Paying forward to future generations: how infrastructure can do more

Abstract

Abstract When infrastructure is done well, it forms the fabric beneath us that enables individuals, businesses and communities to experience more prosperous and inclusive living for current and future generations. In this brief commentary paper, I offer arguments and case examples from my recent book BIG FIXES: Building Bridges to an Inclusive Future. Unfortunately, as an infrastructure practitioner for over 30 years, I have observed a global shift among policymakers to exaggerate the benefits of investing in infrastructure without accountability and a framework for governance to assure positive long-term outcomes. In essence, infrastructure has fallen victim to short-termism. The central thesis of my book for readers and future contributors of Oxford Open Infrastructure and Health (OOIH) aligns well with the journal’s mission for infrastructure and health scholarship that fosters ‘Big Connections’. My argument is as follows. Is your vision of infrastructure about physical assets like roads, bridges, tunnels, power lines, water pipes, schools and hospitals? If so, then it is too narrow. There is an urgent need for policymakers, investors and scholars to widen their perspective to consider infrastructure as a gift that current generations pay forward to future generations. The infrastructure decisions of our forebearers act like ripples on a lake, radiating out in time and space. These ripples can amplify benefits into the future, like favorable tailwinds. But equally, where short-sightedness has taken root in the past, the consequences of earlier infrastructure decisions (or none at all) can saddle future generations with the burden of headwinds—slowing, dragging upon efforts to improve. When a society invests in infrastructure, they express hope and optimism for the future. However, that aspiration implies a big bundle of expectations, including health and economic well-being and sustaining and building trust between people and the institutions created to serve them. Moreover, as environmental and social issues grow in importance, society has less room to be complacent with nonresponsive infrastructure blocking adaptation and innovation to support new growth. These are examples of the lens to view ‘Big Connections’ referred to by OOIH.