ABSTRACT
The Zofnass Framework for infrastructure sustainability calls for optimum allocation of resources in the development and operation of infrastructure. To support the consideration of this goal, the present chapter addresses the following topics in turn:
First, we briefly summarize resource allocation within the Zofnass Program.
Next, we introduce the framework of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a means for characterizing quantitatively the use of resources in infrastructure construction and operation.
Third, we review the different types of resource use and consumption, and the metrics or indicators that have been developed to date within the field of LCA; we place particular emphasis on energy considerations in this vein.
Fourth, we use the tools, databases, and framework of LCA to characterize some of the ways that the development and operation of infrastructure consume scarce resources.
Finally, we turn to the goal of optimizing resource consumption, and we reflect on two complementary approaches to optimization. One is optimization from the vantage point of the infrastructure planning or design team, and a second is promotion of “bottom-up” or “distributed” optimization throughout the supply chains that enable the construction and operation of infrastructure. We conclude with brief discussion of a coming “informational infrastructure” that will increase the data resources available to designer optimization, and the scope of distributed optimization, in mutually reinforcing ways.
