Sustainable urban infrastructure

Sustainable urban infrastructure, also called sustainable municipal infrastructure in Canada, is an infrastructure that facilitates a place or regions progress towards the goal of sustainable living. Attention is paid to technological and government policy which enables urban planning for sustainable architecture and initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture.

According to the College of Engineering and Applied Science of the University of Colorado Denver, urban infrastructure refers to the engineered systems (water, energy, transport, sanitation, information) that make up a city. Challenges resulting from increasing population growth generated a need for sustainable infrastructure that is high performing, cost-effective, resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly.

The Swiss Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation (GIB) supports various stakeholders, such as governments, banks and cities, in the designing, implementing and financing sustainable urban infrastructure projects at all stages of the project cycle. Currently, GIB develops, in cooperation with the French bank Natixis, the SuRe® Standard – The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure: a global voluntary ISEAL standard. GIB has also developed the SuRe® SmartScan, a simplified version of the SuRe® Standard that serves as a self-assessment tool for sustainable infrastructure projects. It provides project developers with a comprehensive analysis of the various themes covered by the SuRe® Standard, offering a solid foundation for green infrastructure projects that are planning to become certified by the SuRe® Standard.

Roadside and urban infrastructures such as signposts, bollards and street furniture are prone to damage and deterioration. As infrastructure deteriorates, it requires either replacement or enhancement. Existing public funding sources are inadequate to meet the need.

Self-healing technology could protect surrounding paving and foundations from damage when items of infrastructure are impacted, which can reduce maintenance and improve the sustainability of urban developments. Self-healing developments result in zero-waste and zero-landfill from maintenance on items of urban infrastructure for the life of the development.

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Wikipedia