View source for Macro-engineering

{{Short description|Implementation of large-scale design projects}}
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In [[engineering]], '''macro-engineering''' (alternatively known as '''mega engineering''') is the implementation of large-scale design projects. It can be seen as a branch of [[civil engineering]] or [[structural engineering]] applied on a large [[landmass]]. In particular, macro-engineering is the process of marshaling and managing of resources and technology on a large scale to carry out complex tasks that last over a long period. In contrast to conventional engineering projects, macro-engineering projects (called macro-projects or mega-projects) are [[multidisciplinary]], involving collaboration from all fields of study. Because of the size of macro-projects they are usually international.

Macro-engineering is an evolving field that has only recently started to receive  attention. Because we routinely deal with challenges that are multinational in scope, such as [[global warming]] and [[pollution]], macro-engineering is emerging as a transcendent solution to worldwide problems. 

Macro-engineering is distinct from [[Megascale engineering]] due to the scales where they are applied. Where macro-engineering is currently practical, mega-scale engineering is still within the domain of [[speculative fiction]] because it deals with projects on a planetary or stellar scale.

==Projects==
Macro engineering examples include the construction of the [[Panama Canal]] and the [[Suez Canal]].
==Planned projects==
Examples of projects include the [[Channel Tunnel]] and the planned [[Strait of Gibraltar crossing#Tunnel|Gibraltar Tunnel]].

Two intellectual centers focused on macro-engineering theory and practice are the Candida Oancea Institute in [[Bucharest]], and The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy at [[Roger Williams University]] in [[Bristol, Rhode Island]].

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Afforestation]]
* [[Agroforestry]]
* [[Atlantropa|Atlantropa (Gibraltar Dam)]]
* [[Analog forestry]]
* [[Bering Strait bridge]]
* [[Buffer strip]]
* [[Biomass]]
* [[Biomass (ecology)]]
* [[Climate engineering]] (Geoengineering)
* [[Collaborative innovation network]]
* [[Deforestation]]
* [[Deforestation during the Roman period]]
* [[Ecological engineering]]
* [[Ecological engineering methods]]
* [[Ecotechnology]]
* [[Energy-efficient landscaping]]
* [[Forest gardening]]
* [[Forest farming]]
* [[Great Plains Shelterbelt]]
* [[Green Wall of China]]
* [[IBTS Greenhouse]]
* [[Residential garden|Home gardens]]
* [[Human ecology]]
* [[Megascale engineering]]
* [[Permaculture]]
* [[Permaforestry]]
* [[Sahara Forest Project ]]
* [[Qattara Depression Project]]
* [[Red Sea dam]]
* [[Sand fence]]
* [[Seawater Greenhouse]]
* [[Sustainable agriculture]]
* [[Terraforming]]
* [[Windbreak]]
* [[Wildcrafting]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
* Frank P. Davidson and Kathleen Lusk Brooke, BUILDING THE WORLD: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE GREAT ENGINEERING PROJECTS IN HISTORY, two volumes (Greenwood Publishing Group, Oxford UK, 2006)
* V. Badescu, R.B. Cathcart and R.D. Schuiling, MACRO-ENGINEERING: A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE (Springer, The Netherlands, 2006)
* R.B. Cathcart, V. Badescu with Ramesh Radhakrishnan, (2006): ''[http://textbookrevolution.org/files/Cathcart-MacroEngineersDreams.pdf Macro-Engineers' Dreams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024194701/http://textbookrevolution.org/files/Cathcart-MacroEngineersDreams.pdf |date=2013-10-24 }}'' PDF, 175pp. Accessed 24 May 2013
* Alexander Bolonkin and Richard B. Cathcart, Macro-Projects (NOVA Publishing, 2009)
* Viorel Badescu and R.B. Cathcart, Macro-engineering Seawater (Springer, 2010), 880 pages.
* R.B. Cathcart, MACRO-IMAGINEERING OUR DOSMOZOICUM. (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2018) 154 pages.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050825114952/http://www.nae.edu/nae/bridgecom.nsf/weblinks/NAEW-4NHMFF?OpenDocument Engineering and the Future of Technology]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080113194551/http://www.popularmechanics.com/megaengineering Megaengineering at Popular Mechanics]

{{Engineering fields}}
{{Levels of technological manipulation of matter}}

[[Category:Macro-engineering| ]]