Atlas International VP of Innovation has published an article to challenge civil engineers to apply a Systems Engineering and Systems Integration approach to Infrastructure, especially to new types of infrastructure. Civil engineers are confronting a variety of environmental challenges, demographic shifts and sociological, economic, and technological changes that will require a drastic rethinking of how we build, operate, and maintain our infrastructure systems. There is a need for a new approach. Holistic systems thinking is required. We must consider holistic city, community and
neighborhood systems, including the cultural, social, economic, political, ethical, medical and environmental aspects at different scales to better prepare engineers for possible future needs and challenges.
Unfortunately, we usually constrain our thinking to very narrow pathways. Engineers must start the process by asking the right questions about the future built environment that doesn’t exist yet, contemplate solutions, and postulate the resulting benefit – before we begin the process of designing or building. And we must do that while embracing our need to navigate “value tensions.”
Why is this important? Climate, healthcare, food and water supply, transportation, soil contamination, biodiversity, city economies and healthy communities are more complex systems than a building, road, or engine. Yet engineering principles must still apply. Engineers need to better understand this new paradigm and partner with planners, community leaders, risk managers, and all those who strive to deliver sustainable and resilient development for the future