- May 14, 2020
- COVID-19, President's Corner
Solutions from the Next Generation
- By: Steve Lefton
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I don’t have to remind anyone that we are in a time of need. The most fortunate of us have needed to majorly adjust how we live. We’ve needed to follow guidelines to keep each other safe, we’ve had to blur our personal and professional lives more than we ever thought possible, and we’ve been required to alter every aspect of our daily routines. We’ve needed to relearn some basics, too: how to communicate; how to wash our hands; how to shop for groceries.
What amazes me is how we’re all doing it. We start each day and carry on in this “interim new normal.” From my teammates, partners, and clients, I’ve seen some truly innovative and creative solutions to problems that didn’t exist just weeks ago. Our industry continues to inspire me. Below are a few examples of how my Kimley-Horn partners, fueled by our current situation, are helping clients respond, adapt, and look ahead. I share this not to brag about the work of my partners (well maybe a little), but primarily so you all have open access to our ideas. I hope we can help you adapt, innovate, or adjust to our current environment.
- Best Practices for Setting Up COVID-19 Mobile Testing Facilities: From selecting a site to calculating service time, our traffic and parking engineers are helping government agencies and property owners set up mobile testing facilities to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Transitioning to Digital Public Involvement: What You Need to Know: At a time when traditional, in-person community engagement isn’t feasible, our public involvement specialists are encouraging clients to leverage digital tools to connect with their communities in new ways.
- Curbing COVID-19: How the Parking Industry is Responding and Adapting: Shelter-at-home orders have decreased parking activity and closed facilities nationwide. Our parking experts are guiding three heavily-hit industries—municipalities, universities, and airports—on how to pivot their priorities and reduce revenue loss.
- Returning to Retail: How to Build Customer Trust While Maintaining Social Distance: As shopping centers reopen but social distancing remains, our development services team is showing retail clients how a consistent approach to design and operations will provide a greater sense of security to customers and tenants.
I hope these innovations motivate you to meet the changing needs of your clients and the public, as they’ve done for me. While COVID-19 has impacted the world in countless, tragic ways, we are also surrounded by tales of reinvention, resourcefulness, and repair. If necessity is truly the mother of invention, then we have a generation of solutions ahead of us. Do you feel the same? How have your industries, clients, and teammates adapted during this pandemic? Do you have suggestions for other innovations you would like to see Kimley-Horn explore?