A Brief History of Smart Transportation Infrastructure

This paper examines intersections of communication and transportation technology in the U.S. across a number of cases to argue that smart infrastructure has long been manifested in what Urry (2007) has described as nexus systems, or those which require many elements to be working synchronously. Understanding smart infrastructure as those which align with 21 century sensibilities concerning technology, convenience, and safety/security, this paper looks more specifically at the layering of information technologies to achieve desired ends. Not surprisingly, convergences of communication and transportation infrastructure to facilitate control are nothing new. Revisiting these cases through the lens of informationalization proves valuable in understanding exactly what we mean by “smart.”