Re-Imagining Infrastructure

For some reason, when I hear the word infrastructure, I think of the Romans and the legacies they’ve left us which span more than two millennia. Images of the Pont du Gard (pictured above), a 2000+ year bridge across a river in France that has survived flooding where many modern bridges did not, a still working amphitheater in Orange, roads in Jerusalem, Rome and across the Mediterranean, come to mind.  The counterpoint to this amazing durability of their infrastructure (built well before any technology advances), is the parallel reality that many more structures were also summarily dismantled and their materials re-used, purely out of practical necessity.  Ironically in modern times despite limited resources and funds, we demolish buildings that are only decades old and often landfill their materials. 

As a new national leadership transitions into office in the US, it’s an opportune time to step back and consider an area which is broadly viewed as a key priority across the political spectrum. Given the divisive and wildly disparate views on many topics, infrastructure offers a unique opportunity as a basis for substantive cooperation and collaboration, and most importantly a way for all Americans to focus on a positive, critical area which needs immediate attention.  However, to be successful long term, there must be a high level consensus on shared vision and goals for what we are trying to achieve.

Today in the US, the estimated costs to just repair or replace bridges and roads, upgrade mass transit and the energy grid, water supply and waste water treatment systems is generally considered to be in the trillions of dollars. Many of these systems were built and designed years ago for a much smaller population and very different circumstances then we face in the future. Nevertheless, the fundamental importance of effective and resilient infrastructure to enable all our society’s activities, from ensuring viable business continuity to strengthening communities and effectively using our natural resources has not changed.  The government on behalf the American people has the responsibility to thoughtfully lead and set clear direction and oversight for defining direction strategies for infrastructure by creating a framework that brings all the key stakeholders together to make this happen.  In many ways, this is litmus test on the strength of our democracy, to promote initiatives for the common good, upon which we all depend.

Ironically, getting alignment on how to support the most basic societal needs and how our shared resources are managed may be our greatest human challenge (despite a long list of other issues that capture the news today).  The American system of government over several centuries has demonstrated by its structure, a unique capacity for balancing the needs of a diverse electorate.  Now however, we all find ourselves confronted with unplanned, disruptive changes that challenge the conventional world view we’ve built and ascribed to for more than 75 years.    Many news articles strive to glean insights into the root cause of ‘how we got here’, clinically citing the dysfunctional nature of both political parties and their inability to manage our government, an iniquitous and convoluted economic system, a fractionated and sometimes subjective media, unlimited funding for political initiatives, etc.  I tend to view all these as symptoms rather than direct drivers of these issues, primarily from examining the key difference between today and some 60 years ago, and a significant difference is the role of technology. 

Advances in engineering and science during this time have driven an astounding array of technology that fundamentally changed humanity, in how we live and perhaps even think.  Yet despite all the progress, we need to acknowledge that these are merely tools, and are often a double edged sword that often brings both positive and negative consequences.  Viewing events of the past few decades from this perspective may help to better focus our efforts on what’s important.  Confronted with a seemingly endless stream of information real time that lack perspective and editorial review, degrade our ability for critical thinking and discernment. Navigating automated systems and processes that are advertised to make our lives more efficient, but can in fact lessen control of over our daily lives, encourage tribal behavior and promote a narrower, localized view of issues. 

Addressing our many infrastructure challenges can serve as a critical avenue for focusing our efforts to develop long term solutions that benefit all Americans. However, ascertaining what long term transportation requirements will be cannot be solved by merely fixing a road or repairing a bridge. Creating a resilient and adaptive water supply system that meets a variety of disparate interests (agriculture, industrial, residential) cannot be solved by simply building another treatment system or another reservoir.  Our long term national energy needs cannot be met, unless we have a long term policy that defines what our national objectives will be.  Is energy a national security issue? Does energy represent a fundamental natural resource for our country? If so, then simply building a pipeline or extracting oil and gas without clearly defined risk mitigation, with profits going to private industry and any downstream adverse affects then left to the citizens to absorb, does not benefit the country as a whole.  We as a country need to get alignment on what our ‘end in mind’ should be, for the sake of future generations.

As the Romans (and many other civilizations in the past) have demonstrated, human ingenuity is capable of creating long lasting and resilient structures.  These were crucial elements in providing the stability and success of Roman culture.  We need to re-imagine infrastructure design, for what problems we want to solve for people and society, and what new opportunities we can create, not just as some mundane project management activity, with limited impact, short term job creation and questionable long term impacts.  We also have many clear strategies and processes developed in the technology sector that can be instrumental in designing and implementing intelligent communities of the future (not just yielding large amounts of data or ‘smart gadgets’).  Since many infrastructure issues (energy, water, transportation, and environmental impacts) are regional, this is the context in which we should devise solutions.  In reality, long term success for infrastructure that meet long term societal needs, is more about strategic visioning, systems integration, information management, technology development and scale-up, and  stakeholder management. Perhaps the real value of focusing on what many might view as a mundane topic like infrastructure may be the opportunity to strengthen the social infrastructure of our citizens, where the bridges that matter most reconnect us to a common vision for America.