The infrastructure that our society is built upon is large and complex. Outside of roads, bridges, and buildings the we can see, much of the infrastructure is out of sight. We know that there is an electrical grid, sewer systems with waste water treatment plants, and hundreds of thousands of fiber optic cables, but most people don't know how it all works.
That's where Steven Baumgartner of Baumgartner Urban Systems Strategy (BUSS) sees tremendous opportunity. Steven advocates for a more community-centric model to demystify large, opaque infrastructure projects so we can have a system that is more participatory, close-looped, and equitable.
Steven has coined the term "deinfrastructure" to describe this novel approach. He believes that urban systems such as energy, water, mobility, technology and food need to be continually re-examined, re-engineered, and re-imagined, especially in today’s world as we navigate coinciding and colliding crises (a global pandemic, systemic racial injustices, economic uncertainties and our immediate climate change challenge).
He believes that there are bold, elegant solutions that bridge the built and natural environments that can strengthen our neighborhoods, build economic prosperity and ensure health and wellness- all while working in concert with (not against) our natural systems.
To read more about his deinfrastructuring work check out an Urban Land Institute article that Steven wrote in June 2021.
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