Public works projects, such as building schools and hospitals, are undertaken by governments to improve infrastructure and benefit communities. They can create job opportunities and aid economic recovery. The Public Works Administration (PWA) was created during the Great Depression to increase government spending on construction projects. These projects are not exclusive to one time period or country and have a historical precedent.
When people live in close proximity, they often have to decide whether changes are needed in their environment to make life easier or more convenient. Throughout history, governments have turned to public works projects to improve the quality of life as they defined it. Usually the idea behind improving a company’s facilities is that they will benefit the public and, in the modern era, most of the time public works projects are financed by a central government, or by a government state or citizen.
The list of public works projects is long and basically these can be defined as those efforts to build things that will be of benefit to a community. Such structures can include things like canals, bridges, highway expansions, or airports. These are often called internal improvements because they specifically address the infrastructure of a culture or structure that society needs to operate at an intended level.
Other types of public works projects may be for the general improvement of society or for the improvement of certain segments of its economy. Building schools, hospitals or libraries could be described as the former. Alternatively, a project could develop ways to access resources, such as building mines for coal, to improve the company’s economic prospects.
There are several ways to view public works projects. At any one time, most governments work to improve infrastructure or continue to fund repairs to their current infrastructure. New projects can be undertaken if they have public support, if they are considered badly needed.
One reason a government might support a large number of public works projects is to create more job opportunities. Building a hospital provides a chance for more doctors, nurses, and other people in the medical field to get jobs. Building a freeway employs engineers, construction workers and many more.
Occupancy can be short term or long term depending on the scale of the project and its use thereafter. An expressway, once built, doesn’t necessarily employ people, but it can make it easier for some to commute long distances to work. A hospital or school, on the other hand, can remain a constant source of employment in the community as long as the funds remain to continue running it.
Public works projects are often mentioned in America in conjunction with the Depression, the New Deal and the creation of the Public Works Administration (PWA). In the aftermath of the Great Depression, the government, led by President Franklin Roosevelt, sought to dramatically increase government spending on a number of construction projects. This helped to some extent by hiring workers who were facing great difficulties due to high unemployment. Another benefit was that it aided some economic recovery, although critics argued that the amounts spent were not as large as required.
Projects undertaken by the PWA include the construction of the Lincoln Tunnel and the Coulee Dam. Most people may be more familiar with the PWA buildings still found in many communities today, such as numerous schools, libraries, and hospitals. For example, over 60% of the schools built between 1933 and 1939 were PWA-initiated projects.
While much attention to public works may revolve around the New Deal, these projects certainly shouldn’t be considered exclusive to one time period or one country. New buildings or structures paid for by the government (and that usually means taxpayers) are relatively common occurrences. There is a great historical precedent for cultures improving society through these works. Ancient societies that built roads, irrigated large swathes of farmland, or built dams and canals to prevent flooding were just as concerned with addressing the problems of their unique cultures as the governments that institute these works today. Questions still remain about the individual cost of these projects, and governments may question the value of each proposed project and whether an end result of a public work justifies the investment of time and money involved.
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