Abstract:
Over the past 20-30 years, an interdisciplinary “infrastructure turn” has taken
place. Infrastructural themes are ingrained in academic research in the social sciences and
humanities. The methodological strategies of this approach have demonstrated their explanatory
power when considering many problems of our time, which makes this approach attractive. Critical
infrastructure studies emerged as a framework for unifying reflections on the complex relationship
between society and its material structures. These can be post-colonial studies, feminist theories,
science and technology studies, and more. Infrastructure, being a mixture of things and ideas, is
saturated with a variety of relationships. A critical study of these relationships requires a
comparison of the views of various disciplines and many areas, such as information systems (large
technical systems), big data analysis (Big Data), science and technology studies, cultural, political,
philosophical approaches. In this article, we present a brief overview of critical infrastructure
research based on some of the ideas and approaches presented in Roadsides, which is a forum
dedicated to the study of the social, cultural and political life of infrastructure. The magazine's title
itself is a metaphor for the different kinds of interactions that occur around infrastructures as they
are introduced, challenged, built and maintained, and destroyed. The article focuses on the
conceptualization of architecture and infrastructure.
