Assessment of Impact of Urban Growth on the Performance of Critical Infrastructures in Developing Countries

Infrastructure systems are becoming more interconnected and complex, increasing their vulnerability to different types of disruptors. A tendency affecting the performance of infrastructures in developing countries is the rapid urban growth which produces a concentration of population in areas with existing infrastructures. This concentration of population leads to additional traffic on roadways and additional use of power, which puts intense pressure on the transportation and electric systems, respectively. This study first demonstrates the use of a system dynamics model to evaluate the effect of urban growth on the electric system. A user equilibrium approach is then used to assess the effect of disruptions on the electric system on the performance of the transportation infrastructure. The models developed are verified and validated using data from a developing country.