ABSTRACT
Infrastructure for transportation, communication, energy, and water and waste occupies a central place in the history of planning for cities and regions. These systems largely determine how cities and regions evolve, how people experience urban places, and how neighborhoods and cities are linked to one another. Infrastructure planning has typically been a large-scale enterprise, and one that involves more than just planners. The development of infrastructure has commonly served empire and nation building, regional and transnational economic development, and the basic imperatives of urbanization and public health. This chapter surveys the diverse eras and practices of transportation, communication, energy, and water and waste infrastructure planning around the world since the 19th century, illuminating how planning has shaped the social and environmental dimensions of cities and regions. It ends by considering key contributions and challenges that studying infrastructure presents for interpreting the broader history of city and regional planning.
