ABSTRACT
The continuing integration of information technologies (IT) into physical infrastructure raises a number of interesting issues at many scales. For the most part, as demonstrated by the other chapters in this volume, these issues can be addressed through existing institutions and disciplines. Increasingly, however, these systems are also beginning to integrate natural, built, and social science systems at higher levels, resulting in emergent characteristics and challenges that are broader than existing practices can comfortably manage. This has led to the evolution of the concept of earth systems engineering and management (ESEM), which has the potential to provide a powerful augmentation to current approaches to infrastructure design and operation. Here, two integrative processes will be of interest: first, the integration of information processing and communication capabilities in all forms of infrastructure at many different scales; and second, the integration of human and natural systems, with special emphasis here on that trend as it regards infrastructure. This chapter will begin with a brief introduction to earth systems engineering and management, then continue with an exploration of how this approach can begin to inform the evolution of “intelligent infrastructure.”
