Undoubtedly, drinking water pipelines, sewerage systems or public utilities are not among the most popular topics of conversation. As long as the infrastructure functions and our needs are met, most of us do not want to concern ourselves with it any further.

Yet our standard of living would be inconceivable without it. The aim of this volume is therefore to bring urban infrastructure into focus, to shed light on its origins and development, and to explain its fundamental importance for life in a city like Innsbruck.