In 2005 Environmental Defense's Living Cities Program began a collaboration with Michael Singer Studio on an infrastructure white paper to be distributed as a planning tool for policy makers, community groups, planners, and infrastructure developers across the nation. The report uses three infrastructure case study projects by Michael Singer and examines each project in-depth in terms of five main topics: site context, energy, public access, water, and architecture. The report is due to be released in early 2007.

Below is an excerpt from the current draft report:

Infrastructure is defined as the basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society such as water supply and treatment, solid waste facilities, energy networks, transportation and communications systems. While these basic functions are necessary to sustain our society, they are in most cases despised by those who are living or working in their vicinity. Undesirable traffic, noise, bad odors, and unappealing landscapes have become primary reasons for community rejection and antagonistic relations between municipalities providing services and those served. Given current formulaic infrastructure design and what citizens have come to expect, it is understandable why communities activate Not-In-My-Backyard or NIMBY syndrome, not wanting these essential facilities located anywhere near them.

The purpose of this paper is to put forward concepts and ideas that can integrate infrastructure with its surrounding community. In the same way a museum or monument announces something significant, relevant and specific about aspects of civic life, infrastructure facilities can offer a similar vision and impact, making people aware of its vital functions. These facilities have the potential to provide even more than their obvious service; they can positively effect their social, economic, and environmental surroundings.

This paper addresses both land and water based infrastructure in a large urban context, where space constraints are most visible. Many of these strategies are also applicable to smaller municipalities, and are interchangeable with any service infrastructure that is difficult to site. The goal is to provide elected officials, city planners, policy makers, engineering consultants and community leaders a document that will encourage creative thinking, spark ideas that are outside of typical considerations, and result in new approaches in design and location of infrastructure facilities.

Primary Contributors: Michael Singer, Ramon Cruz, Environmental Defense Policy Analyst, Jason Bregman, Nancy Connery, and Ann Kelly
Environmental Defense Team: Andy Darrel and Ramon Cruz

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