An infrastructure ecology approach for urban infrastructure sustainability and resiliency

Abstract

The concept of ecology can be extended to the urban infrastructure as well when the infrastructure components are not analyzed individually but as an interlinked system, which then can be termed as `infrastructure ecology'. Urban infrastructure can be envisioned as an integrated network of four major infrastructure components, which are the water infrastructure, the energy infrastructure, the transportation infrastructure and the land-use pattern or the urban form. Two of the more prominent interactions are between water and energy and that between energy and transportation, but these inter-relations extend beyond the water-energy nexus to all individual infrastructure components. A system level integrative approach reveals many options which might be more sustainable but not apparent when approached on an individual basis. A holistic system level approach is required to attain sustainability as a comprehension of these interrelations lead to better design and assessment of the urban infrastructure system.