Infrastructure Vision for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Development is perceived, when physical factors (new buildings, trees, infrastructure facilities) enhance the daily lives of citizens, through some amalgamation of social, economic, and institutional practices. Development in all societies must include a minimum of improvement in the availability of basic goods, an increase in the standards of living, and a wide variety of economic and social choices accessible to individuals. Although extractive industries and extractive economies might hinder such goals, inclusive economic institutions can provide properly planned and implemented infrastructure to achieve the sustainable development goals, to satisfy our own needs and those of future generations.

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.

Jonathan Swift

Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not.

Robert Kennedy

An original vision is one that allows you to grasp the future. A visionary leader should adhere to his vision, fully confident that he can see things that those in his entourage may not be able to perceive and that his vision will fulfil its set goals. Such a leader would also seriously consider any criticism of his vision and be prepared to defend it, convince others of its validity and efficiency and overcome all obstacles obstructing its way.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (My Vision. Challenges in the Race for Excellence)

…It took a vision. That was supplied by a Danish architect… Jan Gehl…But it was also driven by the long-term, market-friendly, practical backing of the city authorities in Copenhagen since 1962, when the main shopping street, Stroget, was pedestrianized.

Hamish McRae. (Traffic Management in Copenhagen. What works)

Nous n’héritons pas de la terre de nos ancêtres, nous l’empruntons à nos enfants.

African proverb

Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

(Bruntland 1987)

If no one really knows what it is, who’s accountable for it, how do you measure it, and then how do you know if you’ve achieved it?

(Cole 2012)

Architecture is measured against the past; you build in the future, and you try to imagine the future.

Richard Rogers