Civil Engineers Shaping Society: Our Social Responsibilities

Civil engineers need to consider the part they play in society. We are the planners, designers, and builders of our nation's structures and infrastructures. However, many projects that we promoted were financed by loans that are now defaulting and causing the failure of our banking infrastructure. While many argue that we do not have a direct role in the determination of project financing it is our technical support that makes a project. Many civil engineers say it is not our job to monitor the integrity of a project. But this suggests that we are willing to relinquish control over our work. If this is so, we should satisfy ourselves that the abdicated control will be used in a moral way. However, it is preferable that we retain control of our projects. Civil engineers need to return to that earlier state where as individuals we played a major part in shaping society. We need to break the mold of the past few years and encourage new, more socially responsible engineers. We need to ensure that civil engineers are willing to exercise both their technical and social skills. Above all, we must see that the projects that we build have solid foundations both figuratively and practically speaking.