Identifying the Level of Development of Integrated Urban Infrastructure Management Practices in Chile

Abstract

AbstractUrban infrastructure systems play a key role in society by providing access to basic services, such as clean water and transportation. The management of urban infrastructure systems ensures that these are maintained to minimize failures and provide users with reliable services. As urban infrastructure systems are interdependent, maintenance and rehabilitation activities performed in one system may impact other infrastructure systems. Consequently, an integrative approach is needed to account for the influence of interdependencies on the management of multiple infrastructure systems. This study aims to identify the level of development of integrated infrastructure management practices among Chilean agencies managing water, wastewater, stormwater, and transportation infrastructure. To do so, the authors carried out 10 semi-structured interviews between October 2020 and January 2021 with different stakeholders involved in managing such systems that were qualitatively analyzed. Additionally, to contextualize our results, a comparison is presented with management practices reported to be applied in Canada. Our results show that Chilean agencies are mostly focused on managing infrastructure systems individually and that limited processes exist regarding the integration of multiple infrastructure systems. Moreover, the Chilean context lacks strategic vision, it lacks data to facilitate agencies’ decision-making process, and organizations are highly fragmented. When comparing Chilean agencies’ level of development with Canadian practices, it is emphasized that Chilean agencies are well behind in applying integrated urban infrastructure management practices. Understanding the current practices (or lack thereof) regarding infrastructure management may assist agencies in identifying alternatives to develop plans and implement integrated infrastructure management approaches in the future.