CAMBRIDGE, England ¨C The London Underground, the world¡¯s oldest subway system, opened in 1863. Around the same time, London¡¯s modern sewage system was designed by civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette in response to the Great Stink of 1858, which brought Parliament to a standstill. Planning far ahead, Bazalgette built the system to last 150 years. Only now, with the Thames Tideway project, is it being significantly expanded.
Walk through any major city in the United Kingdom ¡ª from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Bristol ¡ª and you will find that much of the infrastructure from the late Victorian era is still in use. That is partly because the Victorians built early and planned decades ahead. Like in many other countries, the U.K.¡¯s infrastructure is akin to a palimpsest, with new layers constructed over the old.
A similar dynamic is playing out today, as new technologies become integral to daily life and economic growth. Broadband, mobile networks and data centers, which are now as vital as roads and power grids, are prime examples.
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