The Strong Towns book goes into this in more detail. What you say might be the case sometimes, and when it is the case, the money unlocked is reflected in highe

The Strong Towns book goes into this in more detail. What you say might be the case sometimes, and when it is the case, the money unlocked is reflected in higher property taxes, so the municipal balance sheet stays even. If the town can't somehow get higher property taxes for its improvements, then it spent more money than it will make on the project. If you do that enough time, municipalities start going bankrupt. If people aren't willing to pay higher property taxes for the improvement, then it isn't really helping them.