Productivity in infrastructure delivery and urban systems has long been held back by fragmented thinking, isolated decision-making, and the relentless churn of short-term solutions to long-term problems. As we stand at a pivotal moment for how we design, fund, and manage the built environment, one thing is clear: we don’t need more tools, we need better thinking.
Systems thinking and systems approaches aren’t new, but they’re newly urgent. Amid accelerating climate risk, social inequality, technological disruption, and a demand for more resilient infrastructure, they offer a pragmatic lens for unlocking productivity - defined not by outputs alone, but by the sustainable, integrated value created for people and place.
This article is anchored by insights shared at the 2025 TIP Summit in Melbourne, which brought together voices from across sectors working to move beyond silos and deliver smarter, more connected urban outcomes. The panel dicussion on Unlocking Productivity through Systems Approaches was curated by Matt Gijselman, Bentley Systems, and moderated by Madeline Morris.
Panelists included:
- Harman Singh, Smart Cities and Connected Infrastructure Lead, GHD Digital
- Katherine Williams, Director, Spatial Services, Data and Digital Division, VIC Department of Transport and Planning
- Emma Hall, Director of Placemaking, Village Well
- Robyn Francis, Regional Lead - Asia Pacific, Smart Cities Council
What is a Systems Approach - Really?
In the simplest and most practical terms: it's about bringing everyone along.
A systems approach means we stop looking at infrastructure, technology, governance, and people as separate. Instead, we view the built environment as a web of interrelated systems - dynamic, living, and shaped by ongoing inputs. We shift from designing for to designing with - from problem-solving in parts, to enabling shared outcomes for the whole.
At its core, systems thinking is a commitment to co-designing, collaborating early, adapting to changing environment and recognising that challenges like housing, transport, energy and equity can’t be solved in isolation.
While this may sound academic, the impact is profoundly practical:
- Holistic Integration: By understanding the relationships between transport, housing, energy, and digital systems, we reduce duplication, improve efficiency, and deliver outcomes with fewer resources.
- De-Risking & Acceleration: When stakeholders align around shared goals and data, we pool investments, reduce friction, and move faster.
- Long-Term Value: By looking at the system, we pre-empt unintended consequences, build resilience, and deliver infrastructure that adapts to change - not just survives it.
- A local council commissions a digital twin without involving its digital innovation lead.
- A project is scoped based on what’s available off the shelf, rather than what’s adaptable or already proven elsewhere.
- An entire tech stack is developed in isolation - custom built, expensive, and ultimately redundant.
- Solutions that help with community buy-in
- Data models that work across agencies
- Procurement templates, not just pilot reports
Mental Models: The Invisible Barrier
The greatest bottlenecks to productivity often aren’t technical - they’re mental.
Many organisations still structure teams, budgets and strategies in silos. Departments protect their data, or don't know how to share it. Short-term fixes take priority over long-term value. Smart city, digital twins, and “digital by design” frameworks are launched without clear mandates or cross-departmental coordination.
We’ve all seen it:
A systems approach changes the starting point. It begins with a purposeful “why,” embraces slice-by-slice implementations, and embeds digital from the outset - not as a bolt-on, but as an enabler of connection, insight and shared action.
An example given by Robyn Francis was a lesson imparted by Christchurch, NZ’s Grace de Leon, that every smart initiative – starting from the very first solar compacting bin initiative - is scoped with replication and interoperability in mind. Their systems and solutions aren’t designed for a unit, but with a unit, linking into central infrastructure, shared standards, and long-term engagement.
Data, Digital Twins & the Future of Infrastructure
Digital twins and data ecosystems are shifting the very fabric of how we design, manage, and maintain infrastructure. But the tech is only part of the equation.
The more prevalent the realisation of digital twin value becomes, the more seriously people take data.
That means data quality, governance, and culture become non-negotiable.
“One good thing most smart cities in Australia have adopted is data democratisation; where councils have invested in open data platforms to put the data in the hands of its citizens, who in turn use the data to seed new innovations, such as building new mobile apps. Melbourne, Perth and Casey are great examples of this.”
Harman Singh, Smart Cities and Places Lead, Automation Service Line Leader, APAC, GHD
Government: Leading or Lagging?
Government planning is evolving, but is it evolving fast enough?
While some jurisdictions are piloting integrated transport-housing-energy planning models, systemic transformation is lagging behind the complexity of today’s urban challenges. Regulatory hurdles, legacy systems, and funding silos all get in the way.
But this isn’t just a government problem. A systems approach reframes the question: What can we do to enable government to deliver the systems we need?
We need to be sharing:
- Embedding placemaking in procurement and policy
- Linking public realm design to economic and health outcomes
- Using data to evidence value - from increased dwell time to decreased crime
- Real-world case studies
- Practical toolkits and templates
- Ongoing feedback loops between policy, practice, and people
- Better solutions
- Higher trust
- More sustainable results
The Role of Placemaking
Placemaking often gets dismissed as the “soft stuff.” But when viewed through a systems lens, it’s clear that how people experience the city directly shapes how they move, work, stay healthy and connect.
That means:
Let’s stop treating it as a “nice to have” and recognise it as a productivity enabler.
Mindset Shifts That Made the Difference
Sometimes the most productive action is observing rather than doing - as in, not building more, but understanding more.
A fascinating example was shared around the use of Camera AI to observe multiple work activities at a construction site and use proxy measures to identify opportunities to enhance productivity. This demonstrated the systems approach to consider the bigger picture hoslistically, as opposed to looking at each work activtiy in isolation.
Using a system-wide view to detect and fix underground leaks - no roadwork needed, no disruption caused - makes it a no brainer in many regards. Or, shifting away from “build more roads” to managing mobility as a service. Systems that incorporate private and public transport, last-mile needs, and real-time data shift the experience of urban movement entirely.
Hong Kong’s Octopus system is another win: a seamless payment and notification system across airports, transit, and retail. That’s system-level thinking in action.
Avoiding the Ivory Tower
Systems thinking can easily slip into the abstract. To keep it grounded, we need:
Community voice and lived experience are essential. Not because it’s nice, but because it works:
Whether through co-design workshops, citizen assemblies, or tools like Orbviz, meaningful engagement keeps us honest - and effective.
What Success Looks Like
If we do this well, cities will feel different, not just look different. People will experience seamless systems, not disjointed services. Learning about, moving through and accessing services will be intuitive and inclusive. Data and digital tools will be quietly working behind the scenes, anticipating needs and improving outcomes in real time. Cities will respond, rather than react, to crises, with embedded resilience and flexibility.
Final Thoughts: Defining Productivity
Productivity isn’t about outputs at any cost. It’s about purposeful, sustained momentum that delivers social, environmental, and economic value - with fewer resources and better foresight. It’s the opposite of burnout governance. It’s system-led, data-enabled, and people-powered.
And it's already happening. We just need to connect the dots, remove the blockers, and share what works.
