Canada 2030: Scan of Emerging Issues – Infrastructure

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Author’s Summary:

The purpose of this foresight scan is to explore a number of key plausible changes that could affect infrastructure – and infrastructure investments – over the next 10-15 years. The rise of virtual work, online consumption, and decentralized local production could reshape how and where people want to work and the kinds of infrastructure needed to support their choices. At the same time, technologies like self-driving vehicles, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), robotics and automation, virtual reality, and renewables and energy storage are all changing the possibilities for infrastructure. In the context of these and other changes (e.g. climate change and an aging population), it is important to consider a range of possibilities for how tomorrow’s infrastructure may differ from what is currently expected. This can help stimulate reflection and inform current decisions about infrastructure investments and reduce the risk of stranded and underutilized infrastructure in the future.