Ideal of Civil Engineering

Abstract

Today, civil engineering is at a crossroads for a variety of reasons including a shift in cost patterns of buildings, new environmental demands, and the invasion by other professions into traditional areas of engineering. A broader vision—a new model and a new ideal—for civil engineering is needed if the profession is to achieve its fullest potential in the service of society and is not to become narrower and less influential. The key elements of that vision are a redefining of civil engineering as the profession that makes human habitats possible and the assuming by civil engineering of the lead role among professions, from architecture to urban planning, that are dealing with aspects of the human habitat. The challenge to civil engineering is not to accept the status quo in its role as a profession, but to develop in concept as well as in realization the ability to integrate beauty, moral excellence, and physical excellence.