Assessing the Ability of Integrated Decision-Making to Improve Canadian Municipal Infrastructure Sustainability

摘要

A major contributor to the well-being of Canadian societies is municipal infrastructure. This infrastructure allows communities to meet their needs such as food and water, and to be connected to society through transportation networks. Urban infrastructure has been the foundation of Canadian municipalities for centuries, and as such, there is a need to help reduce the rate of infrastructure deterioration to help decrease the strain on municipality resources. A major barrier in improving infrastructure sustainability includes the fragmentation of infrastructure industry. Practitioners are important infrastructure industry authorities and key contributors to the needed changes and continued sustainability of municipal infrastructure. As such, this paper will demonstrate a conceptual model on how practitioners can help improve the sustainability of municipal infrastructure through integrated decision-making. This conceptual model, namely the suggested Integrated Decision-Making Strategy (IDMS), will demonstrate how municipal infrastructure systems (i.e. Water, Waste, Transportation, Urban Forest, and Parks and Recreation) can be improved through integrated infrastructure condition assessment, problem prioritization, sustainability evaluation, and decision-making. The City of Fredericton is selected to demonstrate the integration strategy conceptual model.