Sustainable urban infrastructure is an emerging multidisciplinary field that spans engineering, social, and environmental sciences. Its focal points are governance, services, metabolism, e-city development and resilience.
Studies of all three pillars of sustainability must be undertaken in order to create resilient cities against natural threats and climate change, while simultaneously supporting their citizens to thrive.
Water
Urban water infrastructure is essential to the sustainable development (SD) of cities, yet its availability and quality can be restricted due to environmental and economic concerns. Communities therefore seek innovative water systems that offer multiple services at once while remaining sustainable – for instance regenerative rain gardens are one option that may offer multiple services simultaneously.
Regenerative infrastructure projects are creating spaces of regeneration by converting concrete and tarmac built areas into green, absorbent zones that reduce flooding risk while simultaneously sequestering carbon dioxide emissions and providing resilience support – an integral element in mitigating disasters and climate change impacts.
An effective critical approach to UGI and SD involves considering their wider social and political contexts. Research shows how urban infrastructure systems can become instruments of domination and inequality through power structures that dictate who benefits and who doesn’t. As such, interdisciplinary research must address questions of equity and justice when exploring these urban infrastructure assemblies.
Energy
Sustainable urban infrastructure is integral to creating vibrant communities that can withstand climate change. Building and maintaining these systems requires taking an integrated approach that involves engineering evaluations, economic analyses and appropriate public policy implementation.
Green infrastructure not only reduces carbon emissions and increases power system efficiencies, but it can also offer numerous ecosystem services to both humans and nature – such as cooling urban temperatures, absorbing excess rainfall and providing habitats for endangered species.
Reykjavik, Iceland is an example of a city using regenerative infrastructure to meet its sustainability goals. Regenerative infrastructure includes renewable energy and public transport to reduce car traffic while encouraging walking and cycling among its residents, free access to electric cars and capture and reuse stormwater, sequester carbon emissions as well as providing water-efficient landscaping to mitigate flooding or drought issues – this innovative approach works toward creating a sustainable future that works for all.
Transportation
Sustainable urban infrastructure strategies must include transport resources that reduce dependence on cars while offering alternatives such as public bus systems, rail transit and bike lanes. Such resources save money in terms of gas costs, parking fees and maintenance expenses while simultaneously creating jobs, improving health outcomes, setting cities on a path towards sustainability and long-term economic prosperity.
Green transportation strategies prioritize pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, encouraging people to walk or bicycle instead of driving themselves, which in turn reduces both air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainable transportation systems may employ energy-efficient buses, trains and railways that run on electricity generated domestically as well as fuel made locally – thus decreasing our reliance on foreign oil and other fossil fuels. Cisterns or retention ponds could also be implemented as measures to capture stormwater for infiltration purposes and decrease flooding or groundwater contamination.
Waste
Economic tools exist that can assist in waste reduction and recycling efforts, including fee systems, input/output taxes, pollution charges and performance bonds. Unfortunately, such measures tend to be less developed in low-income Asian and Pacific Region countries (ESCAP 1997).
Urban resource infrastructure encompasses numerous features designed to promote sustainability, from walking/biking paths and parks to green roofs and urban forests/nature preserves/other green spaces that serve as biodiversity refuges while attenuating water, air, and climate quality issues.