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Architecture, Buildings & Construction
Engineering the City: How Infrastructure Works by Matthys Levy β€” book cover

Engineering the City: How Infrastructure Works

by Matthys Levy, Richard Panchyk
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Overview

How does a city obtain water, gas, and electricity? Where do these services come from? How are they transported? The answer is infrastructure, or the inner, and sometimes invisible, workings of the city. Roads, railroads, bridges, telephone wires, and power lines are visible elements of the infrastructure; sewers, plumbing pipes, wires, tunnels, cables, and sometimes rails are usually buried underground or hidden behind walls. Engineering the City tells the fascinating story of infrastructure as it developed through history along with the growth of cities. Experiments, games, and construction diagrams show how these structures are built, how they work, and how they affect the environment of the city and the land outside it.

About the Author, Matthys Levy

Matthys Levy, an architectural engineer, is a principal of Weidlinger Associates, a structural engineering firm. He has won numerous awards, including the AIA Institute Honor Award. Richard Panchyk is the author of Archaeology for Kids, Franklin Delano Roosevelt for Kids, Galileo for Kids, Keys to American History, Our Supreme Court, and World War II for Kids.

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Editorials

Booklist

Future engineers, math enthusiasts, and students seeking ideas for science projects will all be fascinated by this book.

Chicago Union Teacher

Through a lively text that is loaded with projects, experiments, and construction diagrams, Engineering the City introduces the principles that explain how structures are built, how they work, and how they affect the environment of the city and land outside it.

Children's Literature

Why did cities spring up along bodies of water, particularly rivers? How does a city get water, gas and electricity to its inhabitants and remove the waste that they generate? These are just a few of the questions explored in this fascinating book. The authors have provided a lucid and interesting account of the infrastructure that supports modern cities. They also delve into the past explaining where cities first located, how cities grew, and what engineering and construction improvements helped create the cities of today. Chapter headings such as "What Happens When I Flush the Toilet?" and "Where Does All the Garbage Go?" will open the eyes of readers and make them appreciate what it takes to keep a city healthy and safe. Sprinkled throughout the text are explanations of the scientific principles and related activities to help kids understand them. For example, there is an activity to determine the speed of flowing water, a requirement to move solid waste. When adult assistance is needed, that is noted, as well as a list of the materials and the steps to carry out the activity. There is a glossary and index. 2000, Chicago Review Press, $14.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Book Details

Published
October 1, 2000
Publisher
Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Pages
144
ISBN
9781613741658

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