The technical infrastructure (networks) of the essential flows (energy and sanitation, i.e. water, waste) is determinative to what degree a project, varying in scale from a (part of a) building to a city or conurbation, will or can be sustainable or even self-sustaining. This is due to its ‘path-dependency’, long term- and endogenous character and the existence of a limited number of dominant actors per network or flow, which have interest in little change of the ‘ruling’ paradigms. The physical and formal distance to users and the complexity for them to understand the processes and possible (sustainable) alternatives result in an increasing dependence (heteronomy) and a declining overall involvement. To be able to change the built environment in accordance with the principles of sustainable development there is a need to turn around the inter-relationship between the infrastructure and the suprastructure. Decisive aspects in a continuing urbanizing, and connected world with crucial dependency on integrated computer networks, will be the flexibility of the concept of generation, treatment and transport of the critical flows; the adaptability to passive- and natural technologies; the seize of space; and the overall resiliency to failure, inaccurate use and sabotage. The paper focuses on rethinking the urban planning as a whole, with emphasis on a changing attitude towards the relationship between the technical infrastructures of especially the energy flow related networks and the ‘suprastructure’. Basis forms the application of the power-law concept, also known as Pareto or Zipf to the technical infrastructures concerning the essential flows in the built environment. Not only the (known) dependency of decentralized concepts on central networks, but also the reverse will be argued: the needed aggregation of decentralized micro-networks, or clusters and systems to the complex and continuously growing centralized networks. Main objective is to cope with the risks of rising complexity and continuing unity, apart from the rising need of resilience of the overall network in case of loss of parts. This, for our economy is increasingly reliant upon interdependent and cyber-supported technical infrastructures and information systems.