Urban Infrastructure Planning Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Urban planners, Housing authority managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PIF-014

Before you join: Participants should understand basic urban development or infrastructure project processes and be comfortable reading budgets, plans and simple financial tables.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Urban housing projects fail when roads, drainage, water, sanitation, power, public transport, schools and public spaces are planned as separate packages or funded after construction starts. Municipalities, housing authorities, developers and financiers must align land use, infrastructure capacity, service standards, capital costs, operating costs and revenue arrangements before commitments are made. Where private participation is proposed, weak project preparation can produce unaffordable tariffs, unfunded lifecycle obligations, disputed interfaces and contracts that do not allocate risk to the party able to manage it.

This course equips participants to plan and finance integrated urban infrastructure within housing and mixed-use developments. It covers spatial planning, site servicing, trunk infrastructure, utility coordination, social infrastructure, climate resilience, project screening, demand analysis, lifecycle costing, affordability assessment, PPP structuring and financial modelling. Participants learn to distinguish public responsibilities from developer obligations, assemble a project pipeline, select a delivery model, prepare an investment case and test whether a PPP creates value compared with public procurement.

Teaching combines focused briefings with worked urban development cases, group analysis, contract and financial-model reviews, stakeholder simulations and structured application to participant projects. Cases draw on affordable housing estates, urban regeneration districts, transit-oriented development and municipal service extensions. Participants progressively prepare an integrated infrastructure and finance package for a realistic development area, then complete a reviewed capstone proposal including plans, costs, funding sources, risk allocation and procurement recommendations.

The course is designed for public-sector and private-sector professionals who already work with urban development, housing delivery, municipal infrastructure, investment planning or PPP transactions and need a disciplined method for joining these decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Prepare an integrated infrastructure plan linking housing density, service capacity and phasing
  • Apply land-use, transport and utility coordination methods to housing development proposals
  • Develop lifecycle cost estimates and affordability assessments for urban infrastructure packages
  • Construct a project financial model with capital, operating, revenue and funding assumptions
  • Compare public procurement, concession and availability-payment PPP delivery options
  • Allocate project risks using a PPP risk matrix and mitigation plan
  • Prepare a bankability assessment covering revenue, credit support and lender requirements
  • Present a complete urban infrastructure investment and PPP procurement proposal

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce credible infrastructure requirements for housing and mixed-use development proposals
  • Challenge unsupported PPP assumptions using lifecycle costs, risk allocation and affordability tests
  • Communicate infrastructure funding choices clearly to planners, financiers and senior decision-makers
  • Build a practical project finance model for municipal or development-sponsored schemes
  • Contribute stronger evidence to project approvals, donor submissions and procurement decisions

For your organisation

  • Reduce unfunded infrastructure commitments in housing approvals and development agreements
  • Improve coordination between planning, utilities, finance and procurement functions
  • Create more investable urban project pipelines with clearer public obligations
  • Select PPP structures that match revenue certainty, affordability and risk exposure
  • Strengthen business cases for capital budgeting, lender engagement and market sounding

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can map the infrastructure systems and institutional relationships required for serviced housing delivery.

  • Housing delivery chain from land assembly through occupancy and asset operations
  • Site infrastructure distinguished from trunk networks and regional service systems
  • Infrastructure service levels matched to density, tenure and household affordability
  • Municipal, utility, developer and community responsibilities mapped through RACI
  • Development sequencing aligned with access, utilities, social facilities and occupancy
  • Common coordination failures causing stranded housing assets and cost escalation

Participants can translate a land-use concept into coordinated infrastructure requirements.

  • Land-use plans tested against infrastructure carrying capacity and service catchments
  • Density scenarios calculated using gross-to-net ratios and plot yield assumptions
  • Transit-oriented development principles applied to station-area housing schemes
  • Street hierarchies linked with emergency access, freight movement and walkability
  • Utility corridors reserved within layouts before plot subdivision and construction
  • Social infrastructure catchments sized for schools, clinics, parks and markets

Participants can prepare a demand baseline and forecast for infrastructure investment planning.

  • Baseline datasets assembled from census, utility, cadastral and mobility records
  • Population projections built using cohort-component and household formation assumptions
  • Water demand estimated from per-capita consumption and non-revenue water factors
  • Peak wastewater flows calculated using dry-weather and infiltration allowances
  • Transport trip generation estimated by land use, mode share and occupancy
  • Demand scenarios stress-tested for delayed occupancy and informal settlement growth

Participants can specify coordinated site-servicing requirements and critical network interfaces.

  • Water supply options compared through source yield, pressure and storage requirements
  • Gravity sewer layouts checked against topography, gradients and downstream capacity
  • Stormwater systems designed using rational method parameters and detention storage
  • Electricity loads forecast from dwelling typologies, diversity factors and connections
  • Solid waste collection planned around access geometry, storage and transfer points
  • Utility interface register records approvals, tie-ins, dependencies and ownership

Participants can integrate mobility and public-realm investments into housing infrastructure plans.

  • Complete Streets principles applied to housing access roads and collector corridors
  • Pedestrian catchments measured using network distance rather than straight lines
  • Public transport service plans matched with density, frequency and interchange demand
  • Parking requirements tested against affordability, mode share and land consumption
  • Universal design requirements incorporated into crossings, footways and public facilities
  • Public realm maintenance responsibilities assigned through asset ownership schedules

Participants can incorporate climate, environmental and disaster-risk measures into infrastructure options.

  • Climate risk screening uses hazard, exposure and vulnerability assessment matrices
  • Flood pathways mapped from catchment topography, drainage failures and blocked outfalls
  • Nature-based drainage compared with conventional pipes using lifecycle cost criteria
  • Heat mitigation planned through canopy cover, cool materials and shaded routes
  • Environmental and social impact assessment scoping identifies priority receptors early
  • Resettlement risks screened using land acquisition, displacement and livelihood criteria

Participants can sequence infrastructure packages around development triggers and delivery dependencies.

  • Critical path method identifies enabling works, approvals and network connection dependencies
  • Phasing plans link housing completions with service capacity commissioning milestones
  • Trigger-based infrastructure schedules define thresholds for developer and municipal works
  • Temporary services assessed against transition costs, safety and asset compatibility
  • Interface management plans assign control of boundaries between contract packages
  • Implementation schedules integrate procurement lead times, permits and utility outages

Participants can estimate capital and lifecycle costs for integrated infrastructure alternatives.

  • Work breakdown structures separate land, networks, buildings and professional services
  • Quantity-based estimates use unit rates, contingencies and escalation assumptions
  • Lifecycle cost analysis includes renewals, operations, maintenance and residual values
  • Net present value compares infrastructure options over defined asset lives
  • Cost benchmarks normalized by dwelling, hectare, connection and service population
  • Optimism bias allowances applied to early-stage cost estimates and schedules

Participants can assess household affordability and identify appropriate subsidy mechanisms.

  • Household affordability ratios test housing, utility and transport payment burdens
  • Willingness-to-pay evidence distinguished from ability-to-pay household income data
  • Tariff structures compared using fixed charges, volumetric rates and lifeline blocks
  • Capital subsidies separated from operating subsidies and targeted support mechanisms
  • Cross-subsidy options assessed across land uses, customer classes and service areas
  • Fiscal commitments recorded through multi-year budget and contingent liability schedules

Participants can assemble realistic funding plans for public and shared infrastructure.

  • Municipal revenue sources assessed through own-source income and intergovernmental transfers
  • Capital investment plans prioritize projects using strategic fit and readiness criteria
  • Development charges calculated from attributable infrastructure costs and growth forecasts
  • Land value capture instruments compared for legal basis and collection timing
  • Municipal bonds evaluated against revenue pledges, debt limits and credit quality
  • Blended finance structures combine grants, debt, equity and viability-gap funding

Participants can screen urban infrastructure projects and recommend a justified delivery option.

  • Project concept notes define service problem, beneficiaries and measurable outputs
  • Multi-criteria analysis ranks options using cost, equity, resilience and feasibility
  • Theory of change connects infrastructure interventions with intended development outcomes
  • Economic appraisal distinguishes financial cash flows from economic costs and benefits
  • Value-for-money screening compares public procurement with potential PPP arrangements
  • Gateway reviews test strategic case, affordability, readiness and market interest

Participants can select a PPP model suited to project revenues and public service obligations.

  • Management, lease, concession and availability-payment models compared systematically
  • Design-build-finance-maintain structures matched to asset condition and payment certainty
  • User-pay revenues assessed for collection risk, tariff control and demand volatility
  • Availability payments specified through service outputs, deductions and indexation
  • Hybrid PPP structures combine public capital grants with private operating obligations
  • Unsolicited proposal risks addressed through transparent competitive procurement procedures

Participants can develop a risk allocation matrix and core contractual protections.

  • Risk register identifies probability, impact, owner, mitigation and residual exposure
  • Construction risk allocated through design responsibility, completion tests and damages
  • Demand risk assessed against occupancy, tariff policy and competing service providers
  • Force majeure provisions distinguish relief events, compensation and termination rights
  • Change-in-law mechanisms address cost impacts and regulatory responsibility
  • Performance regimes connect key performance indicators with deductions and remedies

Participants can build and interpret a project-level PPP financial model.

  • Model structure separates assumptions, calculations, outputs and sensitivity cases
  • Sources-and-uses schedules reconcile construction cost, financing fees and contingencies
  • Operating cash flows model revenues, expenses, renewals and working capital
  • Debt service coverage ratio calculated from cash available for debt service
  • Equity returns measured using internal rate of return and distributions
  • Sensitivity analysis tests inflation, demand, capex, interest rates and delays

Participants can identify bankability gaps and prepare actions to address them.

  • Bankability assessment reviews revenue certainty, counterparties, permits and security
  • Lender due diligence covers technical, legal, environmental and insurance evidence
  • Direct agreements define lender step-in rights and cure periods
  • Credit enhancement options include guarantees, escrow accounts and payment reserves
  • Termination payment formulas address debt, equity and default scenarios
  • Financial close conditions tracked through a responsibilities and evidence register

Participants can plan a transparent procurement process and targeted market engagement.

  • Procurement routes selected using project complexity, competition and preparation maturity
  • Market sounding tests bidder appetite, risk concerns and financing capacity
  • Request for qualification criteria assess technical, financial and relevant experience
  • Request for proposal documents specify outputs, payment mechanisms and evaluation rules
  • Bid evaluation models combine quality, price, risk and deliverability scores
  • Negotiation protocols preserve competition, audit trails and approval authority

Participants can establish governance and engagement arrangements for complex urban projects.

  • Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interest, rights, concerns and engagement methods
  • Community engagement plans schedule disclosure, consultation, feedback and grievance channels
  • Interagency steering committees define decisions, memberships, escalation and reporting
  • Project governance charters clarify sponsor, accountable owner and delegated authorities
  • Gender and social inclusion analysis identifies differential access and safety impacts
  • Landowner negotiations documented through transparent valuation and compensation procedures

Participants can monitor construction delivery across multiple infrastructure contracts and interfaces.

  • Integrated master schedules coordinate housing works, utilities and public infrastructure
  • Interface registers track design inputs, access conditions and acceptance boundaries
  • Earned value management measures planned value, earned value and actual cost
  • Change control procedures assess scope, cost, schedule and approval consequences
  • Quality assurance plans define inspections, tests, records and nonconformance actions
  • Commissioning plans sequence testing, handover, training and operational readiness

Participants can define operational performance, asset management and contract-monitoring arrangements.

  • ISO 55000 principles link asset objectives, lifecycle plans and decision evidence
  • Asset registers capture location, condition, criticality, ownership and replacement dates
  • Service level agreements define response times, availability and customer standards
  • Key performance indicators track continuity, losses, safety and complaint resolution
  • Independent engineer roles verify construction, testing and operating performance
  • Contract management plans govern notices, claims, payment and performance reviews

Participants can build, review and present a complete integrated urban infrastructure investment and PPP procurement proposal.

  • Development brief defines target households, land use, density and service objectives
  • Integrated infrastructure plan coordinates site works, trunk systems and social facilities
  • Lifecycle cost model establishes capital, operating, renewal and contingency requirements
  • Funding strategy combines municipal resources, developer contributions and private finance
  • PPP option appraisal recommends delivery model, payment mechanism and risk allocation
  • Procurement roadmap schedules approvals, market engagement, tendering and financial close

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Integrated urban infrastructure planning template
  2. Infrastructure demand and phasing model
  3. Lifecycle cost and affordability calculator
  4. PPP risk allocation matrix
  5. Project bankability assessment checklist
  6. Urban infrastructure investment and procurement proposal

Who should attend

  • Urban planners — align land-use approvals with infrastructure capacity and delivery phasing
  • Housing authority managers — prepare serviced housing programmes with credible funding plans
  • Municipal infrastructure officers — coordinate trunk services, developer obligations and public budgets
  • PPP unit specialists — screen urban projects and structure commercially credible transactions
  • Real estate development managers — integrate site servicing, utilities and public infrastructure commitments
  • Development finance professionals — assess project preparation, affordability and bankability evidence

Skills and tools covered

Infrastructure integration planningPPP financial modellingLifecycle cost analysisRisk allocationMunicipal financeProject bankability

Tools and standards

RACI matrix, Critical Path Method, ISO 55000, Value for Money assessment

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by urban housing and municipal infrastructure cases. Participants interpret plans, demand data, cost schedules, financing terms and sample PPP clauses; compare delivery options; and test assumptions through group exercises and procurement simulations. Each module feeds a progressively developed project package, allowing participants to apply tools to a housing estate, regeneration area or live work assignment. Facilitated peer review identifies gaps in service integration, affordability, risk allocation and bankability before the capstone presentation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic urban development or infrastructure project processes and be comfortable reading budgets, plans and simple financial tables. Experience in a municipality, housing agency, utility, developer, PPP unit, infrastructure funder or advisory role is useful. The course assumes familiarity with common project terms such as capital cost, operating cost, procurement and stakeholder. Participants do not need prior PPP transaction experience, advanced financial modelling skills, engineering design qualifications or legal drafting expertise. Financial concepts are introduced before they are applied in project assessments.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have basic familiarity with urban development, infrastructure delivery or project budgeting. Prior PPP transaction experience and advanced financial modelling are not required.

Bring a laptop for reviewing templates and financial-model examples. Participants may also bring a non-confidential housing, municipal infrastructure or PPP concept to use during application planning.

It suits professionals responsible for planning, funding, procuring or coordinating infrastructure linked to housing and mixed-use development. It is particularly relevant to municipalities, housing agencies, utilities, developers and PPP units.

General PPP courses often concentrate on transaction structures and procurement. This course starts with spatial planning, site servicing, utility capacity, public-realm needs and affordability before applying PPP finance and contract methods.

Participants can use the planning, costing, risk and funding templates to strengthen a live project concept or capital programme. The methods support discussions with utilities, finance teams, developers, lenders and procurement authorities.

The first week develops integrated planning, demand, costing, affordability and funding work. The second week addresses PPP structuring, financial modelling, procurement, governance, operations and the final capstone proposal; each training day runs 08:30-16:30 with about 6.5 contact hours.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.