11-04-2007

The report argues that the London drought last year and the nine-day blackout across the New York suburb of Queens highlight how fragile and antiquated basic infrastructure is becoming in some of the world's major cities. The drought was caused partly by ageing London pipes leaking billions of litres of water, while the Queens electricity crisis was caused by inadequate feeder cables which were found to be up to 60 years old.

Booz Allen Hamilton, the management consultancy which produced the report, said that fragile infrastructure used to deliver water and electricity and to provide transport services in urban areas would not be able to keep pace with rising demand. With 50 per cent of the world's population expected to be living in urban areas by 2050, cities that do not invest in improving the infrastructure to deliver essential services will risk losing the brightest and hardest working individuals to other locations, the report said.

The report argues that the cities that organise infrastructure effectively will become "cities of opportunity" which will act as "magnets for humanity" by providing more effective services that citizens often take for granted.

Booz Allen Hamilton argued that water, transport and power infrastructure could hit crisis points at the same time in cities because the networks are fundamentally intertwined, with each sector relying on the others. The report, called Lights! Water! Motion!, said planning for water, electricity and transportation needs to be done together as opposed to the current situation whereby each sector has different regulatory and planning regimes.

The report said infrastructure can be reinvigorated by adopting a new approach to integrate finance, governance, technology and design. The consultancy said the private sector has to take the lead in the financing, pricing and ownership of infrastructure improvements, while governments should encourage collaboration and competition within a project. It cited Amsterdam's Schiphol airport as an example of the type of public/private partnership needed.