Sustainability of Infrastructure: Achieving Sustainable Cities with Sustainable Infrastructures

A number of chapters in this book describe innovative infrastructure components and practices that represent efficient ways to improve the sustainability of urban development. History teaches us, however, that the take-up of innovations depends on their social acceptability and their economics. When the frame is expanded to incorporate sustainability considerations, the relevant take-up issues need to be further widened to include the strength of political will to finance, and regulate for, more sustainable (but perhaps more costly) infrastructure, and the general governance structures needed to provide the necessary institutional environment Following from this, two major issues can be posited as threatening the provision of sustainable urban infrastructure. The first concerns how truly sustainable infrastructure that incorporates sustainable but unprofitable features is to be funded if private-public partnerships, for example, are to be the main vehicle. The second concerns the assumption that ecological sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability will generally work together so that infrastructure which improves ecological sustainability, for example, will also promote economic and social sustainability.