What our communities need is physical infrastructure that works, that someone is taking care of without them tripping over it.

The physical assets our communities depend on are often where our communities cannot see them. They are underground, or behind secure fences in out of the way places. Even where the assets are out in the open, most people will barely notice them.

And that is as it should be. Effective infrastructure does its job without getting in the way. If people can take it for granted, so they don’t think about it day to day, they don’t have to notice it: it is doing its job. The most noticeable physical infrastructure is often infrastructure that is not working well.

But here’s the deal: some of us must pay attention to it, so that the rest of our society doesn’t have to. It follows from this that infrastructure stewardship is not something you do for glory. You do it because you believe it is vital, and a worthy job for someone who wishes to serve the community – one of the most important jobs there is, behind the scenes.

It’s not easy to be a steward of essential physical infrastructure. But what we can say for sure is that doing it well is honourable, a vital role for our society.

Focus on Levels of Service to Communities