Sustainability

14Sustainable Infrastructure

Gilbert Hinge¹, Rao Y. Surampalli², and Manish Kumar Goyal^{1, 3}

¹Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India

²Global Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, Lenexa, KS, USA

³Discipline of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India

14.1 Infrastructure − An Introduction

Infrastructure consists of basic systems and facilities, which include transportation, buildings, communication systems, water supply, power supply, etc. Infrastructure development is essential to facilitate a country's economic development and reduce poverty. In recent years, globalization has led to an increase in domestic and international infrastructure development and connectivity at an unprecedented rate. Globalization can be defined simply as: “the processes of collaboration and coordination among the people, organization, and governments of various countries, a method determined by universal trade and investment and supported by information technology” (Léautier and Lemer 2006).

Globalization has made the development of transport and communication feasible. This means that the world is becoming more and more interconnected, and people and countries can exchange information, goods, knowledge and services with ease. Nowadays, data and information are promptly conveyed and universally available, making geographical vicinity less important in the success of any infrastructure project. With globalization, the ...