ABSTRACT
Local infrastructure issues today are tied to the emergence of infrastructure as part of the growth and settlement of the United States. Understanding the origins, thought processes, technologies, and financing for each historic era will help local officials to make more informed decisions as they evaluate aging roads, sewers, schools, and civic facilities in older urban areas. Infrastructure rarely goes away—in fact, the current infrastructure is often overlaid on older systems that continue to be serviceable. The traditions associated with the provision of various systems also affect how we plan for infrastructure in greenfield areas. This chapter presents a general history of infrastructure provision in the U.S. The chapter covers five historical periods: the Colonial Era, the Industrial Era, the Depression and World War II, the Post-WWII Expansion, and the Post-Industrial City and the Current Era. Infrastructure has usually been provided during periods of economic expansion, when capital is available for investment and technological innovation occurs. Provision of infrastructure occurred during the boom times of the early nineteenth century, the late 1890s, the 1920s, the 1950s and 1960s, the late 1980s, the late 1990s and 2000 through the bust of 2008.
