Assessing the potential for change in urban infrastructure systems

The premise of this paper is that there is a need for rethinking the design of technical infrastructures because of environmental problems, and to understand the dynamics of and the potential for change, urban infrastructure large technological systems must be seen as socio-technical artefacts. This paper offers a methodology for analyzing current infrastructure systems, and a case study, demonstrating that social relations play a significant role as barriers against implementing new management practices. It is argued that there is a need to involve more people in the rethinking of urban infrastructure, and this paper raises some strategic questions concerning planning for the transformation of technical infrastructures into more sustainable systems.