8. Already Assembled Rights-of-WayIn addition to the tangible assets represented by physical infrastructure, centralized systems all bring with them the more intangible asset of being sited on already assembled rights-of-way. American cities and suburbs were developed on grid-like patterns. Common area physical assets were located along the grid lines. These assets included roads, streetcar and railroad lines, and utility transmission and distribution lines for gas, oil, electric, water, sewer and telecommunications services.40 These patterns resulted in the benefits of enormous efficiencies in the delivery of goods and services, and in economies of scale. The explicit recognition of these benefits occurred through multi-generation investments in these systems, and in the organizations (both governmental and non-governmental) that facilitated and developed alongside. Continued investment in these kinds of systems has advantaged European cities over their American counterparts. Pietro Nivola has documented how American public policies and investment practice have for four decades undercut these inherent economic benefits. 41 A good example of reinvestment in these rights of way relates to the modern telecommunications industry. Access to high quality capacity is limited by available bandwidth. While expanded use of microwave and satellite communications can address some of the apparent capacity gap, the frequency spectrum for transmission is a fixed commodity. However, there is virtually no limit to the amount of glass fiber that can be installed. The trick is to find places to lay it in, and to provide access to the "last mile" of service directly to homes and businesses, which is where underutilized existing rights of way become relevant. 42 The majority of American communities are not yet wired for wide-spectrum telecommunications. There is no plan yet in sight to guarantee that the "last mile" of high-capacity hookup will reach older and lower income communities, who will nonetheless help pay for system upgrade and modernization.43 In places as diverse as Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and St. Louis, transit agencies have leased rights-of-way to new telecommunications providers for high capacity fiber optic carriers. In Los Angeles and St. Louis, and in fourteen communities in Ohio, partnerships with telecom providers have resulted in neighborhood-based telework centers that combine training, work, and access opportunities.44 Oil pipeline companies in Southern California have provided right-of-way space for these functions. In several cases this occurred at low-cost or no cost as part of a settlement for environmental damages. In Tulsa, leasing of unused "wildcat" producer pipeline space has resulted in that city enjoying the largest base of airline reservations' jobs in the country. 45 It is instructive to distinguish between the types of expanded uses for existing rights-of way. Some are being used for their originally intended purposes. For example, old spaces originally set aside by portions of freight rail operations by national shippers have become "orphaned" properties due to industry restructuring and/or abandonment of service territory. In many cases, these "short lines" of between 1 and 300 miles in length have become profitable stand-alone operations providing valuable links to the national intermodal (truck and train) shipping system. In other cases, freight line abandonment has resulted in the development of recreational trails, and greenways providing valuable ecosystem services including habitat, flood protection, and aquifer (water supply) recharge pathways.46
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