AECOM Launches Second Annual Global Report, The Future of Infrastructure: Voice of the People, Finding City Residents Demand ...
January 22 2019 - 7:30AM
Business Wire
More than 10,000 people in 10 global cities weigh in on how
satisfied, safe, inspired and engaged they feel with their city’s
infrastructure.
AECOM (NYSE: ACM), a premier, fully integrated global
infrastructure firm, released its second annual global
infrastructure report today, The Future of Infrastructure: Voice of
the People, which captures data and opinions from 10,000 residents
across 10 major global cities — Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los
Angeles, Mumbai, New York, Riyadh, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto.
The report is grouped into four themes to gather insight into the
public’s infrastructure needs and ambitions for the industry:
satisfaction, engagement, innovation and resilience.
“Residents of cities around the world want greater say in
infrastructure planning, and they are growing impatient with delays
in the delivery of modern infrastructure systems that can improve
mobility, connectivity and quality of life,’’ says AECOM Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Michael S. Burke. “Their views should
be a call to action for wider government engagement, and new public
and private partnerships that can advance ideas, funding and
advocacy, and speed the projects that lead to growth and urban
well-being.”
The survey’s results showed that while every city has its own
distinct identity, people around the world share similar views and
experiences with their infrastructure. While city dwellers have a
positive outlook for the future, they are also restless for action
to improve their infrastructure immediately. They are stressed when
using public transportation and want their cities to be greener,
safer and better connected. Most importantly, they want to have a
voice in how infrastructure systems are planned, paid for,
developed and operated.
Five key insights from this year’s report:
- There is a clear public engagement
gap. Most of the cities underperform when it comes to engaging
with their citizens on infrastructure, with an aggregate global
average of 3.3 out of 10. It is highest in Mumbai (5.9) and lowest
in Sydney, Chicago and Hong Kong (2.7 each). Respondents said they
want a more focused interaction, which could go a long way toward
improving perceptions of city governments’ performance on
infrastructure and securing support for future projects.
- Residents want to help — and some
are willing to pay. Almost half (46 percent) of respondents
overall are willing to share personal data — the lifeblood of smart
cities — to help city agencies improve infrastructure and services.
In several cities (37 percent of respondents globally), residents
indicated a willingness to pay higher taxes to fund infrastructure
improvements. Both commitments underscore citizens’ desire to play
their part in delivering better infrastructure.
- Boosting resilience against
cyberattacks is a pressing concern. More respondents have
confidence in their city’s ability to protect infrastructure
against natural disasters and terrorist attacks than those who do
not. However, less than one-third (32 percent) have confidence in
their city’s defenses against cyberattacks. Citizens need increased
reassurance from city authorities about the capabilities of their
infrastructure to withstand such events.
- Wanted: More private-sector
involvement. A clear majority of city residents overall (63
percent) believe the private sector should be more involved in the
development of infrastructure. This effort could help contribute to
the financing, development and management of better
infrastructure.
- Upgrading public transportation and
enhancing environmental sustainability are top improvement
priorities. Upgrading public transportation — particularly
roads and underground rail — is the top infrastructure priority for
those surveyed. Improving environmental sustainability — through
solar power, recycling and waste-water reuse initiatives, for
example — is a close second and tops five cities’ to-do lists.
This is a pivotal moment in the history of infrastructure. The
Future of Infrastructure: Voice of the People report outlines ways
that city authorities, infrastructure agencies, utility providers
and business stakeholders can ensure greater strategic engagement
to secure and maintain citizens’ support during projects, and
following completion. It also provides guidance for aspiring smart
cities about the benefit of exchanging data and ideas with
companies, application developers and other innovators, as well as
an opportunity to obtain citizens’ personal data if city
authorities can ensure them it’s being handled securely and
contributing to specific improvements. Lastly, the report confirms
that sustainability continues to be important to residents, and
with high public interest, green initiatives can boost engagement
levels. While long-term planning is not going away, planners who
adopt an agile approach can test, design and scale projects at pace
— and engage more deeply with citizens.
The Future of Infrastructure: Voice of the People report has
been produced by AECOM in collaboration with Longitude, a
world-class leader in quantitative and qualitative research. The
report was compiled in two ways. First, Longitude conducted a
telephone survey of more than 10,000 people across 10 major global
cities including Hong Kong (1031 respondents), Mumbai (1088),
Singapore (1109), Sydney (1096), London (1118), Riyadh (980),
Chicago (1014), Los Angeles (1121), New York (1128), and Toronto
(1065). Respondents were not compensated for their participation
and AECOM was not identified as the research sponsor. Second, the
firm conducted qualitative interviews with a range of senior
figures in the global civil infrastructure industry where AECOM was
identified to them as the research sponsor.
To download The Future of Infrastructure: Voice of the People
report or to review city-specific results, please visit
www.infrastructure.aecom.com.
About AECOM
AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build,
finance and operate critical infrastructure assets for governments,
businesses and organizations. As a fully integrated firm, we
connect knowledge and experience across our global network of
experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From
high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient
communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, our
work is transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune
500 firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $20.2 billion
during fiscal year 2018. See how we deliver what others can
only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.
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Media Contact:Brendan Ranson-WalshVice President, Global
Communications &
CorporateResponsibility213.996.2367Brendan.Ranson-Walsh@aecom.com
Investor Contact:Will GabrielskiVice President, Investor
Relations1.213.593.8208William.Gabrielski@aecom.com
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