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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 9 2008, 4:44 PM EDT (current) | FutureoftheUS | 1 word added |
| Oct 4 2008, 2:19 PM EDT | FutureoftheUS | 64 words added, 4 words deleted |
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Statement of Issue
Infrastructure typically refers to the physical and technical structures that support a society -- for example transportation and communications networks, water supplies, and power grids. In most areas, these resources are owned and managed by local, state, or federal governments, although they can also be in private hands or managed by private companies under contract with a public agency.
The infrastructure we choose to build determines the economic and social patterns of our daily lives. It makes every other aspect of our modern existence possible, and is the basis for further economic, cultural, and technological growth. Our infrastructure choices can also have tremendous positive or negative effects on the environment, because they determine the size of our ecological footprint.
Infrastructure is usually very expensive to build, but it's one of the most important investments a society can make. It's also very hard to change once it's in place, so the infrastructure choices we make today will very likely affect the lives of people in our region for decades or even generations to come. When we decide what kind of infrastructure to build, we are in essence planning our own future.
In US politics, infrastructure has always been a central issue. When it chooses what will be built, the government has the power to decide which companies, industries and technologies will flourish, and which will fade away. State elections often focus around proposed infrastructure projects and the kind of future they will lead us to. Because infrastructure can be such an important lever (or barrier) to future development, understanding the infrastructure that supports our lives is an important piece of understanding the future.
Current state of US infrastructure: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7137552/
Wikipedia on infrastructure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
Statement of Issue
Infrastructure typically refers to the physical and technical structures that support a society -- for example transportation and communications networks, water supplies, and power grids. In most areas, these resources are owned and managed by local, state, or federal governments, although they can also be in private hands or managed by private companies under contract with a public agency.
The infrastructure we choose to build determines the economic and social patterns of our daily lives. It makes every other aspect of our modern existence possible, and is the basis for further economic, cultural, and technological growth. Our infrastructure choices can also have tremendous positive or negative effects on the environment, because they determine the size of our ecological footprint.
Infrastructure is usually very expensive to build, but it's one of the most important investments a society can make. It's also very hard to change once it's in place, so the infrastructure choices we make today will very likely affect the lives of people in our region for decades or even generations to come. When we decide what kind of infrastructure to build, we are in essence planning our own future.
In US politics, infrastructure has always been a central issue. When it chooses what will be built, the government has the power to decide which companies, industries and technologies will flourish, and which will fade away. State elections often focus around proposed infrastructure projects and the kind of future they will lead us to. Because infrastructure can be such an important lever (or barrier) to future development, understanding the infrastructure that supports our lives is an important piece of understanding the future.
Current state of US infrastructure: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7137552/
Wikipedia on infrastructure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
