Infrastructure Week 2018

“The 6th annual National Infrastructure Week is a national week of events; media coverage; and education and issue advocacy to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue impacting America’s economy, society, security and future. In 2018, hundreds of organizations and thousands of leaders are uniting around one message: The future won’t wait. Neither can we. It’s #TimeToBuild.”

Thanks to our layered transportation and information networks, people – as well as our ideas and products – are moving from place to place faster and more frequently than ever before. But does that necessarily mean we are more connected to our environment? To information? To each other?

Our built environment includes the obvious physical connectors – roads, bridges, tunnels, and subways. Equally important connectors are the mental and spiritual linkages that tie us all to this Earth. The frameworks for these connections do not operate independently. Rather, they are knitted together by what can broadly be defined as “infrastructure.”

In this sense, infrastructure is more than just bridges and tunnels, ports and terminals. The definition can be expanded to include much of the public realm – including public schools, parks, libraries, and community centers. In that case, isn’t multi-family housing a critical part of the framework? And in the vein of physical connectors: the framework of maintenance facilities, sanitation garages, and transfer stations that support these systems also fall under the umbrella of “infrastructure.”

Throughout the rest of this week, stay tuned to learn more about trends and impacts and how our firm is approaching this important topic.