Involving designers and engineers in urban policy-making for assuring policy success and sustainable built environment.

Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/

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Policy by its very nature mostly remains abstract and sometimes open to interpretation. Urban policy aspirations related to built environment, have to eventually trickle down from vision to some form of project i.e., to brick-and-mortar level. Such policies also effectively have to reflect in improved quality of life and sustainability parameters like resource optimisation and energy saving, as an outcome. The successful outcome of policy hence depends on whether the policy is closer to ground reality or not.

In the long value chain of city-making affair, usually “urban policymakers” and those who are actually responsible for execution of project i.e., “designers and engineers”, represent two opposite ends of the spectrum. These designers and engineers usually have little say in urban policy formulation related to built environment. This is because the process and information flow in public institutional hierarchy follows similar linear project management model. i.e., top-down; characterised by similar hierarchy and dyadic extremities. Urban policy making though try to represent and incorporate insights from several stakeholders, still essentially remains a top-down process.

First, analysing design project management itself, wondering why design projects for instance tend to overshoot project budget and timeline? Possibly for two main reasons, one in the top down project management process, budget, client negotiation processes, etc. are usually dictated by management higher up or departments/ experts different than planning and engineering (i.e. procurement, financial, legal etc.), who sometimes may or may not be having complete exposure to dynamic day to day design and execution challenges involved in range of built environment projects or may be having limited comprehension of how design and engineering project may get affected in different possible scenarios and in different site context. Hence missing out on critical insights of other bottom extreme of project management value chain, i.e., designers and engineers; while formulating project budget and time frame. The second aspect which may not be directly related to above policy discussion but still noteworthy related to budget and time overshoot is that project management processes like standard operating procedures (SOPs) and tools including many software don’t explicitly factor in real-life challenges and don’t allow to test scenario building, out of scores of possible scenarios which may directly or indirectly impact project. Apparent from the fact that how design projects and project management processes/ software struggled to respond in real time at the onset of the pandemic, despite knowing that the force majeure or Acts-of-God may become a reality at any time; despite having robust industry accepted project management SOPs.

Designers and engineers here imply material experts, product designers, furniture designers, interior designers, architects, building engineering experts (MEP - HVAC/ Electrical/ Plumbing experts), ICT/ intelligent building management experts (IBMS), green building experts, infrastructure experts (Dry/wet utilities), and now emerging circularity experts, who actually design and execute the very constituents or building block or unit of built environment or a city i.e., neighborhood, building/ housing unit or its components, with all its material composition, furnishing, and appliances.

Designers and engineers including project managers, for instance, are those who are usually most close to the reality of execution, having the first-hand understanding of implementation and execution challenges and palpable ground realities. But, urban policy formulation and sometimes strategic report and action plans, related to built environment are traditionally formulated at a level, and with the kind of resources or skilled manpower involved, which may or may not be having the exact or hands-on understanding of sometimes bitter realities of project execution and context. Hence the insight and understanding of designers and engineers are vital for policy making and may simply dictate the success or failure of policy. These critical insights coming from designers and engineers are fundamental to policy formulation as they control the unitary elements of built environment. Any error or innovation at the unitary level has a multiplier effect. If we consider the household or individual house as a constituent unit of the entire population or city, for instance if we save or waste 1 kWh of energy per household, then at a city scale it may result in unimaginable energy saving or energy wastage. Designers and engineers are capable of offering such critical insights, information, modalities, and tools (to save material and energy for instance), which can be directly embedded into the urban policies related to built environment, leading to assured measurable benefits.  

Hence, if we incorporate the insights of designers and engineers in the policy formulation, the outcome of the policy will most likely be tangible, realistic and measurable. The abstractness of policy though is acceptable, but it should not stop policymakers to factor in empirical expertise and insights gathers from the other extreme end of city making value chain, i.e., that which comes from designers and engineers.

Author: Anoop Jha

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[Recent update

Starting 2024, launching urban management, interior design, home decor and commissioned artwork services in the Netherlands, serving local as well as international remote clients.

Please Note, that I am also conducting a FREE 45-minute online individual consultation on your interior design and home decor needs and aspirations if you are in the Netherlands or even internationally. Drop me an email at anoop.jha@gmail.com 

Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/

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A-B-C of Design Project Management!

Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/

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[Keywords - Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering Design, Infrastructure Planning]

[A] - Aspiration gives the purpose to a project, do not let it diminish over time.

[B] - Budget is the governing factor, do not consider it as limitation; you have to innovate to incorporate many things, still fitting it into budget

[C] - Clients speak volumes, but they can be good listener as well. Clients show flexibility if advised for betterment of project.

[D] - Design is the core success factor. Spend more time to design it right in first go, allocate substantial brainstorming time into workplan of design project.

[E] - Estimation of all kinds helps avoid surprises

[F] - Follow up on crucial matters

[G] - Gather the best team who are animated with same spirit

[H] - Highlight exclusions and dependencies early

[ I ] - Identify project risk and mitigation measures

[J] - Judgement has a key role to play. Analysis gives you insight but tough and final decisions are based on judgement.

[K] - knowledge has no substitute, but no amount of knowledge is enough, every design project is a learning experience

[L] - Leverage organisational experience, possibly your firm was hired for the job due to it's experience only

[M] - Monitoring is essential for project, monitor and record every aspect

[N] - Negotiations are the integral part of process

[O] - Organised effort is required to run a design project with multidisciplinary team, budget and time constraints

[P] - Performance of work and resources must be measured throughout project life cycle

[Q] - Quality is paramount in terms of design, communication and output

[R] - Resources has to be optimised and is often the most crucial, challenging and thrilling part of the project management

[S] - Stakeholder's need to be met and know that there can be more stakeholders than the obvious

[T] - Technology contributes to success; best is class tech, software and tools are empowering

[U] - Uncertainties has to be factored in, know that you can't foresee everything on day one, exceptional circumstances arises and need to be dealt with

[V] - Vision and credo is the guiding force, stick to same

[W] - Work Plan is to be honoured, it's not as easy as it sounds but there are ways to adhere to same like creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), innovation, resourcefulness, project tracking etc.

[X] - X-REF all design work, adopt a system of

cross-referencing, benchmarking and standardization

[Y] - Yearning for excellence is what differentiates you from others

[Z] - Zero Waste Design to be encouraged. It's no more a luxury but necessity in today's world.

Author: Anoop Jha

#projectmanagement #workplan #Consultancy #designprojectmanagement #design #infrastructure #engineering #consultingengineering #construction #qualitymap #p6 #budget #urbanplanning #projectmanager #multidisciplinary #teamwork