An Impact Case Study of Improved Road Infrastructure on Urban Communities in Samoa

Abstract

This study explores the social-economic impacts of the upgraded Vaitele Street on a selected number of households residing along a two-hundred-meter stretch of the Vaitele Street. Studies conducted elsewhere in the developed and developing world, report a significant positive impact of infrastructure on economic growth, income and productivity. Massive donor funded infrastructure investment particularly in major road and drainage construction have been implemented in Samoa for the last fifteen years to support development efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, now replaced by Sustainable Development Goals. However, there has been a dearth of impact studies both at the national and local levels to gauge how road upgrades among other infrastructure developments are impacting the lives of the general population. This study intends to fill this knowledge gap, by documenting the social –economic experiences of twelve households with road frontage properties and how they are making the most of the opportunities presented by the upgraded Vaitele Street.