Water and Wall Street: Infrastructure, Finance, and Affordability in America's Cities
Feb 2027 · MIT Press
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About this ebook
How water infrastructure finance drives the size of our water bills, who can afford them, and the geography of urban landscapes.
Water crises have emerged in the United States with increasing regularity, from Flint, Michigan to Jackson, Mississippi. Simultaneously, the rise in water bills for the past decade has far outpaced the rising cost of groceries, gas, and electricity, leading more Americans to add water to the growing list of their unaffordable basic necessities. Water and Wall Street by Martin Doyle, Lauren Patterson, and Erika Smull uncovers how the seemingly arcane world of infrastructure finance underlies these and other water trends in US cities, and how water infrastructure shapes the most basic landscape of cities and suburbs.
The authors begin by describing the basics of how water infrastructure works, and more importantly, how it is financed by municipal bonds, the backbone of urban finance. They then trace the history of municipal bonds for water from the founding of Philadelphia in the eighteenth century to the bankruptcy of Detroit in the twenty-first. Along the way, they also explore financial geography: how water bills, water affordability, and the peculiarities of infrastructure finance create distinct geographies of water capital. Finally, they take a speculative look at alternative future states for our cities, our infrastructure, and our water.
Water crises have emerged in the United States with increasing regularity, from Flint, Michigan to Jackson, Mississippi. Simultaneously, the rise in water bills for the past decade has far outpaced the rising cost of groceries, gas, and electricity, leading more Americans to add water to the growing list of their unaffordable basic necessities. Water and Wall Street by Martin Doyle, Lauren Patterson, and Erika Smull uncovers how the seemingly arcane world of infrastructure finance underlies these and other water trends in US cities, and how water infrastructure shapes the most basic landscape of cities and suburbs.
The authors begin by describing the basics of how water infrastructure works, and more importantly, how it is financed by municipal bonds, the backbone of urban finance. They then trace the history of municipal bonds for water from the founding of Philadelphia in the eighteenth century to the bankruptcy of Detroit in the twenty-first. Along the way, they also explore financial geography: how water bills, water affordability, and the peculiarities of infrastructure finance create distinct geographies of water capital. Finally, they take a speculative look at alternative future states for our cities, our infrastructure, and our water.
How water infrastructure finance drives the size of our water bills, who can afford them, and the geography of urban landscapes.
Water crises have emerged in the United States with increasing regularity, from Flint, Michigan to Jackson, Mississippi. Simultaneously, the rise in water bills for th...
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About the author
Martin Doyle is a water scientist at Duke University. He is the author of The Source and Streams of Revenue, with Rebecca Lave (MIT Press).
Lauren Patterson is a water data scientist and researcher. Her work specializes in integrating and analyzing complex datasets that inform water, climate, and environmental policy and decision-making.
Erika Smull is trained in both civil engineering and infrastructure finance. She is currently a municipal bond investment professional focused on municipal credit, sustainable investing, and adaptation finance.
Lauren Patterson is a water data scientist and researcher. Her work specializes in integrating and analyzing complex datasets that inform water, climate, and environmental policy and decision-making.
Erika Smull is trained in both civil engineering and infrastructure finance. She is currently a municipal bond investment professional focused on municipal credit, sustainable investing, and adaptation finance.
Martin Doyle is a water scientist at Duke University. He is the author of The Source and Streams of Revenue, with Rebecca Lave (MIT Press).
Lauren Patterson is a water data scientist and researcher. Her work specializes in integrating and analyzing complex datasets that inform water, climate, an...
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