Uploaded on 2016-09-12 by Andrew McIntyre

The photo shows a relatively high density residential commercial area of Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines. Visibly you can see both transmission and distribution power lines, above ground telecom, cable tv and internet wiring; concrete pavement roads with footpaths, bike paths and buried internet fibre, water, waste water and storm water drainage. On some of the structures, solar panels, rain water collection and helicopter landing pads are located. In the distance you can see elevated light rail and stations. Difficult to see, but there are weather and pollution monitoring devices along the main arterial road in the distance, together with traffic management cameras, traffic lights and street lights. The residential buildings shown have centrally controlled climate systems; ducted communication cabling, waste water and solid waste recycling systems. The buildings have internal communication and monitoring systems, and are connected to the internet for business, provision of services and entertainment. Contrast this scene to what it was only 25 years ago. It was open farmland, fairly intensively cropped with irrigation; low voltage power lines and minimal communications. There was no centralized water supply or sanitation. Run off from the road was used in the fields. Importantly, population densities here were low – on the periphery of one of Manilas burgeoning cities. As residential and commercial density increased, so to did the urgent need for infrastructure. Even now, with large densities relying on the infrastructure, it is still inadequate. Power outages are common, roads and public transport are inadequate with high congestion. Normal rains flood the streets and footpaths, making them even less passable – heavy rains and typhoons can even cause loss of life. Pollution is an ongoing hazard – sanitation is less than adequate when rains overflow drains; and traffic congestions causes heat and air pollution to be localized. This is an example of where haphazard and non-integrated infrastructure has been developed in response to rapid urbanization, without thought to how the infrastructure (energy, water, local and territorial stocks and flows) could be designed and developed more sustainably and systemically.