Tangible and intangible infrastructure Infrastructure plays a very important role in the process
of regional inversion. It
provides a platform upon which the phenomena supporting regional inversion
depend. Tangible or physical infrastructure comprises the
facilities through which communication, learning and transactions occur. Tangible infrastructure is therefore
an essential medium that allows the various phenomena connected to regional
inversion to unfold. Put another
way, tangible infrastructure is the “hardware” that supports the intangibles
of regional inversion. The intangible infrastructure comprises the
knowledge and transaction networks in all their social, economic and cultural
dimensions. The intangible
infrastructure is both fluid and dynamic. It builds on access made possible by the tangible
infrastructure, allowing individuals, groups and organizations to establish
or develop relations. The values
and relations enabled by the intangible infrastructure are at the core of
community building, and they are of vital importance to regional
inversion. How does
infrastructure support regional inversion? Infrastructure supports regional inversion in
manifold ways. Building up the
tangible infrastructure requires considerable investment over time. Facilities must be constructed,
upgraded and expanded over the long term. This process of accumulation is of vital importance to
regional inversion. The
phenomena that support regional inversion depend on the long-term
accumulation of tangible infrastructure to deploy their effects. Among the various aspects that the accumulation of tangible infrastructure supports are the diffusion of knowledge and information, the implementation of educational programs and research laboratories, the movement of goods and people, communications for all aspects of life and work, and the transactions of all economic, social and cultural activities. Educational and research facilities are of particular importance to regional inversion. Their inadequacy can make it impossible to provide the kind of ample access needed to transform regional structures in a fundamental way. Communication facilities are essential to the diffusion of knowledge and information, and to the knowledge networks that make up the intangible infrastructure. Communication facilities are also vital for all the transactions that lead to exchange, and to the transportation of all goods, tangible resources and people. The support that tangible infrastructure provides for regional inversion can be placed in two major categories. One of them involves contact. This category affects all activities that depend on contact, regardless of whether it is personal, impersonal or virtual. Education, transactional activities, and movement are dependent on the contact function of tangible infrastructure. The contact function is also vital for the intangible infrastructure and all its networks. Because of the importance of personal and virtual
contact for social, economic and cultural advancement, this function is
essential for the process of regional transformation. It is hard to think of any activity
contributing to regional inversion that does not depend on the contact
facilities and networks made available by the tangible infrastructure. Without those facilities, it would be
impossible for the intangible infrastructure to have any role in transforming
regional structures. The second category of tangible infrastructure
involves access. Providing
physical and virtual access to the existing stock of knowledge and
information is of vital importance for the transformation of regional
structures. Access to
state-of-the-art knowledge is essential for all the intangible resources that
support creativity and innovation.
Access is also much related to issues of fairness and
opportunity. Unless tangible
infrastructural access is broad and available, crucial processes such as the
massification of education and the diffusion of knowledge will be seriously
handicapped. Access also makes tangible infrastructural networks
more valuable. The broader the access
those networks provide, the more valuable they become. This feature is in direct
contradiction to what is perhaps the most cherished principle of economics,
or the notion that value can only be obtained from scarcity. With infrastructural networks, as
with many other kinds of networks, however, abundance of access leads to
greater value for the network and for those it serves. The functions of intangible infrastructure that
support regional inversion are of two types. One type can be characterized as integrative. This function seeks to guarantee that
access provided by the tangible infrastructure is used, linked to and
internalized by the knowledge and transaction networks in all their social,
economic and cultural dimensions.
Integrating access is a vital function supporting
regional inversion. The physical
and virtual access to education provided by tangible infrastructure must, for
example, be accompanied by acceptance through the social and cultural
networks of the intangible infrastructure. The social and cultural values fostered by those networks
are vital if the educational access provided by the tangible infrastructure
is to be used effectively. Values
that impede taking advantage of any expansion of access are likely to be
detrimental to the process of regional inversion. In those cases, the integrative function of intangible
infrastructure would seek a transformation of cultural or social values, such
that any expansion of educational access can be effectively utilized. Another example of the integrative function of
intangible infrastructure can be found in the diffusion of knowledge. The access provided by the tangible
infrastructure to state-of-the-art knowledge may need social and cultural
values that prize novelty and experimentation. The integrative function must then seek the utilization of
such access through the value systems that permeate the intangible
infrastructure. Values that impede
taking advantage of that access would need to be transformed through the
intangible infrastructure and its networks. The second functional
typology of the intangible infrastructure is regenerative. This function is vital for recreating
and reproducing the intangible resources that support regional
inversion. Learning, creativity,
knowledge, innovation, experimentation and education at individual and group
levels are all enhanced by the regenerative function of intangible
infrastructure. The regenerative function therefore enables those intangible resources to thrive and expand. This function must necessarily work in concert with both the access and contact features of tangible infrastructure. Access to and contact through physical facilities is essential for the regenerative function to have a dynamic role in the process of regional inversion. The regenerative function operates through the
networks of the intangible infrastructure in all their social, economic and
cultural dimensions. Such
networks are vital to communities that internalize values of tolerance and
support for experimentation, novelty, failure and diversity. Those networks are also important for
transforming cultural and social values that obstruct the regeneration of
intangible resources connected to regional inversion. As with the tangible infrastructure, the networks of
the integrative and regenerative functions acquire value as they expand. In that regard, the accumulation of
both tangible and intangible infrastructure can be considered to add value
through the multiple facilities and networks that accommodate the access,
contact, integrative and regenerative functions.
The accumulation of both tangible and intangible
infrastructure is a long-term process requiring substantial investment. It is unfortunate that infrastructure
is frequently taken for granted when programs for regional advancement are
formulated. Often, only those
with a background in design or construction can grasp its importance for
regional transformation.
Infrastructure, in both its tangible and intangible forms, must be
taken into account if the process of regional inversion is to unfold. For
publications on regional inversion and related topics by this author, please
see the Publications
section of this website. Copyright © Luis Suarez-Villa |