Why Design Matters in Transportation Infrastructure Design

Raising the question "Does design matter?" Sollohub concludes it does both from an economic standpoint and as a matter of civic pride. "All too often, value engineering rips at the soul of a project to the point that the public becomes indifferent, if not openly hostile, to it when finished. These constructions often need rebuilding well before a better design would have required it."

Sollohub writes that fear of not appearing cost-conscious influences designers to use cheap materials and "avoid any risk associated with attempting innovation that might reflect the spirit of the age. Fear also influences agencies to punt design to the private sector, whose hyper cost-conscious, in-house designers apply a cookie cutter formula. This results in public infrastructure of stucco-clad, closed-cell foam that looks no different than national brand fast food and convenience stores. Is this what we want to tell future generations about ourselves?"

The author contends that infrastructure designers can learn much from the example provided by Steve Jobs and Apple, which became one of the most successful companies in the world in part by paying attention to design details in everything from its packaging to its store layouts. A century earlier, he notes, the Pennsylvania railroad built its iconic stations and became America’s most profitable corporation.

"The lessons from Apple are many. If you build it well, people will pay for it. This should be a lesson to infrastructure builders: that service alone is not enough to lure riders. A focus on a level of service—where ‘level’ focuses not on capacity, but on aesthetic quality—is essential to promoting success."