Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance

“Infrastructures are critical for human society,
but vulnerable to climate change. The current body of
research on infrastructure adaptation does not adequately
account for the interconnectedness of infrastructures, both
internally and with one another. We take a step toward
addressing this gap through the introduction of a framework
for infrastructure adaptation that conceptualizes
infrastructures as complex socio-technical “systems of
systems” embedded in a changing natural environment.
We demonstrate the use of this framework by structuring
potential climate change impacts and identifying adapta—
tion options for a preliminary set of cases—road, electricity
and drinking water infrastructures. By helping to clarify the
relationships between impacts at different levels, we find
that the framework facilitates the identification of key
nodes in the web of possible impacts and helps in the
identification of particularly nocuous weather conditions.
We also explore how the framework may be applied more
comprehensively t0 facilitate adaptation governance. We
suggest that it may help to ensure that the mental models of
stakeholders and the quantitative models of researchers
incorporate the essential aspects of interacting climate and
infrastructure systems. Further research is necessary to test
the framework in these contexts and to determine when and
where its application may be most beneficial.”
(Citaat: Bollinger, L.A., Bogmans, C.W.J., et al. – Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance – Regional Environmental Change 14(2014)3, p.919-931)