Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is building infrastructure for the next 20 years of growth. The city of 500,000 is located on the western tip of Lake Ontario, about 50 miles southwest of Toronto. Known affectionately as The Hammer, the urban center is ripe for development, especially given skyrocketing Toronto real estate prices.

“We have developers waiting for sewer and water infrastructure so they can start building,” says Susan Jacob, manager of the design section in...