Connection to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

	Infrastructure promotes the good health and well-being of society		Quality infrastructure helps to reduce inequalities by providing services regardless of income level
	Infrastructure provides clean water and sanitation to the public		Infrastructure supports sustainable communities by providing for efficient networks for transportation, water and sanitation
	Infrastructure supports industry and innovation by providing access to transportation and clean water		Effective infrastructure allows for efficient transportation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions

What is the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenge Statement?

The challenge for resilient infrastructure is to ensure that infrastructure provides for the needs of communities and the economy with minimal disruptions and a high level of service in the face of changing and uncertain hazards.

High Level Overview of the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenge

Quality public infrastructure is key to safety, happiness, and economic prosperity throughout the world. Infrastructure provides invaluable services that allow for easy transportation, quick access to clean water and waste disposal. Infrastructure also offers public spaces for sport and recreation and helps to protect communities against different types of natural disasters. Canada’s infrastructure, however, is at risk. In 2019, the Canadian Core Public Infrastructure Survey (CCPIS) revealed that over a third of Canadian municipal infrastructure is in fair, poor, or very poor condition. This infrastructure will continue to degrade with time, especially when faced with atypical extreme weather events and shifting temperatures. The changing climate has increased the frequency of harmful environmental conditions such as flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and more. Resilient infrastructure consists of infrastructure that can withstand the effects of hazards, recover quickly from interruptions in normal operation, and adapt to various long-term conditions. In order to create and maintain infrastructure that is resilient and effective, Canadian engineers must be knowledgeable, adaptable, and motivated to face the changing world ahead. 

Example Connection to a Sustainable Development Goal

CEGC 1: Resilient Infrastructure maps to several Sustainable Development Goals, where an example of one of the connections is to SDG 13 – Climate Action, which has a goal to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” (United Nations, 2023).

Figure: Infographic on Sustainable Development Goal 13 (United Nations, 2023)

Keywords: infrastructure; climate change; resilience, climate risks, aging stocks, hazards

Status of the Challenge Globally

Infrastructure across the world faces many diverse challenges. Whether seismic activity, hurricanes, or degradation over time that wears down the built environment, infrastructure is in constant need of improvement and repair.

Status of the Challenge in Canada

Roadblocks to Success

There are several factors that make achieving resilient infrastructure a difficult task. First and foremost, infrastructure projects are expensive, time consuming, and require public support in order to proceed. Garnering public support for infrastructure maintenance can be difficult as infrastructure goes unnoticed so long as it is working properly. Public education of the important role that infrastructure plays in a healthy and functioning city is key to a community’s ability to stay resilient. The mounting climate-related struggles make it difficult to maintain, let alone invest in the future of infrastructure. Additionally, the risks to infrastructure are never guaranteed, and climate risks will continue to fluctuate based upon worldwide management of environmental changes. 

Strategies to Meet 2030 Targets