The spatial and temporal dynamics of infrastructure development disparity – From assessment to analyses

Infrastructure development relies on the allocation of resources which is usually uneven across cities. Socioeconomic instability stems from such development disparity that consequently affects the decision processes focusing on sustainable development. This study proposes an approach to examine the temporal dynamics of infrastructure development disparity at multiple spatial scales. Starting from the selection of spatial scales, time-series and infrastructure development indicators fitting the study requirements, the Infrastructure Development Index (IDI) values are computed through sequential steps involving data normalization and assessment of indicator weights through analytic hierarchy process. The sectoral, IDI and disparity analyses are then carried out using coefficient of variance (Cv), temporal IDI value change, and Cv/sample t-test methods, respectively. The methodology was applied to a case study area, the five city districts (Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi) of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, at town, city district and province scales (the province scale encompassed only the five city districts). Three time periods (2002, 2007 and 2012) and five infrastructure development indicators were considered. The results show that the development status in Lahore (provincial capital) was better compared to the other city districts. The temporal trend, however, indicated that the provision of infrastructure facilities has improved in the study area over the past years. The proposed methods performed quite well at identifying the development gaps at multiple spatial scales, though the approach can be enhanced by incorporating more indicators.