A
wide range of people are involved in the funding, design, construction, and
maintenance of major infrastructure projects, such as highways, airports, railroads,
power plants, wastewater treatment plants, and large buildings like convention
centers and sports arenas. Infrastructure has been the subject of intense study
for over 100 years, and in some cases for over 2000 years (think of the
Coliseum and the road system of ancient Rome). One would expect that the
knowledge of how to design and construct such infrastructure would be well
established by now, and indeed there is a wealth of knowledge available.
However, many rules of the past are starting to change in significant ways.
The
population of the planet is over seven billion and growing. Furthermore, the
standard of living is going up worldwide. Both of these factors are putting
huge demands on the earth’s resources — we must now incorporate constraints on
raw materials, energy, and water used in major infrastructure projects. We must
also account for discharges of pollutants in our designs. In the past,
infrastructure projects were rated on cost, safety, and performance. Today, we
must also add sustainability as a factor.
For
the BUA/CEE 275 term paper, each student is asked to select an example of an existing
infrastructure project of interest to them, research the infrastructure, and
write a paper including, but not limited to the following:
•
Project
name & location
•
Date
built (or duration), cost of project at time of building and cost in current
dollars
•
What
is the history of the project? Why was it built? What was the construction
process like? How has it performed?
•
What
makes it innovative? What sets it apart from similar projects?
•
Are
there similar projects in size and scope, or use? If so, briefly discuss or
compare them.
•
What
are the positive and negative impacts of this project? Look at the societal,
economic, and environmental impacts. While you can cite sources, use your own
perspective and critical analysis.
•
What
would you have done differently regarding this project, now that you have
researched it? Again, use your own perspective and critical analysis.
•
You
should include at least 3-5 citations. These can be articles, news accounts,
etc. You should provide in-text referencing of your sources (if you need
information on how to appropriately cite your sources, a good starting place is
the reference material available through the SU Libraries: 5. Citing
Sources – Research Process: Getting Started – Research Guides at Syracuse
University Libraries).
I am also available to help!
•
Your
paper should be ~3000 words, which is roughly 6 single-spaced or 12
double-spaced pages.
•
You
should include relevant photos, drawings, graphs, maps, or other projects.
These are not included in your paper length and should be included at the end
of the paper, not within the paper itself.
•
Use
as many graphics as you wish, but every graphic must be numbered and explained
in the written sections by referring to the graphic by number.
· Tables are also
permitted but, once again, they must be explained and referred to in the
written sections. A table or figure must be referenced and discussed, or it
should not be in the report.
· Figures and
tables taken from any sources must be properly cited, and the complete
reference must be given in a reference list. The reader must be able to obtain
the reference based only on the information you include.
· Table titles go at the top of tables.
· Figure titles go at the bottom of figures.
· Use an accepted
format for references. All references should be in the same format.
No oral presentations will
be required.
