Culture in sustainable infrastructure

The high failure rate of infrastructures around the world is alarming, most especially when such failures constrain economic growth and development. In most cases, existing institutions or strategies designed to maintain and reproduce effective infrastructures in areas that lack them have been mostly unsuccessful, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. A carefully conducted survey covering the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria confirms the low-level stability, supply, quality and maintenance of infrastructure and its services. Using the severity index in matrix order model developed in this study, major factors responsible for unsustainable infrastructure delivery and failures are identified. The paper further argues that these major factors are interrelated rather than being peculiar to Nigeria or sub-Saharan Africa. Suffice it to say that the effects of these problems are widespread and of global impact. However, what cuts across all the major factors responsible for unsustainable infrastructure delivery and high failure rates are gross institutional lapses. In view of the fact that sustainable infrastructure is essential for sustainable development, this paper emphasises the uniqueness of the recipients’ cultures and values alongside the integration of indigenous communities and infrastructure users: from conceptualisation to delivery within the framework for institutional building and sustainable infrastructure provision.

The high failure rate of infrastructures around the world is alarming, most especially when such failures constrain
economic growth and development. In most cases, existing institutions or strategies designed to maintain and
reproduce effective infrastructures in areas that lack them have been mostly unsuccessful, particularly in sub-Saharan
Africa. A carefully conducted survey covering the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria confirms the low-level stability,
supply, quality and maintenance of infrastructure and its services. Using the severity index in matrix order model
developed in this study, major factors responsible for unsustainable infrastructure delivery and failures are identified.
The paper further argues that these major factors are interrelated rather than being peculiar to Nigeria or sub-Saharan
Africa. Suffice it to say that the effects of these problems are widespread and of global impact. However, what cuts
across all the major factors responsible for unsustainable infrastructure delivery and high failure rates are gross
institutional lapses. In view of the fact that sustainable infrastructure is essential for sustainable development, this
paper emphasises the uniqueness of the recipients’ cultures and values alongside the integration of indigenous
communities and infrastructure users: from conceptualisation to delivery within the framework for institutional
building and sustainable infrastructure provision.

Archived with thanks to Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Municipal Engineer