But infrastructure managers should take a step back and ask what our infrastructure systems need to do for us into the future.

And with the rise of design firms, professional societies, licensures, construction and industry associations, and related specialties the management of the infrastructure system has dramatically altered.

This type of situation can be especially troublesome in the context of maintenance backlogs and budget shortfalls which currently plague many infrastructure systems.

Or, planners can design infrastructure systems such that when they fail, the consequences to human life and the economy are minimized.

Infrastructure systems are the front line of defense against flooding, heat, wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters.