In my last column I introduced the concept of sustainable infrastructure in the context of sustainable communities. Infrastructure systems combine at the community level, providing the support systems that form the foundation for viable and successful communities. The "sustainability quadrant" was identified with the view that communities/ countries must gravitate toward sustainability by sustaining their human development index (i.e. social support systems — health, education, economics, etc.) and reducing their ecological footprint (i.e. environmental impacts from GHG emissions, etc.). This approach suggests a basis for measuring the sustainability of infrastructure by looking at the social, financial and environmental factors at the community level. The idea of a sustainability rating system for infrastructure measurement has already been initiated in several countries around the world. To be truly sustainable, the rating system needs to be linked to these issues associated with global sustainability. This raises the question of a Canadian sustainability rating for infrastructure.
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