History of Infrastructure by Srishti Bhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51 For my 2nd line of Inquiry en-us 2021-03-23 03:31:14 UTC 2021-03-31 06:21:50 UTC hello@padlet.com History’s earliest infrastructure projects were roads. Nomadic hunter-gatherer populations were builders—creating monuments of complexity like barrow mounds, stone tombs, geoglyphs, or stone circles—but creating and maintaining a system of roads would not have been worth the energy. Permanent infrastructure was less important than moving freely the herds. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341073781 2021-03-23 03:34:53 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341073781 Early roads were slowly made to connect between different places. These trails were made by human and animal foot marks creating a kind of trail. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341079301 2021-03-23 03:37:33 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341079301 Darius the Great was a Persian King between 522-486 BCE, who ruled at the height of the Persian Empire. Like the Romans that came after him, Darius invested in infrastructure. He built canals and roads throughout the provinces of his empire, which stretched from modern-day Iran to Egypt. Along these roads, he placed way stations, so that couriers and other people on state business could re-supply themselves. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341090708 2021-03-23 03:43:23 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341090708 The Romans believed infrastructure was of strategic importance: a way to move troops, supplies, and trade. During the Roman Empire’s ascendance, they built or upgraded 80,000 km worth of highways. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341092739 2021-03-23 03:44:31 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341092739 People have been setting out over water through all of pre-history. There is some evidence that Homo erectus crossed water to settle on the Indonesian island of Flores 900,000 years ago. The oldest recovered boat is the Pesse Canoe, a 10,000-year-old dugout canoe found in the Netherlands. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341698912 2021-03-23 08:05:36 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341698912 Infrastructure, however, is produced by a society working together. These public projects enrich the group, rather than the individual. The Arkadiko Bridge in Greece, an arched bridge made of stone and built in the Bronze Age, is the oldest surviving stone bridge still in use today. It was part of a stone highway built between Tiryns and Epidauros as part of a military road network. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341701898 2021-03-23 08:06:39 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341701898 The oldest found port in the world is 4,500 years old, at Wadi al-Jarf in Egypt: artifacts show that it was an important trading port for Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341703324 2021-03-23 08:07:03 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341703324 As far back as the 4th century, in Antioch, private establishments have hung lanterns outdoors. Busy streets had illumination all night. In London and Paris, it was even a requirement: the cities demanded private citizens cast light outside their homes. But it wasn’t until 1594 when lighting could be properly considered infrastructure, when it became more than an individual concern. That year, the Parisian police force installed a network of lanterns in the hope that outdoor lighting at night would deter crime. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341705188 2021-03-23 08:07:45 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341705188 In the 1700s, lighting grids became public works. Teams of lamplighters roamed the city streets to fill and light oil lights held high on poles to cast a wide light. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341706385 2021-03-23 08:08:12 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341706385 The first “railway” was a paved track for transporting boats and/or cargo across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece. Grooves in the paving prevented wheeled carts from straying from the track. This early rail design certainly counted as important infrastructure at the time. Yet it was the steam engine that made rail systems really matter to economic development. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341708351 2021-03-23 08:08:53 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341708351 In 1857, steel rails were laid in Derby, England; ever after, the carrying power of the locomotive allowed supply networks to expand and grow. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341710758 2021-03-23 08:09:45 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341710758 1901 saw the creation of the first electrical power station, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Public subsidy of power generation and transmission become worthwhile for most societies. Electricity allowed for greater productivity in almost every sector. As with rail lines, roads, and ferry ports, electrical infrastructure made the whole society more effective. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341714266 2021-03-23 08:10:59 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341714266 Internet or the world wide web is a platform that allows us to communicate and learn new things. This is a very big step for Infrastructure. srishtibhatia https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341716316 2021-03-23 08:11:41 UTC https://padlet.com/srishtibhatia/67xj8y0z7jn8sz51/wish/1341716316