Infrastructure
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| infrastructure/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə/ | Basic facilities and networks, such as transport, energy and communications, that support economic and social activity. |
| public transit/ˈpʌblɪk ˈtrænsɪt/ | Shared passenger transport services available to the public, such as buses, trams and urban rail. |
| transit-oriented development/ˈtrænsɪt ˈɔːrɪəntɪd dɪˈveləpmənt/ | Compact, walkable development organised around public transport access, often combining housing, employment and services. |
The bones of a city
- Infrastructure 基础设施 is the basic systems a city needs to function.
- It includes roads, water, power, sewers, and public transport.
- Without it, a city cannot house or serve its people.
Roads, water, power, and public transit together are a city's...
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Infrastructure is the basic systems a city needs to function.
Select all parts of urban infrastructure.
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Roads, water/sewers, and transit are infrastructure; rank-size is a size pattern.
Transport shapes cities
- Good public transit 公共交通 lets a city grow without total car dependence.
- Transit-oriented development 公交导向开发 builds homes and shops around transit stops.
- Poor transport forces reliance on cars and worsens sprawl.
Helps compact growth or worsens sprawl?
Sort each infrastructure choice by its effect on urban form.
Building only roads and no transit tends to increase urban sprawl.
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Car-only infrastructure spreads cities outward.
Building homes and shops around transit stops is called transit-oriented ____.
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Transit-oriented development keeps cities compact.
Match each choice to its effect.
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Transit = compact; highways = sprawl; TOD = homes near stations.
When infrastructure lags
- When a city grows faster than its infrastructure, problems pile up.
- Informal settlements may form where services cannot reach.
- Extending water, power, and roads to the sprawling edge is costly.
Infrastructure is a hidden driver of urban form. Where transit is good, cities can grow compact; where only roads exist, they sprawl. Fast-growing cities often see infrastructure lag behind population, leaving new residents without water, power, or transport.
A city that invests in a metro system and builds housing around the stations (transit-oriented development) grows up, not out, and cuts car use. A city that builds only highways sprawls outward and locks residents into long car commutes.
Infrastructure (roads, water, power, sewers, public transit) lets a city function. Good transit and transit-oriented development keep cities compact; when infrastructure lags behind growth, informal settlements and sprawl result.
Write from a metro that raises access
- A city opens a metro line through an outer district.
- Travel time to downtown falls sharply along the line.
What does the new line do to that district?
Transport infrastructure changes which places are reachable.
What does the new metro do?
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Shorter travel time is higher access.