benefits.   For example, a recent study from the U.K. found that environmental and design elements of school infrastructure together explained 16 percent of variation in primary students’ academic progress. This research shows that the design of education infrastructure affects learning through three interrelated factors: naturalness (e.g. light, air quality), stimulation (e.g. complexity, color), and individualization (e.g. flexibility of the learning space).   Although education policymakers are increasingly focusing on the quality of education and school learning environments, many countries use a fragmented or piecemeal approach to investing in their education infrastructure. In Romania, for example, decisions about education infrastructure investments have historically been made under an uncoordinated and decentralized model, driven by ad hoc needs and limited funding availability, rather than a strategic approach.

  An ad hoc approach to infrastructure investment is problematic   Schools in marginalized areas in Romania face the biggest investment needs in the country, meaning that students attending these schools are doubly disadvantaged. These students come mainly from low income and rural families to attend poorly equipped schools. For instance, 72 percent of rural secondary schools are missing a science laboratory, and nearly 40 percent do not have indoor toilets.  However, even though urban schools are better equipped than rural units, many are overcrowded.  One in four students in urban areas attends an overcrowded school, many of which operate in shifts. Overcrowded classrooms, such the one below, are suboptimal for teaching and learning.

• Europe and Central Asia

Janssen Teixeira, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank Group

Jeremie Amoroso, Education Consultant, World Bank Group

James Gresham, Education Specialist, World Bank Group

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Ielts essay # 1459 - poor infrastructure hinders under-developed countries from progressing, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, poor infrastructure hinders under-developed countries from progressing and modernising. some people think that this should be the first problem tackled by foreign aid., to what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion.

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I was poor and gay — and my childhood revolved around hiding that

In a personal essay, NBC News correspondent Steven Romo shares how releasing his secrets became his superpower. 

Standing in the airport fidgeting with my plastic, TV reporter earpiece, my camera crew is setting up to interview a traveler when she fills the brief silence by asking, “How does your wife like New York?”

It’s a small conversational crossroads I’ve faced many times. Is it easier for this quick interview to just not correct her that I have a husband instead of a wife? Still, I find myself answering in milliseconds, “My husband is still adjusting, I think. He does miss driving and good Tex-Mex though.”

“Oh, sorry! Husband. My own husband doesn’t even have a driver’s license. Never needed one,” she says, continuing the conversation without much of a pause.

With the camera’s red light on, I ask about her travel delays. Then when we’re finished recording, she says with a slight chuckle, “I actually didn’t fly until I was in my 40s. Grew up dirt poor. Just didn’t want to say that on camera.”

I find myself faced with another coming out.

“You’re not alone there. I actually grew up poor too. My first plane ride was in my 30s, but I had to use about three different credit cards to pay for it. You probably made better choices than I did.”

We laugh a bit more, I thank her for chatting and she disappears out of the sliding glass door.

But this airport encounter, though brief, stuck with me — a reminder that honesty, even about something seemingly inconsequential like marital status or family background, could make me feel so fond of an absolute stranger. It was a sense of simple connection that I’d spent years robbing myself of with constant pretense, trying to not stand out.

Flipping through the scant photos that survived my roach-infested childhood, I can’t help but smile at the greasy-haired kid staring back at me. He had no idea the parts of himself he hated would turn out to be exactly what saved him. What I wanted most back then was to be normal — to fit in. No matter how hard I tried and schemed, I never quite got there. My family and I always seemed to stand out. I was usually one of only a few Latino students in my classes. It was much more than that, though. While other kids were getting dropped off at school by minivans glazed in blue, the jalopies that I arrived in were decorated with rust spots and cracked windows. And when most classmates were wearing crisp, new back-to-school clothes, I was washing my own clothes in the bathroom sink and using a permanent marker to try to resuscitate my faded, formerly black jeans.

Hiding many of these differences was just not possible. But that didn’t keep me from trying — scheming — to hide who I really was. Tall tales about my “wealthy parents” forcing me to wear dirty, ragged clothes to keep me humble didn’t fool classmates for very long. So, I reverted to secrecy and aloofness. Those were some of the earliest things I learned at home — my first language in a way. It’s not something I was explicitly taught, like how to tie my shoes. These were skills I picked up by watching my parents. When someone came to the front door, I learned to freeze in place so the visitor would think no one was home. This was all an effort, to varying degrees of success, to hide what was going on behind that flimsy door.

Trying to explain the conditions of the house seems simple. We had five or six dogs that never went outside. They used the carpet as their bathroom. And the fast food trash piled up over any surface that could hold it. The predictable roach infestation followed. My mom, who ended up passing away while I was in college, had mental health struggles she never truly got help for.  My dad worked as a big rig driver. That left my siblings and me to navigate the chaos on our own.

But then around fifth grade, a new secret I learned about myself made me feel even more alone. Just as many of the other boys started to show interest in girls, I figured out I was gay. I fought it. I tried to will myself straight. I tried to pray myself “normal.” When that didn’t work, I resorted to what felt most natural to me anyway: I decided to hide it.

Projecting this false self into the world every waking moment wasted so much time and energy. And worse, it kept me perpetually at a distance from everyone else. There was always an invisible wall manifested in lies and half-truths. I see that now in these photos showing younger me’s big brown eyes. He was so full of worry and doubt that no kid should have had to carry.

Of course, it wasn’t until I shared these secrets that I was able to wriggle out from under their weight and finally breathe. In high school, I told my best friend about the situation at home. He told me it wasn’t my fault. After I got my first job in news, I told my sister I was gay. She told me she’d already figured that out, and we grew even closer. Coming out freed me. I finally gave myself permission to meet more LGBTQ+ people, and I learned that queer joy is even more powerful than queer sorrow.

Coming out freed me. I finally gave myself permission to meet more LGBTQ+ people, and I learned that queer joy is even more powerful than queer sorrow.

It wasn’t until I stopped trying to blend in that I realized these differences are what gave me the tools I needed to make it. Being an outsider proved to be a gift in disguise. If you’re lucky, feeling isolated can lead to self-reliance, and that helped me navigate my way out of my upbringing. And now covering the news, I get to connect with not only other LGBTQ+ people in their own lived experiences but also others who exist on the margins — the overlooked, the people who feel different. I have the honor of speaking with them in a way others may not be able to. Like interviewing Kate and Trish Varnum, the first same-sex couple to marry in Iowa , and truly understanding their fresh fears about anti-LGBTQ+ legislative proposals targeting their union. Or reporting on a surge of GoFundMe campaigns raising money for same-sex couples’ fertility care , because some insurance companies use definitions that leave them without adequate coverage.

It turns out, all those things I spent so much time and energy resisting and hiding as a kid have given me superpowers as an adult. And the radioactive spider? That turned out to be simple honesty, allowing me to spin webs of connection. Now, with each truth I share, with each story I tell, I can help bridge the divide between the margins and the blinding mainstream.

Sure, it’s not always easy. There were a lot of ups and downs along the way, like when I dropped out of high school, struggled with depression and constantly fought to make ends meet. And the flip side of that self-reliance sometimes manifests in distancing myself from those who love me. That’s something I’m still working on, and in some ways maybe I always will be.

Looking back at the grimy kid in these tattered photos, I see that while he might not have realized it, he was always meant to tell tales. Not ones to hide who he was or how he struggled, but about how he survived. And of finding the extraordinary strength in embracing the beautiful mess of who we truly are.

Steven Romo is a correspondent for NBC News based in New York City. You can follow his reporting and adventures on Instagram , X , TikTok and Facebook . 

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Guest Essay

How Trump’s Team Blew It

By Renato Mariotti

Mr. Mariotti, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in Chicago, is a former federal prosecutor.

The criminal trial of Donald Trump didn’t have to end this way.

The prosecution’s case had flaws that couldn’t be wallpapered over even with weeks of testimony, over 200 exhibits and a polished and persuasive presentation by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, and his team. If Mr. Trump’s lawyers had played their cards right, they most likely would have ended up with a hung jury or a misdemeanor conviction.

The defense lost a winnable case by adopting an ill-advised strategy that was right out of Mr. Trump’s playbook. For years, he denied everything and attacked anyone who dared to take him on. It worked — until this case.

I have practiced criminal law for over 20 years, and I have tried and won cases as both a federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. I’ve almost never seen the defense win without a compelling counternarrative. Jurors often want to side with prosecutors, who have the advantage of writing the indictment, marshaling the witnesses and telling the story.

The defense needs its own story, and in my experience, the side that tells the simpler story at trial usually wins.

Instead of telling a simple story, Mr. Trump’s defense was a haphazard cacophony of denials and personal attacks. That may work for a Trump rally or a segment on Fox News, but it doesn’t work in a courtroom. Perhaps Mr. Trump’s team was also pursuing a political or press strategy, but it certainly wasn’t a good legal strategy. The powerful defense available to Mr. Trump’s attorneys was lost amid all the clutter.

At the beginning of the trial, Mr. Trump’s team had a clear path to victory. He was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the cover-up of a $130,000 hush-money payment that was made to the porn star Stormy Daniels. Yet the only direct evidence of Mr. Trump’s knowledge was the testimony of Michael Cohen — who has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and charges of bank fraud, tax evasion and campaign finance violation — who hates Mr. Trump and makes money off his public commentary on Mr. Trump’s legal woes.

You don’t need to be a lawyer to see how this could be a powerful legal defense. The prosecution had to prove that Mr. Trump knew about and caused — or at least was an accomplice in creating — the false business records. But at the time the records were created, Mr. Trump was in the White House. The defense could argue that Mr. Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, who has pleaded guilty to lying under oath and tax fraud, came up with that scheme on their own. Mr. Trump, his lawyers could argue, was focused on his role as president.

Mr. Trump’s team did say something similar at various points in the trial, including during Todd Blanche’s roughly three-hour closing argument. The problem is that the defense made so many other points, and fought so many other things, that it failed to focus the jury on the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case and instead tried to fight everything and everyone, even when it gained little by doing so.

Although the prosecution’s evidence of Mr. Trump’s personal approval of the falsification of business records was thin, the evidence for most of the other relevant facts was rock solid. Yet the defense destroyed its own credibility by denying the undeniable, as in its laughable claim that the large lump-sum payments to Mr. Cohen really were payments for legal services, including the amount that he embezzled from Mr. Trump.

The trial dragged on for weeks largely because of Mr. Trump’s “deny everything” approach. A savvy defense counsel would have stipulated that Mr. Trump had an intimate affair with Ms. Daniels. Instead, the defense forced the prosecution to prove that the affair occurred and proceeded to aggressively attack Ms. Daniels, whom some of the jury likely found sympathetic in her testimony. That attack gained no ground legally for the defense — little turned on whether Mr. Trump had a sexual encounter with her — but distracted from his actual defense.

Similarly, the cross-examination of Mr. Cohen dragged on for days because the defense sought to confront him with every lie it could identify, seemingly every misdeed he ever committed and every potential line of attack it could come up with.

Because the defense denied everything and attacked Mr. Cohen on every point, prosecutors were able to focus on the many points where Mr. Cohen’s testimony was corroborated by documents, phone records, text messages and a recording. If the defense had narrowly focused on the key points on which that testimony was not corroborated, it could have undermined the prosecution’s advantage.

It may be that a not-guilty verdict was always a long shot. But if the defense had been more effective, one of the two lawyers on the jury might have voted to acquit, all that is needed for a hung jury. Or perhaps the jury would have compromised and rendered a verdict that Mr. Trump committed only a misdemeanor, which most defense attorneys would view as a win, given the circumstances.

But Mr. Trump’s team went for broke, deciding not to seek a jury instruction that would have permitted jurors to find that Mr. Trump committed a misdemeanor rather than a felony. It’s unclear whether that decision to deny the jury an option that would have given the defense a win was an act of hubris or a refusal to compromise, but both are characteristics of Mr. Trump that don’t translate well into a criminal trial.

Mr. Trump’s team was a reflection of its client, always attacking and never backing down. That playbook has worked for Mr. Trump again and again. For this trial and in a Manhattan courtroom, the attitude and strategy backfired.

Renato Mariotti, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in Chicago, is a former federal prosecutor and a co-host with Asha Rangappa of the “It’s Complicated” podcast .

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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