Edinburgh and its hinterland is supported by iconic infrastructure that has contributed to its success as a global centre of excellence. Our Georgian and Victorian predecessors connected the city to the wider world with canals, ports, roads and railways and in the 20th century, air transportation arrived. Infrastructure has provided us with gas, electricity, fibre broadband, piped water and sewerage, and has generally improved the life expectancy and quality of life of the population.

In more recent times, we have seen some wise additions to our infrastructure, but also some expensive delivery failures. The talk will examine what we have gained from our policies and practice to build successful infrastructure and what we might have lost.