The challenges of our time, from rapid urbanisation to the climate crisis, growing inequality, and the complexities of informality, demand more than conventional responses. They call for bold, intentional transformation in how infrastructure is conceived, planned, and implemented. This transformation must be human-centred, ensuring that infrastructure not only meets technical standards but also measurably improves the lives of those it touches.

Human-centred transformation is embedded in our work across sectors, including energy, water, transport, resources, buildings, and digital services. We view infrastructure not as an isolated product, but as a platform for dignity, safety, belonging, and opportunity. This means asking questions that go beyond specifications: What does this road or pipeline mean to the people it serves? How does it shape their everyday experience, their security, and their ability to thrive?

Investing in tools and methods

In energy, for example, we explore how power underpins safety, education, and economic stability. In water, we examine how access fosters health, gender equity, and personal dignity. In transport, we investigate how mobility reconnects communities with opportunity. In urban planning, we consider how design supports or inhibits inclusion. And in industrial development, we strive to align infrastructure with lasting community benefits. To do this effectively, we invest in tools and methods that help us listen better, design more intelligently, and measure what matters.

One such tool is the Greenlight methodology, a participatory survey approach developed by the Greenlight Movement. The movement operates globally and is locally supported by over 140 organisations. Greenlight offers a nuanced, household-level view of well-being across 50 indicators, including access to water, energy, income, food security, mental health, sanitation, safety, and education.

A participatory process

Its geo-referenced design supports spatially intelligent planning. As a participatory process, it empowers households to voice their needs and map their development journey. This human-led approach produces data that is rich with insight and directly applicable to infrastructure delivery. More importantly, it brings the lived experience of communities into the core of project planning.

While we have not yet applied Greenlight in a project we lead, we are preparing to do so. In George, we are laying the groundwork for a Greenlight survey across 2 000 households to inform future infrastructure initiatives in informal settlements. Once funded, the project aims to guide improvements in sanitation, water access, roads, and legal electrification. The data will also illuminate broader community challenges such as food insecurity and safety, ensuring that infrastructure solutions inform both technical and social understanding.

Responsive planning and delivery

At the heart of human-centred transformation is the conviction that infrastructure should reflect the voices and realities of those it serves. Community engagement and bottom-up data collection enable us to design systems that address not only physical needs but also social aspirations. Greenlight strengthens this process by converting lived experiences into data that drives more responsive planning and delivery. Looking ahead, we believe the methodology has broad potential to enrich Zutari’s work across all service lines, from bulk infrastructure and hydropower to mining, power systems, and geospatial solutions.

This approach also aligns with national policy goals. The South African Government’s White Paper on Human Settlements emphasises the importance of geospatial, household-level data in planning and development. Greenlight supports this vision by offering human-led insights, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and providing a common language for engineers, funders, municipalities, and community partners.

The social return on infrastructure investment

Greenlight helps us assess the social return on infrastructure investment in tangible ways. It facilitates evidence-based planning, enables sequencing aligned with lived realities, and strengthens trust with stakeholders. Perhaps most importantly, it allows us to track real-world impact, what changes for people, not just what gets built. This marks a shift from technical implementation to systemic transformation.

Whether we are modelling energy systems, advising on digital asset management, or designing critical infrastructure like roads, ports, and wastewater plants, we carry with us a commitment to human-centred thinking. Infrastructure must serve people, not the other way around. Infrastructure must serve people, not the other way around.

This aligns with a belief central to our work. Engineers are bridge-builders, not only of roads, cables, and systems, but also of understanding, dignity, and possibility. Let us continue to embrace this responsibility, not just in informal settlements or social infrastructure, but across every sector. When we engineer belonging, we don’t just change skylines; we help shape futures, communities, and lives.

By Anne Timms, Senior Consultant: Social Sustainability, Zutari