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Ethics of Infrastructure Reinvestment

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Book cover Ethical Water Stewardship

Part of the book series: Water Security in a New World ((WSEC))

Abstract

The fact that infrastructure does not last should not come as a surprise. It is evident within our households and on the streets we traverse every day. Yet, there is a global infrastructure gap. This gap widens not only due to population growth but also due to the failure to proactively renew and maintain aging assets. The repercussions of a backlog in water infrastructure can range from interruptions to water delivery to more serious threats to health and safety. Whether or not these trade-offs are made explicit in reinvestment decisions, they exist.

This chapter explores the historical actions that have led to the infrastructure funding gap, as well as current practices, their assumptions, biases, and potential pitfalls. Key questions to identify these issues are posed in each of the steps to asset management, which include establishing the condition of infrastructure, life-cycle costs, required levels of service, risk of failure, optimized investment, and funding strategy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Rebecca Dziedzic

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  1. Rebecca Dziedzic
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Correspondence to Rebecca Dziedzic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor Emerita, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ingrid Leman Stefanovic

  2. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Zafar Adeel

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Dziedzic, R. (2021). Ethics of Infrastructure Reinvestment. In: Stefanovic, I.L., Adeel, Z. (eds) Ethical Water Stewardship . Water Security in a New World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49540-4_12

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