ABSTRACT
In an increasingly urbanized world, public infrastructure including roads, sewer-age, drinking water and electricity are vital to urban development and quality of life. Public infrastructure projects materially affect the quality of life of communities, and are critically instrumental to their pursuit of well-being (Storey 2006). As a result, communities, particularly in the developing world, have taken on the role of planner, designer, financier and builder of public infrastructure; they are ‘doing more and more for themselves and others pushing central and local governments to take progressive action’ (UN Millennium Project 2005: xiv). Such community action could be interpreted as community empowerment over urban development; unfortunately, this interpretation would be misguided, and it is not unheard of that communities are by necessity having to take action to fill the void left by government inaction. Urban development is often undemocratic and inequitable because communities are often excluded from policy and policymaking (Drydyk 2005).
