Public Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | University of Toronto

Over the last two decades, many governments across North America have embraced “smart growth.” Most of these governments have done so primarily through the instruments of urban planning, often without considering the growth implications of other tools including infrastructure financing. Are infrastructure financing tools underutilized when it comes to planning for smart growth? Do we run the risk of undercutting our “smart growth” efforts if we assume infrastructure financing tools to be growth-neutral? In this talk, we examine key findings from the academic literature and early statistics following the implementation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to lay the foundation for a discussion on these challenging policy questions.

Dave Marshall is the IMFG’s 2014-15 Blanche & Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellow. He completed his B.A. in Political Science and International Development at McGill University, prior to spending a short time as a reservist in the Canadian Forces and starting law school in Montreal. Dave developed an interest in alternative infrastructure financing, and came to the University of Toronto in 2013 to complete his law degree concurrently with studies in public policy as the University’s first joint J.D.-M.P.P. candidate. Dave has previously worked as a summer student in the Ontario Growth Secretariat, and plans to investigate the private-side of infrastructure finance this summer as a student at the law firm of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. His primary areas of research include alternative infrastructure finance and procurement, civil procedure reform, public administration pedagogy, and public sector recruitment.