Editorial: Infrastructures, sustainability and models

Infrastructure and society are intertwined in an unsustainable reinforcing feedback loop of expansion and growth. Modelling and simulation of infrastructures as large-scale sociotechnical systems are suggested to underpin decision making on public policy, corporate strategy and research and support decoupling or reversing this loop. The background, foundations and requirements for infrastructure modelling to foster sustainability are explored in this special issue. Despite the complex system of infrastructure and the chaotic character of society, the authors of the contributed papers, which are introduced here, give proof that the next generation of infrastructure models can emerge to help us address the challenge of improving decision making on infrastructure development for sustainability.