Intergenerational equity: Building a fair and sustainable future

Intergenerational equity is a vital principle for ensuring sustainable infrastructure, economic resilience and social cohesion in today's fast-changing world.

How can we ensure that the infrastructure we build today meets the needs of current and future generations? How can we foster collaboration and empathy between different age groups, cultures and sectors to create fair and sustainable outcomes?

These pressing questions were recently at the centre of an engaging conversation bringing together four domain experts from Australia and New Zealand by means of a virtual panel discussion convened by global engineering firm, GHD.

Hosted by Michelle Cramer, Future Communities Lead – Australia, GHD and expertly moderated by global advisor and urbanist Professor Greg Clark, the event featured panellists with extensive backgrounds in city shaping, infrastructure delivery, community development and youth leadership: Monica Barone, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Sydney; Lisa Davis, Chief Executive of Nati Fatwa or Rake Trust; Adam McGuire, Director of Delivery for the Level Crossing Removal Project; and Luke McNamara, a Young Ambassador for UNICEF Australia.

The discussion also drew on key findings of GHD’s CROSSROADS research, a wide-ranging study exploring intergenerational equity through an infrastructure lens, which surveyed more than 10,000 people from across 10 countries. The study revealed diverse perspectives and insights on environmental concerns, cost of living pressures and transportation challenges, among other findings, across generations.

The panellists shared their perspectives on the role of infrastructure in creating connected, resilient and equitable communities, the importance of long-term planning, collaboration, and empathy between generations to enable fair and fit-for-purpose infrastructure.

The panellists also highlighted the need for sustainable practices, integrating traditional knowledge with modern approaches, and the importance of creating common spaces and shared amenities.

They all shared the view of the importance of intergenerational equity.

Barone stressed the importance of fairness. “If we don't have fairness, then we jeopardise the social capital or the social fabric of our cities and our communities… If you do not have social harmony, everything else that you need cannot thrive. Your economy is compromised, people's health is compromised, nature is compromised. We cannot proceed to build good societies and good cities if we have unfairness,” she said.

Intergenerational equity also requires long term vision, according to Davis and McNamara.

Davis said, “It ensures that the decisions we make today do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. At Nati Fatwa, we emphasise the importance of sustainability and long-term vision in our projects, ensuring that our cultural heritage, natural resources and economic opportunities are preserved and enhanced for our Tamaki, our children and our Mukupuna, our grandchildren.”

McNamara also said, “We need to be thinking in the long term for the sort of issues that we're discussing here when it comes to climate change and so on… we all want to leave the world a better place, not just the same, but better than when we received it. It's probably the most altruistic thing that any of us can do. It's gifting a good life to billions of people that we will never know.”

McGuire explained how intergenerational equity can make a real difference in people’s lives.

“Intergenerational equity matters more now than ever because we can make a real difference today in the community's lives that we work within and we don't want to waste a minute in trying to support that. So, removing a boom gate, you know, might speed up traffic movements, it might get people to school quicker, might get people to sporting activities quicker or people to jobs.”

To create a sustainable future for all, particularly through an infrastructure lens, panellists explored a range of approaches, including:

• Collaboration: Barone discussed partnering for impact, which involves designing programs with stakeholders. She highlighted the Smart Green Apartments program, which helps strata communities reduce their environmental footprint and save costs by upgrading their buildings.
  “We see them understand the cost benefit of doing things like changing the shared lighting to LED or putting solar panels on their roofs.
  
  And then they see the savings and as a consequence, they have invested millions of dollars into improving their buildings. But the point here is, it's about working with all the groups to determine the impact they want to have and then working side by side to enable them to achieve it,” she said.


• Intergenerational empathy: McNamara, a young ambassador for UNICEF Australia, suggested ways to bridge generational gaps on environmental issues, including ‘generational empathy’ which is respecting and understanding different generational perspectives and youth participation in planning and decision-making.
  
  In the context of the national statement of young people on climate change at the UNICEF that McNamara shared, generational empathy is important because it allows for the creation of ambitious plans that consider the perspectives of young people, who will inherit the consequences of the decisions made today.
  
  Davis also showed how her organisation integrated traditional and modern practices in infrastructure to foster sustainability and water security across generations. The younger generation embraced new technologies, while the older generation preserved traditional practices and natural resources.
  
  Davis said, “To bridge these generational gaps, we've implemented programs that promote the use of electrical vehicles. We've got a program where we've purchased three EV vehicles and then they're in a rideshare environment as part of our Papakanga, our village. And that's to encourage and also increase access to these resources.”
  
  “So, for us, it's about preservation of natural resources and also engaging the different generations on a shared mission,” she added.


• Role of City Planner: Barone stressed the crucial role of city planners in improving the affordability and vitality of cities through efficient urban systems and planning.
  
  “The way a city should be planned is to ensure interactions and transactions are as efficient as possible to contribute to cost of living and quality of life.”

She gave the example of social housing residents in Sydney who can enjoy free events, Wi-Fi, parks and transport. She says that good planning can reduce the cost of living and enhance quality of life.

McNamara agreed with Barone. “I think we need to focus on places where we can live, not places where we can transit from. And I think a big part of that is obviously planning and also thinking about how we can be ambitious with affordable housing,” he stressed.

Davis shared how her community has built homes for different needs and models of ownership, and how they have created a master plan that reflects their traditional and cultural values.

• Creating Common Spaces: The panellists also emphasised the need for creating common spaces and shared amenities, promoting sustainable incomes and livelihoods, and ensuring that employment opportunities are accessible to all to tackle the affordability challenge.

McGuire shared how their construction program creates opportunities for people through addressing skills shortages, promoting workforce inclusion and diversity, and investing in social value.

“One area that we can do that is the creation of jobs and who those jobs go to. So as part of the big build – it's a long-term investment, 10 years – we (are) trying to use this long-term pipeline of works, as a catalyst for change,” he said.

McGuire also shared their vision of creating modern day town halls around train stations. These would activate underutilised land and provide sustainable connectivity, while creating jobs and promoting workforce inclusion and diversity.

“We try to create what we might have a modern-day town hall, a place where people might gather internally, to use the station and connect to buses, to cycling networks or catch the train. So, this is where people meet and connect and thrive. And we also try to activate underutilised state government land around each of these precincts, too,” McGuire said.

McNamara urged cities to overcome what he called “regional sectarianism” and foster diverse and inclusive places. He said shared amenities can make cities more resilient, productive and inspiring.

• Multi-Modal Transport Systems: The panellists stressed the need for a transport system that respects all modes and meets the diverse needs of the community.

Barone explained that the city of Sydney encourages public transport for those who can use it, so that car space is available for those who need it. She added that this is a way of sharing infrastructure and supporting intergenerational equity.

“What we really try to explain to people is not that we hate cars. It's just that if you're fit enough to walk or cycle, we'd like you to because there are some people, people with disabilities, people who are aged, people who have got children…who may not have a choice to use other systems,” she said.

McNamara, a youth representative, said public transportation is a child and youth rights issue. He said it provides independence and opportunities to explore the city and urged city leaders to build transport systems that cater to everyone and foster a sense of collective journey.

In conclusion, the panellists agreed that the most important thing they can do is to listen, understand and represent the views of their communities. They also emphasised the need for collaboration and connectivity to ensure everyone can afford to live in thriving places and reduce intergenerational inequity.

Professor Clark also gave a comprehensive summary of the panellists’ key messages. These are:

• Work and income are central to creating meaningful opportunities that enable people to afford the cities that we envision.
• The need to adopt the whole system approaches.
• The importance of embracing new technologies and integrating them with traditional wisdom and knowledge. By doing so, we create new models, mechanisms and platforms that enhance how we live, share, and achieve great things together in inspiring places.

Winding up the panel discussion, Michelle shared her views on the importance of intergenerational empathy and equity, learning from cultures that have long embedded these values and the need to be brave in undoing and redoing things for a better future. She also said that the idea that fairness leads to trust is essential for the way we work as a society.

Watch the full panel discussion for more on the strategic approaches shared by our panellists by going to CROSSROADS

To download and explore the CROSSROADS study, visit at CROSSROADS - Home (ghd.com)

Catch up on the full conversation watch on-demand CROSSROADS | APAC (ghd.com)