Why is it that around here this word always means streets? Is it so narrowly defined everywhere?

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Is it so narrowly defined everywhere?

Certainly not in UK English. Streets are just one small part of an area's infrastructure.

Is it so narrowly defined everywhere?

I think that the folks who deal who are involved with the infrastructure define it more broadly (link). Perhaps the people you speak of (I'm guessing politicians and reporters) don't know what they're talking about. It might also be a case of using a superclass word generically to refer to one of its subclasses.

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(I'm guessing politicians and reporters) don't know what they're talking about.

If you tell someone their street needs repair, they'll yawn, but if you tell them their infrastructure is collapsing, they'll let you raise taxes.

I don't think of "infrastructure" as only being streets, though I hadn't thought it as broad as z's link.

I agree, Kalleh. Infrastructure is an engineering term, I believe--or at least, my brother, who is a civil engineer, subscribes to Infrastructure Magazine, so I'm just assuming it's part of their everyday jargon. I always thought of infrastructure as including roads, bridges, rail lines, airports, utility conduits and sewage treatment plants, but never considered that it would also include schools and recreation areas.

Wordmatic

Depends what it's the infrastructure of. Context is everything. "Infrastructure" just means the underlying things and systems that are needed to make something work. So the infrastructure of a city includes everything without which it can't function as a city, the infrastructure of an economy means everything without which it can't function as an economy etc.

How broadly or narrowly you interpret it depends on what things you think are necessary for such functioning.