Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Post

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, American Rescue Plan, and Inflation Reduction Act dedicated more than $1.2 trillion in federal aid not only to rebuild roads, bridges, and rails, but to expand access to high-speed internet, safeguard drinking water, confront the climate crisis, and ensure underserved communities don’t continue to be overlooked.   Thousands of municipalities—from the smallest towns to the largest cities—have an opportunity to realize their dreams, tackle their most urgent needs, and build their way to prosperity. Suddenly, America is on the cusp of strengthening itself from the Heartland out.   For the past 18 months, Bloomberg Philanthropies together with The Kresge Foundation, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, Waverley Street Foundation, National League of Cities, United States Conference of Mayors, Results for America, Ballmer Group, and Delivery Associates have been coaching 1,300-plus mostly small and mid-sized municipalities in how to navigate the intricacies of federal grants and secure for their residents share of the largest national commitment to modernization in decades.   The job is hardly finished, though. How to fix America’s infrastructure, once and for all in TIME:

Federal policies could be more effective, efficient, and equitable if implementation at the local level wasn't an afterthought. Compelling piece by James Anderson on small and medium-sized cities' ability to benefit from federal funds: "The truth is, the federal government needs to be more thoughtful about the capacity challenges facing small cities." "Technical assistance, and, critically, support for local innovation, data, and project management muscle should be built into federal investments." #cities #innovation #implementation

Significant infrastructure needs--and $1.2 trillion+ in federal funding for fixes-- require mayors and their cities to build better capabilities for innovation, use of data, and collaboration in public management. James Anderson of Bloomberg Philanthropies makes the case for strengthening local capacity in TIME.  #localinfrastructurehub #leadership #cities

How can giant ambitions and $1.2 trillion+ in federal infrastructure funding result in successful projects and prosperous communities? James Anderson of Bloomberg Philanthropies makes a case for strengthened local capacity in TIME, calling on the federal government to strengthen local civic infrastructure – local governments’ capacity to innovate, partner, and deliver – to achieve new physical infrastructure. National organizations and experts have joined forces in a #LocalInfrastructureHub, providing municipalities with technical assistance and supporting them to build capacity for local innovation, data, and project management. #leadership #cities 

There’s one word that will get any American fuming, regardless of their political inclination: infrastructure. Pothole-pocked roads, creaky bridges, and half-baked public transportation bind us nationally like little else can. And that was before climate change’s coastal flooding, extreme heat, and supercharged wildfires came around to make things even worse. US infrastructure was designed for the climate we enjoyed 50, 75, even 100 years ago. Much of it simply isn’t holding up, endangering lives and snapping supply chains. To bring all those roads, railways, bridges, and whole cities into the modern era, the Biden-Harris administration last week announced almost $830 million in grants through 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The long list of projects includes improved evacuation routes in Alaska, a new bridge in Montana, restored wetlands in Pennsylvania, and a whole bunch of retrofits in between. “We know that if we want to build infrastructure that lasts for the next 50 or 100 years, it’s got to look different than the last 50 or 100 years,” says US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. WIRED sat down with Buttigieg to talk about the bipartisan appeal of infrastructure, utilizing nature instead of fighting it, and the irresistible triple payoff of getting people out of cars and into buses and trains. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Matt Simon: The United States is a very diverse place, climate-wise. We’ve got all these deserts and extreme heat, coastlines and sea level rise, and increasingly extreme rainfall. How does this new funding go toward managing all that? Secretary Buttigieg: While every part of the country is different, every part of the country sees transportation systems impacted by the climate and other threats. It can be wildfires, it can be floods, sea level rise, mudslides, droughts, or even earthquakes. All of these things can impact the durability of our transportation systems. And many of these things are getting more extreme. One of the more counterintuitive consequences of climate change is heavier rainfall. A lot of this funding is going toward retrofitting infrastructure to adapt to those sorts of deluges. What are the options? In Cincinnati, for example, we’re shoring up retaining walls and actually installing sensors in hills to get ahead of an issue where a hillslide, caused by intense rainfall, would impact a road. In West Memphis, we’re investing in natural infrastructure. What’s interesting about that case is it’s not actually the road itself—we’re investing in the wetlands around the road to make flooding less likely. That’s part of how we protect supply chains that run along I-55 and I-40. And then sometimes you’re facing a one-two punch. In Colorado, for example, I-70 was impacted by a combination of fires and floods. A wildfire will come through, it’ll undermine the trees and root structures that hold soil together, it’ll be followed by

"President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, one of the nation’s most significant investments in curbing climate change, was supposed to consider the history of areas like Acres Homes in an attempt to make communities whole again. "By creating a pathway to building the clean energy economy, from expanding electric school bus fleets to subways and mass transit options, it would also serve as a way to reverse the well-documented history of how the country’s highways ripped apart Black communities. As residents were displaced, homeownership chances were stunted, and Black people were left overexposed to pollution from cars and trucks and became most likely to die in car crashes. "Instead, the law is actually increasing pollution and contributing to the continued disruption and displacement of Black communities, according to a new report by the climate policy group Transportation for America. "According to the new report, what has primarily happened is a repeat of that history: freeways, highways, and more roads. Out of the more than 55,000 projects totaling roughly $130 billion implemented through the $1.2 trillion spending package, nearly half of the spending has been allocated to highway expansion."

Analysis: Mayors are focusing foremost on infrastructure. Infrastructure appears to be top of mind for mayors, with 37 mayors giving State of the City addresses discussing that subject twice as long as the No. 2 priority, according to a National League of Cities analysis. The league cites the bipartisan infrastructure law for some of that focus, as well as the fact that so much of the nation's infrastructure is overdue for attention.

Hot off the presses, Minnesota Governor Walz has published his infrastructure package. Details include: * a proposed 2024 bonding bill of $982 million * 45% goes to preserving infrastructure, 22% toward water and transportation, 14% to public safety, 10% to housing and 9% to other projects * $215 million on water and transportation projects, including $119 million for grants and low-interest loans for safe drinking water. * $440 million for building rehabilitation. * $85 million will go toward other infrastructure across the state including $40 million for local government projects. * as a reminder the 2023 bonding bill was $2.6 billion, with $1.5 billion of borrowing and more than $1.1 billion in cash. https://lnkd.in/g23x2Y47