Urban Engineering, a Pathway to Sustainable Infrastructure Management

Today, more than 3.3 billion people live in cities around the world. Although cities occupy only 2% of the earth’s surface, they are home to 50% of the world population, consume 75% of the energy produced, and are responsible for 80% of CO2 emissions. By 2030, it is estimated that 5 billion people will live in urban areas, representing more than 60% of the world population. Consequently, problems related to the management of cities and their infrastructure are becoming increasingly significant.

To cope with both the economic crisis and the environmental crisis, cities will have to improve the management of their assets, offer more energy efficient services and better environmental performances. They will need to set up effective systems of transportation and mobility, local energy production systems, economic and energy-efficient measures, effective waste recovery and recycling systems, and a comprehensive approach to urban water management.

The Green Neighbourhood, an integrated management approach in Québec City

Expertise requirements in management, maintenance, and rehabilitation of urban infrastructure are therefore increasingly relevant. Just consider the extent of the studies and work required to complete the much needed, and often neglected, aging infrastructure upgrades. Municipalities, as well as consulting engineering firms and construction companies, are now looking for skilled workers in their field.

ÉTS at the heart of the new Quartier de l’innovation and the Special Planning Program (SPP) in Griffintown.

Furthermore, as diagnostics and rehabilitation technologies are changing rapidly, and as the stakes are not only economical but, above all, environmental and sustainable, there is a real need for multidisciplinary training in technical and economic management for professionals in municipal affairs.

Samuel de Champlain Promenade, Québec: Giving back to the citizens access to the River, while integrating urban traffic

Urban engineering focuses on the interactions of the social and technical system of the city and considers the infrastructure as a key element of a territory’s sustainability. This new field of study, popular in Europe, could change our traditional urban planning and infrastructure management methods.

In Paris, a new Green Neighbourhood established in a former rail yard

Engineers in the field of urban engineering work on a wide variety of issues. They may, according to their field of competence, deal with problems related to public space development and downtown commuting, quality of life and environment, management of rain water, urban waste processing, networks, and urban energy savings.

Connecting two neighbourhoods divided by a highway

These engineers work transversely, and in close collaboration, with urban planners and people in charge of the development and establishment of urban areas. The interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder components of urban engineering integrate sustainable urban development features and the impact on urban and infrastructure management.

The great paradigm shift in Seoul: Water is more important than traffic

In theory, the urban phenomena should be considered in a more holistic view. In other words, it is a multi-tiered representation of the city and its various urban issues, with the different aspects of social life and infrastructure forming one integral unit, which can only be considered as a whole.

Essentially, urban engineering can provide a useful and original way to deal with the management of urban infrastructure towards sustainable development.

Urban engineering is at the heart of sustainable cities