Looking back, looking forward: A reflection on legacy

The golden thread running through our CROSSROADS research is the desire of people, across generations, to be part of the solution to the challenges we are collectively facing. We also see the themes of access and equity – and broader community resilience – represented in the call for accessible mobility options, diverse and affordable housing, the desire for water security, openness to new and alternative forms of energy and a willingness to adopt sustainable behaviours and practices.

As a millennial committed to making a positive contribution to my community over the course of my career – two decades of which have been spent working as an urban planner across multiple industries and projects – the CROSSROADS research is more than interesting, it’s deeply personal.

I have been part of the planning, decision-making and implementation of various infrastructure projects in nearly every state and territory in Australia, on both sides of the private- and public-sector table. Even early in my career, as a young professional, I was having an impact on future communities, without fully comprehending the legacy and longevity of these decisions. As I’ve progressed, I have witnessed many projects move from planning and design, through to construction and operation. I have had the privilege of seeing these projects come to life in the communities they serve. On reflection, I now know that some decisions made at the time were good – great even – while others would have benefited from deeper experience, broader knowledge and more information, to ensure the resulting infrastructure was fit-for-purpose, responsive to community expectations and reflective of community needs.

This observation is only reinforced by the clear message at the heart of CROSSROADS: that diverse voices need to be represented in decision making to provide a richness of knowledge and wisdom across generations and society. These voices include those among government, which at its core exists to create resilient, connected, inspired and productive communities; institutions, public private partnerships and utilities, which also have a powerful part to play in the provision of essential infrastructure that quite literally keeps society functioning; and the private sector, which can help realise the opportunity for innovation, by piloting new approaches and responding rapidly to market forces. And of course, these diverse voices must come from our communities and the individuals who underpin them.

CROSSROADS can’t offer a ‘one size fits all’ solution to the challenges communities face. How could one survey possibly represent every community and every challenge, when no two communities are the same? It can’t – and that’s OK. What is special about this research, however, is its ability to help us understand global challenges, while at the same time exploring at a more micro level the regional and generational perspectives that can help inform decision making.

By leaning into, rather than shying away from, the value of generational wisdom in infrastructure planning, I hope that when I look back over my career decades into the future, I can say I sought to be curious, I asked questions and I listened intently – to always put people at the centre of my decision making. I challenge you to do the same.