Infrastructure Goes Mainstream

"I posit that the 'aughts,' as they have been called, were the decade of infrastructure. Sure, maybe we didn't spend enough on it, or even more than in previous decades (I know of no official list of infrastructure projects, so it's hard to tell). But I would argue that infrastructure did crystalize as a subject for the first time in the hearts and minds of the country's citizens and opinion leaders as a subject worthy of attention and focus. A decade ago, the word "infrastructure" was hardly known outside the specialized worlds of public works departments. Now editorial writers bandy it about without explanation and debate how much we should spend on it."

Alex Marshall suggests that widespread understanding about infrastructure will enable more intelligent investment in the coming years.