Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects that are financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid in whole or in part out of public funds. Public works can be multi-dimensional, touching on multiple arenas including recreation, aesthetics, economy, law, and neighborhood. They represent any constructed object that augments a nations physical infrastructure. Public works can also include digital public infrastructure projects.
Public works can be administered by a Public Works Department, which is responsible for planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the county’s infrastructure, such as public roads, transportation systems, bridges, water, wastewater, drainage, and solid waste disposal systems. The department is administered by the Director of Public Works, who is appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and is assisted by necessary administrative and support staff.
Public works can also refer to a public employment program or public works program, which is the provision of employment by the creation of predominantly public goods at a prescribed wage for those unable to find alternative employment. Public works programs are activities that entail the payment of a wage (in cash or in kind) by the state or by an Agent.
In summary, public works are infrastructure projects that are financed and procured by a government body for the greater community, and they can include physical and digital infrastructure projects, as well as public employment programs.
