1 A Sociotechnical Framework for Understanding Infrastructure Breakdown and Repair

edition four years ago. Years of delayed maintenance and lack of modernization have left Americans with an outdated and failing infrastructure that cannot meet our needs. Infrastructure has a direct impact on our personal and economic health, and the infrastructure crisis is endangering our nation’s future prosperity. For the safety and security of our families, we can no longer afford to ignore the congested roads, aging dams, broken water mains, and deficient bridges we face every day. As a society, we must become better stewards of the environment through the use of sustainable infrastructure practices. The quality of life for this and future generations depends on our willingness to rise to the challenge.- D. Wayne Klotz, President, American Society of Civil Engineers 2008–2009 This paper looks at how and why infrastructure is repaired. With a new era of infrastructure spending underway, policymakers need to understand and anticipate the particular technical and political challenges posed by infrastructure repair. In particular, as infrastructure problems are increasingly in the public eye with current economic stimulus efforts, the question has increasingly been asked: why has it been so difficult for the United States to devote sustained resources to maintaining and upgrading its national infrastructure? This paper provides a sociotechnical framework for understanding the challenges of infrastructure repair, and demonstrates this framework using a case study of seismi