Building the City: Mayors on Public-Private Partnerships and Infrastructure

Cities worldwide are turning to public-private partnerships to finance and deliver critical infrastructure—but these arrangements raise fundamental questions about accountability, equity, and who governs public goods. When do private firms complement local governments, and when do they substitute for them? Can mayors claim credit for projects jointly produced? And who takes the blame if things go awry? Learn from a conversation with city mayors navigating these tradeoffs firsthand. Moderated by Alisha Holland, this discussion draws on the experiences of mayors working across different political and fiscal environments to explore how partnerships shape project design, delivery, distributional outcomes, and democratic governance. Moderator: Alisha Holland, Gates Professor of Developing Societies, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Panelists: Mayor Monique Boulet, Lafayette, Louisiana Mayor Andy Fillmore, Halifax, Canada Mayor Janet Cowell, Raleigh, North Carolina This was an event of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, co-sponsored with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Research Cluster on Business and Government. Learn more about our work at https://cities.harvard.edu.