Across the globe, infrastructure is the lifeblood of prosperity and economic confidence in the 21st century. Well-planned and well executed investments offer developing economies the hope of basic facilities for all and a chance to compete in a global marketplace. In developed economies, superior and well maintained infrastructure attracts the best talent as well as dynamic businesses seeking reliable connectivity and a high quality of life for their work force.

Infrastructure—the structure or underlying foundation on which the continued growth of a community depends—is critical for countries in all stages of development. But adverse economic and political conditions can make effective investment in infrastructure difficult to achieve, and affect how efficient countries are in realizing the anticipated benefits.

Emerging-market players are looking to remove transport bottlenecks and upgrade inadequate systems for water and power, which can stunt growth ambitions. At the same time, many mature countries—particularly the United States and those in Europe—are grappling with how to repair or refashion once-advanced, but now increasingly outmoded, infrastructure in the face of limited funding capacity. New technologies and urban planning strategies may yield improved returns on infrastructure investment in developed markets, as countries forgo rebuilding in-kind for transformational changes.

The nexus between land use and transportation is nothing new. From the early domination of shipping in the movement of goods to the more recent growth in rail, road and air in transportation logistics, the result has been the expansion of development around key nodes.

As development managers we are acutely aware of the importance of an integrated transport strategy lying at the heart of any development – whether it be a mixed-use scheme in UK or an urban expansion project anywhere in the world.