Parkland, affordable housing, the Internet of Things-- it’s all someone’s ‘infrastructure’

Gone are the days when federal infrastructure spending was measured in highways, bridges and ports. As President-elect Donald Trump considers a massive new spending plan on public works, policy experts, lawmakers and companies are racing to make the case that infrastructure could include anything from fast Internet networks to electric vehicle charging stations, from power transmission lines to drinking water systems.

During a Bloomberg News conference on infrastructure in Washington this week, Mrinalini Ingram, vice president of smart communities at Verizon, had her own candidates for infrastructure spending: Verizon networking technology embedded in LED street lights and blue-light kiosks where pedestrians in danger can call police.