Making the case for co-designing public infrastructure

There are many reasons why it makes sense to directly involve the people who will use public infrastructure into the process of designing public infrastructure, but today I'd like to hone in on one that has been on my mind this morning.

But first, just quickly, when I use the phrase 'co-design' in this context I mean the active participation of the people we expect to use a piece of public infrastructure - which will be a very broad and diverse group - in all of the decision-making that takes place along the way, from the choice of infrastructure, right through to its implementation.

I am not suggesting the removal of architecture or engineering or construction expertise from the mix.

So:

It takes a long time to realise you got it wrong, and by that time it's too late

At the other end of the design spectrum from co-design is the hero or ego-driven designer, who applies their expertise to the task and sets forth what they believe (what their training and experience has taught them to believe) to be a good design.

In the event that their expertise doesn't align well with the actual needs of the wider community, we won't know about it until the service opens to the public, years later. Special interest and community action groups *might* get involved sooner than that based on what they can read in the Development Application and planning documents, but it's almost impossible from those to truly appreciate the qualitative aspects of the infrastructure from those. (Indeed, it's the basis by which a portion of negative feedback is dismissed.)

To give you a sense of timing, the Sydney Metro service that opened last year, with the six City stations and the extension from Chatswood to Sydenham, began work in 2014 with the announcement of the station locations. My first involvement with the project came in 2016. The project eventually launched to customers in August last year - a decade from start to finish.

Sydney Metro West, which is currently out to tender, will end up taking around 12 years start to finish.

That's a lot of time to pass between design decisions being made, and receiving any feedback as to whether or not it works.

In the meantime, the design team - architects, urban planners, and landscape architects in particular - have submitted the designs to awards programs and been lauded for their work. And subsequently gone on to win more work off the back of it.

A decade later we get to find out - finally - from customers whether that work is really any good.

Instead, co-design - like that used for Sydney Metro - allows that feedback to come early, often, and when change is cheap to execute. And you can see it.