What is Civil Engineering?
Civil engineering is a profession which involves analysis, planning, design, construction and maintenance of different types of facilities for government, commerce, industry and the public, that is, the whole life cycle of different facilities that people use. Examples of the facilities that are created and managed by Civil Engineers are high rise buildings, office towers, residential buildings, factories, schools, airports and other transportation facilities like tunnels subways, and also other systems which are needed for providing drinking water and also for treatment of sewage, dams, canals, water purification systems and others that we need for protecting the environment. We want to make sure that the sewage that is created from all these townships and offices are treated properly before they go back into the environment. This would be a broad definition of what is Civil Engineering.
The purpose of Civil Engineers in society is that they coordinate the needs of society. So, broadly when we talk about Civil Engineering, it is a response to what society wants or society needs. Civil Engineers coordinate the needs of society, they see what is required and make it happen within the limits; within the feasibility that is technical and economic. It is possible with the technology that we have here, it is possible with the resources that we have here, manpower or raw materials.
The scope of Civil Engineering is mostly determined by economics, because somebody has to pay for these facilities and it is the public which directly or indirectly pays for these facilities. So, there are limitations or constraints due to the economics. Civil Engineers are concerned about the impact because the actions of a Civil Engineer affect people directly. So, the impact of the projects on the public is very important.
Especially in a country like India, the construction sector or the Civil Engineering sector provides a lot of jobs. Civil engineering facilities are not only important for doing the job but also Civil Engineering creates a lot of job. Construction provides a lot of jobs especially for unskilled people. In India it is the largest sector that provides jobs and livelihood for people who are not very highly skilled. These are the important aspects as far as people are concerned.
Most of the structures that we build have to last for a very long time, say a bridge in a city has to last at least for hundred years and this means that Civil Engineers have to maintain it and take care of these facilities and repair them if necessary. This is the whole system that we have to consider, we have people, we have the natural environment and Civil Engineers are building this environment to satisfy the requirements of people without hurting the natural environment. The major impact of Civil Engineering is where all this comes in, to avoid conflicts, to make sure that everything is done without hurting the environment too much, without it being too expensive, but responding to what people need.
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