infrastructure

‘The basic, underlying framework or feature of a system or organization’
Like the definition in dictionary, infrastructure is the concept related with system and it has a big premise that human exploits or uses it. So, purpose of infrastructure is focused on operating issues.

Wikipedia refers infrastructure to the underlying system of civil, municipal, public works, information technology, political and social networks. National infrastructure is more precisely divided into sectors; banking and finance, transportation, power systems, information and communications, law enforcement, government services, fire, emergency health services and national water supply. Executive order EO 13010 marks the direction for operating USA’s infrastructure in terms of organization power.

Anthony Sutcliffe’s article is interesting to me because it shows an example how a physical infrastructure, street transport was applied in cities in aspects of development of technology and its applying. New knowledge, for instance, transport revolution had power to be able to change entire urban logics and patterns. However, it is also affected in the social formation such as structure of rental value. It can be transformed into property right, but only through a struggle between the existing owners of property and those excluded from it. (Street Transport, 36) Therefore, we need to recognize a kind of infrastructure itself is a second structure of other infrastructures.

Article ‘The New Yorker’ presents how New York is consuming energy resources now. To recognize how infrastructure of NY is performing especially energy infra, author traces routes from end users to natural sources for the sake of picking out our easy conscience about it. The article emphasizes infrastructures that we are not aware of but in use.

I think extending the meaning of infrastructure and tracing it can be a systematic analysis of our physical and non-physical environments. So, keen observing and articulating a phenomenon in the view of infrastructure will be effective for solutions of our urban problems because infrastructure is the initial cause generating that phenomenon.