Sustainable urban infrastructure meets the needs of today while ensuring future generations can thrive. It can mitigate climate change impacts, such as extreme weather events and rising sea levels that threaten transport, energy, water, and housing systems.
Resilience and sustainability have emerged as key paradigms in urban infrastructure design. This article explores approaches that integrate these two pillars of future-ready cities.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from life’s challenges. It can be a key factor in overcoming climate change, economic slowdown, and social inequalities. Sustainable infrastructure can be part of the solution, as long as we invest in sustainable practices that promote economic activity and quality of life without harming the environment.
While genetics, early life experiences, and luck play a role in resilience, it is also possible to learn specific skills that can help you be resilient. These include learning how to break out of negative thought patterns and reframe your thoughts when facing adversity. You can also develop healthy habits such as getting enough sleep and exercising regularly.
These new guidelines will help CDOT meet its sustainability goals and reduce the impact of construction projects on the City’s natural resources. They will also help the public understand the importance of green infrastructure and its benefits to our community. The GI Hub’s Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Indicators database provides further reference materials and data insights.
Sustainability
In an age of climate change and resource depletion, sustainability is key to building cities that will thrive in the future. Sustainable urban development aims to reduce environmental impact and improve livability while also fostering economic resilience. Cities like Amsterdam, Curitiba and Tokyo are paving the way for sustainable development by prioritizing walkable neighborhoods and efficient transportation systems.
Sustainable cities integrate green infrastructure, which supports ecosystem services such as stormwater management and water purification, biodiversity enhancement, and urban cooling. Unlike traditional grey infrastructure, which focuses on utility, green infrastructure offers a more holistic approach to urban planning.
In order to attract investors, governments need to offer clear and transparent legal and regulatory frameworks that promote sustainable infrastructure. A lack of agreed definitions and taxonomies can inhibit investment and lead to unintended stranded assets. To address these challenges, the GI Hub has developed a set of tools to support sustainable infrastructure planning and investment. These include a database of green infrastructure projects and a new framework on sustainability-related investments, endorsed by the G20.
Social equity
Urban infrastructure is often prone to damage and requires regular maintenance. A sustainable development design that utilises self-healing technology reduces the need for maintenance and helps achieve zero waste, as well as minimizing the impact on the surrounding ecosystem.
While many people understand the concept of equity, they don’t realise that it isn’t just about finances or property. In fact, it has much more to do with the quality of a city and its ability to provide for everyone.
A city that provides low-income families with good schools fosters lifelong learning and a growth mindset. It also promotes the social and economic mobility of children. By contrast, a city that neglects its public spaces and air pollution contributes to deteriorating health outcomes. These issues can be addressed through structural solutions that reallocate resources and improve accessibility for all. This can be achieved by integrating environmental performance goals into the design of existing and new infrastructure, and implementing innovative and holistic approaches to urban planning.
Governance
As the global challenges of climate change and accelerating urbanisation intensify, governance needs to become a key element in sustainable urban infrastructure. This includes a focus on equitable development, the ability to make decisions in a timely manner, and the capacity to engage with all stakeholders.
A key challenge is the lack of financing for urban infrastructure projects, with a large proportion of cities unable to access international finance. Many countries prohibit cities from borrowing and others require a sovereign guarantee, which can be difficult to secure. In addition, investment in infrastructure requires a thorough project preparation process. This can be expensive, especially for developing economies.
In order to overcome these barriers, some cities are establishing essential services as publicly owned utility companies or Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). This approach allows them to access funding without the need for a sovereign guarantee and thereby reduce the risks for investors. The GCGF could support these initiatives by mitigating the risk of investments in projects developed through utilities or SPVs.