Strategic planning of urban infrastructure for environmental sustainability: Understanding the past to intervene for the future

Abstract

Urban infrastructure systems have long lifespans and influence the state of the environment for extended periods of time. Processes of strategic planning for urban infrastructure are thus instrumental to materializing environmental sustainability visions. Continued investments in infrastructure with adverse environmental impacts imply that sustainability priorities are not embedded in planning processes, as these processes tend to follow the path-dependent legacy of older planning paradigms. This study identifies the cognitive framings that underpin the evolution of strategic planning over the last century, to reveal the path-dependent attributes of strategic planning thinking that undermine..