Multi-risk assessment for bridges: The application of the Italian Guidelines

Bridges are essential elements in the built environment since they underpin the functioning of transportation systems. Nevertheless, they are vulnerable due to aggressive environment, demand beyond the design level, and other contingencies such as extreme events. The management of bridges represents a significant challenge for improving...

Dealing with Cross-Sectoral Uncertainty: A Case Study on Governing Uncertainty for Infrastructures in Transition

The interdependencies between infrastructures are growing. Engineering decision making that earlier was largely confined to a specific sector now requires more and more understanding of how systems interact: a system-of-systems perspective. The article analyzes the effect of that added complexity in a single case study in de Zuid-As, Amsterdam,...

Open data infrastructures: The design of an infrastructure to enhance the coordination of open data use

Governments and researchers traditionally focus on the publication of Open Government Data (OGD), whereas the actual use of the data is often neglected. Open data initiatives are often criticized for not realising the promoted benefits, yet only the use of OGD can result in these benefits. OGD use requires several actors, activities and tools;...

Adaptation of interconnected infrastructures to climate change: A socio-technical systems perspective

Climate change is likely to affect how society will function in this century. Because climate change effects may be severe, a next step is to study not only the effects on natural systems, but also the effects on built infrastructure systems and, in response to anticipated effects, the adaptation of those systems. Studies that discuss...

Sustainable urban regeneration based on energy balance

In this paper, results are reported of a technology assessment of the use and integration of decentralized energy systems and storage devices in an urban renewal area. First the general context of a different approach based on 'rethinking' and the incorporation of ongoing integration of coming economical and environmental interests on...

Resilience and adaptability of infrastructures: A complex adaptive systems perspective

While we rely on the continuous functioning of infrastructures such as water, electricity and Internet, 100% uptime is not possible. Infrastructure systems must therefore be resilient – they must be capable of flexing in response to disruptions and recovering quickly. In this paper we explore options for supporting infrastructure resilience from...

Modeling the adaptation of infrastructures to prevent the effects of climate change: An overview of existing literature

Climate change is likely to affect our infrastructures and, consequently, the way society interacts with these infrastructures. For instance, higher average temperatures increase the need for electricity delivered through the grid in the summer due to augmented air-conditioning. As the scientific consensus is that climate change effects may be...

Trapped between institutions and politics: The role of politics and social dynamics in institutional performance for flood defense management in Jakarta, Indonesia

Flood defense management in Jakarta is a critical governmental activity given that Jakarta is a low-lying delta metropolis and trade center which relies on its safety for the continuity of the economic activities. Despite the urgency for action flood defense policy implementation was a lengthy and strenuous process that lasted 30 years (1973...

Barack Obama’s infrastructure policies for the United States

The new president of the United States, Barack Obama, has set his policies on infrastructures. To carry them out, he will resort mostly to economics incentives and, to a lesser extent, regulatory constraints.

Challenges for process system engineering in infrastructure operation and control

The need for improving the operation and control of infrastructure systems has created a demand on optimization methods applicable in the area of complex sociotechnical systems operated by a multitude of actors in a setting of decentralized decision making. This paper briefly presents main classes of optimization models applied in PSE system...