Infrastructure typically refers to the assets that support an economy, such as roading, water supply, wastewater, stormwater, power supply, flood management, recreational, and other assets. The Dwight D Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System (or simply the Interstate System) California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties of water of various qualities to different users Distinguish from Wastwater (a lake in the Lake District in northwest England Stormwater is a term used to describe water that originates during precipitation events Power supply is a reference to a source of Electrical power. A device or system that supplies Electrical or other types of Energy to an output load A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge In the past these assets have typically been owned and managed by local or central government. The investment in these assets is made with the intention that dividends will accrue through increased productivity, improved living conditions and greater prosperity. These various elements may collectively be termed civil infrastructure, municipal infrastructure, or simply public works, although they may be developed and operated as private-sector or government enterprises. Public works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the State on behalf of the Community. In Economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private Profit and is not controlled by the State. A more generic definition of infrastructure is the network of assets "where the system as a whole is intended to be maintained indefinitely at a specified standard of service by the continuing replacement and refurbishment of its components. "[1]
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Alternative definitions
In other applications, infrastructure may refer to information technology, informal and formal channels of communication, software development tools, political and social networks, or beliefs held by members of particular groups. Information technology ( IT) as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA is "the study design development implementation support Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as Still underlying these more general uses is the concept that infrastructure provides organizing structure and support for the system or organization it serves, whether it is a city, a nation, or a corporation. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Economically, infrastructure could be seen to be the structural elements of an economy which allow for production of goods and services without themselves being part of the production process, e. g. roads allow the transport of raw materials and finished products.
Typical attributes
Infrastructure assets generally have the following attributes:
• They are large networks constructed over generations which are not often replaced as a whole system
• The system or network has a long and indefinite life because its service capacity is maintained in perpetuity (by continual refurbishment or replacement of components as they wear out).
• The system components are interdependent and not usually capable of subdivision or separate disposal, and consequently are not readily disposable within the commercial marketplace.
• The system interdependency may limit a component life to a lesser period than the expected life of the component itself.
• The assets have a high initial cost and a value which is difficult to determine.
An asset can be considered to be part of the infrastructure when it is an integral part of a total system, i. e. if the asset is removed the system is incomplete, or the particular asset is necessary for the system to deliver the required standard of service.
Critical infrastructure
The term "critical infrastructure" has been widely adopted to distinguish those infrastructure elements that, if significantly damaged or destroyed, would cause serious disruption of the dependent system or organization. Storm, flood, or earthquake damage leading to loss of certain transportation routes in a city (for example, bridges crossing a river), could make it impossible for people to evacuate and for emergency services to operate; these routes would be deemed critical infrastructure. A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface and strongly implying Severe weather. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer Emergency services are organizations which ensure Public safety by addressing different emergencies Similarly, an on-line booking system might be critical infrastructure for an airline. An airline provides air transport services for Passengers or Freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license
History
According to etymology online [2], the word infrastructure has been around since 1927 and meant: The installations that form the basis for any operation or system. Originally in a military sense. The word is a combination of "infra", meaning "below" and "structure".
The term came to prominence in the United States in the 1980s following the publication of America in Ruins (Choate and Walter, 1981), which initiated a public-policy discussion of the nation’s "infrastructure crisis", purported to be caused by decades of inadequate investment and poor maintenance of public works.
That public-policy discussion was hampered by lack of a precise definition for infrastructure. The U. S. National Research Council committee cited Senator Stafford, who commented at hearings before the Subcommittee on Water Resources, Transportation, and Infrastructure; Committee on Environment and Public Works; that "probably the word infrastructure means different things to different people. Robert Theodore Stafford ( August 8, 1913 – December 23, 2006) was an American Politician from Vermont. The US Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Subcommittee on Transportation Safety Infrastructure Security and Water Quality is one of six subcommittees of the U The US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a Standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. " The NRC panel then sought to rectify the situation by adopting the term "public works infrastructure", referring to ". . . 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve A street is a Public thoroughfare in the built environment It is a Public parcel of land adjoining Buildings in an urban context A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. A bridge is a Structure built to span a Gorge, Valley, Road, railroad track, River, Body of water An airport is a location where Aircraft such as airplanes, Helicopters and blimps take off and land Water supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties of water of various qualities to different users Water resources are sources of Water that are useful or potentially useful to Humans Uses of water include Agricultural, industrial, Household Distinguish from Wastwater (a lake in the Lake District in northwest England Waste management is the collection Transport, processing, Recycling or disposal of Waste materials Electric power is defined as the rate at which Electrical energy is transferred by an Electric circuit. The term hazardous waste comprises all toxic chemicals radioactive materials, and biologic or infectious waste.
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 society's waste products, provision of energy where it is needed, and transmission of information within and between communities. Public works are the construction or engineering projects carried out by the State on behalf of the Community. "[3] In subsequent years the word has grown in popularity and been applied with increasing generality to suggest the internal framework discernible in any technology system or business organization. Companies law (or the law of business associations) is the field of Law concerning business and other organizations
See Also
References
- ^ Association of Local Government Engineers New Zealand: "Infrastructure Asset Management Manual", June 1998 - Edition 1. An Asset Management Plan (AMP is a tactical plan for managing an organisation's infrastructure and other assets in order to deliver an agreed standard of service Critical infrastructure is a term used by Governments to describe Assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy Infrastructure Asset Management is the discipline of managing Infrastructure assets that underpin an economy such as Roading Water supply, Wastewater 1
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/infrastructure (accessed: April 24, 2008)
- ^ (Infrastructure for the 21st Century, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1987)
External links
- NZ National Asset Management Steering Group
- UK institute of Asset Management
- World Bank Infrastructure for Development
- Next Generation Infrastructures international research programme
- What is a megaproject
Dictionary
infrastructure
-noun
- An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system
- The basic facilities, services and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society