041 // How Infrastructure Shapes Behaviour

Kathryn Exon Smith -

Infrastructure seems to be everywhere in the news these days, whether its promises from politicians to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, demands for better transit and bicycle pathways, or the new movement toward Smart Cities and connecting infrastructure in new ways. And infrastructure remains a huge investment, of both resources and of time. The decisions we make now must continue to work for years — possibly generations — to come.

Twenty-first century infrastructure needs to be sustainable, moving away from the most environmentally-intensive materials used in the past, such as concrete. It also needs to be flexible -- but what does this mean in practical terms? How can we design and build cities for the future? How do engineers plan for change when making choices about major infrastructure projects? This salon will discuss how we shape the systems that underpin our cities, and how they shape us in return.

Shoshanna is an Assistant Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure. She investigates the relationship between the infrastructure we build and the society we create to identify opportunities – and pathways – to better align infrastructure provision with sustainability. Her research and commentary have been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Toronto Star, The Financial Post, and Wired, including “What We Really Need Are Good ‘Dumb’ Cities.”

Opinion | I’m an Engineer, and I’m Not Buying Into ‘Smart’ Cities (Published 2019)
Sensor-equipped garbage cans sound cool, but someone still has to take out the trash.
NYTimesBy
The case against the case for delaying Toronto’s subway plans | TVO.org
OPINION: The idea that the pandemic should make the province rethink its plan to build more subways in Toronto is flawed. Subways were a good idea before COVID-19 — and they’ll be a good idea after it.
TVO.orgShoshanna Saxe
Want to reduce your carbon footprint? Build a smaller house with no basement: U of T study
A team of researchers in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has some practical advice for developers, homeowners and urban planners who want to reduce their
University of Toronto NewsTyler Irving
Toward adaptive infrastructure: the role of existing infrastructure systems
(2021). Toward adaptive infrastructure: the role of existing infrastructure systems. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure: Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 330-333.
Taylor & FrancisShoshanna Saxe

This salon took place February 24, 2022.