The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives

Clean water, paved roads, public transit, electricity and gas, sewers, waste processing, telecommunication, even the Internet—all this infrastructure is what makes cities work and powers our lives, often seamlessly and silently. Virtually everything we do and consume depends on infrastructure. Yet, most people have no idea how these systems work. How is water treated? How do cities manage rainwater? Why do traffic jams exist? How is electricity generated and distributed? What happens to trash after it is picked up? How does the Internet work?

In The Infrastructure Book, world-renowned urban engineering expert Sybil Derrible reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of the foundational systems that make our societies function. Visiting sixteen cities around the world and their unique approaches to organizational challenges—from water distribution in Hong Kong to waste management in Tokyo, and from Chicago's power grid to low Earth orbit satellites in space—this book uses case studies and historical detours to show how infrastructure works—and, sometimes, doesn't.

With large-scale infrastructure repairs looming and the need for existing infrastructure to be transformed, the book also shows how infrastructure can be more sustainable and resilient. After The Infrastructure Book, listeners will never look at a city the same way.

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Release date

Audiobook: March 4, 2025