Clean water, paved roads, public transit, electricity and gas, sewers, waste processing, telecommunication, even the Internet – all this infrastructure is what makes cities work and powers our lives, often seamlessly and silently. Virtually everything we do and consume depends on infrastructure. Yet, most people have little to no idea how these systems work. How is water treated? Why do traffic jams exist? How is electricity generated and distributed? What happens to trash after it is picked up? How does the Internet work?

In The Infrastructure Book, world-renown urban engineering expert Sybil Derrible reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of the foundational systems that make our societies function. Visiting sixteen cities around the world and their unique approaches to organizational challenges – from city planning in Los Angeles to waste management in Tokyo, Chicago’s power grid to Shanghai’s unique take on traffic, public transportation in the busiest cities and water treatment in the driest deserts – this highly readable book uses fascinating case studies and historical detours to show how infrastructure works – and, sometimes, doesn’t.

With large-scale infrastructure repairs looming, and the need for our current infrastructure to be completely transformed if we hope to be sustainable and resilient into the future. After reading The Infrastructure Book, readers will never look at a city the same way.