Publications

- February 1, 2015: Vol. 9, Number 2

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Through traffic: London’s Crossrail project demonstrates how infrastructure can reshape a city’s real estate dynamics

by Alex Frew McMillan

With 40 stations linking Reading in the west through London’s city centre and out to Essex in the east, the Crossrail project is transforming the real estate landscape around the British capital. The boom in projects along the line demonstrates the transformative powers of infrastructure investment, and the project will be a yardstick for western nations when they consider upgrading their own transport networks.

Meanwhile, emerging nations, particularly in Asia, are looking to avoid the painful process of revamping or adding to antiquated networks. They have the opportunity to jump straight from rural countryside to 21st Century urban hubs without the slow, slapdash evolution witnessed in Europe. What’s more, Asian nations are now getting the capital to do so amid a billion-dollar spending spree by China.

Infrastructure investment has both a short-term benefit as a form of government stimulus and long-term benefits in terms of improving a country’s attractiveness

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