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Walsh, C. L.; Glendinning, S.; Castan Broto, V.; Dewberry, E. and Powell, M.
(2015).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2015.01.005
Abstract
Infrastructure systems face a number of pressing challenges relating to demographics, environment, finance and governance pressures. Furthermore, infrastructure mediates the way in which everyday lives are conducted; their form and function creating a persistence of unsustainable practice and behaviour that cannot be changed even if change is desired. There is a need to find means by which this obduracy can be broken so that new, more sustainable futures can be planned. This paper develops a methodology, taking concepts from both engineering and social science. Wild cards, or physical disruptions, are used to ‘destructively test’ complex infrastructure systems and the multi-level perspective is used as a framework for analysing the resulting data. This methodology was used to examine a number of case studies, and with focus groups consisting of a range of different infrastructure providers and managers, to gain a better understanding of systems’ sociotechnical characteristics and behaviours. A number of impactful ‘intervention points’ emerged that offered the opportunity to promote radical changes towards configurations of infrastructure systems that provide for ‘less’ physical infrastructure. This paper also examines the utility of wild cards as enablers of transition to these ‘less’ configurations and demonstrates how a ‘wild card scenario’ can be used to co-design infrastructure adaptation from with both infrastructure providers and users.
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About
- Item ORO ID
- 44226
- Item Type
- Journal Item
- ISSN
- 0016-3287
- Project Funding Details
-
Funded Project Name Project ID Funding Body Shock not Horror (XD-11-021-ED) EP/J005657/1 EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) - Keywords
- Infrastructure; Wild cards; Transformation; Sustainable
- Academic Unit or School
-
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Engineering and Innovation
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) - Research Group
- Design and Innovation
- Related URLs
- Depositing User
- Emma Dewberry