Population decline and infrastructure

Population decline and infrastructure: The case

of the German water supply system

ØIn this paper we have focused population changes and transformations of infrastructure and supply systems.

• demographic changes have significant impacts on supply systems and infrastructure. The functional capacity of these systems requires a certain population size and density.

• If population size and composition change considerably, there might be adverse economic, social and technological effects on the supply systems.

• With respect to water supply systems, demographic growth

and shrinkage processes must be regarded as occurring simultaneously; temporal as well as spatial effects have to be considered, along with quantitative and qualitative aspects of demographic changes. Utilities need strong, spatially

differentiated data for estimating demographics.

•  In this case, intra-regional migration and the related strengthening of demographic heterogeneity are the deciding factors.

• City planning should be evaluated from an engineering viewpoint, preferably utilizing existing infrastructure networks.

•If the existing infrastructure is underutilized, there should be no new structural

developments outside the current network.

•Reduced demand for water also has economic consequences.

•In the case of drinking water supply, a decrease in consumption and  the related diminution of flow quantities can considerably impair the functioning of the supply network.

•changes of the population size and structure are

relevant, as well as intra-regional migrations.

• The issue of population decline is a very new field for various disciplines, especially urban and regional planning, engineering and economics, but also public health and medicine or political science. As a result, it seems to be an ideal field for trans disciplinary research and cooperation between demographic research and other disciplines.