Public Infrastructure in the UK - Essay Example

Infrastructure Application and Review ID 19714 Order No. 260573 09 December 2008 Acknowledgements Table of Contents: List of Figures: Serial No. Description of the Figure Figure 1 Factors affecting Health and Safety of Natives of a city (Source: HUDU London) Figure 2 Congestion on M25 London (Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-426647/Forget-motorway-congestion--em-em-traffic-jam.html#) Figure 3 Total Lost hours per link Kilometre (Source: Department of Transport UK) Figure 4 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from different forms of Transport (Source: http://www.deakin.edu.au/travelsmart/benefits.php) Introduction: The health of a country is determined by the health of its people. The Public Infrastructure facilities and transport system are deployed by the people for the people of a country. Hence, the primary consideration in the design and implementation of Infrastructure facilities and Transport system should be the health and safety of people. From the perspective of Infrastructure & transport planning Health is not only about deploying adequate hospitals and access to medication. Similarly, safety is not only about reducing hazards that may cause human injury or death. While these factors contribute to major part of this domain, health & safety also includes Socio - Economic factors and Lifestyle within a city that may be unique to every city. The following figure presents the factors that affect health & safety of the natives of a city. Figure 1: Factors affecting Health and Safety of Natives of a city (Source: NHS London) The Infrastructure & Transport facilities in the city should be deployed in such a way that the most affluent as well as the most deprived citizens are able to avail the services available as per their socio-economic status. The focus on health and safety is required not only in planning & deployment of Infrastructure & Transport services but also in their maintenance especially when the condition of the components of the infrastructure starts deteriorating due to ageing or environmental impacts. The assessment of impact on health & safety due to day to day operating practices of Infrastructure facilities is not an easy task. It requires lot of analysis, focused approach, technology expertise, knowledge of weather & environment and foresight to arrive at accurate conclusions about the projected impacts on the health & safety of the citizens. The assessors need to have excellent eye for detail and practice "think out of the box" strategy. [NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit. 2007] The author hereby emphasizes upon socio-economic status of the citizens in addition to their physical health & safety and presents this dissertation pertaining to a critical review of the process of planning and deployment of Infrastructure Facilities & Transport keeping in view the social & economic safety, physical health, mental health, and physical safety of the natives of an urban belt. Literature Review: The NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit (2007) recommends the following as high level requirements of ensuring healthier community in the city of London: Good Quality and Affordable Housing Fast, Economic and Safe transport system Employment and Skills Development Good Quality Education Access to essential services - Schools, Hospitals, Shopping Complexes, Community Centers, Workplace, Police Station, Fire Station, Entertainment Centers, Parks & Open Spaces, etc. Community Safety from hazards, accidents and crime Liveability, Open Space and Social engagement areas/zones High quality Air, Water and Food Control on Noise and Environment Pollution Adjustment against change of climate In this context, the NHS documentation possesses the following policies that are enforceable on the town planners, project managers, governing bodies, maintenance facilities, etc.: Large Residential Development Policies Affordable Housing Targets Negotiating Affordable Housing in individual private residential and mixed-use schemes Addressing the needs of London Diverse Population Protection and Enhancement of Social Infrastructure and Community Facilities Improving the Skills and Employment opportunities for Londoners Climate Change Priorities in Planning Obligations A central controlling body governing such a large domain of responsibilities of public service bodies is an excellent best practice that every country across the world should consider implementing. This ensures that all the developments come under one umbrella with single point of accountability and hence there is no blame game or buck passing as such. All developing countries lack this best practice thus leaving the public on the mercy of the conflicts among multiple public infrastructure development & service departments (NHS, 2007). One of the major impacts of Infrastructure Services & transport is on the mental health of the citizens. A close study shall reveal that an average individual spends almost 50 to 60% of his/her time outside home and hence largely is dependent upon the comfort level provided by the city infrastructure services. A number of factors contribute to mental health of citizens of a city - pollution (inhaling harmful emissions from vehicles, factories, building facilities, etc), congestion on road, fear of crime, bad neighbourhood, long waiting time for public transport, etc. NHS London suggests that the following mental instabilities can occur in an average human being living in a large urban city (NHS 2008): Anxiety Increase in Stress levels Sleeping disorders Depression Panic Attacks Flashbacks to a bad experience (example, congestions) Difficulty in Concentration Lethargy (lack of Energy) Feeling of isolation Increased use of Alcohol, Smoking, Drugs, etc Nightmares Anger/Mood Swings/Thoughts of Suicide Tension in relationships The list will go on but the impacts of agony of an individual will never end. Problems in Infrastructure services cause serious mental imbalances in an urban lifestyle. The following figure (Figure 2) presents a serious congestion on the M25 motorway of London. Any individual who might be travelling on this route daily during business hours cannot be healthy both from the perspective of physical & mental health. In fact the risks of accidents also increases drastically as the people tend to get into erratic behaviours in the traffic. Figure 2: Congestion on M25 London (Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-426647/Forget-motorway-congestion--em-em-traffic-jam.html#) Overall, every individual loses his/her overall productivity pertaining to work and life. While mental agony leads to imbalance in work & life of the individuals, the long hours lost on congested roads cause major loss to the overall productivity of the nation. Figure 3 presents some statistics on the number of overall production hours lost in traffic on some major link roads. The figures show an alarming loss of productive hours of individuals in just commuting from one place to other (source: Department of Transport, UK). The loss is not only of production hours but also is of cleanliness of the environment. Figure 4 presents some figures on the greenhouse gas emissions of various mode of transport (Source: http://www.deakin.edu.au/travelsmart/benefits.php). These problems reveal that the Government not only needs to control the lifestyle of the citizens but also needs to provide adequate accessibility to the city infrastructure facilities. People in UK and rich and hence love cars. They try to avoid public transport as much as possible. Some good practices that the Government has implemented in this context are: Congestion Charges - thus encouraging people to use Public Transport Faster and More efficient public transport services Let us consider a small example. If an individual needs to take a flight from London Heathrow, he/she need not take a car/cab up to the airport. He can use the London underground and finally catch Heathrow express that is available at every 10 minutes and takes only 20 minutes to reach Heathrow from Central London. The train takes the passenger right up to the basement of the airport from where the terminals are very close - hence no congestion charges, no hassles of a long ride (it takes more than an hour by road) and no parking charges. This is an excellent example of smart infrastructure service planning. Figure 3: Total Lost hours per link Kilometre (Source: Department of Transport UK) Figure 4: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from different forms of Transport (Source: http://www.deakin.edu.au/travelsmart/benefits.php) Usage of Public Transport enables better health of people as everyone is forced to walk substantially to reach the bus stands or train stations. In peak hours, people are forced to stand in the train or bus which enables them to carry out some physical exercise even while commuting. As a best practice, the town planners encourage cycling to reach community centres, hospitals schools, market places, etc. In London, there are many areas that are more easily accessible through cycling tracks than roads. This practice can not only ensure a much cleaner environment (cycles do not cause any emissions) but also shall enhance the health & safety of individuals due to increased physical exercise thus causing reduction in deadly diseases like Heart Attack or Stroke. Paul Eason (2004) emphasizes the role of Engineering Risk Assessment in Public Safety. He emphasizes that the modern planners should maintain a database of all known & emerging threats to human health & safety such that Risk Assessment can be practiced in the three major facilities being developed for people - Products, Infrastructure Services and Maintenance processes. He explained that the Public Infrastructure facilities like Roads, Bridges, Railways, Stadiums, Hospitals, Hotels, Schools etc should be built keeping mind structural excellence, safe construction, withstanding natural disasters and also withstanding terrorist attacks against the modern threats across the world. All facilities should have safe exit routes and pathways that can facilitate faster entry of Police Vans, Rapid Action Forces, Fire Brigade, etc. He insisted that there should be standard code of compliance maintained by all developed countries which should include global best practices & standards pertaining to Infrastructure Services Risk Management (Eason, Paul, 2004). The International Labour Organization (ILO) insists on well being of Infrastructure construction labourers which is essential to ensure deployment of high quality Infrastructure Services and protection of Human rights of the people on ground that is elementary in deployment and maintenance of Infrastructure services of a country. In this context, ILO recommends a set of best practices pertaining to freedom of association, elimination of forced or compulsory labour, abolition of child labour, Health & Safety of labours on the job, wages to be paid in full & on time, social security and protection from deadly infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Lungs Cancer, etc (Jennings, Mary and Cotton, Andrew et al. 2000). The Public Service Department, JMPD at South Africa have institutionalized a best practice called Community Based Volunteer Programme which empowers the communities across the cities to prevent disasters or respond to them effectively if they strike. In this context, the volunteers are imparted basic training like basics of disaster management, fire fighting, first aid medical assistance, managing escape routes, etc. In this programme a number of simulated mock exercises are conducted for the volunteers to enable them to respond to a disaster quickly without waiting for arrival of help. Under this programme, effective usage of infrastructure services available to fight disasters (like Hose Pipes, Alarm Panels, Fire Extinguishers, Escape Routes, etc) are explained to the volunteers and along with hands on practice (JMPD, 2007). The Waitakere City Council has implemented a concept of Social Infrastructure Clusters whereby the Infrastructure facilities in the city are divided into five large clusters as detailed below (details taken from the Literature: Waitakere City Council. 2007): Cluster One: Physical Well-being Community Health services Public Health services Police Disaster, Crisis and Emergency services Affordable housing and shelter for the deprived Cluster Two: Human Development Children and family services Recreation facilities & Services Leisure facilities & services Arts and cultural communities Schools Information & Learning Centers Taxi Services Secondary and Adult education Cluster Three: Cross Community Support Services for people with disability disorders Social services for work and income Support to Victims Law and Justice Services Facilities supporting Work and Income Cluster Four: Neighborhood Interaction Formal community meeting space - town hall, churches, community centers, etc Informal community meeting spaces - open space, restaurants, pubs, etc Community networking and interaction Sense of place, identity, cultural expression Community Building, Development and Events Cluster Five: Physical Environment Parks, Playgrounds, Gardens, Green belts, etc. Accessibility Safety Workplaces, Shops, Schools, etc. Power Water Transport Etc. It is not that the infrastructure development and maintenance are carried out as per the clusters defined above. However, the clusters ensure clarity in the planning process whereby the planners can take all connected & impacting factors thus ensuring end to end consideration of all the factors that can impact well being of the citizen of the urban region - Social, Economical, Environmental, Cultural, Health, & Safety (Waitakere City Council. 2007). The European Commission - Directorate General for Energy and Transport have recommended a common framework of safety of roads in all the EU member states while every member state shall have their own freedom to adopt their own legislation on Infrastructure Safety. This harmonization is expected to ensure much lower cost and higher safety measures whereby the network of roads shall be managed in such a way that all the communities in the member states avail the benefits of a common transport system. The administration and auditing of safety especially of the high accident zones and the blind zones shall be more effective. This project would prove to be one of the most prominent best practices once implemented successfully. The author is unable to throw light on the current status of this project due to lack if relevant literature. Conclusion: Infrastructure services & transport system has high impact on health & safety of the natives of a country (Lamoureux, Franois. 2006). A lot depends upon how the health & safety aspects have been considered while planning for Infrastructure services & transport by the town planners. NHS London recommends some excellent best practices in planning, deployment and management of Infrastructure services keeping in consideration the factors affecting the well being of natives of London. An excellent best practice recommend risk management by virtue of a threat database comprising of all known threats to well being (including health & safety) of the natives and the corresponding readiness in the Infrastructure Services in this context. ILO emphasizes on well being of Infrastructure Labourers to ensure more efficient deployment and administration of Infrastructure services. JMPD of South Africa is running a programme whereby community volunteers across the country are trained on disaster management in order to prepare the country to quickly & efficiently respond to disasters. The author also introduced the concept of Social Infrastructure clusters developed by Waitakere City Council (2007) that enables better planning & management of well being of the community. Finally, the author introduced an emerging best practice of standardization of road network management & safety across Europe thus ensuring common experience to all stake holders across the region. Reference List: Eason, Paul. The role of Engineering Risk Assessment in Public Safety. E4 Consulting Incorporated. Jacksonville. 2004. Jennings, Mary and Cotton, Andrew et al. Inclusion of Social benefits in Infrastructure. Ensuring Social benefits for road workers through implementing labour standards. ILO. 2000. Lamoureux, Franois. Road Infrastructure Safety Management on the Trans-European Networks. Directorate general for Energy and Transport. European Commission. 2006. Public Safety - Introduction and Overview. JMPD, City of Johannesburg. Retrieved on 8th December 2008. Available at www.joburg-archive.co.za/2007/pdfs/idp_2007/final/ch8c_plan7.pdf. 2007. NHS. Delivering Healthier Communities in London. NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit. 2007. NHS. Watch Out for Health. NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit. 2008. Waitakere City Council. Social Infrastructure Planning Framework for Waitakere City. Waitakere City Council. 2007. Read More