Spotlight Vol. 7, No. 10: A National Plan for Meeting America's Infrastructure Needs

The wide ribbons of America's Interstate Highway System laid down systematically in the post-war decades guided national growth and development over the last half century. What should the 21st century version of this transportation program look like? And can we promote similarly ambitious infrastructure investments in water and energy that will respond to the new challenges of this century? 

These questions guided discussion at last week's America 2050 forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.: "Rebuilding and Renewing America: Toward a 21st Century Infrastructure Investment Plan," sponsored by Regional Plan Association, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and our foundation partners: the Rockefeller Foundation and the Surdna Foundation at the Division of U.S. Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center. 

The forum, which was marked by strong bi-partisan participation, was timed to coincide with the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives to create a U.S. Commission on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century (H.R. 5976). This commission aims to articulate a national vision for infrastructure investment and issue specific recommendations for policies in transportation, greenhouse gas emissions, community health, social equity, water, the electric grid and public lands. The bill was introduced on May 6th by a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by a forum participant, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and would create a commission appointed by Congress and the next president that would begin work in 2009. 

This type of nation-scale planning, although it may seem unprecedented, actually has a long and distinguished history in this country. May 2008 marks the centennial of Theodore Roosevelt's White House Conference of Governors in 1908, which launched a series of environmental restoration and hydro-electric damn projects in the South and West. That plan drew on Gifford Pinchot's report of the Inland Waterways Commission and essentially fueled the modern growth of the Sunbelt. 

This year also marks another anniversary in national planning: the bicentennial of the 1808 Gallatin Plan, drafted by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin at the request of Thomas Jefferson. Gallatin created a national plan of ports, roads, and inland waterways to encourage settlement of the nation and facilitate trade among independent farmers. This plan helped lead to the creation of the Eerie Canal and was further realized, during Abe Lincoln's presidency, with the passage of the Homestead Act, which adopted many of the Gallatin Plan routes for railways. 

The third and latest chapter in national planning was the Interstate Highway System, early versions of which were first drafted by the New Deal-era National Resources Planning Board and the Bureau of Public Roads. Implemented during Dwight Eisenhower's administration, the effect on America's growth was transformative - spawning patterns of suburban growth that define the nation's character today. Although criticized even at the time as being overly highway-focused, it undeniably connected the country in new ways and led to new patterns of commerce and growth. The challenges of the 21st century, however, demand a different approach. 

At last week's forum, roundtable discussions on transportation, energy and water helped shed light on what form this different approach might take. The forum was distinguished by congressional participation from both sides of the aisle, and the presence of both labor and business leaders. The morning plenary panel featured Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Tom Petri (R-WI), and Chris Shays (R-CT). Terence O'Sullivan, President of the Laborers' International Union of North America, and Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, both addressed the assembled participants. Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, both ardent supporters of tackling the nation's infrastructure and transportation challenges, provided keynote addresses. 

In transportation, the analogy to the Interstate System still holds. Major, capital-intensive investments in transportation infrastructure are needed in the 21st century - particularly to give Americans increased transportation choices in an era of rapidly rising gas prices and greenhouse gases. Investments that will promote America's participation in the global economy are also necessary - modernization of our seaports and airports, creation of high-speed rail corridors in the nation's megaregions, and investments in the nation's metropolitan areas are all key elements of a national transportation plan. These big investments should be complemented at the local level by small solutions that promote walking and biking as viable means to move around communities. 

In the area of water and energy, however, the "big infrastructure" approach is less applicable now and for the future. Water infrastructure improvements will need to be complemented not only by heavy engineering, but also by investments that improve management efficiencies, allow "full cost pricing," provide a watershed perspective, and recognize the value of ecosystem services. These innovative approaches are critical to meet the dynamic challenges that an aging infrastructure and changing climate will impose on water systems. 

Energy infrastructure investments should also make a shift toward greater efficiency and distributed generation that can take advantage of renewable electricity. These investments will include innovations like the "smart grid," which will foster distributed generation and allow us to take greater advantage of renewable technologies. These new technologies, however, will require the federal government send strong market signals to private investors, or else the transition to renewables will never take place. 

While the concept of a national "plan" may scare some, the need for strong federal leadership and a vision that can guide the nation's development is clearly needed. The vision can help set strong policy directives and principles, helping ensure that federal investments that stem from diverse legislation and are implemented from agencies are coordinated. It is clear that national leadership is needed in this area to allow America to grow and prosper in the 21st century in a way that meets our current needs and allows future generations to meet theirs as well.