Infrastructure—transit, schools and colleges, roads, water systems, parks, telecommunications networks—is the backbone of strong, healthy communities and regions. Population growth, resource-intensive development patterns, new technology requirements of a changing economy, and several decades of underinvestment have created a large backlog of infrastructure projects in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country—and over the next two decades, even more new infrastructure projects and upgrades will be needed to keep communities running. In a policy and budget system of fierce competition for limited public funds, decisions about how and where to allocate infrastructure dollars literally shape our communities and affect access to economic opportunity
Safety, Growth, and Equity: Infrastructure Policies that Promote Opportunity and Inclusion sheds light on the necessity of equitable infrastructure planning. The policy brief is a reminder that infrastructure is vital for sustaining and reinforcing community, and that infrastructure decisions must be informed by the local residents they directly affect. To keep fairness and inclusion central to the infrastructure conversation, PolicyLink has identified seven basic principles for infrastructure equity. Safety, Growth, and Equity reviews these guiding principles along with case studies of key infrastructure projects.
The policy brief is based on a two-year review of infrastructure challenges in the state of California, findings that can profoundly influence similar debates in other parts of the country. Just as Hurricane Katrina raised public awareness of infrastructure, this research has been further informed by the catastrophic levee breaches, failed evacuation plans, and inadequate public transportation that left so many vulnerable to flooding in the Gulf Coast. In the coming months, PolicyLink will release several papers that will provide greater detail and deeper analysis of infrastructure and equitable public investment.
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Full Report (16 Pages - 1.6mb)