For immediate release
Contact: Anthony Flint 617-503-2116
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 29, 2009) – Members of Congress joined dozens of policy leaders at the America 2050 leadership summit October 19 at the Library of Congress, to support an agenda for a national plan for infrastructure.
America 2050, a partnership of the Regional Plan Association and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Surdna Foundation, has outlined a plan for investments in key infrastructure based on the concept of megaregions, such as the Boston-Washington corridor. The key areas are transportation including high-speed rail, large-scale natural landscapes, water resources management, and underperforming regions.
Armando Carbonell, co-chair of America 2050 and chairman of the Department of Planning and Urban Form at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, opened the meeting by noting the Obama administration’s initiative for a “place-based” funding framework across federal agencies, and the need to plan at the neighborhood, city, regional, and megaregional scale.
Robert Yaro, co-chair of America 2050 and president of the Regional Plan Association, acknowledged that health care reform was the top priority at the moment, despite the urgency of issues including climate change, a new energy policy, and economic recovery. In 1939, the Futurama exhibition captured public imagination and set the stage for the Interstate Highway Act of 1956, said Petra Todorovich, executive director of America 2050. A similar framework is set to guide major improvements in a national high-speed inter-city rail network, an initiative of the Obama administration explained by Karen Rae, deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. America 2050 recently published a report on where high-speed rail links would be most effective, such as the Boston-Washington corridor, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and cities in the Southeast and around Chicago.
As the group considered green infrastructure, water supply and management, conserving large-scale landscapes that cross state and other boundaries, and investments to help economically underperforming areas, speakers included John Robert Smith, President and CEO, Reconnecting America; Pat McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte; Ethan Seltzer, professor at Portland State University; Robert Pirani, director of environmental programs, Regional Plan Association; Rebecca Wodder, President, American Rivers; Timothy Brick, chairman, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior and a member of the Lincoln Institute board; Robert Bendick, director of U.S. government relations, The Nature Conservancy; Mark Shaffer, program officer for the environment, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Fritz Steiner, dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture at Austin; David Jones, president and CEO, Community Service Society; and David Warm, Executive Director, Mid-America Regional Council.
The Honorable Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) joined the gathering shortly after 5 p.m. and noted the challenges of building public support for a national plan for infrastructure in what can be a divisive political climate, and with health care reform the top priority in Washington currently. Infrastructure and infrastructure financing could be addressed in any further economic stimulus initiatives and in the reauthorization of federal transportation funding, although Blumenauer expressed doubt that a transportation bill would get serious consideration until after the November 2010 elections. The Honorable Tom Perriello (D-VA) also commented that “we’ve papered over our lack of competitive advantage.”
"This is about the future of our country," said Yaro. "We shouldn't be apologetic about it."
In a related publication, New Strategies for Regional Economic Development, a joint report by the Lincoln Institute and RPA on regional economic development strategies, was posted and is available for downloading.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a leading resource for key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land.
# # #