How Infrastructure Works
Inside the Systems That Shape Our World
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2023 BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Revelatory, superbly written, and pulsing with wisdom and humanity, How Infrastructure Works is a masterpiece.” —Ed Yong, author of An Immense World
A new way of seeing the essential systems hidden inside our walls, under our streets, and all around us
Infrastructure is a marvel, meeting our basic needs and enabling lives of astounding ease and productivity that would have been unimaginable just a century ago. It is the physical manifestation of our social contract—of our ability to work collectively for the public good—and it consists of the most complex and vast technological systems ever created by humans.
A soaring bridge is an obvious infrastructural feat, but so are the mostly hidden reservoirs, transformers, sewers, cables, and pipes that deliver water, energy, and information to wherever we need it. When these systems work well, they hide in plain sight. Engineer and materials scientist Deb Chachra takes readers on a fascinating tour of these essential utilities, revealing how they work, what it takes to keep them running, just how much we rely on them—but also whom they work well for, and who pays the costs.
Across the U.S. and elsewhere, these systems are suffering from systemic neglect and the effects of climate change, becoming unavoidably visible when they break down. Communities that are already marginalized often bear the brunt of these failures. But Chachra maps out a path for transforming and rebuilding our shared infrastructure to be not just functional but also equitable, resilient, and sustainable. The cost of not being able to rely on these systems is unthinkably high. We need to learn how to see them—and fix them, together—before it’s too late.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Materials scientist Chachra reminds readers of the ubiquity, endurance, and necessity of infrastructural networks while enthusiastically arguing for their public funding in her insightful debut. Weaving together travelogue, expert knowledge, and personal remembrances of her childhood in Canada and adulthood in various cities including Boston and London, Chachra describes the systems that provide people with water, electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, mobility, and sewage disposal. She explains that infrastructural networks not only "meet our basic biological needs," but also "increase our abilities and agency through access to energy, and... allow us to develop and foster social relationships with each other through communication and mobility." However, infrastructure can be used by the powerful to enhance their positions and exacerbate inequalities. Consequently, Chachra argues for infrastructure to be publicly and democratically controlled. She also emphasizes that new infrastructure must be designed with the adaptability and efficiency needed to withstand climate change. Examples of structures she admires include the Dinorwig Power Station in Wales, which draws power from an artificial waterfall during the day and at night utilizes unused energy to pump the water up again; and New York City's network of upstate reservoirs and aqueducts, which, making use of the natural incline of the landscape, are 97% powered by gravity. Written in a distinctive style that is both conversational and erudite, this is an accessible and enjoyable account. Readers will be engrossed. Correction: An earlier version of this review misquoted the book.
