1. America’s Infrastructure
Crisis = Opportunity
Sara Robinson
Futures of the US
Fall 2008

2. Transportation Roads Bridges Railroads Airports Ports Waterways
Transit

3. Power and Energy “The Grid” Dams Power plants Transfer stations
Transmission lines

4. Water
Dams
Pipelines
Pumps
Wells
Reservoirs
Treatment plants

5. Waste Management Landfills Sewers Treatment plants Incinerators
Recycling plants

6. Communications Phone lines Switching stations Cell phone towers
Broadband and wireless networks
Satellites and ground stations
Microwave relays

7. Security
Emerging infrastructure designed to protect people and systems from a variety of threats

8. Essential Services Schools Hospitals Parks Fire and police protection
Emergency medical response

9. Infrastructure Creates The Future

10. Transportation
America's commuters lose about 4.2 billion hours and $78 billion in productivity each year due to traffic
Gas wasted in traffic jams would fill 58 supertankers per year
Bad roads raise car repair costs $275/year per driver
In 2007, flight delays cost the economy $40 billion
Airports can't handle high numbers of private aircraft or the new super-jumbo planes
One freight train can take 280 trucks off the road, and is 3x more energy efficient
Demand for freight trains is expected to double by 2028

11. Communication The US is 15th in the world in broadband penetration
The average broadband download speed in Japan is 10x to 32x the US average
Municipal wireless

12. Water EPA: 40,000 raw sewage discharges into US water supply each year
CDC: 1000 Americans die each year from waterborne infections
In New York, a cracked 70-year-old tunnel leaks 36 million gallons/day
2006 was the worst year in US history for sinkholes due to leaking water pipes

13. Waste
The US produces 369 million tons of solid waste/year. 25% gets recycled.
There are 1,237 Superfund sites, plus over 10,000 possible designates.

14. Public Works
Over 25% of bridges are structurally inadequate or functionally obsolete
Over 25% of US levees exceed their lifespan, and 150 are at high risk of failure
50% of the locks in inland waterways are functionally obsolete. By 2020, it will be 80%.
One-third of US public schools are so broken down that it interferes with teachers’ ability to teach

15. What’s Changing?

16. Stakeholders End Users Governments & taxpayers Builders & Developers
Banks & investors
Employees

17. Drivers Available funding Political will New technologies
Changing values

18. Alternative Elements Political Will Funding Decentralization
Communication
Water

19. New Investment, New Future

20. Crumbling Into Catastrophe

21. Everything Possible

22. Crisis = Opportunity