This book presents the results of research conducted by scholars in or associated with the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects (CRGP) at Stanford University from the founding of CRGP in 2002 up to the present time. In this preface we describe the goals, origins, membership, and activities of CRGP that have resulted in this body of scholarship.

In developing countries, improving the quality and quantity of civil infrastructure – water supply, wastewater treatment, roads, railroads, ports, airports, power, and telecommunications – is one of the primary means to improve human health, reduce transaction costs for society, and thereby raise living standards. Large investments in social infrastructure – schools, hospitals, civic buildings, etc. – present another pressing set of needs. In many developed countries civil and social infrastructure built in the last century has served those countries well initially, but has subsequently failed to keep up with population growth and has been systematically under-maintained, so it needs substantial expansion and refurbishment at a time when governments worldwide are severely fiscally strained. Various estimates place global demand for infrastructure in developing and developed countries over the next decade at anywhere from $10–$20 trillion. In addition to being underdeveloped and under-maintained, civil and social infrastructure worldwide is currently being developed in ways that generate substantial greenhouse gas emissions from energy intensive materials like cement and steel, contributing greatly to pollution of land, water, and atmosphere.