A US government poster from 1940, summarizing the Works Progress Administration's achievements.

Public works (or internal improvements historically in the United States)^[1][2][3] are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include bridges, parks, roads, municipal buildings, dams, railroads, schools, hospitals, beaches, and other, usually long-term, physical assets and facilities. Though often interchangeable with public infrastructure and public capital, public works does not necessarily carry an economic component, thereby being a broader term.

[edit] Overview

Public works is a multi-dimensional concept in economics and politics, touching on multiple arenas including: recreation (parks, beaches), aesthetics (trees, green space), business (goods and people movement), law (police and courts), neighborhood (community centers, social services buildings). Essentially, it represents any constructed object that augments a nation's physical infrastructure such as airports, canals, dams, dikes, pipelines, and others.

Municipal infrastructure, urban infrastructure, and rural development usually represent the same concept but imply either large cities or developing nations' concerns respectively. The terms public infrastructure or critical infrastructure are at times used interchangeably. However, critical infrastructure includes public works (dams, waste water systems, bridges, etc.) as well as facilities like hospitals, banks, and telecommunications systems and views them from a national security viewpoint and the impact on the community that the loss of such facilities would entail.

Furthermore, the term public works has recently been expanded to include digital public infrastructure projects. The first (US) nationwide digital public works project is an effort to create an open source software platform for e-voting (created and managed by the OSDV).^[4]

Reflecting increased concern with sustainability, urban ecology and quality of life, efforts to move towards sustainable municipal infrastructure are common in developed nations, especially in European Union and Canada (where the FCM InfraGuide provides an officially mandated best practice exchange to move municipalities in this direction).

Public works programmes[link]

A public works programme (PWP) is the provision of employment by the creation of predominantly public goods at a prescribed wage for those unable to find alternative employment. This functions as a form of social safety net. PWPs are activities which entail the payment of a wage (in cash or in kind) by the state, or by an Agent (or cash-for work/CFW). One particular form of public works, that of offering a short-term period of employment, has come to dominate practice, particularly in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Applied in the short term, this is appropriate as a response to transient shocks and acute labour market crises.^[5]

Utility of investment[link]

While it is argued that capital investment in public works can be used to reduce unemployment, opponents of internal improvement programs argue that such projects should be undertaken by the private sector, and not the public sector, because public works projects are characteristic of socialism. However, in the private sector, entrepreneurs bear their own losses and so private sector firms are generally unwilling to undertake projects that could result in losses or would not develop a revenue stream. Governments will invest in public works because of the overall benefit to society when there is a lack of private sector benefit (a project that will not generate revenue) or the risk is too great for a private company to accept on its own.

Cost overrun and demand shortfall[link]

Cost overruns and demand shortfalls frequently haunt public works projects.^[6] The main causes of cost overrun and demand shortfall are optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation (Flyvbjerg et al. 2002, 2005). Reference class forecasting was developed by Bent Flyvbjerg, Oxford University, to curb optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation and thus arrive at more accurate estimates of costs and demand.^[7] Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner in economics, calls Flyvbjerg's counsel to use reference class forecasting to de-bias forecasts, "the single most important piece of advice regarding how to increase accuracy in forecasting,” including of costs and demand^[8]

According to research conducted at the Aalborg University, 86% of public works projects end up with cost overruns. Some unexpected findings of the research were that:

• Technically difficult projects were not more likely to exceed the budget than less difficult projects
• Projects in which more people were directly and indirectly affected by the project turned out to be more susceptible to cost overruns
• Project managers generally did not learn from similar projects attempted in the past^[9][10]

Generally contracts awarded by public tenders will include a provision for unexpected expenses (i.e. cost overruns), that typically amount to 10% of the value of the contract. This money is only spent during the course of the project if the construction managers judge that it is necessary, and typically the expenditure must be justified in writing.

See also[link]

• Contingencies fund
• Infrastructure
• Internal improvements
• Public good, an economic discussion.

Individual programs:

• Egyptian Public Works
• New Deal
• Opera Publica
• Public Works Administration

Sources and further reading[link]

• Bent Flyvbjerg, Mette K. Skamris Holm, and Søren L. Buhl (2002), "Underestimating Costs in Public Works Projects: Error or Lie?" Journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 68, no. 3, 279-295.
• Bent Flyvbjerg, Mette K. Skamris Holm, and Søren L. Buhl (2005), "How (In)accurate Are Demand Forecasts in Public Works Projects?" Journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 71, no. 2, 131-146.
• "Political Economy of Very Large Space Projects", Journal of Evolution and Technology. vol. 4. November 1999.
• When the Public Works: Generating Employment and Social Protection in Ethiopia, Peter Middlebrook, Lambert Academic Publishing. 2009. ISBN 978-3-8383-0672-8

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up public works in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• American Public Works Association - Professional society
• Norwich University: Public Works Administration
• InfraInput.org One-stop, database-driven website for any user to give issues and ideas on infrastructure.
• Public Works magazine - The voice of professionals serving America's communities
• Planete TP - The world of public works
• Digging holes and filling them in again? How far do public works enhance livelihoods? - ODI Natural Resource Perspectives Paper
• Public Works Group - Online resource for public works professionals
• Public Works Agency - Public Works Industry Social Network including Municipal Contractors, Municipalities and Citizen Engagement
• Citizen Request - Idea platform to capture citizen request, concerns and ideas where others vote and projects get done based on citizen inputsViešieji darbai

Linda Francis Duncan MP, LL.M.
Duncan at the Alberta Legislature participating in a rally against the Heartland Transmission project
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona
Incumbent
Assumed office October 14, 2008
Preceded by	Rahim Jaffer
Personal details
Born	(1949-06-25) June 25, 1949 (age 63) Edmonton, Alberta
Political party	New Democratic Party
Profession	Lawyer, environmental consultant

Linda Francis Duncan (born June 25, 1949) is a Canadian lawyer and politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament for the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona in Alberta. She is a member of the New Democratic Party and, since 2008, she has been the only MP from an Alberta riding not a member of the Conservative Party. Since her election to 40th Parliament in October 2008, she has served as a member of the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, as well as the NDP caucus' Environment Critic. Prior to her election, she ran unsuccessfully in the same riding in 2006.

Duncan has spent most of her life in Edmonton. She graduated the University of Alberta's undergraduate and law programs and founded Edmonton's Environmental Law Centre. She practiced law, specializing in environmental law, in the city until 1987 when she moved to Ottawa to work for Environment Canada. She spent time in Whitehorse working as an assistant deputy in the Yukon government, then Montreal working in NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation. She attained a Masters of Law at Dalhousie Law School and spent several years on the Sierra Legal Defence Fund's Board of Directors.

Early life and career[link]

Linda Duncan was born in Edmonton on June 25, 1949. Her father, Darcy Duncan, a second-generation lawyer, supported the family which included a brother, a younger sister and an older sister, along with their mother.^[1] She grew up in the south side of Edmonton.^[2] She attended the University of Alberta, graduating from their law school. With an interest in environmental law she passed upon the opportunity to join a law firm and founded the Environmental Law Centre in 1982 to assist Albertans concerned with environmental and natural resources law.^[2]

In 1987, Duncan was recruited by the federal Minister of Environment to establish a new enforcement unit at Environment Canada. After a year in Ottawa, she move onto Whitehorse where she worked as the assistant deputy Minister for Renewable Resources in the Yukon government. She moved to Montreal after she accepted a position helping lead the enforcement department of NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Through projects by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank she helped establish environmental law enforcement systems in Jamaica, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. During this time, in the 1990s, she earned a Master of Laws from Dalhousie Law School and taught several courses. Following the death of her father and two sisters she moved back to Edmonton in 1999.^[1][2]

On the local level, in addition to her work at the Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton, she worked on projects with the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Alberta's Clean Air Strategic Alliance, and the Canadian Council on Human Resources for the Environment Industry. She served on the Board of Directors the Sierra Legal Defence Fund from 2001 to 2007. Her family has had a cottage at Wabamun Lake since her youth and she has participated on the Lake Wabamun Enhancement and Protection Association. Acting as their vice-president during the August 2005 CN Rail oil spill she was interviewed in the media on behalf of the land owners and lake users.^[1] With the association and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund she helped make a submission to the United Nations Environment Programme noting Canada was not enforcing the legally-binding Heavy Metals Protocol, making specific reference to high levels of mercury being released from coal-fired power plants.^[3]

Politics[link]

For the 39th Canadian federal election, in January 2006, Duncan ran as the New Democratic Party candidate for the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona. The contest was expected to be close so in the final days of the campaign the party shifted resources there and the party leader, Jack Layton, traveled the riding, his second visit during the campaign.^[4][5] Nevertheless, incumbent Conservative Rahim Jaffer won the riding over Duncan by almost 5,000 votes.

On January 19, 2007, Duncan accepted the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona, by acclamation, to again seek election to Parliament in the 40th Canadian federal election.^[6] The election campaign began in September 2008. To make environmental protection an election issue, Duncan and Jack Layton flew over the tar sands area noting environmentally damaging practices.^[7] Duncan made support for public health care, enforcement of environmental laws, and driving the economy with 'green jobs' priorities in her campaign.^[8] She drew upon support from a large volunteer network built since the last election and strategic voting from Liberal supporters.^[9] With the polls showing a close race, incumbent Conservative candidate launched an attack ad against Duncan.^[10] On election night, October 14, the results showed Jaffer as the leader, by 1,000 votes with over half the polls reporting.^[11] Jaffer delivered his victory speech around 10 p.m. and several people were calling the election a win for Jaffer.^[12][13][14] However, late polls, which included residences around the University of Alberta, put Duncan ahead.^[15] Following a few days of silence and after his fiancee, fellow Conservative Member of Parliament Helena Guergis, flew to Edmonton and quietly married him, Jaffer conceded defeat to Duncan.^[16] With a 463-vote margin, Duncan became the only non-Conservative MP in Alberta.

During the ensuing 40th Canadian Parliament Duncan was appointed to the position of NDP critic on the Environment. In the Parliament's aborted first session she strongly opposed the government's proposed fiscal update, especially the proposed changes to pay equity claims, four-year wage cap, and suspension of the right to strike for federal employees.^[17] She supported the proposed coalition government and condemned the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for labeling the coalition government as "treasonous" and "criminal".^[18][19] When Parliament resumed in January 2009, Duncan sat as a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. She supported Ecojustice and the Sierra Club's lawsuit against the government's waiver of federal environmental assessment reviews on infrastructure projects arguing that it required an act of Parliament, rather than the Conservative government's Order in Council.^[20] She vocally supported the opposition's Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act that would hold Canadian companies accountable in Canadian courts for human rights and environmental abuses committed in other countries.^[21] Duncan introduced three bills into during the second and third sessions: the first proposing that the third Friday of February be declared National Hockey Day,^[22] the second establishing an Environmental Bill of Rights,^[23] and the third would have amended the Criminal Code to restrict the use of hand-held telecommunications devices while operadriving.^[24] On a private member's bill to abolish the federal gun registry, Linda Duncan was the only MP from Alberta who voted against abolishing the gun registry.

Duncan was re-elected, with over 50% of the vote in Edmonton—Strathcona, to 41st Canadian Parliament. She introduced one piece of legislation, a private member bill titled National Literacy Policy Act (Bill C-327) which received first reading on October 5, 2011, but did not advance from there. The bill would have required the government adopt a policy for promoting literacy in Canada and take measures to enact the policy.

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Member of Parliament website
• 2006 campaign profile in the Edmonton Journal
• Edmonton-Strathcona NDP riding association
• Linda Duncan - Parliament of Canada biography
• Member of Parliament Profile

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