| Infrastructure systems are provided by the public sector, and is paid for, shared and benefited collectively by all users. The contributions of infrastructure systems to daily life and economic development are measured by the benefits that result from certain levels and combination of available services. However, some users are able to benefit more than others and conversely some bear more of the burden due to the distribution of services. The concept of utility is introduced in this study as an approach to measure the aggregated benefits of infrastructure systems and to determine the trade-offs among social services so that the provision of services can be optimized and the benefits maximized. The model provides a continuous spatial measure of available services as a topography of utility for descriptive and diagnostic purposes giving the user information on existing conditions and a basis to test for optimal solutions of given objectives. It is a comparative analysis of multiple systems giving planners the opportunity to evaluate a bundle of services for broader planning objectives. For planners this study provides an analytical framework and a tool to understand the existing conditions resulting from the provision of services and determine the needs of a community based on objective measures of utility. Practical applications of utility include ranking alternative capital investments, provide a non-market value of infrastructure services into current evaluation processes and quantify benefits. In illustrating the proposed methodology the study analyzes the spatial influences of three urban infrastructure systems and selected subsystems, namely parks, sanitation, and public libraries on the population, and is based on a case study in Brooklyn, New York. |
