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90-460: Through the ages, the materials used to construct masias varied, often determined by their location. In mountainous areas, rough stone was often used, except for doorways, windows and arches, where stone was worked . During the Middle Ages , mud was used as mortar , though later on it was replaced by quicklime or cement . In places where stone was hard to come by, adobe was more common as

180-420: A laboratory or factory . Mining in a wider sense comprises extraction of any resource (e.g. petroleum , natural gas , salt or even water ) from the earth. Mining of rock and metals has been done since prehistoric times. Modern mining processes involve prospecting for mineral deposits, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and finally reclamation of

270-504: A comparable assessment of countries' fiscal policies, promoting transparency and accountability at the international level. In addition, in an econometric study published in the Economic Modelling journal, an analysis on government energy technology spending showed that spending on the renewable energy sector created five more jobs per million dollars invested than spending on fossil fuels . Since sustainable infrastructure

360-426: A connection between cities, transportation for people and goods, and protection for land against flooding and erosion, they only last for 50 to 100 years. Many were built within the last 50 years, which means many infrastructures need substantial maintenance to continue functioning. However, concrete is not sustainable. The production of concrete contributes up to 8% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. A tenth of

450-538: A construction material. For the most part, masias are oriented to the south. Constructions older than 16th century have an arched main entrance while those built after the 18th century usually have lintel entrances. Masies were typically constructed with wooden beams placed perpendicular to the facade and covered by tiles . In the Pyrenees and other mountainous areas, the roofing would often be made of slate . They tended to be at least two-story buildings, with

540-484: A coordinated focus on both creating the methods of transportation themselves and providing them with networks that are equally or more efficient than existing car networks such as aging highway systems. Another solution to transition into a more sustainable infrastructure is using more sustainable materials. A material is sustainable if the needed amount can be produced without depleting non-renewable resources. It also should have low environmental impacts by not disrupting

630-402: A fourth class of rocks alongside igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Rock varies greatly in strength, from quartzites having a tensile strength in excess of 300 MPa to sedimentary rock so soft it can be crumbled with bare fingers (that is, it is friable ). (For comparison, structural steel has a tensile strength of around 350 MPa. ) Relatively soft, easily worked sedimentary rock

720-494: A higher level of relative sustainability than their traditional counterparts. In a sustainable city, urban resilience as well as infrastructure reliability must both be present. Urban resilience is defined by a city's capacity to quickly adapt or recover from infrastructure defects, and infrastructure reliability means that systems must work efficiently while continuing to maximize their output. When urban resilience and infrastructure reliability interact, cities are able to produce

810-433: A huge impact on the cultural and technological development of the human race. Rock has been used by humans and other hominids for at least 2.5 million years . Lithic technology marks some of the oldest and continuously used technologies. The mining of rock for its metal content has been one of the most important factors of human advancement, and has progressed at different rates in different places, in part because of

900-526: A rating of "D+" on its infrastructure. This aging infrastructure is a result of governmental neglect and inadequate funding. As the United States presumably looks to upgrade its existing infrastructure, sustainable measures could be a consideration of the design, build, and operation plans. Public infrastructure is that owned or available for use by the public (represented by the government ). It includes: A way to embody personal infrastructure

990-403: A record high in 2010, partially due to governments' implemented economic stimulus measures with minimal consideration of the environmental consequences. The concern is whether this same pattern will repeat itself. The post-COVID-19 period could determine whether the world meets or misses the emissions goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and limits global warming to 1.5 degrees C to 2 degrees C. As

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1080-624: A region or district would be included with infrastructure, but the private irrigation systems on individual land parcels would be considered land improvements, not infrastructure. Service connections to municipal service and public utility networks would also be considered land improvements, not infrastructure. The term " public works " includes government-owned and operated infrastructure as well as public buildings, such as schools and courthouses. Public works generally refers to physical assets needed to deliver public services . Public services include both infrastructure and services generally provided by

1170-510: A result of the COVID-19 epidemic, a host of factors could jeopardize a low-carbon recovery plan: this includes reduced attention on the global political stage (2020 UN Climate Summit has been postponed to 2021), the relaxing of environmental regulations in pursuit of economic growth, decreased oil prices preventing low-carbon technologies from being competitive, and finally, stimulus programs that take away funds that could have been used to further

1260-402: A result, they soak 30% more water than conventional gardens. Bioswales are planted in paved areas like parking lots or sidewalks and are made to allow for overflow into the sewer system by trapping silt and other pollutants, which are normally left over from impermeable surfaces. Both rain gardens and bioswales mitigate flood impacts and prevent stormwater from polluting local waterways; increase

1350-562: A source area and then transported to the place of deposition by water , wind , ice , mass movement or glaciers (agents of denudation ). About 7.9% of the crust by volume is composed of sedimentary rocks, with 82% of those being shales, while the remainder consists of 6% limestone and 12% sandstone and arkoses . Sedimentary rocks often contain fossils . Sedimentary rocks form under the influence of gravity and typically are deposited in horizontal or near horizontal layers or strata , and may be referred to as stratified rocks. Sediment and

1440-514: A specified area by using property tax increases. In order to facilitate investment of the private sector in developing countries' infrastructure markets, it is necessary to design risk-allocation mechanisms more carefully, given the higher risks of their markets. The spending money that comes from the government is less than it used to be. From the 1930s to 2019, the United States went from spending 4.2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP on infrastructure. These under investments have accrued, in fact, according to

1530-801: A specified standard of service by the continuing replacement and refurbishment of its components". Civil defense planners and developmental economists generally refer to both hard and soft infrastructure, including public services such as schools and hospitals , emergency services such as police and fire fighting, and basic services in the economic sector . The notion of infrastructure-based development combining long-term infrastructure investments by government agencies at central and regional levels with public private partnerships has proven popular among economists in Asia (notably Singapore and China), mainland Europe, and Latin America. Military infrastructure

1620-713: A texture are referred to as foliated ; the remainders are termed non-foliated. The name of the rock is then determined based on the types of minerals present. Schists are foliated rocks that are primarily composed of lamellar minerals such as micas . A gneiss has visible bands of differing lightness , with a common example being the granite gneiss. Other varieties of foliated rock include slates , phyllites , and mylonite . Familiar examples of non-foliated metamorphic rocks include marble , soapstone , and serpentine . This branch contains quartzite —a metamorphosed form of sandstone —and hornfels . Though most understanding of rocks comes from those of Earth, rocks make up many of

1710-449: A total of US$ 24.9 billion. In irrigation , governments represent almost all spending. In transport and energy a majority of investment is government spending. In ICT and water supply and sanitation , the private sector represents the majority of capital expenditure. Overall, between them aid, the private sector, and non- OECD financiers exceed government spending. The private sector spending alone equals state capital expenditure, though

1800-428: Is a rooftop that is partially or completely covered with growing vegetation planted over a membrane. It also includes additional layers, including a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. There are several categories of green roofs, including extensive (have a growing media depth ranging from two to six inches) and intensive (have a growing media with a depth greater than six inches). One benefit of green roofs

1890-608: Is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition , and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's outer solid layer, the crust , and most of its interior, except for the liquid outer core and pockets of magma in the asthenosphere . The study of rocks involves multiple subdisciplines of geology, including petrology and mineralogy . It may be limited to rocks found on Earth, or it may include planetary geology that studies

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1980-438: Is defined as "those immobile, non-circulating capital goods that essentially contribute to the production of infrastructure goods and services needed to satisfy basic physical and social requirements of economic agents ". There are two distinct qualities of material infrastructures: 1) fulfillment of social needs and 2) mass production . The first characteristic deals with the basic needs of human life. The second characteristic

2070-458: Is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava . This magma may be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet 's mantle or crust . Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories: Magmas tend to become richer in silica as they rise towards

2160-527: Is generally paid for by metered user fees. Major investment projects are generally financed by the issuance of long-term bonds . Government-owned and operated infrastructure may be developed and operated in the private sector or in public-private partnerships , in addition to in the public sector . As of 2008 in the United States for example, public spending on infrastructure has varied between 2.3% and 3.6% of GDP since 1950. Many financial institutions invest in infrastructure. According to researchers at

2250-484: Is more beneficial in both an economic and environmental context, it represents the future of infrastructure. Especially with increasing pressure from climate change and diminishing natural resources, infrastructure not only needs to maintain economic development and job development, and a high quality of life for residents, but also protect the environment and its natural resources. Sustainable energy infrastructure includes types of renewable energy power plants as well as

2340-430: Is necessary to maintain growth and tackle poverty. The returns to investment in infrastructure are very significant, with on average thirty to forty percent returns for telecommunications ( ICT ) investments, over forty percent for electricity generation, and eighty percent for roads . The demand for infrastructure both by consumers and by companies is much higher than the amount invested. There are severe constraints on

2430-546: Is needed, and transmission of information within and between communities." The American Society of Civil Engineers publishes an "Infrastructure Report Card" which represents the organizations opinion on the condition of various infrastructure every 2–4 years. As of 2017 they grade 16 categories, namely aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water , energy, hazardous waste , inland waterways , levees , parks and recreation , ports , rail , roads , schools, solid waste , transit and wastewater . The United States has received

2520-442: Is next in importance. About 65% of the Earth's crust by volume consists of igneous rocks. Of these, 66% are basalt and gabbro , 16% are granite, and 17% granodiorite and diorite . Only 0.6% are syenite and 0.3% are ultramafic . The oceanic crust is 99% basalt, which is an igneous rock of mafic composition. Granite and similar rocks, known as granitoids , dominate the continental crust . Sedimentary rocks are formed at

2610-409: Is that they reduce stormwater runoff because of its ability to store water in its growing media, reducing the runoff entering the sewer system and waterways, which also decreases the risk of combined sewer overflows. They reduce energy usage since the growing media provides additional insulation, reduces the amount of solar radiation on the roof's surface, and provides evaporative cooling from water in

2700-599: Is the buildings and permanent installations necessary for the support of military forces, whether they are stationed in bases, being deployed or engaged in operations. Examples include barracks, headquarters, airfields, communications facilities, stores of military equipment, port installations, and maintenance stations. Communications infrastructure is the informal and formal channels of communication, political and social networks , or beliefs held by members of particular groups, as well as information technology, software development tools. Still underlying these more conceptual uses

2790-405: Is the idea that infrastructure provides organizing structure and support for the system or organization it serves, whether it is a city, a nation, a corporation, or a collection of people with common interests. Examples include IT infrastructure , research infrastructure, terrorist infrastructure, employment infrastructure, and tourism infrastructure. The term "infrastructure" may be confused with

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2880-812: Is the non-availability of infrastructure goods and services. Today, there are various materials that can be used to build infrastructure. The most prevalent ones are asphalt, concrete, steel, masonry, wood, polymers and composites. According to the business dictionary, economic infrastructure can be defined as "internal facilities of a country that make business activity possible, such as communication, transportation and distribution networks , financial institutions and related international markets, and energy supply systems". Economic infrastructure support productive activities and events. This includes roads, highways, bridges, airports, cycling infrastructure , water distribution networks, sewer systems , and irrigation plants. Social infrastructure can be broadly defined as

2970-746: Is the object of economic and legal policy. It compromises the growth and sets norms. It refers to the degree of fair treatment of equal economic data and determines the framework within which economic agents may formulate their own economic plans and carry them out in co-operation with others. Sustainable infrastructure refers to the processes of design and construction that take into consideration their environmental, economic, and social impact. Included in this section are several elements of sustainable schemes, including materials, water, energy, transportation, and waste management infrastructure. Although there are endless other factors of consideration, those will not be covered in this section. Material infrastructure

3060-453: Is the study of Earth and its components, including the study of rock formations. Petrology is the study of the character and origin of rocks. Mineralogy is the study of the mineral components that create rocks. The study of rocks and their components has contributed to the geological understanding of Earth's history, the archaeological understanding of human history, and the development of engineering and technology in human society. While

3150-803: Is to classify them as two distinct kinds: hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure . Hard infrastructure is the physical networks necessary for the functioning of a modern industrial society or industry . This includes roads, bridges, and railways. Soft infrastructure is all the institutions that maintain the economic , health , social , environmental , and cultural standards of a country. This includes educational programs , official statistics , parks and recreational facilities, law enforcement agencies, and emergency services . The word "infrastructure" has been used in French since 1875 and in English since 1887, originally meaning "installations that form

3240-514: Is to think of it in terms of human capital . Human capital is defined by the Encyclopædia Britannica as "intangible collective resources possessed by individuals and groups within a given population". The goal of personal infrastructure is to determine the quality of the economic agents' values. This results in three major tasks: the task of economic proxies in the economic process (teachers, unskilled and qualified labor, etc.);

3330-771: The Overseas Development Institute , the lack of infrastructure in many developing countries represents one of the most significant limitations to economic growth and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) . Infrastructure investments and maintenance can be very expensive, especially in such areas as landlocked, rural and sparsely populated countries in Africa. It has been argued that infrastructure investments contributed to more than half of Africa's improved growth performance between 1990 and 2005, and increased investment

3420-417: The history of geology includes many theories of rocks and their origins that have persisted throughout human history, the study of rocks was developed as a formal science during the 19th century. Plutonism was developed as a theory during this time, and the discovery of radioactive decay in 1896 allowed for the radiocarbon dating of rocks. Understanding of plate tectonics developed in the second half of

3510-435: The 2017 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, from 2016 to 2025, infrastructure will be underinvested by $ 2 trillion. Compared to the global GDP percentages, The United States is tied for second-to-last place, with an average percentage of 2.4%. This means that the government spends less money on repairing old infrastructure and or on infrastructure as a whole. In Sub-Saharan Africa , governments spend around US$ 9.4 billion out of

3600-399: The 20th century. Rocks are composed primarily of grains of minerals, which are crystalline solids formed from atoms chemically bonded into an orderly structure. Some rocks also contain mineraloids , which are rigid, mineral-like substances, such as volcanic glass , that lack crystalline structure. The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the manner in which it

3690-467: The Earth's surface, a process called magma differentiation . This occurs both because minerals low in silica crystallize out of the magma as it begins to cool ( Bowen's reaction series ) and because the magma assimilates some of the crustal rock through which it ascends ( country rock ), and crustal rock tends to be high in silica. Silica content is thus the most important chemical criterion for classifying igneous rock. The content of alkali metal oxides

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3780-503: The Earth's surface: temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C and pressures greater than 1500 bars. This occurs, for example, when continental plates collide. Metamorphic rocks compose 27.4% of the crust by volume. The three major classes of metamorphic rock are based upon the formation mechanism. An intrusion of magma that heats the surrounding rock causes contact metamorphism—a temperature-dominated transformation. Pressure metamorphism occurs when sediments are buried deep under

3870-649: The French word structure . The army use of the term achieved currency in the United States after the formation of NATO in the 1940s, and by 1970 was adopted by urban planners in its modern civilian sense. A 1987 US National Research Council panel adopted the term " public works infrastructure", referring to: "... both specific functional modes – highways, streets, roads, and bridges; mass transit ; airports and airways; water supply and water resources ; wastewater management ; solid-waste treatment and disposal; electric power generation and transmission; telecommunications; and hazardous waste management – and

3960-567: The G20 COVID-19 related fiscal measures was found to be climate friendly. Although it is readily apparent that much effort is needed to repair the economic damage inflicted by the Coronavirus epidemic, an immediate return to business as usual could be environmentally harmful, as shown by the 2007-08 financial crisis in the United States. While the ensuing economic slowdown reduced global greenhouse gas emissions in 2009, emissions reached

4050-633: The Spanish painter Joan Miró depict his family's own masia as well as Catalan peasants . The FC Barcelona youth academy is called La Masia , so named because it was formerly located in an authentic 18th-century masia called the 'Masia de Can Planes'. The masia is located adjacent to the Camp Nou in the Les Corts district of Barcelona , and was used to house young footballers from 1979 to 2011. Stone In geology , rock (or stone )

4140-410: The amount of greenhouse gases. There are a variety of types of bioretention and infiltration practices, including rain gardens and bioswales. A rain garden is planted in a small depression or natural slope and includes native shrubs and flowers. They temporarily hold and absorb rain water and are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediments from the runoff. As

4230-428: The appropriate built environments for these ecologically preferable modes of transportation. Cities will need to invest in public transportation networks, as well as bike path networks among other sustainable solutions that incentivize citizens to use these alternate transit options. Reducing the urban dependency on cars is a fundamental goal of developing sustainable transportation, and this cannot be accomplished without

4320-471: The basis for any operation or system". It is a loanword from French, where it was already used for establishing a roadbed of substrate material, required before railroad tracks or constructed pavement could be laid on top of it. The word is a combination of the Latin prefix infra- , meaning "below", as many of these constructions are underground (for example, tunnels, water and gas systems, and railways), and

4410-401: The board. However, they must also scale up public investment to ensure successful reopening, boost growth and employment, and green their economies. The unusually large scale of the packages needed for COVID-19 was accompanied by widespread calls for "greening" them to meet the dual goals of economic recovery and environmental sustainability . However, as of March 2021, only a small fraction of

4500-461: The combined system these modal elements comprise. A comprehension of infrastructure spans not only these public works facilities, but also the operating procedures, management practices, and development policies that interact together with societal demand and the physical world to facilitate the transport of people and goods, provision of water for drinking and a variety of other uses, safe disposal of society's waste products, provision of energy where it

4590-523: The constituent particles, and particle size . These physical properties are the result of the processes that formed the rocks. Over the course of time, rocks can be transformed from one type into another, as described by a geological model called the rock cycle . This transformation produces three general classes of rock: igneous , sedimentary and metamorphic . Those three classes are subdivided into many groups. There are, however, no hard-and-fast boundaries between allied rocks. By increase or decrease in

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4680-613: The construction and maintenance of facilities that support social services . Social infrastructures are created to increase social comfort and promote economic activity. These include schools, parks and playgrounds , structures for public safety , waste disposal plants, hospitals, and sports areas. Core assets provide essential services and have monopolistic characteristics. Investors seeking core infrastructure look for five different characteristics: income, low volatility of returns, diversification, inflation protection, and long-term liability matching. Core infrastructure incorporates all

4770-768: The development of metallurgy . Infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical structures such as roads , railways , bridges , airports , public transit systems , tunnels , water supply , sewers , electrical grids , and telecommunications (including Internet connectivity and broadband access ). In general, infrastructure has been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions " and maintain

4860-496: The earliest humans. This early period, called the Stone Age , saw the development of many stone tools. Stone was then used as a major component in the construction of buildings and early infrastructure . Mining developed to extract rocks from the Earth and obtain the minerals within them, including metals . Modern technology has allowed the development of new human-made rocks and rock-like substances, such as concrete . Geology

4950-606: The earth's surface by the accumulation and cementation of fragments of earlier rocks, minerals, and organisms or as chemical precipitates and organic growths in water ( sedimentation ). This process causes clastic sediments (pieces of rock) or organic particles ( detritus ) to settle and accumulate or for minerals to chemically precipitate ( evaporite ) from a solution . The particulate matter then undergoes compaction and cementation at moderate temperatures and pressures ( diagenesis ). Before being deposited, sediments are formed by weathering of earlier rocks by erosion in

5040-427: The earth, from an ore body, vein or seam . The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals , precious metals , iron , uranium , coal , diamonds , limestone , oil shale , rock salt , potash , construction aggregate and dimension stone . Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in

5130-530: The economy. This has serious impacts on households, businesses, and federal, state and local governments. This is especially detrimental to infrastructure because it is so dependent on funding from government agencies – with state and local governments accounting for approximately 75% of spending on public infrastructure in the United States. Governments are facing enormous decreases in revenue, economic downturns, overworked health systems, and hesitant workforces, resulting in huge budget deficits across

5220-446: The established steady-state equilibrium of it. The materials should also be resilient, renewable, reusable, and recyclable. Today, concrete is one of the most common materials used in infrastructure. There is twice as much concrete used in construction than all other building materials combined. It is the backbone of industrialization, as it is used in bridges, piers, pipelines, pavements, and buildings. However, while they do serve as

5310-458: The following overlapping or related concepts. Land improvement and land development are general terms that in some contexts may include infrastructure, but in the context of a discussion of infrastructure would refer only to smaller-scale systems or works that are not included in infrastructure, because they are typically limited to a single parcel of land , and are owned and operated by the landowner. For example, an irrigation canal that serves

5400-428: The form of a large network; in other words, hard infrastructure . Efforts to devise more generic definitions of infrastructures have typically referred to the network aspects of most of the structures, and to the accumulated value of investments in the networks as assets. One such definition from 1998 defined infrastructure as the network of assets "where the system as a whole is intended to be maintained indefinitely at

5490-473: The government. Infrastructure may be owned and managed by governments or by privately held companies, such as sole public utility or railway companies. Generally, most roads, major airports and other ports, water distribution systems, and sewage networks are publicly owned, whereas most energy and telecommunications networks are privately owned. Publicly owned infrastructure may be paid for from taxes, tolls, or metered user fees, whereas private infrastructure

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5580-586: The ground floor reserved for farming tasks and even housing livestock, with the upper floor reserved for the family's living quarters. If there was a floor above that, it would often be used as a granary , or occasionally to house pigeons . Occasionally, masias include an annexed private chapel. In modern times, many masias have been converted into residential villas, restaurants, bed and breakfasts , or centers for rural tourism. Some house museums (i.e. Vil·la Joana , Jujol Centre - Can Negre ) or have been restored and adapted for cultural uses. Some early works of

5670-402: The ground; pressure is dominant, and temperature plays a smaller role. This is termed burial metamorphism, and it can result in rocks such as jade . Where both heat and pressure play a role, the mechanism is termed regional metamorphism. This is typically found in mountain-building regions. Depending on the structure, metamorphic rocks are divided into two general categories. Those that possess

5760-472: The holistic and effective management of water resources. Increasingly, policy makers and regulators are incorporating Nature-based solutions (NBS or NbS) into attempts to achieve sustainable water infrastructure. Sustainable waste management systems aim to minimize the amount of waste products produced by individuals and corporations. Commercial waste management plans have transitioned from simple waste removal plans into comprehensive plans focused on reducing

5850-480: The impact of raindrops on barren surfaces, minimize soil moisture through transpiration, and they help reduce stormwater runoff. Additionally, trees contribute to recharging local aquifers and improve the health of watershed systems. Trees also reduce energy usage by providing shade and releasing water into the atmosphere which cools the air and reduces the amount of heat absorbed by buildings. Finally, trees improve air quality by absorbing harmful air pollutants reducing

5940-451: The importance of personal infrastructure for an individual (short and long-term consumption of education); and the social relevance of personal infrastructure. Essentially, personal infrastructure maps the human impact on infrastructure as it is related to the economy, individual growth, and social impact. Institutional infrastructure branches from the term "economic constitution". According to Gianpiero Torrisi , institutional infrastructure

6030-491: The kind of metals available from the rock of a region. Anthropic rock is synthetic or restructured rock formed by human activity. Concrete is recognized as a human-made rock constituted of natural and processed rock and having been developed since Ancient Rome . Rock can also be modified with other substances to develop new forms, such as epoxy granite . Artificial stone has also been developed, such as Coade stone . Geologist James R. Underwood has proposed anthropic rock as

6120-431: The land to prepare it for other uses once mining ceases. Mining processes may create negative impacts on the environment both during the mining operations and for years after mining has ceased. These potential impacts have led to most of the world's nations adopting regulations to manage negative effects of mining operations. Stone tools have been used for millions of years by humans and earlier hominids . The Stone Age

6210-416: The little parts of the engineering world that make life more convenient and efficient. They are needed to ensure successful usage and marketing of an already finished product, like in the case of road bridges . Other examples are lights on sidewalks, landscaping around buildings, and benches where pedestrians can rest. Engineers generally limit the term "infrastructure" to describe fixed assets that are in

6300-635: The main types of infrastructure, such as roads, highways, railways, public transportation , water, and gas supply. Basic infrastructure refers to main railways, roads, canals, harbors and docks, the electromagnetic telegraph, drainage, dikes, and land reclamation. It consist of the more well-known and common features of infrastructure that we come across in our daily lives (buildings, roads, docks). Complementary infrastructure refers to things like light railways, tramways, and gas/electricity/water supply. To complement something means to bring it to perfection or complete it. Complementary infrastructure deals with

6390-487: The majority is focused on ICT infrastructure investments. External financing increased in the 2000s (decade) and in Africa alone external infrastructure investments increased from US$ 7 billion in 2002 to US$ 27 billion in 2009. China, in particular, has emerged as an important investor. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the underfunding of infrastructure globally that has been accumulating for decades. The pandemic has increased unemployment and has widely disrupted

6480-556: The market by prevailing non renewable energy sources. Sustainable water infrastructure is focused on a community's sufficient access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is a public good along with electricity, which means that sustainable water catchment and distribution systems must remain affordable to all members of a population. "Sustainable Water" may refer to a nation or community's ability to be self-sustainable, with enough water to meet multiple needs including agriculture, industry, sanitation, and drinking water. It can also refer to

6570-601: The means of exchange from the plant to the homes and businesses that use that energy. Renewable energy includes well researched and widely implemented methods such as wind, solar, and hydraulic power, as well as newer and less commonly used types of power creation such as fusion energy. Sustainable energy infrastructure must maintain a strong supply relative to demand, and must also maintain sufficiently low prices for consumers so as not to decrease demand. Any type of renewable energy infrastructure that fails to meet these consumption and price requirements will ultimately be forced out of

6660-627: The natural processes needed to manage water, reduce the effects of disasters such as flooding, and create healthier urban environments. In a more practical sense, it refers to a decentralized network of stormwater management practices, which includes green roofs, trees, bioretention and infiltration, and permeable pavement. Green infrastructure has become an increasingly popular strategy in recent years due to its effectiveness in providing ecological, economic, and social benefits – including positively impacting energy consumption, air quality, and carbon reduction and sequestration. A green roof

6750-418: The original rock was formed. This process is called metamorphism , meaning to "change in form". The result is a profound change in physical properties and chemistry of the stone. The original rock, known as the protolith , transforms into other mineral types or other forms of the same minerals, by recrystallization . The temperatures and pressures required for this process are always higher than those found at

6840-425: The particles of clastic sedimentary rocks can be further classified by grain size . The smallest sediments are clay , followed by silt , sand , and gravel . Some systems include cobbles and boulders as measurements. Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type—sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic rock—to different temperature and pressure conditions than those in which

6930-492: The plants, which reduce the roof surface temperatures and heat influx. Green roofs also reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide since the vegetation sequesters carbon and, since they reduce energy usage and the urban heat island by reducing the roof temperature, they also lower carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation. Tree planting provides a host of ecological, social, and economic benefits. Trees can intercept rain, support infiltration and water storage in soil, diminish

7020-622: The process of decarbonization . Research suggests that a recovery plan based on lower-carbon emissions could not only make significant emissions reductions needed to battle climate change, but also create more economic growth and jobs than a high-carbon recovery plan would. A study published in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, more than 200 economists and economic officials reported that "green" economic-recovery initiatives performed at least as well as less "green" initiatives. There have also been calls for an independent body could provide

7110-415: The proportions of their minerals, they pass through gradations from one to the other; the distinctive structures of one kind of rock may thus be traced, gradually merging into those of another. Hence the definitions adopted in rock names simply correspond to selected points in a continuously graduated series. Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus, meaning of fire, from ignis meaning fire)

7200-641: The rocks of other celestial objects. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks , sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks . Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools in the Earth's crust, or lava cools on the ground surface or the seabed. Sedimentary rocks are formed by diagenesis and lithification of sediments , which in turn are formed by the weathering , transport, and deposition of existing rocks. Metamorphic rocks are formed when existing rocks are subjected to such high pressures and temperatures that they are transformed without significant melting. Humanity has made use of rocks since

7290-478: The supply side of the provision of infrastructure in Asia. The infrastructure financing gap between what is invested in Asia-Pacific (around US$ 48 billion) and what is needed (US$ 228 billion) is around US$ 180 billion every year. In Latin America, three percent of GDP (around US$ 71 billion) would need to be invested in infrastructure in order to satisfy demand, yet in 2005, for example, only around two percent

7380-648: The surrounding environment. Especially in light of the massive societal transformations needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, contemporary infrastructure conversations frequently focus on sustainable development and green infrastructure . Acknowledging this importance, the international community has created policy focused on sustainable infrastructure through the Sustainable Development Goals , especially Sustainable Development Goal 9 " Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure ". One way to describe different types of infrastructure

7470-471: The total amount of waste produced before removal. Sustainable waste management is beneficial environmentally, and can also cut costs for businesses that reduce their amount of disposed goods. Sustainable transportation includes a shift away from private, greenhouse gas emitting cars in favor of adopting methods of transportation that are either carbon neutral or reduce carbon emissions such as bikes or electric bus systems. Additionally, cities must invest in

7560-621: The universe's celestial bodies. In the Solar System , Mars , Venus , and Mercury are composed of rock, as are many natural satellites , asteroids , and meteoroids . Meteorites that fall to Earth provide evidence of extraterrestrial rocks and their composition. They are typically heavier than rocks on Earth. Asteroid rocks can also be brought to Earth through space missions, such as the Hayabusa mission. Lunar rocks and Martian rocks have also been studied. The use of rock has had

7650-442: The usable water supply by reducing the amount of water needed for outdoor irrigation; improve air quality by minimizing the amount of water going into treatment facilities, which also reduces energy usage and, as a result, reduces air pollution since less greenhouse gases are emitted. Smart cities use innovative methods of design and implementation in various sectors of infrastructure and planning to create communities that operate at

7740-460: The world's industrial water usage is from producing concrete. Even transporting the raw materials to concrete production sites adds to airborne pollution. Furthermore, the production sites and the infrastructures themselves all strip away agricultural land that could have been fertile soil or habitats vital to the ecosystem. Green infrastructure is a type of sustainable infrastructure. Green infrastructure uses plant or soil systems to restore some of

7830-408: Was a period of widespread stone tool usage. Early Stone Age tools were simple implements, such as hammerstones and sharp flakes. Middle Stone Age tools featured sharpened points to be used as projectile points , awls, or scrapers . Late Stone Age tools were developed with craftsmanship and distinct cultural identities. Stone tools were largely superseded by copper and bronze tools following

7920-456: Was formed. Most rocks contain silicate minerals , compounds that include silica tetrahedra in their crystal lattice , and account for about one-third of all known mineral species and about 95% of the earth's crust . The proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their names and properties. Rocks are classified according to characteristics such as mineral and chemical composition, permeability , texture of

8010-772: Was invested leaving a financing gap of approximately US$ 24 billion. In Africa, in order to reach the seven percent annual growth calculated to be required to meet the MDGs by 2015 would require infrastructure investments of about fifteen percent of GDP, or around US$ 93 billion a year. In fragile states , over thirty-seven percent of GDP would be required. The source of financing for infrastructure varies significantly across sectors. Some sectors are dominated by government spending , others by overseas development aid (ODA) , and yet others by private investors. In California, infrastructure financing districts are established by local governments to pay for physical facilities and services within

8100-789: Was quarried for construction as early as 4000 BCE in Egypt, and stone was used to build fortifications in Inner Mongolia as early as 2800 BCE. The soft rock, tuff , is common in Italy, and the Romans used it for many buildings and bridges. Limestone was widely used in construction in the Middle Ages in Europe and remained popular into the 20th century. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from

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