Chapter 7
Economic and Social Aspects
of Infrastructure
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build
bridges even when there are no rivers.
Nikita Khrushchev
And our nation, though it has no drinking water, electricity,
sewage system, public transportation, sense of hygiene,
discipline, courtesy, or punctuality, does have entrepreneurs.
Thousands and thousands of them. Especially in the field of
technology. And these entrepreneurs – we entrepreneurs –
have set up all these outsourcing companies that virtually run
America now.
Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)
. . .but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are
three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three
different politicians before three different elections.
Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)
We need to stop thinking about infrastructure as an economic
stimulant and start thinking about it as a strategy. Economic
stimulants produce Bridges to Nowhere. Strategic investment
in infrastructure produces a foundation for long-term growth.
Roger McNamee
What mothers need, as well as fathers, spouses, and the
children of aging parents, is an entire national infrastructure
of care, every bit as important as the physical infrastructure
of roads, bridges, tunnels, broadband, parks and public
works.
Anne-Marie Slaughter
The services that infrastructure offer to users (people and industry) influence several
aspects of the national economy, as well as the social aspects. Infrastructure planning
gives a picture of how people (politicians, planners, engineers, architects, and the
public, when consulted) imagine their society in the future. Thus, forcibly, infrastructure should always be implemented not only to exceed present needs, but also to
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
V. Proag, Infrastructure Planning and Management: An Integrated Approach,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48559-7_7
185
Economic and Social Aspects
of Infrastructure
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build
bridges even when there are no rivers.
Nikita Khrushchev
And our nation, though it has no drinking water, electricity,
sewage system, public transportation, sense of hygiene,
discipline, courtesy, or punctuality, does have entrepreneurs.
Thousands and thousands of them. Especially in the field of
technology. And these entrepreneurs – we entrepreneurs –
have set up all these outsourcing companies that virtually run
America now.
Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)
. . .but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are
three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three
different politicians before three different elections.
Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)
We need to stop thinking about infrastructure as an economic
stimulant and start thinking about it as a strategy. Economic
stimulants produce Bridges to Nowhere. Strategic investment
in infrastructure produces a foundation for long-term growth.
Roger McNamee
What mothers need, as well as fathers, spouses, and the
children of aging parents, is an entire national infrastructure
of care, every bit as important as the physical infrastructure
of roads, bridges, tunnels, broadband, parks and public
works.
Anne-Marie Slaughter
The services that infrastructure offer to users (people and industry) influence several
aspects of the national economy, as well as the social aspects. Infrastructure planning
gives a picture of how people (politicians, planners, engineers, architects, and the
public, when consulted) imagine their society in the future. Thus, forcibly, infrastructure should always be implemented not only to exceed present needs, but also to
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
V. Proag, Infrastructure Planning and Management: An Integrated Approach,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48559-7_7
185