You are on page 1of 5

CE

156

INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT


FALL 2010 TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS 9:30-11:00 IN 212 OBRIEN HALL
INSTRUCTOR Joan Walker, Assistant Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Center for Global Metropolitan Studies 111 McLaughlin Hall JoanWalker@Berkeley.Edu 510 642 6897 Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00-12:00 & Thursdays 2:00-3:00

GRADUATE STUDENT INSTRUCTOR Kimberly Leung, Graduate Student Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 5 McLaughlin Hall keleung@berkeley.edu Office Hours: Mondays 11:00-12:00 & Wednesdays 2:00-3:00
This course focuses on the physical infrastructure systems that support society, including transportation, communications, power, water, and waste. These are complex, large-scale, expensive systems that must be planned for and managed over a long-term horizon. We will emphasize economics-based, analytical tools, including topics of supply, demand, and evaluation. Problem sets, case studies, and a class project provide for hands-on experience with a range of infrastructure systems, issues, and methods of analysis. By the end of the course, you will have an understanding of the role and workings of infrastructure as well as of the analytical tools required to plan and manage these systems. This is a 3 unit undergraduate course. Prerequisites are a basic knowledge of calculus and probability.

CE156 Syllabus Fall 2010

SCHEDULE

Topic 1: Basics of infrastructure and of this course (3+ weeks)


Well start by describing the major infrastructure systems: what they are, their components and technologies, and why they are critical. Well also provide a course overview. Readings Ascher K (2005) The Works: Anatomy of a City. The Penguin Press, New York. Purchase from UC Bookstore, Amazon, etc. ULI and Ernst & Young (2010) Infrastructure 2010: Investment Imperative, ULI - The Urban Land Institute, Washington DC. Available free online from www.uli.org and posted on bspace. Read through Part 1 and (if you want) skim the rest. Goodman AS, Hastak M (2006) Infrastructure Planning Handbook: Planning, Engineering, and Economics. McGraw Hill / ASCE Press. Chapter 1. Available on bSpace. American Public Works Association (2010) APWA announces the 2010 Public Works Projects of the Year, APWA Reporter. Available free online from http://www.apwa.net/publications/reporter/reporterOnline/ (article starts on page 78). Congressional Budget Office (2008) Investing in Infrastructure, testimony before the Committee on Finance United States Senate. Selected pages handed out in class. World Bank (2006) Infrastructure at the Crossroads: Lessons From 20 Years of World Bank Experience. Selected pages handed out in class. Lee H (2001) Disaster by Design: Californias Experience with Electricity Restructure. Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case Program #1632 and #1633. This and all Harvard Kennedy School Cases are available for purchase from http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/content/how_to_order.html . Harvard Kennedy School (1986) Learning by the case method. Free resource available at http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/ . Assignments Problem set #1: Group assignment (2-person groups). Two parts: (i) Compare a component of the NY infrastructure (as described in Ascher) with local infrastructure (that you research), and turn in a short essay (500-1000 words, including proper references not Wikipedia.) and ONE PowerPoint slide (to present to the class). (ii) infrastructure-limited scavenger hunt. Read Lee (2001) and Harvard Kennedy School (1986) before the designated lecture and be prepared to discuss the case in class. Also answer the short questionnaire on bSpace before the designated lecture (objective of the questionnaire is to inspire you to do the reading in advance).

Page 2

CE156 Syllabus Fall 2010

Topic 2: Supply of Infrastructure (3 weeks)


In this module, well cover issues regarding the provision of infrastructure systems, including design issues of what technology, how much, where, at what price, and at what level of risk. Methods from economics are emphasized including the use of production functions (the basic model of how resources are transformed to achieve objectives), cost functions of construction and maintenance, and marginal analysis (methods for optimizing resource allocation). Well also go over methods necessary to perform the analysis, namely mathematical optimization. Readings de Neufville R (1990) Applied Systems Analysis: Engineering Planning and Technology Management. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Chapters 1-6. Available for free at http://ardent.mit.edu/real_options/ASA_Text/asa_Text_index.html Truby LR (2003) DARTs Suburban Service. Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case Program #1696. Assignments Problem set #2: Practice with analytical tools of infrastructure supply. Read Truby (2003) before the designated lecture and be prepared to discuss the cases in class. Also answer the short questionnaire on bSpace before the designated lecture.

Topic 3: Demand for Infrastructure (3 weeks)


Critical inputs to infrastructure planning are understanding user demand and user benefits. This is also the analytical piece that typically has the largest margins of error due to the uncertainty of human response. In this module we will cover the basic principles from microeconomics used to study demand, namely utility theory and concepts of price elasticity and consumer surplus. Well also discuss the use of surveys to gather information on demand, and the development of demand models to estimate consumption levels. Issues of demand management (e.g., for transport, water, and power) will also be addressed. Readings Beimborn & Kennedy (2005) Inside the Blackbox: Making Transportation Models Work for Livable Communities. Available on bSpace. Pindyck and Rubinfeld (1989) Microeconomics, Chapter 3: Consumer Behavior. Available on bSpace. Train (2009) Discrete Choice Analysis, Chapters 2 and 3. This covers discrete choice theory (logit, etc.). Available for free at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/books/choice2.html. Read pages 11-22, 29-32, 34-40, 42-48, 60-61, 71-74 (BART case study), starting and stopping at logical places on the page (e.g., section headings). Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case TO BE DETERMINED. Assignments Problem set #3: Practice with analytical tools of infrastructure demand. Read the Harvard Kennedy School case before the designated lectures and be prepared to discuss the cases in class. Also answer the short questionnaire on bSpace before the designated lecture.

Page 3

CE156 Syllabus Fall 2010

Topic 4: Evaluation of Infrastructure Investments (2 weeks)


After having learned about supply and costing issues and demand issues, its time to put them together in evaluating infrastructure investments. Society needs to invest strategically, so how can it compare various projects and choose where to invest? Here well discuss cost-benefit analysis, including issues of project life cycle and discount rates, prioritization, pricing difficult to price items (for example, a life), dealing with uncertainty and risk, and environmental and social sustainability. Readings de Neufville R (1990) Applied Systems Analysis: Engineering Planning and Technology Management. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Chapters 10-13. Available at http://ardent.mit.edu/real_options/ASA_Text/asa_Text_index.html Gomez-Ibanez JA, Roberts M (1989) The West Side Highway Proposal (Abridged). Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case Program #876. Assignments Problem set #4: Practice with analytical tools of infrastructure evaluation. Read Gomez-Ibanez and Roberts (1989) before the designated lectures and be prepared to discuss the cases in class. Also answer the short questionnaire on bSpace before the lecture.

Topic 5: The Case of LAX (2 weeks)


Its time to put your knowledge to work. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has embarked on a comprehensive improvement plan for the airport: modernizing the runway and taxiway system, redeveloping the terminal area, improving access to the airport, and enhancing passenger safety, security, and convenience. This is now the largest public works project in the nation and a treasure trove for infrastructure analysis. As a class, well go through a high level view of the project, and then students will divide into groups to analyze specific aspects of the project in depth. Readings The publications on the LAX project (available at http://www.ourlax.org/publications.cfm) produced by Los Angeles World Airports is a good place to start. This includes the LAX Master Plan, LAX Specific Plan, Environmental Impact Reports, and Annual Project Reports. However, note that ourlax.org is a marketing tool, and it is powerful makes the project look fantastic! For this reason, it is expected that you go beyond the ourlax.org website; dig around and look for other points of view. Assignment A group project analyzing one aspect of the plan. The goal is to better understand the processes by which real infrastructure decisions are made. Therefore, you need to not only describe what was decided (e.g., how to extend the runway) but how this decision was made (e.g., What were the alternatives? How did they evaluate the alternatives? What analytical tools did they use?). You also want to be critical (e.g., Did they miss something in their analysis? Are there assumptions theyve made that are questionable?). Deliverables are a class presentation (30 minutes with questions) and the powerpoint file. Groups must be 4-6 people and students are responsible for finding a group and defining a topic. The project will be introduced after Topic 1, and progress reports will be due after Topic 2 (group members and topic) and after Topic 3 (refined statement of project). Some class time will be set aside for presentations (namely, the last week of class -- November 30th and December 2) and time outside of class will also need to be scheduled (during the last week of classes and/or during the RRR period).

Page 4

CE156 Syllabus Fall 2010

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING


Harvard case studies (5%) short questionnaire for each of 4 case studies. Problem sets (25%) 4 in total, one after each of topics 1-4. Group project (20%) Midterm exam (20%) to be held Thursday October 14th in class. Comprehensive final exam (30%) to be held Tuesday December 14, 3-6 PM.

Page 5

You might also like