The Material Of City Making
In this research strand we recognise the socio-technical nature of infrastructure in making the city. While the networks of roads, electricity, water, sanitation and housing for example, are all provided through the technology of road, pipes, cables and wires, they are also socially regulated, and in many parts of the world, these supplies are provided through a mix of human and technical effort. We are particularly interested in how these socio-technical materials of city making are frequently employed as tools to exacerbate existing social difference and perpetuate marginalisation, contributing to broader processes of exclusion.
What Exactly Does Infrastructure Mean
Choates and Walters publication triggered crisis discussions and the increase in infrastructure asset management and maintenance planning in the United States.
However, public-policy discussions had one glaring obstacle there was not a precise definition for the term.
In a paper Infrastructure for the 21st Century the US National Research Council sought to clarify the meaning of public works infrastructure with the following comment:
both specific functional modes highways, streets, roads, and bridges mass transit airports and airways water supply and water resources wastewater management solid waste treatment and disposal electric power generation and transmission telecommunications and hazardous waste management and the combined system these modal elements comprise.
A comprehension of infrastructure spans not only these public works facilities, but also the operating procedures, management practices, and development policies that interact together with societal demand and the physical world to facilitate the transport of people and goods, provision of water for drinking and a variety of other uses, safe disposal of societys waste products, provision of energy where it is needed, and transmission of information within and between communities.
In Keynesian economics, the term infrastructure referred only to public assets that facilitate production it did not include private assets of the same purpose.
Examples Of Public Infrastructure
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The Infrastructure Mandate Through The Ages
The four main dimensions of the infrastructure mandate control, security, integration and growth/development are not new and have played a significant role in infrastructure development for centuries. As is the case today, the predominance of each dimension has varied, depending on the prevailing political, economic and social context. However, it has been commonplace for more than one dimension simultaneously to play a significant role in infrastructure strategy and policy. A long-term perspective on infrastructure development reveals that major changes have occurred on the back of technological change and that new dominant powers have emerged through military or economic means or a mixture of both, and have frequently exploited infrastructure in a pioneering way which has yielded advantages over competing powers.
Not only did the roadmap of the Roman Empire delineate the extent of Roman influence politically and economically, but it also influenced the reach of arts and religion, thereby further integrating the imperial territory. The spread of Christianity was linked to the pattern of Roman roads, some of which served as major pilgrimage routes in medieval times. As well as acting as a conduit for the military and trade, Roman roads thus helped bind the different races and regions of the Empire together, a phenomenon which continued to exercise an influence on the evolution of modern Europe long after the demise of the Roman Empire.
Uk Developments In Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the stuff that makes a country work. It is the basic equipment and structures that are needed for a country, region, or organisation to function properly. It is really important for the UK to have excellent infrastructure if it is to deliver a good quality of life for the people living there and to allow its businesses to compete across Europe and the world. The Government of the UK stated in 2013
The Government is determined to succeed in the global race by creating growth and delivering lasting prosperity. To build a strong economy, necessary for a fairer society, the UK needs infrastructure that competes with the best in the world. Long-term investment in infrastructure helps enhance productivity and creates jobs. It also means the UK is ready to face new challenges such as population growth and climate change and take full advantage of new technologies. The UK needs transport and communications networks that connect people and businesses resilient, cost effective and sustainable energy supplies and the science infrastructure which can give UK industry the edge over our competitors. 21st century infrastructure is needed for a 21st century Britain.
There are many ways in which we can improve our infrastructure and the exam board ask you to focus on ports, roads, rail and airports.
ROADS
PORTS
The port also has one of Europes largest logistics parks, providing access by road and railways to London and the rest of Great Britain.
| Argument |
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Urban Infrastructure: Learning Activities
Government’s Role In Infrastructure
Investing in infrastructure is nothing new for governments. Thousands of years ago, Egyptians built irrigation and transportation systems with dams and canals. Ancient Greeks and Romans built roads and aqueducts that still stand today. The 14th-century Parisian sewers have become tourist destinations.
Governments around the world have realized that investing in and maintaining a healthy infrastructure is an important government function. Australia’s Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development claims that “It is an investment that has a multiplier effect throughout the economy, generating lasting economic, social and environmental benefits.”
In an age of terrorist threats and attacks, the U.S. has stepped up efforts to secure “critical infrastructure,” extending the list of examples to systems related to Information and communications, gas and oil production/storage/transportation, and even banking and finance. The list is the subject of an ongoing debate.
“”Critical infrastructures now include national monuments , where an attack might cause a large loss of life or adversely affect the nations morale. They also include the chemical industry….A fluid definition of what constitutes a critical infrastructure could complicate policymaking and actions.” Congressional Research Service, 2003
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What Is Public Infrastructure
Public infrastructure refers to infrastructure facilities, systems, and structures that are developed, owned, and operated by the government. It includes all infrastructure facilities that are open to the general public for use.
Infrastructure includes all essential systems and facilities that allow the smooth flow of an economys day-to-day activities and enhance the peoples standard of living. It includes basic facilities such as roads, water supply, electricity, and telecommunications.
What Is The Most Important Part Of An It Infrastructure
Network connectivity is the most fundamental part of any IT infrastructure. You and your employees will depend on a variety of services on a daily basis. These include everything from sending emails to clients and accessing project management tools to videoconferencing with colleagues all over the world.
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Why Does Critical Infrastructure Security Matter
Critical infrastructure often encompasses industrial control systems , including supervisory control and data acquisition systems, which are used to automate industrial processes in critical infrastructure industries. Attacks against SCADA and other industrial control systems are serious concerns. They have the potential to create wide-scale compromise in vital systems, such as transportation, oil and gas supply, electrical grids, water distribution, and wastewater collection. The connections and interdependencies between infrastructure systems and sectors mean that, if one or more functions fail or experiences a blackout, there can be an immediate, negative impact on multiple sectors. In May 2021, cybercriminals breached the Colonial Pipeline Co., which controls nearly half the gasoline, jet fuel and diesel flowing along the East Coast. Using a compromised password, the hackers took down the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., leading to shortages across the East Coast.
Financing Of Public Infrastructure
Public infrastructure is financed in a number of ways, including publicly , privately , and through public-private partnerships.
1. Taxation
Public Infrastructure may be financed through taxes, tolls, or metered user fees. Since public infrastructure is open for use by the general public, the general public pays for the infrastructure facilities through taxes.
2. Investments
Public infrastructure tends to require high-cost investment projects, the returns on which are also extremely high. Sometimes, private companies choose to invest in a countrys infrastructure projects as part of their expansion initiatives.
For example, a power and energy company opts to build railways and pipelines in a country where it wants to refine petroleum. The investment benefits both the company and the domestic economy.
3. Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships are best described as a partnership or an arrangement between two or more private organizations and the public sector. A public-private partnership is the most popular means of financing large public sector projects. It helps to spread risks and makes the economy prosperous by bringing in investment opportunities, opening up employment opportunities, and increasing the standard of living.
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The National Infrastructure Delivery Plan
The plan is for the government to invest over £100 billion in infrastructure by 2020-21, together with significant investment by the private sector, to deliver important projects that are vital to grow the economy and improve peoples lives.
In total the plan shows how over £425 billion will be spent on over 600 major projects and programmes across the UK. In addition to this a further £58 billion of public investment will be spent on social infrastructure for housing and regeneration, education, health and justice.
The Welsh Government will also take part in the infrastructure cash bonanza either directly with projects being paid for by London such as rail electrification in South Wales or the construction of a super-prison in North Wales or by having extra money devolved to the Welsh Government to spend on the priorities decided on in Wales by the Welsh population.
Some infrastructure projects are so important to Wales that the Welsh Government wants new powers to be able to borrow money to spend even more on them.
Examples Of Infrastructure In A Sentence
infrastructureinfrastructureinfrastructureWashington Postinfrastructure BostonGlobe.cominfrastructure WSJinfrastructure Los Angeles TimesinfrastructureThe Christian Science Monitorinfrastructure CNNinfrastructure CBS NewsinfrastructureChron
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘infrastructure.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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The National Infrastructure System And The Infrastructure Mandate
The NIS represents the totality of networked infrastructure located within the borders of a state. Within the literature on territoriality, the salience of the NIS is based on the states infrastructural mandate that is, a necessity by a state to infrastructure if it is to demonstrate territoriality. It is through the NIS that the state is able to establish and sustain the relationships between it and civil society and business that enable it to assert sovereignty over a demarcated space . This implies a need for the state not only to build, maintain and sustain physical, interconnected links but also to enable flows across and between these physical components. The infrastructural mandate reflects the intimacy between the capability of the state to fulfil its major social, political and economic functions and the existence of a supporting infrastructure through which these capabilities are to be realised . These four state functions reflect an amalgam of perceived roles from diverse, multi-disciplinary literature . These are inherent to what is termed here the infrastructured state that is, the capability of the state to exert territoriality through a mature, spatially complex NIS.
As a state strategy, the complexity of the infrastructure creates a number of challenges for the sustained operation of the NIS as a support to state territoriality:
Key Concepts In Urban Infrastructure
There are several ways to look at urban infrastructure beyond simply describing it. Detailed descriptions of different types of urban infrastructure and the importance they hold within the city system are lower down this page, but first we discuss the key issues that planners have to consider when deciding what infrastructure is needed in an urban area.
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Transportation And The Spatial Structure
The concepts of site and situation are fundamental to geography and transportation. While the site refers to the geographical characteristics of a specific location, its situation concerns its relationships with other locations. For instance, a port site relates to attribute such as the suitability of its harbor. In contrast, a port situation relates to its connectivity with its foreland and hinterland . Thus, all locations are relative to one another, but the situation is not a constant attribute as transportation developments change accessibility levels, and thus the relations between locations. The development of a location reflects the cumulative relationships between transport infrastructure, economic activities, and the built environment.
The following factors are particularly important in shaping the spatial structure:
Many contemporary transportation networks are inherited from the past, notably transport infrastructures. Even if since the industrial revolution, new technologies have revolutionized transportation in terms of speed, capacity, and efficiency, the spatial structure of many networks has not much changed. Two major factors can explain this inertia in the spatial structure of some transportation networks:
What Is Infrastructure In 1st Puc Economics
1. Economic infrastructure: Economic infrastructure includes energy, transportation, communication, etc. 2. Infrastructure facilities include roads, railways, ports, airports, dams, power stations, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunication facilities, educational system, health system, monetary system, etc.
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Public Sector Infrastructure Projects
Often, the national government takes responsibility for major infrastructure projects that are considered so important that they must not be allowed to fail, or are so large that no private company could take the project on. These projects generally have a direct impact on everyone in the city, not just the people who choose to use it. For example, a major ring-road will not only help the commuters who use it, but also reduce congestion in the city for everyone else by redirecting traffic away from gridlocked areas.
Hard Versus Soft Infrastructure
There are two main types of infrastructure within an urban area. The first is that described in the definition above: the built environment, meaning the physical connections between places that carry people, materials, information and energy. These fixed things include roads, railways, pipes, and cables. They are frequently called hard infrastructure or fixed infrastructure .
In a wider sense, an urban area also has a social and economic infrastructure. This refers to the institutions that need to exist for the city to be maintained. For example, we can describe the healthcare infrastructure as not only the hospital buildings but also the expertise of medical staff, money to pay for it, the legal system which allows it to happen and the political will to make adequate decisions about healthcare provision. This is known as soft infrastructure and is really about the ability to provide specialised services.
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Networks And Systems That Keep Things Moving
- Doctor of Arts, University of Albany, SUNY
- M.S., Literacy Education, University of Albany, SUNY
- B.A., English, Virginia Commonwealth University
Infrastructure is a term architects, engineers, and urban planners use to describe essential facilities, services, and organizational structures for communal use, most commonly by residents of cities and towns. Politicians often think of infrastructure in terms of how a nation can help corporations move and deliver their goodswater, electricity, sewage, and merchandise are all about movement and delivery via infrastructure.
Infra- means below, and sometimes these elements are literally below the ground, like water and natural gas supply systems. In modern environments, infrastructure is thought to be any facility we expect but don’t think about because it works for us in the background, unnoticedbelow our radar. The global information infrastructure for communications and internet involves satellites in spacenot underground at all, but we rarely think about how that last Tweet got to us so quickly.
Infrastructure is not American or exclusive to the United States. For example, engineers in nations across the globe have developed high-tech solutions for flood controlone system that protects an entire community.
All countries have infrastructure in some form, which can include these systems:
- Public parks and other types of green infrastructure
Is Network An Infrastructure
Network infrastructure comprises hardware and software, systems and devices, and it enables computing and communication between users, services, applications and processes. Anything involved in the network, from servers to wireless routers, comes together to make up a systems network infrastructure.
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How Governments Are Approaching Defending Vital Systems
Governments and the agencies responsible for critical infrastructure are evolving to meet cyber risks as well as diverse needs for more data for more users residents, patients, students and contractors in more places than ever. For example, the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack prompted U.S. President Biden to sign an executive order instructing the U.S. federal government to bring to bear the full scope of its authorities and resources to protect and secure its computer systems, whether they are cloud-based, on-premises or hybrid.
Smart Government initiatives are driving innovative approaches to how governments can make use of data from more constituents, and smart sensors are changing the way militaries use real-time data from far afield. These realities are driving a new way of operating that must also include new cybersecurity considerations. For example, in 2018 the Australian Signals Directorate issued Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents guidelines to help Australias critical infrastructure and other organizations protect the nations digital assets. These strategies are born from governments observations and experiences while responding to cybersecurity incidents and testing their security posture.