Report Urges New Framework for Planning Critical Infrastructure

• Published in: Civil engineering (New York, N.Y. 1983) Vol. 79; no. 6; p. 20
• Main Author: Shuster, Laurie A
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York American Society of Civil Engineers 01.06.2009
• Subjects: 21st century; Collaboration; Design build construction; Infrastructure; Sustainable design; United States > US
• ISSN: 0885-7024; 2381-0688

A report by ad hoc committee of the National Research Council (NRC), based in Washington, DC, states that if the US is to upgrade the most important facets of its infrastructure to meet the needs of the 21st century it will have to take a broader approach and not merely fix or replace systems one at a time. The report, Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Systems -- A Framework for Meeting 21st Century Imperatives, is the result of a two-day NRC workshop held in May 2008 that sought to delineate the fundamental challenges that will have to be addressed in developing infrastructure throughout the nation that is physically, socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. In adopting the approach, the nation should, the report states, focus first on those facets of infrastructure that provide essential services, that is, those involving drinking water, wastewater, transportation, energy, and communications.