This study offers an historical overview of how major public infrastructure projects were accomplished in the Los Angeles region in the absence of a formal regional general-purpose government. This study’s focus is on the governance and financing of Southern California’s “crown jewels”—water, port, and airport megaprojects crucial to the region’s improbable yet phenomenal 20th-century growth. Specifically, the authors (a) review scholarly debates regarding regional governance arrangements and their effectiveness; (b) assess the role of public infrastructure projects in the region’s historical development and looming 21st-century challenges; (c) analyze the performance, governance, and finance challenges of a regional agency—the Metropolitan Water District—versus municipal agencies—the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, and Los Angeles International Airport; (d) evaluate a failed regional initiative—the Southern California Regional Airport Authority; and (e) extrapolate the historical lessons to be gleaned from the region’s 20th-century strategic investment framework.
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