New Books in Economics

Sybil Derrible, "The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives" (Prometheus Books, 2025)

Feb 27, 2025

Sybil Derrible, a professor of urban engineering and director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks Laboratory, delves into the unseen mechanics of city infrastructure. She explains how clean water, efficient waste management, and effective public transit are crucial yet often overlooked. Derrible shares insights from her global studies on urban mobility, the energy landscape for electric vehicles, and innovative waste management practices in Japan. Her engaging anecdotes and expert analysis challenge listeners to rethink how they view and interact with their urban environments.

38:40

Episode guests

Sybil Derrible

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Understanding urban infrastructure, including water management and transportation systems, empowers communities to advocate for sustainable local development.

Innovative waste management solutions, such as incineration and recycling, are essential for minimizing landfill use and promoting sustainability.

Deep dives

Understanding the Importance of Infrastructure

Infrastructure plays a crucial role in our daily lives, often going unnoticed until problems arise. It encompasses more than just roads; it includes systems for electricity, water, transportation, and telecommunications, which are all interconnected and vital for urban functionality. By educating the public about the various types of infrastructure, residents can actively engage in discussions regarding local development and improvements. A deeper understanding allows people to better advocate for their needs within their communities, fostering a sense of ownership in the infrastructure that supports their lives.

Intro

2min

Reimagining Urban Infrastructure

13min

Rethinking Urban Mobility

6min

Navigating Energy Solutions for EVs

6min

Exploring Waste Management Practices and Recycling Challenges

4min

Communications and Infrastructure: A Global Perspective

5min

Clean water, paved roads, public transit, electricity and gas, sewers, waste processing, telecommunication, even the Internet – all this infrastructure is what makes cities work and powers our lives, often seamlessly and silently. Virtually everything we do and consume depends on infrastructure. Yet, most people have little to no idea how these systems work. How is water treated? How do cities manage rainwater? Why do traffic jams exist? How is electricity generated and distributed? What happens to trash after it is picked up? How does the Internet work?

In The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives (Prometheus Books, 2025), world-renowned urban engineering expert Sybil Derrible reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of the foundational systems that make our societies function. Visiting sixteen cities around the world and their unique approaches to organizational challenges – from water distribution in Hong Kong to waste management in Tokyo, and from Chicago’s power grid to low Earth orbit satellites in space – this highly readable book uses fascinating case studies and historical detours to show how infrastructure works – and, sometimes, doesn’t.

With large-scale infrastructure repairs looming and the need for existing infrastructure to be transformed, the book also shows how infrastructure can be more sustainable and resilient. After reading The Infrastructure Book, readers will never look at a city the same way.

Sybil Derrible is a professor of urban engineering and director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is a world-renowned scholar on infrastructure and a lead author on the United Nations Environmental Program’s Seventh Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) report. He received the Walter L. Huber Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers and a CAREER Award from the US National Science Foundation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics