2 minute read
Next-Generation Infrastructure & Sustainable Mobility for Smart Cities
BY ALOISIO PEREIRA DA SILVA
©INFRACITIES
With a focus on innovation, efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability, Infracities System organizes and shares the underground space to implement utility networks inside a standardized structure made from plastic waste.
Cities need more efficient, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure. In the U.S. alone, demand for infrastructure exceeds $2 trillion over the next 10 years. But our infrastructure is designed and built without integrated planning. We need to rebuild infrastructure with a purpose for the 21st century, focusing on integration, intelligence, and climate resilience.
Infracities System is the result of my doctoral research developed at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil and Texas A&M Transportation Institute and more than 20 years of my professional experience working on large infrastructure projects. The motivation for the research came from the high costs of constructing and maintaining traditional infrastructure networks, frequent accidents, and environmental impacts.
Infracities is a safe, effective, organized system that moves all natural gas, telecommunications, water, power lines, and servers to recycled plastic bays underneath sidewalks and bike lanes. The system has been upgraded with a drainage system and a new system for electrical charging incorporated in the lamp post.
The construction starts with the opening of a trench about 1 meter deep, then compacting the ground with water. Then comes the assembly of the structure, which is snap-on, not requiring special tools. Interconnection boxes for consumers’ networks are also easily and quickly fitted to the structure. They are installed at a depth of about 90 cm, facilitating their installation and reducing the risk of accidents.
The entry system is covered with sand, which facilitates compaction and its removal during maintenance. Paving is done with interconnecting concrete blocks. For maintenance, simply remove the concrete blocks and sands. Afterward, the same materials can be used to cover the bays, avoiding the generation of waste and use of new materials, plus removing the need for street demolition or interrupting traffic.
This system can be used for both private investors and public authorities. The opportunity to share construction and maintenance costs between utilities reduces costs to users while providing centralized management. We built and tested a pilot project in a technological park in Brazil with successful results that showed a reduction in construction costs by 30% and a 70% reduction in maintenance and operation costs. Without special construction equipment, it can be built in any city of any size in the world.
Aloisio Pereira da Silva
Founder & CEO, Infracities
Florianópolis, Brazil
Dr. Aloisio Pereira da Silva is the founder and CEO at Infracities and creator of the Infracities System. Since 1997, he has worked in transportation and infrastructure with an emphasis on utility engineering, design, field construction, and construction supervision phases, as well as in research and teaching. He is a speaker at the world’s most relevant events and courses in infrastructure, mobility, transportation, and smart cities. He has received international recognition for his work, including an international agreement for the development of his research with one of the top infrastructure institutes in Europe.
